Friday, 4 October 2013

This Generation Rule The Nation



Big Youth, Sonic Youth...Musical Youth!

Can you hear that? That's the sound of a theme being stretched past breaking point. Snaaaap!

Anyone around my age or older will remember 1982's most unlikely number 1 single, by a bunch of kids from Birmingham. They sold four million copies and were the first black artists played on MTV. The Mighty Diamonds had a song- Pass the Koucthie- about passing the pipe around. Musical Youth altered it slightly to 'dutchie', patois for a cooking pot, and added the line 'How does it feel when you got no food?', turning a celebration of getting stoned into a celebration of getting stoned with social and economic overtones. Good work I feel.

Pass the Dutchie
at

10 comments:

  1. Simon4 October 2013 at 08:05

    I'd have gone Big Youth Big Country Big Muff (pedal). But then I'm just a dirty old man.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Swiss Adam4 October 2013 at 08:50

    Yes, good suggestion - although I don't think I've got any Big Country. Or a big muff.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4 October 2013 at 09:07

    You can never stretch a theme past breaking point. Looking forward to the next in the chain. Isn't there a rather sad story about the members of Musical Youth, with band members dying, living in poverty etc?
    George

    ReplyDelete
  4. Swiss Adam4 October 2013 at 10:34

    Yes, almost included all of that but found it a bit depressing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous4 October 2013 at 11:17

    Shouldn't you be at work?
    George

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous4 October 2013 at 11:21

    You could continue the series with a track by The Youth, a band from the Philipines.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Simon4 October 2013 at 13:56

    There is a band called The Muffs. I saw them live in about 1991 and some wag at the venue had put up a sign when they were playing saying 'no stage diving'.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Swiss Adam4 October 2013 at 16:33

    George- I was at work. Spent my break checking the comments on the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Echorich5 October 2013 at 05:08

    Ok this might be bringing things a bit too full circle here, but Big Muff is the name of a classic fuzzbox used by, yes Sonic Youth, as well as others from David Gilmour, Frank Zappa, Smashing Pumpkins and even Hendrix. It was also the name of a soulful house group from the early 90's who released a Francios K. remixed of My Funny Valentine that got massive club play.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Echorich5 October 2013 at 05:10

    and now I realize that the fuzzbox was what @Simon was alluding too...it's been a long day...

    ReplyDelete