Saturday, August 05, 2006

Number 952 - The Undertones


Number 952

Undertones

"Teenage Kicks"

(1979)

.
.
Genre: Punk Pop

How many here know songs from the 60s,70s or 80s that if were released today would sound new and fresh?

Im sure Teenage Kicks would be one of them, this song would fit quite well in the year 2007.

are quite well respected by their peers, for example....

What is a perfect album? One could make an argument that a perfect album is one that sets out a specific set of artistic criteria and then fulfills them flawlessly *. In that respect, and many others, the Undertones' 1979 debut is a perfect album**. The Northern Ireland quintet's brief story is no different than that of literally dozens of other bands to form in the wake of the Clash and, more importantly, the , but the group infuses so much unabashed joy in their two-minute three-chord pop songs, and there's so little pretension in their unapologetically teenage worldview, that even the darker hints of life in songs like the suicide-themed "Jimmy Jimmy" are delivered with a sense of optimism at odds with so many of their contemporaries. There's no fewer than three all-time punk-pop classics here; besides that song, the singles "Teenage Kicks" and "Get Over You" are simple declarations of teenage hormonal lust that somehow manage to be cute instead of Neanderthal; perhaps it's Feargal Sharkey's endearingly adenoidal whine, or the chipper way the O'Neill brothers pitch in on schoolboy harmonies, like a teenage Irish . All of the other 13 songs, even the 47-second blip "Casbah Rock," are nearly to that level of brilliance, with the frenetic "Girls Don't Like It" a particular standout. The Rykodisc CD adds seven demos and single sides, and also includes an entirely different, punkier version of "True Confessions" than the nervous, new wave-influenced throb of the version on the original U.K. vinyl. ~ Stewart Mason
For The Clash see Number 999
For Feargal Sharkey see Number 679
* Does this answer my last post?
** Once again, surely $sales$ make it a so fact if it is "Perfect"
Teenage Kicks is a pearler and still sounds fresh ... 5 stars from me anyway.
What does Rolling Stone think of the Undertones?
Formed in 1976, the Undertones -- Sharkey, O'Neill, guitarist (and John's brother) Damian O'Neill, bassist Mickey Bradley and drummer Billy Doherty -- released their debut EP Teenage Kicks two years later on Belfast record store owner Terry Hooley's Good Vibrations label. The band's frenzied fashion captured the ear of the late British DJ John Peel, who called the album's title track his favorite record of all time. "We didn't think that song was particularly special," O'Neill says. "It's pretty simplistic, but the fact that John Peel picked up on the energy and spontaneity was lovely. Now it's sort of become bigger than what the Undertones are." ~ [Source:Rolling Stone]
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Nope, They hated it) and the Album ranked at Number (Nope, didn't know it was out yet) Ack !
This song has a crowbarred rating of 53.5 out of 108
Interest vid on the making of the song..below
Search Artist here
1-2-3-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Labels:

2 Comments:

Blogger MaybeD said...

What's this doing outside the top 500?

3:06 am  
Blogger crowbarred said...

Yes well er um! Put it it this way it woould be in my personal top 500 songs too, but when i compiled the chart through a mathmatical fomula this was the number it ended up with :)

6:48 pm  

Post a Comment

<< Home