Buzzcocks

Certain Songs #1394: Buzzcocks – “You Say You Don’t Love Me”

December 8, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: A Different Kind of Tension
Year: 1979

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,” 1979’s A Different Kind of Tension was where they perfectly balanced their pop tendencies with their artier tendencies, and while I’m always going skew pop, I really did love many of the weird tunes like Steve Diggle’s thrashy “Sitting Round At Home,” Shelley’s droning “Hollow Inside” and the awesome title track.

Balancing that out was Shelley’s questioning “I Don’t Know What To Do With My Life,” Diggle’s hilarious fucksong “You Know You Can’t Help It,” and, of course, “You Say You Don’t Love Me,” which roars out of the box with about million hooks.

Certain Songs #1393: Buzzcocks – “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays”

December 7, 2018 by Jim Connelly

Album: Singles Going Steady
Year: 1979

Figured that in the wake of Pete Shelley’s sudden and saddening death, I might write about a couple more of his Buzzcocks songs in the next couple of days. And then a couple of his solo songs when I get there (as I was going to do anyways), so here’s yet another highlight from Singles Going Steady, the mold-breaking “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays.”

One of the things that struck me about the Buzzcocks was that their albums were more experimental than their singles, and so I never loved the artsier first two albums Another Music in a Different Kitchen and Love Bites as I did Singles Going Steady or even A Different Kind of Tension, which is where I think they found the balance between punk pop and punk art.

Certain Songs #155: Buzzcocks – “What Do You Know?”

April 7, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Parts 1 – 3 EP
Year: 1980

As the final release of the original incarnation of the Buzzcocks, the Parts 1 – 3 EP was the sound of a band that really didn’t know what they wanted to do anymore beyond release singles. So it was mostly experimental expansions to their basic sound – or copies of other people’s sounds (“Airwaves Dream” is pure Joy Division) – that really didn’t go anywhere.

With one exception: the glorious Psychedelic Furs pastiche “What Do You Know?”, the last single they ever released in their original run.

Over the normal roaring guitars augmented with a saxophone that might as well have been the Little Furry People’s Duncan Kilburn (even though Wikipedia says it wasn’t), Pete Shelley is once again talking about belief:

Everything happens
Don’t look for patterns
You only perceive what you believe
You need only believe to believe

Meanwhile, Steve Diggle is questioning him at every turn:

What do you know?
What do you know?
What do you knowwwwwwwwwwwwww?
What do you knowwwwwwwwwwwwww?

Maybe he’s driven crazy by the sax, which is finding it’s way into every available space, but as the song builds and builds, Shelley’s getting more and more hysterical. At the end, it’s a call-and-response between Diggle’s calmly insistent question and Shelley’s increasingly unhinged answers:

What do you know?
(There’s no turning back now)
What do you know?
(I’m under attack now)
What do you knowwwwwwwwwwww?
(I see the skies are open)
What do you knowwwwwwwwwwww?
(And I hear the word spoken)
What do you know?
What do you know?
What do you knowwwwwwwwwww?
(You only perceive what you believe)
What do you knowwwwwwwwwww?
(You need only believe to believe)

By the time that Shelley has gotten to the point where he’s explaining that you on need only to believe to believe, his voice has gotten so cracked and broken with frustration at being questioned that he’s singing in a register that he’s never even come close to hitting before or since.

And of course, the question gets the last word, as it damn well should.

What do you know?
What do you know?
What do you knowwwwwwwwwwwwww?
What do you knowwwwwwwwwwwwww?

And the only thing that I do know is that if it wasn’t for “I Believe,” this would be my favorite Buzzcocks song.

“What Do You Know”

“What Do You Know” performed live

Every Certain Song Ever
A filterable, searchable & sortable somewhat up to date database with links to every “Certain Song” post I’ve ever written.

Check it out!

Certain Songs Spotify playlist
(It’s recommended that you listen to this on Spotify as their embed only has 200 songs.)

Support “Certain Songs” with a donation on Patreon
Go to my Patreon page

Certain Songs #154: Buzzcocks – “I Believe”

April 6, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: A Different Kind of Tension
Year: 1979

Singles Going Steady casts such a titanic shadow that people might forget that along with all of those amazing singles, the Buzzcocks recorded three full albums during their initial run. Of course, people are forgiven for that because only one of those albums is truly excellent: 1979?s A Different Kind of Tension.

