{"id":991,"date":"2007-11-14T23:18:07","date_gmt":"2007-11-15T04:18:07","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2007-11-14T23:18:07","modified_gmt":"2007-11-14T23:18:07","slug":"oats-vs-the-libertines-round-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oats-vs-the-libertines-round-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Oats vs The Libertines, Round Two"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xh96kcUmJwM?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nHere are the results of my second listen through <i>The Best of The Libertines<\/i>. On one hand, I feel semi-qualified to take on this task, as I think I\u2019m one of the bigger Anglophiles on RTH. On the other hand, my favorite British bands tend to be bookish, socially awkward smart-asses (I will not use the word \u201carses.\u201d There are, after all, limits), such as <strong>The Kinks<\/strong> and <strong>Pulp<\/strong>. I\u2019m not sure The Libertines fit in that category, at least not in the terms under which <strong>Townsman Kpdexter<\/strong> defined them. Let\u2019s do this.<\/p>\n<p><b>Up the Bracket:<\/b> Opens with a garbled yell (shades of \u201cThe Right Profile\u201d) which is at least attention-grabbing. Then the song starts with a sort of stiff, martial punk rhythm. Now I know where the <strong>Arctic Monkeys<\/strong> got it from. I can imagine this song serving as an awesome encore. Honestly, it\u2019s a good song with a decent hook. I can see this band having a devoted fan base, but I don\u2019t see how they\u2019re worthy of any real appreciation by an outsider like myself. What\u2019s here that I can\u2019t get from <strong>The Clash<\/strong> or <strong>Buzzcocks<\/strong> &#8212; or <strong>Art Brut<\/strong>, for that matter? Besides the stupid junkie mythology shit, I mean.<\/p>\n<p><b>Time for Heroes:<\/b> Without paying close attention, I can tell the lyrics are worthwhile, and they\u2019re sung with more personality than the Arctic Monkeys.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><big>Are we on the second album now, is that why everything is now suddenly vaguely muted and pensive?<\/big><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Mayday:<\/b> More stiff, frantic punk. It\u2019s getting old. Now I picture myself seeing this song performed live while everyone around me goes nuts. A lot of elbows in my face \u2013 not fun. Hey, the song is 1:04. That\u2019s kinda neat.<\/p>\n<p><b>Don\u2019t Look Back Into the Sun:<\/b> I realize this is a <em>Best of&#8230;<\/em> album, but did this band have more than one setting? I can see why <strong>BigSteve<\/strong> wondered how much credit for the band\u2019s merits should go to the producer. This really wants to be on the first Clash album.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tell the King:<\/b> A slightly more acoustic number. Drummer plays with brushes and there\u2019s a little bit of Kinks-like melancholy here. It\u2019s nice, it\u2019s good \u2013 don\u2019t get me wrong, kpdexter \u2013 but it just seems awfully inessential to me.<\/p>\n<p><b>What Katie Did:<\/b> Nice opening riff, but these doo-wop harmonies are kinda dopey. Are we on the second album now, is that why everything is now suddenly vaguely muted and pensive? Rhyming \u201cgirl\u201d with \u201cworld\u201d \u2013 a bit of a buzzkill. This song wears out its welcome.<\/p>\n<p><b>Can\u2019t Stand Me Now:<\/b> Another very Clash-like song, especially the melodic side that The Libertines\u2019 producer brought to that band. I like this one. I\u2019m a sucker for <em>bap-bap-bap<\/em> rhythms played by snare drums and\/or handclaps.<\/p>\n<p><b>What a Waster:<\/b>&#8211; Oh the irony! Or not! This song feels rushed, in a whole number of ways. Not least similar to <strong>Saturnismine<\/strong>\u2019s issue with latter-day <strong>Ted Leo<\/strong>. The need for bathroom breaks continues to plague neo-punk heroes!<\/p>\n<p><b>The Delaney Boys:<\/b> Didn\u2019t this song come on earlier on the album?<\/p>\n<p><b>In the Band:<\/b> <em>Zzzzzz.<\/em> Oh wait, there\u2019s a neat hook in the chorus. But do we need another song about \u201cthe boys in the band?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Death On the Stairs:<\/b>: Nice hooks and all. It\u2019s got a little bit of that \u201cAmerican Girl\u201d\/\u201dLast Night\u201d rhythm. Again, though, I feel like I heard this earlier.<\/p>\n<p><b>I Get Along:<\/b> Must continue. Must get through pro forma punk anthems.<\/p>\n<p><b>What Became of the Likely Lads:<\/b> Whatever, guys!<\/p>\n<p>So. Decent band. Some good tunes here. Great punk production. But I find they\u2019re impalpable in album-length form. This thing ran out of steam, which is not something greatest-hits albums should do, you\u2019d think. I can\u2019t see this album passing <strong>Andyr<\/strong>\u2019s exacting, greatest-hits standards.<\/p>\n<p>So, not only do I prefer the 10 bands I listed, I prefer just about every other British band on my <strong>iPod<\/strong>. Of course, it is possible that I hate fun, rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, etc. I am, after all, a bookish, socially awkward smart-ass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the results of my second listen through The Best of The Libertines. On one hand, I feel semi-qualified to take on this task, as I think I\u2019m one of the bigger Anglophiles on RTH. On the other hand, my favorite British bands tend to be bookish, socially awkward smart-asses (I will not use <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oats-vs-the-libertines-round-two\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}