BUDDY HOLLY – ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’
The twang of his first No.1 survives in the voice alone, a touch of reassuring gawk in amongst the frothy orchestration, hiccups dropped in like winks to the fans. The suddenly grieving fans ‘ this is the first chart-topper to be driven and haunted by the death of its maker, turning the hit parade into a makeshift memorial, records into private headstones.
But you can’t hear that in the song ‘ I had to consult the Guinness Book to check he’d died before its release ‘ which helps it have a life as more than just a reminder of its singer’s. Holly uses his hick schtick sparingly instead of letting it carry the song, and if the final splat of strings is clumsy the rest of them are delightfully pert, giving the hooks some clarity. Nominally it’s a break-up song, but there’s no poison in the sugar ‘ in fact Buddy can barely hide his glee that his lady’s walked. Cute and witty ‘ there are many worse ways to say goodbye.
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A Paul Anka composition, this, and not only rather better than a lot of Anka’s own records-which crossed the boundary into mawkishness-but also rather better than a lot of the records it inspired. The pizzicato strings which sparked off a trend in popular music arrangements on both sides of the Atlantic also featured on a couple of other Holly tracks, Raining In My Heart and Moondreams, while another from the same session in late ’58, True Love Ways, had a more conventional string arrangement. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore is probably the best, well-recorded and in true stereo (unlike the others, and not the norm in 1958) and in spite of the full-blown orchestral arrangement thoroughly modern. It would be hard to imagine this record in ’55 or ’56, and it (among others) places Holly as a sort of prototype for the 1960s, with his openness to experimentation and new ideas, rather than just a fifties archetype.
I remember the first time I heard Holly’s “Love Is Strange” and thought what the hell is that synthesiser/mellotron doing in there in 1958? Then I learned that Norman Petty overdubbed them in ’68 and that took away a bit of the magic. Still a remarkable record, though, his “Love Is Strange”; it sounds like Joy Division’s “Atmosphere.”
If Anka had done this himself then no doubt there would have been references to “I’m the only important one in this relationship,” “Where’s Joe?” &c.
Sorry Tom, but I think you’ve completely misjudged the meaning of this song. The title phrase is used to signify sulky resignation, not an ‘easy come, easy go’ attitude. Buddy’s seeming insouciance, and the bouncy, bubblegum arrangement, are intended ironically – this is a snide, pissed-off kiss-off to his ex. As the song progresses, the venom beneath the saccharine coating becomes more apparent – Holly delivers the last verse with barely concealed bitterness (“Well you go your way and I’ll go mine….and you won’t matter anymore”). In this light, the track can be viewed as an early protoype for Elvis Costello’s “Alison” (perhaps the spectacles weren’t the only influence?)
Interesting – thanks Paulito, I’ll go back to this one.
DESERT ISLAND DISCS WATCH:
Patricia Hayes, actress(1975)
Alan Parker, film director(1986)
Greg Dyke, Former Director-General of the BBC (2007).