12 Songs: Weird + Wired
“You don't have to be weird to be wired.
You don't have to be an American to be strange
You don't have to be strange to be strange
You don't have to be weird to be weird.
I'm totally wired.
My heart and I agree.
I'm always worried.”
* * *
“If it’s me and your granny on bongos, it’s the Fall.”
* * *
“Blue cheese contains natural amphetamines. Why are students not informed about this?”
–Mark E. Smith
Photographer unknown
This week’s playlist is, first and foremost, a continuation of last July’s “Weirdo Tunes.” But it’s also an ode Mark E. Smith and the Fall. Because nobody out-weirds the Fall.
What other lyricists can you name that have dissed Dolly Parton and Lord Byron in the same verse? What other bands would rip their name from an Albert Camus novel, or an LP title from Dostoevsky, and despite this, still get labelled “anti-intellectual" by the press?” Did I mention they can barely play their instruments?
In that spirit, here are 12 songs from artists who’ve either taken inspiration, borrowed, or stolen from the Fall, featuring your granny on bongos. — Jackson Todd
