Home Taping: Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
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Artist:
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Album:
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Track:
I discuss the Floridian band's indie-pop debut with MOG outsider, The Girlfriend (a.k.a Jill).
[During Partie Traumatic]
Me: Here's the title track. What do you think Partie Traumatic means?
The GF: Shit Party?
Me: Wow, that really puts me in the mood for this album!
The GF: I heard this on TV at Glastonbury and I wasn't too impressed. And the girls look a lot older than I imagined. The blonde one looks like she could be 35.
Me: That old, eh? Shocking.
The GF: Mind you, if I stood in that band, people would say, "Look at that oul' wan!"
Me: But people say that regardless. Image has got in the way for you.
The GF: Yes, they're not as cool as they sound!
Me: But what's wrong with that? Do you have to be cool to be a good band?
The GF: I want everything. I want the whole package. Madonna was the whole package when I was growing up. Prince, George Michael…
Me: He has a big package.
[During Listen To Your Body Tonight]
The GF: Why does it sound like that?!
Me: They've re-recorded the demos.
The GF: They've ruined it! Noooo! They have this little wee-wee-wee-wee-wee thing going through it!
Me: The song always had that keyboard sound.
The GF: No, it was a different wee-wee-wee-wee-wee!
Me: It's like children's hour here! It's badly produced, is that what you're saying?
The GF: Yes! Don't like it! Badly produced!
Me: What age are you?
The GF: Four!
[During Hurricane Jane.]
The GF: This better not have fucking changed! (10 seconds into song) Nooooo! The singer's voice doesn't sound the same!
Me: He sounds like Bryan Ferry at twelve years of age.
The GF: Why did they not just leave it the way it was! Some record producer gonk wanted to make a name for himself!
Me: It was Bernard Butler, the bloke from Suede. In fairness he already had a name for himself.
The GF: As what, though? What name did he have?
Me: Well now it's 'That twat who fucks up records.'
The GF: Exactly!
Me: Maybe we're being unfair. When first hear a song, you fall in love with that version, so if anything changes, you hate it. Like when your girlfriend changes her hair.
The GF: What's wrong with my hair?!
Me: Okay, wrong analogy.
The GF: It doesn't grab me like the demos. I loved them. When I first heard that song I'd get a pain in my stomach.
Me: Maybe it was trapped wind.
The GF: No, it was butterflies.
Me: To use the medical term.
The GF: I wanted to get up and dance to it! Where's the rawness now? I feel like the whole song is covered in Clingfilm.
[During Love Me Already]
Me: "My girlfriend's been a real whore/spending all her time with Theodore"?
The GF: Is she getting paid for sleeping with Theodore?
Me: Probably not.
The GF: Then how is she a whore?
Me: Not good English, is it? And that line "With friends like these, who need enemies" should never be said again by anybody in the world ever.
The GF: It's so clichéd.
Me: It's a cliché to say how clichéd that phrase is, that's how clichéd it is.
[During I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)]
The GF: (5 seconds in) Not the same!
Me: Aaah, shadduuup! Give it a chance!
The GF: His voice is not as projected as it was in the demo.
Me: Yeah, you're right. And it's a bit affected, a bit put on. Like he's doing an impression. Give us one we know, mate. Give us Norman Wisdom. "Mr Grimsdale!"
[During I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You]
Me: That's just a fucking great song! You couldn't mess that one up.
The GF: They could play this song with thimbles on their fingers and it would still sound great.
Me: The producer probably suggested that.
[During I Wanna Be Your Limousine]
Me: What does that mean, I wanna be your limousine? I want to wear a cap and a little outfit, drop you off at a function, and wait around for you to come out?
The GF: Should have picked a better car.
Me: They're kids. They've just been to their prom. Maybe 50 of them hired a limousine and drove around in it. Now he thinks it's the greatest car ever.
The GF: And he's written a song about it.
