Soft Boys

Certain Songs #2334: The Soft Boys – “Mr Kennedy”

April 4, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Nextdoorland
Year: 2002

. . .

Since there wasn’t any animosity surrounding their break-up, The Soft Boys actually reunited twice: the first time was in 1994, where they played a few shows in the U.K. to tour for the box set The Soft Boys 1976-1981, though it’s hard to tell how much Kimberley Rew was involved with that one, though both bassists Andy Metcalfe and Matthew Seligman were apparently onboard, as was drummer Morris Windsor. This, BTW, was after Hitchcock disbanded the Egyptians, which of course featured Metcalfe and Windsor. By the way, this will all be on the test.

The second time was in 2001, when Matador did a big 20th anniversary set for Underwater Moonlight, and it was the same musicians who played on that record: Hitchcock, Rew, Seligman and Windsor. And that proved to be so successful that they went into a studio and recorded their first album since Underwater Moonlight, 2002’s Nextdoorland.

Certain Songs #2332: The Soft Boys – “Underwater Moonlight”

April 1, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Underwater Moonlight
Year: 1980

. . .

Despite all of the tasty psychedelic goodness that preceded it, Underwater Moonlight ended with its very greatest song, making it like who’s next in that the four best songs on the record opened and closed it, with the final song being an epic for the ages.

“Underwater Moonlight” opens with drummer Morris Windsor’s kickdrum on every beat while he twiddles around on his hi-hat with bassist Matthew Seligman adding cool random notes while Robyn Hitchcock and Kimberly Rew play off-beats with their guitars. And then Hitchcock tells a tale as old as time.

Certain Songs #2331: The Soft Boys – “Queen of Eyes”

March 31, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Underwater Moonlight
Year: 1980

. . .

And so Underwater Moonlight went through a slew of great songs, including three that I very much almost wrote about: the footstomping “Positive Vibrations” with its insane guitar hook, sitar solo and amazing coda; “Insanely Jealous” which featured not one, but two rave-ups without getting faster, and the instrumental with the inside-out guitars, “You’ll Have to Go Sideways.”

All of which are great, but just set up the final two songs, the first of which is the insanely gorgeous “Queen of Eyes,” the first of Robyn Hitchcock’s power-pop songs for the ages. “Queen of Eyes” opens with Hitchcock’s and Kimberly Rew’s guitars in an quantum entanglement sent straight from psychedelic heaven, and a song that is on the short list of Prettiest Songs Ever Recorded, Psychedelic Power Pop Division.

Certain Songs #2330: The Soft Boys – “Kingdom of Love”

March 30, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Underwater Moonlight
Year: 1980

. . .

All things considered, “Kingdom of Love” is far more representative of the charms of Underwater Moonlight — and Robyn Hitchcock’s music in general — than “I Wanna Destroy You.” A mid-tempo choogle with surreal lyrics and some utterly great guitar playing, “Kingdom of Love” also keeps the quality level way high.

It starts with Robyn’s guitar playing choppy rhythm in one speaker with Kimberley Rew supporting in the other while Matthew Seligman plays some aggressively hooky bass, over which Hitchcock quietly sings.

Certain Songs #2329: The Soft Boys – “I Wanna Destroy You”

March 29, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Underwater Moonlight
Year: 1980

. . .

I wish I could remember exactly how I came to buy Underwater Moonlight. Or for that matter, when it was. I always like to think that it was sometime in the early 80s, but it might not have been until early 1984, and it might have been spurred by the entry in the Trouser Press Guide to New Wave Records, which called Underwater Moonlight “one of the new wave’s finest half-dozen albums”

In any event, I bought an import version of it at Tower Records and put on track one side one and was instantly blown away, as “I Wanna Destroy You” is one of the greatest album openers ever.

21 Musical Moments To Die For

December 19, 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 fifth in a series. The first one had 25, the second one had 24, the third one had 23, the fourth one had 22.

Also: there is a slight — but not total – Christmas theme going on with this one. More of an arc, really. And a couple of mini-arcs, too!

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.