Friday 18 June 2010

PG-13

Moving is probably one of the most stressful things a single person can undertake. I've come to the end of my second academic year and must now find a way to shift all the clothes and books and wires and bed linen and cutlery and old magazines that have somehow gravitated into my possession over the past two years into a house two miles down the road without the aid of a car. Still, if Mama Burns could do it back in 2001 with four kids, an entire household and nine-and-a-half thousand miles between old home and new, I don't think I've much reason to complain.

It'll only be a quick post this week as it turns out that in between nights in a sleeping bag and days fueled by strange amalgamations of the leftover food I'm trying to finish off, I don't have much time to write.

Luckily, my good pal Sam has dropped a sturdy folk rope ladder to rescue us from this stressful abyss: Angus & Julia Stone.

Big Sam and I were discussing the F-word and how its employment in songs can be effective at supplying lyrical oomph. It seems, however, swearing in songs is an art form, and if you want to drop the f-bomb you have to make sure it's going to hit its target. As much as I love Mumford & Sons, when I saw them play live in a friendly music store a few months ago I couldn't help but wince every time the obscene, albeit catchy, chorus came up in Little Lion Man. On the lyrical battlefield, swear words are the hardened commandos you only want to send out on the most difficult and important missions.

Sam and I decided that the Stone siblings do a pretty good job of it in their song Draw Your Swords (below), enough to make you draw your breath and sit up, but not so much that you have to awkwardly fumble with the volume control on your laptop in case a co-worker or parent hears.

Do you know any songs with subtle swears in them? I think we should make a playlist together of all the tunes written by artists who know how to turn a four-letter word into poetry. No Eminem please.

Anyway, it's time I turn my attention back to dust behind cupboards and blu-tac marks on walls. Next time we meet I'll be several time zones away and a much, much more relaxed boy.

Can't ******* wait.

Found at: - FilesTube

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous18.6.10

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I96Vh5NuoJg- this does it tastefully

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  2. Thanks for the mention Luke, and such a cool song too. I'd add that 'Rootless Tree' by Damien Rice is a bit profanity-heavy, while a more discerning usage of such racy language can be found in 'Old Stone' & 'The Captain And The Hourglass' by Laura Marling.

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  3. Eels - It's A Motherfucker

    The piano is so gentle and sweet that you don't even notice the mother f-bomb. At first. Then when you do, you think: perfect.

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  4. We put our heads together over here and N came up with Elliott Smith's Christian Brothers.

    Or is that too obvious?

    I also love Pedro the Lion's Foregone Conclusions

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  5. Your #1 fan24.6.10

    For the record, Mama Burns moved house 20 times in 34 years - mostly as a single mom - 14 of which were international moves. And only survived because she had (still has) the BEST FOUR KIDS IN THE WORLD who never ever complained when their about-to-have-a-breakdown mother forgot to feed them.

    But we all survived. What doesn't kill us...............

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