Ci si chiede a volte da cosa dipende il successo, non parlo di quello proposto o supposto dalle pubblicità della TV, ma di quello planetario, di quando sei un buon musicista, o un gruppo di buoni musicisti, del tipo ottima canzone per intenderci.
Ecco ascoltando questi Hefner, di cui ignoravo l'esistenza, ti chiedi "ma com'è che li conosce così poca gente?" Eppure sono cento volte più bravi dei vari Maroon 5 e altri gruppi di questo tipo che ci tormentano con i loro ritornelli. Scaricai il video di "Good Fruit", in cui ci sono dapprima loro seduti su un divano, poi qualcuno mette il cd del pezzo e cominciano a ballare con un fare da ballo di gruppo come posso farlo io alzando a malapena una gamba ma "sentendo" moltissimo la musica, che scorre orecchiabilissima e ti si pianta nella testa. Questo disco è semplicemente del buon rock da poter sentire anche in compagnia senza che qualcuno dica: abbassa il volume, ottima colonna sonora di strade per tornare dal mare al tramonto, sapendo che ti attende una bella serata, canticchiando senza aver troppa voglia di farsi grandi domande sulla vita. Per quanto loro se ne facciano, anche con una certa dose di cinismo: "The Day That Thatcher Dies" è uno dei titoli.
Il disco è del 2000, ma mantiene certamente una gran freschezza sonora (non è di quelli che scadono), perché è proprio questo, un disco fresco e senza particolari pretese di diventare un riferimento per alcunché. Ve lo consiglio anche per battere il ritmo mentre cucinate, facendo dei piccoli balletti mentre saltate della pasta in padella. Per chi vuole un riferimento, del tipo "a scatola vuota compro solo... ", posso dirvi che ricordano un po' Lloyd Cole And The Commotions vent'anni dopo e quindi anche gli Orange Juice di "Lean Period", grande disco della mia adolescenza, sempre ovviamente vent'anni dopo, un po' meno malinconici e più politici nei testi. Molto British.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 We Love the City (05:00)
This is London, not Antarctica
So why don't the tubes run all night?
You are my girlfriend, not Molly Ringwald
So why won't you stay here tonight?
This is sixth form poetry, not Keats or Yeats
And now we find the path that we both hate
We love the city because it lets us down
We love the city, not the suburbs that surround
We love all the dirty things
that lead us to think
that maybe true love could be found
We love the city because it's how we live
We love the city 'cause it never loves us back
We love it all because sometimes
even though it's hard to find
It contains all the virtues we lack
I am intrigued, not merely curious
as to why it takes so long to change your mind
I am competent, not merely adequate
It's impossible for me to be unkind
This is embarrassing, not merely awkward
and I have ignored much greater feelings
We love the city because it lets us down
We love the city, not the suburbs that surround
We love all the dirty things that lead us to think
that maybe true love could be found
We love the city because it's how we live
We love the city 'cause it never loves us back
We love it all because sometimes
even though it's hard to find
It contains all the values we lack
We can hold those aspirations down
with our love and half-hearted frowns
But fear alone will never bring us down
That can only happen in the small towns
And if you don't love me now
Oh, if you don't love me now
Oh, if you don't love me
then you can't have me
then you can't have me now
And if you don't love me now
Oh, if you don't love me now
Oh, if you don't love me
then you can't have me
then you can't have me now
02 The Greedy Ugly People (04:03)
I had her on the carpet, twistin' and squirmin' about
Trying to guess what she needs
Trying to guess what the fuss was about
She had a conscience that surely did need prickin'
I was there for the pickin'
As she would soon find out
The greedy ugly people are not like us
They don't feel the love
that she and I would die without
The greedy ugly people are not like us
They don't feel the love
that she and I would die without
I had her on a chair in the middle of the living room
And then we went to the bedroom
where we were makin' spoons
When we went out she started clickin' her heels
She started stickin' her chest out
'Cause she was starting to feel
The greedy ugly people are not like us
They don't feel the love
that she and I would die without
The greedy ugly people are not like us
They don't feel the love
that she and I would die without
Love don't stop no war
don't stop no cancer
it stops my heart...
07 The Greater London Radio (04:36)
It's a red, red glow above the skyline
Feel the city twitch, feel the city wake
It's a black, black sky by six p.m.
Makes me feel inspired, makes me feel alone
I'm coming home to you
I'm coming home to you
Greater London Radio tonight
Says no matter what I do
I can't speak my love to you
Traffic's caused a road-block in my heart
Hold on my sweetheart
Hold on my sweetheart
I'm going to mend my wicked ways
Now I've lost my friends I have something to say
The city has no faith if we've no faith in the city
But this is my home, this is where I want to be
And on the radio I hear the evening news
But all I think of is you
I used to think it was our politics, not how we treat people
that tells us who we are
I was wrong
Can't make it okay
Can't make it okay
Greater London Radio tonight
Says no matter what I do
I can't speak my love to you
Traffic's caused a road-block in my heart
Hold on my sweetheart
Hold on my sweetheart
I'm going to mend my wicked ways
Now I've lost my friends I have something to say
The city has no faith if there's no faith in the city
But this is my home, this is where I want to be
Greater London Radio tonight
Says no matter what I do
I can't speak my love to you
Traffic's caused a road-block in my heart
Hold on my sweetheart
Hold on my sweetheart...
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