McCarthy

I most certainly don't claim to be a huge music expert or anything. I think it's funny when people think that I am. But I guess that's bound to happen when you talk about music as much as I do. I just know what I like, and I like a lot of stuff. The most exciting thing to me is hearing a band for the first time and really loving them. When your ears tell your mind that this is something really special. There's nothing better than that. And if they're a band that's been around for awhile, you wonder why you haven't heard of them before, and maybe even feel a little embarrassed that you haven't. I think that's why I'm so into music blogs now. I know there's tons of music (music most will never hear) that is 100 times better than the music that surrounds us. And that kills me to think that I could be missing out on something wonderful. I have this one folder on my PC that holds all of the songs that I've downloaded from music blogs. Let's just say that after almost 2 months, I'm still only at the R's (keep in mind that all of the bands with "The" in front of their names I still have to get to). I'm also adding tons of songs to this folder every day (This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands). So yes, it's taking some time to get through. A lot of the stuff I download is just ok, some of it is good but kind of boring, and you'd be AMAZED at how many people sound like the Postal Service. Sometimes I'll delete 20 songs in a row, and then keep the 20 that come after those.
Sometimes, after deleting a lot of so-so stuff, I'll come across something that is so awesome that it makes plowing through all of the mediocre stuff totally worth it. This happened a few days ago.

Sometime last week, I downloaded a track by a band called McCarthy from a really cool music blog called Little Hits. As the name suggests, this blog is dedicated to artists who never quite made it, but still put out really good music. On Monday, I finally got around to listening to this McCarthy song, Red Sleeping Beauty. I had never heard of them before. I asked a few of my friends, and no one else had heard of them either. So, naturally, I went to allmusic for help. They formed in Barking, Essex, England, but were only together for about five years (1985-1990). Guitarist Tim Gane would go on to form Stereolab with his wife Laetitia Sadier. Since I don't know much about Stereolab, I guess it's ok that I never knew about McCarthy. But still, I can't help thinking, "Damn. I went so long without knowing this." I love music trivia, music fact books, and music encyclopedias, so little bits of information like that excite me. They may even come in handy if I'm ever on Rock 'n' Roll jeopardy (does that even come on anymore?)

McCarthy named themselves after U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (duh) and their songs were definitely politically charged. It was rumored that they were affiliated with the Revolutionary Communist Party in England and most critics wrote their music off as "Marxist" and "anarchist" rock and roll. But lead singer Malcolm Eden definitely had a sense of humor, and his lyrics acted as witty commentary on political issues.

As I mentioned before, I finally got around to listening Red Sleeping Beauty the other day, and I was immediately drawn in by the hypnotic drumming of Gary Baker. And when Malcolm starts to sing, it's sounds as if his voice is echoing around you in a dream. When the song ended I had to listen to it again. And then again. And then again.

I'm not sure where I found the second McCarthy track, Get a Knife Between Your Teeth, but musically, it definitely has more upbeat feel to it. Still a good song though.

Looks like I'll have to add McCarthy to my ever growing list of cds to buy. But I don't mind so much. They're one more great band to listen to.