INTERVIEWER: “People see Rock and Roll as youth culture, and when youth culture becomes monopolized by big business, what is the youth to do — do you have any idea?”
YOUTH ON THE STREET: “I think we should destroy the bogus capitalist process that is destroying youth culture.”
Sounds nice, but of course, history and human nature have proven that, even though Big Biz is fucked up, even in a world without the profit motive to blame, you’d still have to destroy the cult of personality, and the (unintentionally ironic) tyranny of the herdspeak created by rebelling, identity-seeking youth, in addition to the inherent fetishism of fame which can bring out the worst in us and, as has been said, makes a man take things over, and which can eff up even the best-laid plans of artist. But I digress…In any case, thus begins the latest from Radio Department which you can download for free…HERE
Radio Dept cite Charles Aznavour, Saint Etienne, Broadcast, Frank Sinatra, Joy Division, Pet Shop Boys, Chet Baker, Fennesz, Nick Drake, Kevin Rowland, Prefab Sprout, Paddy McAloon, Junior Boys, Orange Juice, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Jonathan Richman, The Avalanches and The Pale Fountains.
To which I’d add The Jazz Butcher Syndicate (the smoothened vocals), The Sundays, and certainly the mighty Orange Juice (the pretty guitar — I was reaching for the 12″ of “Flesh of My Flesh” to mix with this when I got it in my mailbox, ditto The Sundays’ “Can’t Be Sure”) and Starflyer 59, a band that I — in no official capacity, just you know, as a youth on the street ghostwriting bios for a label 16 years ago — suggested Capitol Records sign, when they were on Tooth And Nail Records. But I digress.
Suffice to say: their “Keen on Boys” from their Lesser Matters EP and also the great Marie Antoinette soundtrack is a classic tune, sounding of a bygone era (very Jesus & Mary Chain, that one) but not in a bad way. This new one is more Sundays (I can easily imagine Harriet Wheeler singing this one) Orange Juice and Jazz Butcher, and it’s lovely enough for me to have on repeat while I write this. And I love the album cover, again in a kind of northern, romantic style, like say the grainy photo on EBTG’s classic Love Not Money.
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