Like their previous albums – Another Music in a Different Kitchen and Love Bites – A Different Kind of Tension went beyond just doing three-minute pop songs and dabbled with artier, more experimental stuff. Sure, they still had the pop song confectionery, but they also stretched out in terms of song structure, production values and length. Which is why their greatest song – perhaps the greatest song to come out of U.K. Punk (and yes, that includes “Complete Control” and “Anarchy in the U.K.”) – is the 7-minute long “I Believe.”

If you asked me to list the things that I believed in, this epic anthem would be near the top of the list. It’s

Without even a riff to establish it, Pete Shelley just leaps in:

In these times of contention, it’s not my intention to make things plain
I’m looking through mirrors to catch the reflection that can’t be mine
I’m losing control now, I’ll just have to slow down a thought or two
I can’t feel the future and I’m not even certain that there is a past

Over a roaring punk rock background punctuated by Steve Garvey’s bass, the verses of “I Believe” describe a kind of dark night of the soul. This is countered by the chorus, during which Shelley reminds himself of who he is and what he believes while Steve Diggle’s guitar rings with assent:

I believe in perpetual motion
And I believe in perfect devotion
I believe in, I believe in
I believe in the things I’ve never had
And I believe in my mum and my dad
And I believe in, I believe in

So you think well, as long he he can remember what he believes, everything is going to be alright. Whew! Which is where the kicker comes in. With Diggle’s guitar still ringing with assent, Shelley pulls out the rug:

There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!

Whoa! What the hell was that? Because before you have time to even think about the implications of “there is no love in this world anymore” he’s back to another verse and another chorus, and holy shit, there it is again!

There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!

OK, that’s fine. I can deal with that. He’s just letting off some steam, it doesn’t have any great existential meaning or anything. I got it now. No worries. So just when you figure out how you think the song is going to go for the rest of the way – maybe there will be a guitar solo to end it, Shelley sings the last chorus:

I believe in original sin
And I believe what I believe in
Yes I believe in, I believe in
I believe in the web of fate
And I believe, I’m goin’ to be late
So I’ll be leavin’, what I believe in

After that, with three minutes still left in the song, “I Believe” quadruples down and leaves just about every other song ever in the fucking dust, with 5, 10, 15, 1,000,000 repetitions of its coda. The song fades, so as far as I’m concerned it’s fucking infinite – somewhere Pete Shelley is still singing it – and so while it’s always always changing, each repetition is deepening and darkening that one central message:

There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There a-is a-no a-love a-in a-this a-world a-anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!

Trust me, screaming along with this song at the top of your lungs when you’re driving home from a failed attempted to woo somebody, or maybe you just got broken up with, or maybe you’re just sad because you’re not in any position to get your heart broken by any specific person, trust me, screaming along with this song at the top of your lungs for just about any reason is so fucking cathartic.

There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!
There is no love in this world anymorrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!

Back in the 80s & early 90s, you might have caught me – along with The Replacements’ “Unsatisfied” or Hüsker Dü’s “Keep Hanging On” – singing this at the top of my lungs at inopportune moments trying to drown out a blasting cassette while driving my car home with tears in my eyes.

Video for “I Believe”

Certain Songs #153: Buzzcocks – “Why Can’t I Touch It?”

April 5, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Singles Going Steady
Year: 1979

Totally influenced by reggae – Steve Garvey’s huge bass line is the driver of the entire song – but not sounding a lick like it, the stellar b-side (to “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays”) “Why Can’t I Touch It?” is my favorite song on Singles Going Steady.

Like so many great Buzzcocks songs, “Why Can’t I Touch It?” lyrically has one thing on its mind:

Well it seems so real I can see it
And it seems so real I can feel it
And it seems so real I can taste it
And it seems so real I can hear it
So whyyyyyyyyyyyyy-yyyyyyyyyyy-yyyyyyyyyy can’t I touch it?
So whyyyyyyyyyyyyy-yyyyyyyyyyy-yyyyyyyyyy can’t I touch it?

That’s pretty much the extent of the words: Pete Shelley only has four senses working overtime, when he needs the fifth for ecstasy. But this song isn’t really about the words, it’s about the big groovy beat that Garvey & John Maher create and what the guitars of Shelley & Steve Diggle do over that beat.

