... it'd be on Mute. However, it doesn't exist: it's a pretend society created on the Sunday of a very drunken weekend of birthdays, ending of eras and general carnage. Apologies for the lack of posting over the past few days. Saturday and Sunday were never likely to be days when posts were written, one being given over to recovery and the other devoted to getting back on it all over again.
Today's five are songs by artists on Mute records. Back in the days of The Chart Show, Melody Maker and NME (music newspaper as opposed to slightly indie smash hits) the indie chart was something I pored over. Mysterious band names you never heard mentioned on Radio 1 hinted at some fantastical world of pale boys with guitars, seven inch singles and tiny venues where only the most knowledgable would be allowed entry. Then at number one sat Erasure, the campest man in pop plus his deadpan sidekick, singing pop ditties even your mum knew the words to. I loved them but it didn't make sense: how the fuck were Erasure an indie band? Andy Bell may have been pale but he was no fey indie-boy with his guitar.
The answer lay in the label Erasure were on, Mute. Until EMI acquired the label in 2002 they were one of the biggest indie labels in the UK along with Factory and Rough Trade. According to the label's Wikipedia entry, "Mute never acquired the same glamour as contemporary "indies" Factory Records and Rough Trade Records it far outstripped them in sales terms." That may be the case but when you look at the huge variety of artists the label released records by they deserve massive credit.
Depeche Mode: Just Can't Get Enough
Greatest synth pop hook ever? Probably. Vince Clarke at his most mobile, Dave Gahan's hair at its largest and so many sharp edged cheekbones you could probably make a Saw booby trap from them. Electro-pop at its very best. Oh, and as for the Saturday's version? It may have been for charity but that doesn't mean they have carte blanche to turn into an insipid piece of rusty arse water. Pouty bints.
Goldfrapp: A&E
The first time I heard this it was in the background at someone's house and the melody was what hit me. When I eventually bought the album I listened to the song more intently and I still find it one of the saddest things I've ever heard. Heart-breakingly good.
The Warlocks: Shake The Dope Out
Proving Mute isn't all shiny synth pop, The Warlocks might not be the most original sounding band ever but it takes chutzpah to choose the name the Grateful Dead first plied their trade under. Two drummers and more than one song referencing dope: lovely.
Diamanda Galas: The Litanies of Satan
I'm not even going to attempt to describe this other than to say you will either love it or hate it. Either way, I think you have to respect any artist this committed and any label who will give it a home.
Erasure: Don't Suppose
I couldn't do this without including Erasure but balls to the big hits. This is the B-side to Chains of Love and probably as close as they ever got to country and western. The lyrics are straight from the Nashville book of the broken hearted and the banjo solo doesn't even grate.
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