Another Form of Relief

I’ve written about Desaparecidos before, so I’ll spare you the full details about the band. Let’s be honest, most of you already know who they are anyway. They seem to have a pretty big following in the US at least (not so much in Singapore and Belgium apparently), largely because of the Oberst connection. Which actually raises an interesting question. Would anyone really be paying attention to them if he wasn’t their singer? Possible I guess, but it seems far less likely.

Most will already be familiar with their excellent album, ‘Read Music/Speak Spanish’ (if not, you’re missing out), so today we’re going to look at a few of their songs that didn’t make the album, but are still worthy of a little attention. The songs on the album are largely political, sometimes personal, and that theme carries on through their other songs.

MP3 Desaparecidos - What’s New For Fall (expired)

This is something of a cheat as ‘What’s New For Fall’ is actually on the album, but for some reason, not on the US version of it. I have no idea why that decision was made, particularly given how strong of a song it is. It was used as a single itself in the UK, but only appeared as a b-side for ‘The Happiest Place On Earth’ single in the US. Very strange. One of the songs that deals more with social problems than political ones, it’s an incredibly bitter ode to the fun that is superficiality. Played with a backing track that features random comments from girls about what they want from guys, Conor rants over the top of it about being shaped into what his girlfriend wants (”Come on and dress me / I’ll be your mannequin / Make me attractive, so sexy and thin”). By the end he finally accepts that she isn’t really going to like him no matter what he tries, leaving us with another cheerful Conor song.

MP3 Desaparecidos - Give Me The Pen (expired)

This was Desaparecidos’ response to 9/11, and of course it takes aim at American society rather than anything else. Essentially arguing that the US was far too complacent (”So they crashed those planes / and we all woke up from the dream”), but then argues that nothing is really going to change even afterwards. Which obviously isn’t entirely true. It’s kind of a mess song wise, the lyrics are pretty hard to decipher through much of the song, but it’s still rather interesting.

MP3 Desaparecidos - Popn’ Off At The F (expired)

Originally appearing on the ‘Saddle Creek 50′ compilation, this is just about the most brutal anti-war song that I’ve heard. Set amongst a ton of samples from the Cold War documentary “Atomic Cafe” about the A-bomb, this is a loud, shouty song about the pointlessness of war, from the point of view of the soldier who is sent into harms way for those above him. It also concludes with an atomic explosion, which is pretty damn cool way to end a song.

That’s about it for now. There is some good stuff coming up over the next few days, including some great new bands that I’ve found, and a highly entertaining interview with Steven from Cult of Sue Todd. So be sure to come back every now and then. Or not. It’s up to you really I guess.

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