6.5/10
I planned to review grae by Moses Sumney tonight -- but after listening to part 1 of that album, I think it need more time than I can give it tonight to give a proper review up (and so far it's deserving of a proper review).
So, instead, I went to the trusty youtube-generated playlist based on Andrew Weatherall's mix of MBV's 'Soon' ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOBn50HHbRs ) -- and scrolled down to find song that said ft. kate bush, and it had to be the choice for the night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixMWhpg0iXU
this song is pretty wacky. it starts out with a front 242-sounding repetition (or -- wait, no, Skate! Or Die! repetition) of 'UTAH SAINTS! U - U - UTAH SAINTS!' - and some guitar that could be featured in the mortal soundtrack theme, and turns toward the feminine with a vocal sample from Kate Bush's 'Cloudbusting' and a flambouyant house bassline, with some arpeggios thrown in -- and then back to the UTAH SAINTS!
The flourishes that build the hodgepodge all feel pretty 90s, but the piano bassline is squarely house, and I could see this working as a bit of a cheeky curveball in a set, because it balances those elements enough to pass, but not enough to get by without a wry grin. And a lot of people, now, would gush to hear kate bush on the dancefloor i think.
On the darkside, however, I did come across a very terrible video for the 2008 re-release / re-master of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m97WlpsuU74&t
Very 2000s fist pumping remaster. That said, any time I see aged nostalgia bait like this 2008 music video & re-release--- its just gets me in a cringe spot. There is a lot more to write about that. The overlapping windows of what period gets to "come back" for a nostalgic nod like this, and what happens when the window during which that "come back" is happening goes on too long, or come up multiple times. It's like -- I am watching a video that is 12 years old, that is celebrating another 15 years prior. But I am not celebrating what is 12 years old; I am still celebrating what is in total 27 years old. And, that can be uncomfortable, because it implies some sort of arrested cultural development. And, it is strange to see how even the approach to nostalgia feels very 2000s vs 2020s - example, the fake interview, and 'MC Hammer" coming in to make this guy sign away the rights to The Running Man dance is p cringe, because it feels dated, but not in the way that the video is trying to get at; it's dated based on its actual time period. And that weirds me out! This is very much like the Drab Majesty cover of No Rain, except Drab Majesty song came out now. If I were listening to it in 15 years, and the 80s nostalgia boner is still happening, then that is where this discomfort might come into play.
[[[Then again - the same optimism i have listening to the track is for the excitement i had hearing Mouthfeel play the andrew weatherall cover of MBV out (the same month of weatherall's death); or hearing "Owner of a Lonely Heart" close out Excursions Detroit in ...2018? It feels nice to have something that is so familiar in a new context.
Maybe it's the case that - It is exciting when a track or a a set can successfully integrate a nod tom a disparate but also loved genres / artist. But, when the integration goes into something that actually feels more dated than what is sampled, it feels slimey. Kate Bush holds up much better than the style of music that she was brought into for this 2008 re-release, just like the 1993 version of this song will definitely hold up better than this 2008 re-release Further, thinkig of the origial combination:.utah saints and kate bush were.roughly of the same time, they are speaking the same language, so this isn't driven by the desire to repackage the past, really. It's more adjacent. [EDIT: It looks like the video was from 2008, but was just posted on YouTube in April 2020? Many comments about how they had been looking for this video. So, then I would post: is the fact that the video for the 93 version was in my andrew weatherall / MBV algo playlist due to the fact that this 2008's video 2020 release led to a resurgence in popularity for the 93 video? Which way is up??]
I am not at all accurately or clearly representing what bothers me about .. dated nods to timeless eras or artists.
