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 Everett True

Song of the day – 497: Shonen Knife

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shonen_knife

Bit late here, but this new Shonen Knife album makes me feel warm and fuzzy and happy all over.

I do a Google Search for “Shonen Knife” “Everett True”, and 14,600 results show up. This is the most pertinent one:

Oh man. I never realised. I’m not sure how I never realised. Maybe I did realise, but I plumb forgot. After all, when I first travelled out to Olympia in ’89 I’m fairly sure that I purchased every cassette Calvin Johnson had then released on his K label (privilege of being a staff writer, and having expenses) – but maybe he’d sold out of his debut release, Shonen Knife’s Burning Farm. Oh maybe I plumb forgot. But I’m amazed and astonished if I did forget, because the past 24 hours I’ve just been rediscovering Shonen Knife’s first two albums – 1982′s Minna Tanoshiku and 1983′s Burning Farm – and my ears have been burning up in part shame, part delight. Because, however much I loved and cherished the Knife by the time the 90s came along… and I did, trust me I did, the day they all came up to the Melody Maker offices to be interviewed by me was notable indeed, they were all shy giggles and hiding their faces behind the hands, I was reduced to the role of a “screaming girl at a Beatles concert”, as Kurt put it so memorably… I am simply aghast at how even more charming and ramshackle and human and melodic and Ramones-like and wonderful their early 80s stuff is, particularly Burning Farm. And the song I’m about to link you too, ‘One Day Of The Factory’, was even on Sub Pop 100 – so clearly I was aware of it. Goddamn but it’s genius.

Song of the Day 131: Shonen Knife

That blog entry refers to an early song. It is so fine. So goddamn fine. But, you know… WWCMS. What would Craig Montgomery say? I know what he’d say. And he’s right.

This new song is called ‘Move On’, and it’s from the 2012 album Pop Tune. I was going to link you to the studio recording, but the sound quality on this live recording is extraordinary: so diffused and sounding like it’s come down from a faded memory of a valve transistor radio in the 60s.

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