Wednesday, October 26, 2011

"Another Girl, Another Planet"

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (1978)

Another one hit wonder by a British band. At least this one is a great song.



Really good Punk/New Wave song. 3 Minutes long, perfect length. Rhythm guitar starts us off with a simple progression, hidden in the back of the mix. When the bass guitar starts in playing a few notes to bottom out the chords, the rhythm guitar adds a little bit of complexity in the strumming. The drums sneak up on you, kind of a rolling sound, with heavy bass drum and tom. By the time all the instruments are in we are almost 30 seconds into this short track and we've got a serious dance-able pop sound. The way the guitars interact around :40 makes it clear that this is not a polished band with the backing of millions of dollars, this is a couple of lads with a song and some guitars, and it may not be perfect, but you love it.

The vocals come in just before the first minute. He's not a professional either. His voice is nasal and his "flow" is off. the lyrics seem to just sort show up on the track when he feels like, rather than rhythmically along with the melody. He's behind the beat, then he's stumbling through a line with too many syllables trying to stay ahead of the beat; it's odd, but considering the lyrics are about drug use, it's a style that fits.

The guitar solo that starts at 1:45 and dominates the track is a real highlight. It's 30 seconds in a 3 minute long song. It's kind of got a surf rock thing (so do the drums later) going on. Actually, with the British vocals, space rock/surf rock sound, really short length, and vague drug references, this song could have easily been a hit a decade before it was written.

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