SOUNDTRACK: THE FEELIES-Only Life (1988).
The Feelies were based out of Haledon, NJ, a town not more than fifteen minutes from my house. I’ve always felt this weird association to them. One day a coworker drove me past one of the band members’ houses when I worked in North Haledon (in retrospect this was probably bullshit).
It was this album that introduced me to them. Prior to the internet, it wasn’t always easy to find out how many albums a band had out, so I assumed this was their first. I’d assumed that we were close in age and that I could have run into them at any local club or hangout. Well, it turned out that this was their third and their first came out in 1980. When I was 11. So, clearly there is absolutely no way we were peers.
Somehow, when I first heard The Feelies, I had not been exposed to The Velvet Underground (what?). So, when I heard them, it didn’t occur to me to say, “Hey that guy sounds just like Lou Reed.” And he does. Almost uncannily so on “It’s Only Life”.
But hey, get past that and you’ve got a really great jangly alterna-pop record from the late 80s. While R.E.M. is sort of the master of the jangly pop song, there’s no real comparison here (okay, actually “Deep Fascination” could be mistaken for R.E.M. until the vocals kick in). The biggest difference is tempo. The Feelies just kind of meander along at a calm and relaxed pace. Not slow enough to be, god forbid, dull, but not exactly peppy either.
One thing I like about the band is that the bass and drums are always out in front. The bass, in particular seems to really propel the songs (especially “Too Much”) which provides a great rhythmic feels and allows the guitars ample room to roam.
And the guitars do roam. There are two guitars and they share soloing duties. This soloing bit is rather a departure for college radio bands in the late 80s. So, it definitely set them apart (as did the fact that there are like 30 words in each song).
The gorgeously simple yet very compelling “Higher Ground” is certainly a high point for the disc. As is their cover of the Velvet’s “What Goes On.”
When I was a DJ in college, I randomly selected “Away” to play during a show (the first Feelies song I’d heard). Even after twenty-one years it’s still as fresh and interesting. It’s also rather different from the rest of the album. It’s uptempo for one thing. But it also starts with a cool slow guitar opening. The song builds faster and faster and has a great sing along chorus. The drums also sound wonderfully abrasive. It’s really a great song and a great introduction to an underappreciated band.
[READ: November 22, 2009] Intermere
Following hot on the heels of Symzonia, I received Intermere through Inter Library Loan. Intermere is even shorter (at 150 pages)!
What I liked about the story is that it removes all pretense as to the setting up of and the getting to the inner earth location. As the story opens, our narrator, Giles Anderton, is pretty much immediately in massive trouble. The boat he is on is about to sink and he is soon plunged headlong into the ocean. (What an exciting opening!)
When he wakes up a short time later, he is on an island and is warmly greeted by a group of very short but very beautiful (ie, very pale) people. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 