In between those verses all of that frustration that Shelley is singing about gets worked out via their battling guitars. Pete’s in one speaker & Steve is in the other, and those guitars tease, taunt, circle each other, shove, back away, fight. retreat, and generally perform an exquisite lover’s dance.

You can almost see Shelley & Diggle staring each other down in the studio during this song, each one daring the other to try something else until Maher just says “fuck it” and ends the song. At 6:31, “Why Can’t I Touch It” seems like it ends wayyy too soon. Why maybe is why Shelley couldn’t touch it in the first place.

“Why Can’t I Touch It?

The Certain Songs Database
A filterable, searchable & sortable somewhat up to date database with links to every “Certain Song” post I’ve ever written.

Check it out!

Certain Songs Spotify playlist
(It’s recommended that you listen to this on Spotify as their embed only has 200 songs.)

Support “Certain Songs” with a donation on Patreon
Go to my Patreon page

Certain Songs #152: Buzzcocks – “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)”

April 4, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Singles Going Steady
Year: 1978

It’s either late 1980 or early 1981, and I’m feeling depressed about something or other. Probably an unrequited crush, because that could have been my major at Fresno City College. So I decided to do what I did then: go to Tower Records.

In this particular case, I didn’t know what I was looking for. But I knew that I wanted to try something that I’d never ever heard even a note of, and I knew that it had to be punk or post-punk, as I was slowily – with the great help of Trouser Press, Musician and Creem (since this was back during the time that music blogs were known as “magazines”) – working my way through the more critically-acclaimed music of the late 70s & early 80s.

And – I actually remember this – I remember telling myself that maybe the Buzzcocks compilation with the cool cover was the right combination of new and familiar to snap me out of my doldrums. Said compilation, of course, was the now-immortal Singles Going Steady.

And, yeah, my doldrums were snapped before I’d even flipped the album over. How could it not be?

Look, I know that it’s a singles compilation, and therefore shouldn’t “count,” but fuck that: Singles Going Steady is as unified sounding as any album ever and doubles as an amazing greatest hits, to boot. Pete Shelley knew what he wanted to say, he and Steve Diggle knew how they wanted it to sound, and along with crack rhythm section of Steve Garvey & John Maher, they applied that knowledge for 16 gloriously prescient punk-pop songs..

And the most glorious (of the A-sides) (barely, over “Orgasm Addict” and “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays”) is probably the best-known: “Ever Fallen in Love (With Some You Shouldn’t’ve)” is simultneously as perfect as punk rock gets and as perfect as pop music gets. The verses are dominated up by dueling guitars and chattering drums, while the chorus builds and builds and builds, breaking up the title phrase into a zillion different pieces.

Ever fallen in love
with someone
Ever fallen in love
in love
with someone
Ever fallen in love
(loooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvve)
in love
with someone
you shouldn’t’ve fallen in love with?

Well yeah. And of course, it’s so universal that it actually just barely missed the top 10 in the U.K., thereby making suspicious everybody who didn’t understand why not only you could have a huge pop song with big punk rock guitars, but why you should have a huge pop song with big punk rock guitars.

Not here of course. Not for decades, but the sonic template was set right here, with the Buzzcocks.

“Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)”

“Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)” performed live in 1978

“Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)” performed live in 2016

The Certain Songs Database
A filterable, searchable & sortable somewhat up to date database with links to every “Certain Song” post I’ve ever written.

Check it out!

Certain Songs Spotify playlist
(It’s recommended that you listen to this on Spotify as their embed only has 200 songs.)

Support “Certain Songs” with a donation on Patreon
Go to my Patreon page

24 Musical Moments to Die For

August 29, 2008 by Jim Connelly

You can talk about genres, artists, albums, or even songs, but sometimes what keeps us coming back to music is the discovery of the transcendent musical moment. For me, “the moment” is the part of the song that fully and utterly engages me; the reason that I keep coming back to it.

I’m not necessarily talking about hooks here, because the purpose of a hook is the draw you into a song. I’m really talking more about traps: the part of a song that that keeps you there.

The is the second in a series. The first one had 25, this one has 24.

Every single moment I’ve listed below kills me single every time I hear it.

Oh, and this isn’t in any kind of order, despite the numbering.