Tag: Bq
This week's Bear Quartet post comes courtesy of Lisa BK, Jim Kelly's better half:
The Bear Quartet's music and lyrics are so fascinating by themselves - so compelling and intricate and complex - they make me into an airhead. I don't know any of their songs' titles, see - I'm totally bewitched by the art. I usually have to hum or sing the song to Jim so he can identify it for me; failing that, we have to trot out the CDs and have a listen (bummer, I know) in order to find my favorites' names. The other day, he told me I really liked a song called "You built your life upon the ruins of mine", and I had no idea what he was talking about until he sent me the lyrics and I saw the following unforgettable lines:
but one day you'll get married
to someone big and scary
a hairy monster of a man
who'll make sure he's taken care of
'cause of burdens you've been carrying
kill him off if you can
Oh! That one! Yes! The one that our daughter used to walk around singing when she was three! Yes, yes, that one.
What kills me about the above part of this 1997 song (it appears as a b-side on the "His spine" EP) is not the lyrics, though they're certainly moving; no, it's the the slightly somber and conversational tone of the verse, with its acoustic guitar which then slides into a bootstrappy, oh-well chorus, with a strident piano and some handclaps moving things along. By the end of the chorus, though - after he sings kill him off if you can - it's turned into the most wistful thing, all "oooooo" with the background vocal and a little tiny bit of lonely, atmospheric slide guitar buried in the mix at the very end. Oh, the production. Ten straight plays in one sitting? I'm still hearing things I've never heard before. This is a b-side, people.
Bear Quartet, during this period, came completely into their own as a band. Their music and lyrics from the late 1990s possess depth, layers, maturity, great lyrics, and flawless songwriting and musicianship found nowhere else in their oeuvre; when songs like "YBYLUTROM" are castoffs, it's clear that BQ had discovered the Rosetta Stone for creating the kind of music that doesn't betray when it was written. The kind you hum for your husband so he can tell you what it is because, well, you were so taken by everything else going on...
The Bear Quartet - You built your life upon the ruins of mine
This week's Bear Quartet post comes courtesy of Jim Kelly from Parasol, probably the most BQ-obsessed person I know (besides myself, I guess). His pick: "I would be poor". Read on:
It's a simple sentiment: "without you I'd have nothing" and one of the sweetest love songs in existence, within The Bear Quartet canon and without. And lo and behold this sweetly simple ode was penned by "the kid", keyboard player Calle Olsson. "I would be poor" (a "Gay icon" album b-side from the "Load it" EP), is a song of two stripes, split right down the middle. What starts out as a plaintive acoustic ballad backed by gently tinkling ivories (foreshadowing!), with Mattias crooning about sticks and stones and every little thing, about how treasures mean nothing without the love of your life to share it... at the midpoint Calle's piano rears up and the song becomes a sure-fire, immediately smile-inducing, rowdy ragtime shamble, with a singalong gang chorus and a keening keyboard's siren wails hanging like streamers. A paean to someone (or everyone), and ripe for your (potential) special someone's next mixtape.
The Bear Quartet - I would be poor
In the beginning - 1992 or thereabouts - The Bear Quartet wasn't much more than a run-of-the-mill indie act. They were good, but they wore their influences on their sleeve and were barely distinguishable from the rabble. The one thing they did have going for them was location. Aside from the whole big fish/small pond thing, they also had that certain something that I only hear from bands out of Norrland. A certain discordance in the melody, that unmistakable northern darkness in the lyrics. "You hate the sound of sobbing meat / it's in your eyes whenever we meet" is not the sort of couplet you'd hear from Superchunk, but there you go. On the other hand, I think a lot of people around my age probably have a certain nostalgia for this particular sound so I understand why BQ's first album "Penny century" is held in such high esteem. Ah, the glory days of 'college rock', back when being indie actually meant something! Or did it ever? I was too busy trying to be punk.
