Ineptitude Abounds

The other day I came across two articles both giving a brief rundown of the history of Beat Happening. One was a wonderful, and at the same time critical, analysis of the band, its songs, albums, influence and infamy, the other was an odd and rather deluded rundown of the band's recorded output. One was published in a webzine focussing, generally, on the wierder sides of musics out there, the other was in the corner of the back pages of Sydney's main club and DJ streetpress. The link to the Perfect Sound Forever article is here:http://www.furious.com/Perfect/beathappening.html. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the latter article. A damn shame considering how strange its appearnce in such a publication is and was.

You can read the wonderful history of the gloriously inept and underconfident band wherever and however you wish but I don't think you'd ever be able to say that they were talented musicians or fine singers. They did craft wonderfully basic, naive pop songs holding true to themes of teenage love and all things romantic and bookish. But you'd never be able to accuse them spending too much practising together or (gasp!) learning their instruments.

Which is what the writer in 3d World was attempting to convey: that Beat Happening were a band of incredibly talented individuals who played and sang with wonderful voices and an inbuilt sense of musicianship. The best thing about the article was that I think the dude had actually listened to the albums he was describing. And yet he went on to describe what he had heard as collection of finely wrought and deftly performed indie tunes that everyone needs to seek and fall in love with.

Now, don't let me disuade you. I fucken love Beat Happening. Memories of lying in bed wailing out of tune with Calvin with my girlfriend of the time, dancing and singing around her bedroom during a Melbourne summer was wonderful. My favourite songs of theirs will always remind me of that. The band and their music should be sought and savoured but to deny them their wonderful and insatiable INABILITY would be to miss most of what their doing.

The PSF article says most of what needs to be said about the challenging nature of such a band but I thought it so strange to - in the same day - stumble across two mostly opposing articles. Apparently the article in 3d World was an attempt by someone in the magazine to sell something that the readers might not seek out intially - a grouping of underground guitar bands that the kids are getting into but have missed the dance world slightly. I'm gonna make sure I keep up with his articles and whinge about them to you here later.