Me: He's going to feel a bit stupid in a few years time when he looks back.
The GF: He'll feel a bit stupid when he listens back to the production, too.
Me: If they had have waited six more months, wrote a few more songs, they could have had a better album. And the sound is so tinny, no depth. No fullness.
The GF: Except for the big girls on keyboards.
[During Look At Me…]
Me: Good riff to this one. I want to dance and sing!
The GF: Don't, you're too old! I was dancing with The Teenager the other day and she did a few moves that made me go, 'Okay, I've lost it'.
Me: I'm lucky, I never had it in the first place…Overall?
The GF: Overall, some great songs, but not as good as the versions on the demos. Still, some albums are totally shit, with only one good song.
Me: REM's new album?
The GF: I said, one good song!
...
Demo review: Black Kids Are Hipper Than Thou
Comments (22)
Uh-oh, since I liked the demo, I guess I will hate this.
Hey Darla - that's a reasonable assumption!
haha your GF sounds awesome. I agree with most of her thoughts :) (and i've met those "kids") hehe
Hi IP - Cheers, you should have seen the stuff I had to edit out. Still, good to see our blind prejudices are being backed up by the insiders!
hey fluxy how did you remember each witty phrase? you record it?
Oh yes, I tape our ramblings. There's too much drink taken to remember much otherwise. ;)
haha that's priceless :)
Every time I read this I expect it to end with "say goodnight Gracie" "Goodnight Gracie". Mog's own George and Gracie Burns...
I think I'll make this my new avatar!
I think GF would probably curse a little about the flowers, though...:)
You're right...
That's better.
Yes. Much more GF like.
i was quite horrified when i watched the video for their song because i could tell somebody had been tinkering with the good the demo version had to offer. wasn't expecting much from the album..they def should have waited longer before dropping this bomb!
Yeah, there's such a fine line between 'da bomb' and 'a bomb'... But I wonder if we'd never heard the demos, would we have been so critical of the singing? The band are defo paying the price for getting music out there so early in their career (if they still have one after this! Hope so!).
the song ended at the precise moment that i let these last words sink in. no joke, was it planned? or is there something i should know about how quickly i read? i agree with the definition for partie traumatic!
the analogy of the girlfriend's hair was priceless. i would have loved to seen the un released video version of this review.
have you seen pitchfork's review of the same record. too funny...
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/51246-black-kids-partie-traumatic
Excellent twst on a review. I like the "AAAAAAHHHHSSS" e.p., album leaves me cold.
Sigh.
Still lovin' the overall sound, just no stayin' power.
*Mike* that Pitchfuck review is hilarious! I was looking around for the actual review & realized the pic was it. Brilliant!
*Colin* once again, you & the GF tear it up! You two should go into show biz, I swear. Great review!
@ Madrid - Yes, we time our posts to song length, think nothing off it, all part of the service. :)
@ Mike - Hadn't seen that before. I'm shocked. V cruel to dismiss it like that considering they championed the band initially (check their best new music section) and the band's (alleged) youth! Seriously, I'd have liked to see what they thought was wrong, and I'm sure it might have helped the band.
@ TJ - Yep, I concur, the most disappointing debut in living memory for me.
@ A1 - Remember the one they did of Jet? Involved a video of monkeys if I remember correctly. Oh, and we're not in showbiz but we do have a play coming out soon. Swing by if you're in the neighbourhood. ;)
No, I didn't see their review of Jet. I rarely read Pitchfuck. I don't even recall the last time I looked at their site(prior to going there via Mike's link). Most of the time it's just indie snobbery.
Oh yea, when is your play coming out? Doubt I'll be in the neighborhood anytime soon but then again a load of money could drop on me from nowhere suddenly & then I could(but the chance of that happening isn't too promising).
It opens in Dublin in October. If you get that windfall, look me up. ;)
Cool, so the debut isn't far off. I'll certainly look you up if the windfall occurs!