The Bear Quartet - Headacher
"Born with teeth and a thorn in everybody's side" The desire to be a jerk for the sake of being a jerk. C'mon and fess up, you know you've done it. Face it, some people deserve to be antagonized. In a way, The Bear Quartet has made a career of it. Not just defying expectations, but seeing how far they can go to alienate everyone around them. And that's exactly what this song is about. "No one's gonna run me out but everybody ran me out" Mattias says. If you say "play by my rules or not at all," sometimes that means you won't play and BQ knows it. An acceptable risk? Perhaps if you measure success based on integrity, "but I'm sad to say: your ways will never make your records sell." Many now-heralded bands never survived long enough to garner the respect (and success) they deserve during their lifetime. Maybe BQ will defy convention in this regard too, but I kinda doubt it. They will continue to defy and antagonize. I don't think they can help it - it's who they are and you either love them for it or you don't.
The Bear Quartet - Born with teeth
"Where do you put your hate?" Do you bury it deep inside? Or do you channel it into something else more useful? I know I used to put it into music. Still do sometimes, though now it's often not much more than the physical act of beating the drums. Whatever works, right? As long as I'm not taking it out on the undeserving. "The guilt and anger the boredom that's hard to shake?" How do you not let it consume you? I'm amazed that anyone makes it through highschool (relatively) unscathed. Not that it becomes any easier as you get older, especially since the stakes are often far, far higher. Somehow, we get by.
The Bear Quartet - Where do you put your hate?
A Bear Quartet post in the middle of a Gothenburg spotlight? What to do? Perhaps you were expecting the Bad Cash Quartet cover of "Put me back together"? No such luck! I won't take the easy way out with a mere cover song. Nosiree! Instead of posting some random GBG covering BQ, I bring you BQ live in GBG with the classic tune "Mom and dad". Enjoy!
The Bear Quartet - Mom and dad (Live in GBG)
The Bear Quartet's most recent album "Eternity now" picks up close to where the weirdo electro of "Saturday night" left off and then quickly takes it deeper into darker, far stranger territories. Opening track "Battle hymn" sets the stage. Explosions in the distance? The hiss of heavy machinery? Or is that a gas leak? And then comes the metallic throb, stuttering along at a not-so-steady pace. As for melodies, nothing sounds quite right. The keyboards are reduced to a cavernous howl and the guitars struggle with tuning. The effect however, is complete. Are you prepared for battle?
The Bear Quartet - Battle hymn
I trudged through quite a few of the usual downer Bear Quartet tunes before switching tactics and deciding on "Number" as this week's mp3 post. An initial listen might have you thinking of Faster Pussycat's "Bathroom wall", but that would be off on the wrong path. The sex part is only a backdrop to its true intentions, about living up to your full potential. Listen:
I am entitled to speak my mind about what you do
I'm not patronizing, I am merely endorsing:
do what you want to / not what others expect from you
you are a person / and should demand some respect
Which is to say: I may not approve of your actions and think you could do better, but I admire the way you carry yourself. "You're so much more... you could be anything at all." As for the music, it's classic BQ in full slacker indie mode. Jangly chords over roughshod drums and lots of wanky, tossed-off and out-of-tune leads. Then it breaks at the end and the smooth vocals of Kristofer Åström carry us out. Easily the highlight of the often-rambly "Ny våg".
The Bear Quartet - Number
"His spine", yet another Mattias Alkberg song that hides vicious sentiments in a sweet melody. "Hopelessness, despair / Lack of vision, education sucks / When you're born and torn / Between injustice and bad luck" The strings soar and the knife gets driven deeper into your gut. No optimism, no future. For some people at least: "You know what I need / Rights not charity, hope and equality / Not to be looked down upon / I'm not stupid just constantly reminded otherwise" It's that last bit that really gets me - hear something enough times and there's a chance you might start believing it. Resist! Fight back! Persevere!
The Bear Quartet - His spine
For as angry a song as "Placard" is, it sure doesn't sound like. I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing a bitter fight song with acoustic guitars and sweet, harmonized vocals. I love the juxtaposition, but it always catches me off-guard. "Now is payback time / Get up stand up don't put up with all / Their half truths and their lies" Perhaps I should add more Billy Bragg to my listening diet.
