— Johnny Black
"The The were an act that I had occasional encounters with over more than a decade but who I could never conjure up much enthusiasm for, which also goes for their name."
As I believe I've discussed previously (I can't be bothered to check), Smash Hits really used to knock Prefab Sprout for their useless name. Maybe I'm just used to it or perhaps it's the fact that I love virtually everything that Paddy McAloon had a hand in but it has never bothered me. What does it mean? Who the hell knows and who cares! I spent a great deal of time trying to think up a better name for this blog than simply VER HITS but I eventually gave up and settled for what had been its working title.
It's easy to forgive a band you genuinely love for having a silly name (and, let's face it, they're all rather stupid; the only group name I care for anymore is Strawberry Switchblade) but it's a whole other matter when you're indifferent towards them or worse. In a sense, 'The The' is the opposite of something like 'Prefab Sprout': rather than sounding a bit naff a first that you eventually just get used to, it seems clever to begin with only to become tired rather quickly. It's easy to imagine Matt Johnson along with whoever happened to be with him at this early stage drunkenly jotting down possible band names only to burst out in hysterics when someone suggested 'The The' — and they liked it enough in the cold light of the next morning to stick with it. Not unlike The Be-Sharps only not as clever — nor as funny.
"All that said, what am I to make of "Uncertain Smile"? Well, I will acknowledge that it would be my choice of SOTF as well."
Did I really like it this much? "A lovely, floating melody"? "An intriguing lyric which manages to read rather well as poetry?" (Laying it on a little think, aren't I?) I clearly enjoyed it during the time I worked on the original blog post but I quickly forgot all about it. 1982 had some stellar Singles of the Fortnight — "Love Plus One", "Party Fears Two", "View from a Bridge", "Faithless", "Man Out of Time", "Pass the Dutchie" — which may explain why a record that I had some fondness for seemed to slip through the cracks. Listening to it now, I still like it but I can't say I'm as willing to gush all over it as I had been.
Context could be a key as to why it stood out at the time. I had long grown weary of all that white boy funk that had been all over the place in early eighties' British music so anything that provided some sort of alternative was welcome. Now, I'm more willing to take all those UK groups who were trying to be just like Chic as they provide relief from over-serious American R&B acts that dominated the early nineties. As long as you're not whatever it is I'm sick to death of then you're in my good books. It is at this stage I remind myself that The The weren't earnest, keeping-it-real Romeos and admit that they did have that going for them.
"Perhaps it's time I filled in the gaps, not just to see if Matt Johnson was up to churning out more equally formidable gems but also if I can catch where it all began to go south."
It's been just under five years since the last time I blogged about this record and the gaps remain unfilled. The The have been covered in this space twice and both times I've had praise for what they had to offer, even if my feelings towards 1986's "Heartland" are somewhat more mixed. Still, they were a band I never thought much of whose earlier efforts impressed me though not enough to get me to investigate "their" output further over the last half-decade. In truth, the thought hadn't crossed my mind ever since blogging about how I really ought to give them more of my time. There's plenty of time for me to explore and, indeed, lots of time left to put off said exploration. Till we meet again, The — or not.
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Kid Creole & The Coconuts: "Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy"
"Although certainly a marked improvement over last fortnight's glum crop of singles, the likes of Ultravox's "Reap the Wild Wind" and The Pretenders' "Back on the Chain Gang" are pleasantly unremarkable efforts but nowhere close to this good."
I clearly didn't spend a great deal of time considering the virtues of every new release in this issue. I had started this blog intending to listen at least once to everything that was reviewed but it was something I abandoned almost immediately. (I'm pretty sure I managed to give everything a go from the first two singles reviews covered only to give up because (a) it was pointless and (b) I couldn't be arsed) Take this fortnight. While certainly there are a fair number of "pleasantly unremarkable" newbies, for whatever reason I let this memorable number two hit get away from me. (I blame it being buried at the bottom of the right-hand side of the page rather than my carelessness) A little August Darnell goes a long way but this never hurt his many quite brilliant singles and "Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy" is probably his finest since "Cherchez la femme". Sultry, cool, sleazy and funny. Deserves to have been covered by people who completely miss the song's point — and I say that as someone who isn't sure of it's point either. A good deal superior to "Uncertain Smile" so pay no attention to my nonsense from way back when.
(Click here to see my original review)
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