Comments on: THE FT TOP 100 TRACKS OF ALL TIME No. 33: Echo and the Bunnymen – The Cutter http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/ Lollards in the high church of low culture Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:12:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-598006 a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:49:38 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-598006 monsoon is 1981/2, so that's earlier than this -- sheila chandra's first solo LPs are 1984: i gave her second LP an excellent review in nme, so i guess the answer to the second question's yes! their label was called IndiPop monsoon is 1981/2, so that’s earlier than this — sheila chandra’s first solo LPs are 1984: i gave her second LP an excellent review in nme, so i guess the answer to the second question’s yes! their label was called IndiPop

]]> By: Billy Smart http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597986 Billy Smart Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:55:19 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597986 Re: Indian instrumentation: Which came first - this, or Monsoon's 'Ever So Lonely'? They had some critical credibility at the time, didn't they (tho' probably not in rockist circles) Re: Indian instrumentation: Which came first – this, or Monsoon’s ‘Ever So Lonely’? They had some critical credibility at the time, didn’t they (tho’ probably not in rockist circles)

]]> By: a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597954 a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:29:21 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597954 well, i would certainly argue -- to take three hard-to-follow fellows from successive decades -- that jon anderson's, ian mcculloch's and kurt cobain's obscurity are each shaped by different contexts and driven by different motives, even if they're all somewhat tolerated under the same apparent post-dylan umbrella; what they share is (to me) less interesting than where they differ, which is their relationship to rock as a utopian project as it manifests in those different decades well, i would certainly argue — to take three hard-to-follow fellows from successive decades — that jon anderson’s, ian mcculloch’s and kurt cobain’s obscurity are each shaped by different contexts and driven by different motives, even if they’re all somewhat tolerated under the same apparent post-dylan umbrella; what they share is (to me) less interesting than where they differ, which is their relationship to rock as a utopian project as it manifests in those different decades

]]> By: Jack Fear http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597948 Jack Fear Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:10:05 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597948 <i>a broader (and quite time-specific) context of what’s good and what’s bad about easily read meaning</i> I think I get what you're on about here, but how time-specific is it really? I would venture that a certain degree of obscurity has been held up as a virtue in post-Dylan rock generally... a broader (and quite time-specific) context of what’s good and what’s bad about easily read meaning

I think I get what you’re on about here, but how time-specific is it really? I would venture that a certain degree of obscurity has been held up as a virtue in post-Dylan rock generally…

]]> By: ace inhibitor http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597388 ace inhibitor Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:00:49 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597388 It has that great,great chord change - I'm not muso enough to be certain of this but it sounds to me like the 1st two verses sit on extended variations of the same minor 7th chord, before bursting into major 3-chord brassy sunshine on the is-this-a-chorus-or-a-bridge bit, all the more glorious for being deferred for so long, like Dancing in the Street. It has that great,great chord change – I’m not muso enough to be certain of this but it sounds to me like the 1st two verses sit on extended variations of the same minor 7th chord, before bursting into major 3-chord brassy sunshine on the is-this-a-chorus-or-a-bridge bit, all the more glorious for being deferred for so long, like Dancing in the Street.

]]> By: a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597349 a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:12:39 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597349 haha that was me: spare us the cut-and-paster :/ haha that was me: spare us the cut-and-paster :/

]]> By: DOESN'T http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597348 DOESN'T Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:10:20 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597348 the only one i am fairly sure it DOESN'T mean is the pig one! (which i only discovered while looking up meanings of "cutter") jack's "invites even as it eludes" is pretty much right, but i think this deliberate little dance fits within a broader (and quite time-specific) context of what's good and what's bad about easily read meaning the only one i am fairly sure it DOESN’T mean is the pig one! (which i only discovered while looking up meanings of “cutter”)

jack’s “invites even as it eludes” is pretty much right, but i think this deliberate little dance fits within a broader (and quite time-specific) context of what’s good and what’s bad about easily read meaning

]]> By: Alan http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597345 Alan Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:00:51 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597345 i always thought it was about making shaped biscuits i always thought it was about making shaped biscuits

]]> By: Jack Fear http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597344 Jack Fear Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:56:40 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597344 Point taken about the self-harm angle — it's likely a dead end, interpretationwise. But it is so terribly tempting, I think, because the language of the lyric — filled with images of frustration, failed self-discipline, and feelings of shame and worthlessness - maps onto the psychology of the self-injury phenomenon at interesting angles. As appalling as it is to imagine a Bunnymen song as actually being "about" anything (as if McCullough were Nicky Wire or somesuch), "The Cutter" invites interpretation even as it eludes it. And there's always morbid fun in this sort of diagnosis-after-the-fact; witness the frenzy of close re-readings in the pop press whenever a musician commits suicide, looking for "clues" in the lyrics that might have "warned" us of that fragile "state of mind." Scare-quotes a go-go, today. Point taken about the self-harm angle — it’s likely a dead end, interpretationwise. But it is so terribly tempting, I think, because the language of the lyric — filled with images of frustration, failed self-discipline, and feelings of shame and worthlessness – maps onto the psychology of the self-injury phenomenon at interesting angles. As appalling as it is to imagine a Bunnymen song as actually being “about” anything (as if McCullough were Nicky Wire or somesuch), “The Cutter” invites interpretation even as it eludes it. And there’s always morbid fun in this sort of diagnosis-after-the-fact; witness the frenzy of close re-readings in the pop press whenever a musician commits suicide, looking for “clues” in the lyrics that might have “warned” us of that fragile “state of mind.”

Scare-quotes a go-go, today.

]]> By: byebyepride http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/03/the-ft-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-33-echo-and-the-bunnymen-the-cutter/#comment-597289 byebyepride Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:00:19 +0000 http://freakytrigger.co.uk/?p=13449#comment-597289 I'm pretty sure I've always assumed that the title was a nautical reference, but reading this I also realise that for about fifteen years I've had the song confused in my head with 'The Cutter and the Clan' which is a Runrig album title. I’m pretty sure I’ve always assumed that the title was a nautical reference, but reading this I also realise that for about fifteen years I’ve had the song confused in my head with ‘The Cutter and the Clan’ which is a Runrig album title.

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