The Enigma of CD87: Part 1

Thank you to everybody who chose a CD number for me to write about from the 174 I have created for our in-car entertainment since Sam was born. I will endeavour to look at each CD in turn, so we’ll start with Martin’s choice of CD87.

I’ve grown to enjoy this feature because it takes me back to the music blogging basics. And the randomness of it means I’ll write about things I might otherwise never get to comment on. I’ll try not to let the comments become too repetitive and find something interesting to say about all the songs that feature.

Let’s see how CD87 kicks off…

Track 1: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Here Comes My Girl

Tom Petty crops up on these CDs with surprising frequency… or perhaps not surprising when you consider his songwriting philosophy of “"Don't bore us - get to the chorus!" Tom’s back catalogue of catchy FM rock songs are perfect for driving because they easily hook into the minds of casual listeners. But there’s a depth to his songwriting too, something that a lot of his peers can’t quite equal.

Here Comes My Girl was from the third Heartbreakers album, 1979’s Damn The Torpedoes, the one that really broke them in the US. Unlike the two singles that preceded it (Don’t Do Me Like That & Refugee), it didn’t crack the Top 40, but I guess it still racked up a lot of airplay at the time and kept the album in the public consciousness.

I like the fact that Petty talks / shouts the verses, then sings the chorus. It feels a bit bluesy in that – though iffypedia suggests he stole the idea from either Blondie or the Shangri-Las.

I didn’t get into Tom Petty until he released his first Greatest Hits compilation in 1993. Since then, he’s rarely been far from my speakers.

Track 2: The Manic Street Preachers - Australia

It might seem hard to believe now, but there was a time when the Manic Street Preachers were the biggest band in Britain. It started in '96 with the Everything Must Go album, which delivered four Top Ten hits in 1996. Australia was the last of these, but the fact that it still got to #7 in December (after 3rd single Kevin Carter only got to #9) shows that they were pretty much unstoppable back then. 

Of course, Oasis would soon eclipse them, but the fact that the Manics returned in '98 and went straight to Number One with the least radio-friendly track on the follow up (If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next) showed they weren't about to be cowed by the Manc knuckle-draggers.

Were the Manics Britpop? They appeared on the same compilations, but always seemed one step removed. They didn't specialise in kitchen sink dramas or 60s throwbacks like most of the Britpop gang. Instead, they combined 6th form poetry with Guns 'n' Roses riffs... doesn't sound too appealing when you put it like that, does it? But they made it work. 

Apparently Australia was written shortly after the disappearance of Richey Edwards. The lyrics express Nicky Wire's desire to get as far away from the pain that came from that as he possibly could. As always, James Dean Bradfield took those words and made them transcendent. That's the power of a good frontman, and James is one of the best.

Track 3: Lloyd Cole - Perfect Skin

Here Comes My Girl was the 12th Tom Petty song to make it onto one of these compilations. Australia was the 8th song by the Manics. By contrast, Perfect Skin was only the third Lloyd Cole song to feature... this despite the fact that Lloyd is one of my absolute favourite artists. I'm not making these CDs for myself though, and I knew Lloyd was going to be a hard sell for an under 10. There's some out there who would accuse Lloyd of writing the same 6th Form poetry the Manics do... but Lloyd is getting consistent As in his Literature mocks, Nicky Wire is happy with the occasional B. In contrast though, Lloyd isn't all about the big singalong pop hooks that the Manics manage to effortlessly weave into their singles, so it's hard to find the tunes for an audience that isn't going to obsess over the lyrics like I will. 

Perfect Skin was the first Lloyd Cole single to make the charts, back in 1984. He never set those charts afire, never got close to the Top Ten, because he never really tried to write a pop song. He was always too cool to bother trying any of that. Those of us who love him, love him for that. And maybe despite that. A reviewer in Record Mirror at the time of Perfect Skin's release wrote, "If Lou Reed had ever sung the lyrics to a spaghetti western, this would have been exactly how he'd have done it." Lloyd, on the other hand, admitted to being obsessed by 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' at the time, and the wordplay clearly owes a sizable debt to Mr. Zimmerman...

I choose my friends only far too well

I'm up on the pavement

They're all down in the cellar

With their government grants and my IQ

They brought me down to size

Academia blues

More of CD87 soon.