Saturday 14 July 2018

This Bitter Lesson ‎– "Value Of Defiance" (96 Tapes ‎– 96#1) 1982


Wouldn't you have loved to know these geezers when you were 18? What a barrel of laughs they must have been? My mate's an 'Anarcho-Poet' you could proudly boast......or alternatively keep that one very quiet.
Where I live in France, its quiet common to meet someone at soirees of all social groups who declare themselves a 'Poet', or a 'Philosopher', when you know they really work on the check-out at the Super-U (French supermarket chain), 'Je suis une Artiste' they announce, and all the french in the room go glassy eyed in admiration.
In the UK, its, 'I'm an Actor', or yeah cool, i'm a DJ, or i'm in a Band......ain't we fucking all......but you don't do it for a living do you? Its a Hobby......if they actually do anything at all, and its not a pure fantasy.
"I'm writing a Novel' the bloke with a beard says with a thinly disguised look of disdain......."Yup, neither am I!?" one replies.
As odius and revealing as Pretentiousness is, you just gotta love it as well. It provides endless hours of entertainment, listening or watching someone denying that they are just 'Ordinary' ,with nothing in particular to offer the world. 
As Claire recites a soliloquy about people in a night club having fun instead of thinking about how nasty the world is outside......."Poison gas flows as she pulls another pint.Yes, this is the laughing time" she  informs us.....but we already know it is Claire!
There was always a 'poet' on the bill back in the eighties, or a 'Ranter', as they renamed themselves, to avoid the 'Poet' tag. Some smartarse rhyming couplets of the most uninspired and obvious politics, like an unwashed Pam Ayres on PlaySchool, was not what one wanted to endure after paying a quid fifty to see some anarcho-punk band telling us the exact same shite, but with over-distorted guitars instead of the restless murmuring of the 27 punters and a dog that made up the 'crowd'.......but, i'd kinda want to see one of them again?....what special kind of madness is this?
Yes, I love this pretentious pile of crap immensely.Its so bad, its kinda good. This is right up there with Jimmy Pursey (late of proto-Oi band Sham 69) doing contemporary dance on the artsy-fartsy  'Riverside' programme on BBC2 in the early eighties....check that out HERE!
I love the track titles too......"In The Eyes Of A child"!!!....you' couldn't make it up could you?.......haha....I just saw "Living.....?"....its der question mark what done it!LOL!

Tracklist:

Side One
1 In The Eyes Of A Child
2 Untitled
3 Japanese Girl
4 Ode To A Trendy Nite Club 


Side Two
5 Your Legal Slaughter
6 Poison Policy
7 Living...?


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm just a sad clown.

Anonymous said...

This is a Gem and their sound is just awesome! Thanks friend!