The Bear Quartet - Placard
"Ask me don't axe me" is one of those songs that gives me a Beavis & Butthead level of glee every time I hear the rumble of doublebass on the chorus. And then there's the all-Jejo video that has absolute no bearing at all as to what the song is about. "Yeah, I've got problems up to here, but they're not for you to share." Talking about it just makes it worse. "Ask me don't axe me again, be friends." All I wanted was a Pepsi?
The Bear Quartet - Ask me don't axe me
"Weakling keep blinking" is 3rd-world rock'n'roll. Imagine a band that has never actually heard rock'n'roll, but has only read about it - that's what this sounds like. The basic idioms are there, but there's something not quite right about it. You get the classic bluesy power-chord fifth-to-sixth riffing, the steady handclaps on the twos and fours. These are the basic elements of early rock, but The Bear Quartet has managed to make them sound awkward and perverted. The sound effects give it a totally creepy vibe and the instrument tones are all weird, misguided presets. I'm reminded of Stravinksy's "L'histoire du soldat" which incorporates jazz voicings despite the famed composer having never heard the stuff before. It is suggested that perhaps he had seen it written on paper, but never performed. Once again, you get many of the basic idioms of the genre, but the feel is off. Naturally, The Bear Quartet are well-versed in the ways of rock, but they manage to capture that same strange, uneasy feeling. And then they blow it up.
The Bear Quartet - Weakling keep blinking
This is another one of those songs that makes me giggle like an idiot every time I hear it. Aside from the chorus refrain, there's very little about the lyrics that's distinguishable to my ears without the words laid out right there in front of me. Naturally, being The Bear Quartet and seeing as how the lyrics are from bassist Peter Nuottaniemi, there is poetry behind the gibber-gabber though I find the meaning to be inconsequential to the enjoyment of the song. And there's that ridiculous wanky-blues breakdown, too. Genius? Yes, absolutely. Unnecessary? Sure, but it throws you off just enough so that the final chorus can floor you. I was iffy on BQ's new, more electronic and obtuse direction with the unveiling of single "I have an itch" before the release of "Saturday night", but hearing this song sealed the deal. None can compare! All hail!
Extra-credit for the engineering geeks: check out the waveform for this track. It's ridiculous - nothing but boxes of sound, red-lining at 0db. When I was compiling all the tracks from "Reader's companion volume two" I was amazed at how unmusical it looked in comparison to everything else.
The Bear Quartet - Birds are singing deep within the greenery
"Personality crisis" is my go-to Bear Quartet album for days like today, when I just feel beaten down by the workweek. It's the kind of record I can listen to anytime, even those days I'm so sick of music that nothing seems appealing. Like an old friend, it's always there to prop me up and comfort me. Yep, this is the soundtrack to my Friday night and I'm staying in.
The Bear Quartet - Punks
Once again, I hand things over to Jim Kelly from Parasol for this week's Bear Quartet post:
"Gay icon" was my first introduction to The Bear Quartet. A little slipcase CD with a naked man on the artwork that sat on the shelf for a year before some Swedish pals patiently explained that "The Bear Quartet are the very best band in Sweden, maybe the world." And this coming from members of the band I considered the best rock act in the world at the time. With this recommendation in mind and beginning to appreciate seeing Jari's scrotum on the gatefold (that took some balls!) I began an odyssey of obsession that all started with the opening track "From nowhere" and one of the best lines ever written:
Adam and Eve were the first, unemployed, in love and evicted...
A short, sweet, heartrending piano ballad that touched on the garden of Eden, a dysfunctional family (a common theme in Peter's songs, see "Disappearing act"), and a threesome (I think)... As soon as this poignant and plaintive narrative fades out, the rest of "Gay icon"'s glorious mayhem begins, an often shocking study in contrasts, with the tone strangely set from the start.
The Bear Quartet - From nowhere