- Posts tagged Peel Sessions
- Explore Peel Sessions on posterous
Lost Between the Cracks: Ballboy - A Guide for the Daylight Hours (2002)
I suppose if I could have any accent I wanted it would be Scottish. Oh sure, my ancestry is English/Irish, and I know some great Welsh folks. Australians are great people and I've always wanted to visit or live in New Zealand, but I'd probably have to pick the Scottish accent as my favorite if it came right down to it.
Scotland has been home to some of the best music of the past 25 years. Bands such as Teenage Fanclub, the Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, the Silencers, Big Country, and Del Amitri placed Scotland on the alternative rock map. Groups such as Idlewild, Travis, Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, and the Delgados carried the flag for indie bands into the 21st century. Newer bands such as Frightened Rabbit continue to produce quality music that reflect in some way their Scottish roots. And then there are bands like Ballboy. Formed in the late 1990s in Edinburgh the four-piece band has released five albums and several EPs yet few here in the U.S. have been exposed to their brand of Scottish goodness. They did tour the U.S. in 2002 with David Gedge's project at the time, Cinerama. (Appropriate as I always thought Ballboy had some Wedding Present tendencies.) With rare exceptions that tour has been their lone exposure on American soil. What drew me to Ballboy was their mix of narrative and self-deprecating songs. It's not often I've heard a band switch so effortlessly between songs such as 'I Lost You, But I Found Country Music' and 'I Hate Scotland.' Perhaps it helps to have a school teacher and a nurse among the band members, but many groups wouldn't be worried about such topics as 'Essential Wear for Future Trips to Space' as found on Club Anthems (a compilation album of early EPs). Ballboy even wrote a love song inspired by Star Wars they dared title 'Lightsaber' complete with appropriate sound effects. Primary songwriter Gordon McIntyre reminds me of a Scottish version of the Church's Steve Kilbey in that he has a sing-speak vocal delivery. It's not a true singing delivery so his accent clearly comes through. While some might have issues with such a presentation, it adds a distinctive touch for me. In a song such as 'Where Do the Nights of Sleep Go to When They Do Not Come to Me?' from A Guide for the Daylight Hours McIntyre manages to include a snippet of Stephen Crane's poem 'In the Desert' about a heart-eating creature. (Yes, the same Stephen Crane who wrote The Red Badge of Courage.) Perhaps it's my jaded American ears, but the song wouldn't be nearly as interesting in a non-Scottish accent.
'You Should Fall in Love with Me' is from a Peel Sessions recorded on March 20, 2003.
'Avant Garde Music' also comes from A Guide to the Daylight Hours. This version from NYC Popfest in May 2007 at the Knitting Factory includes a hilarious story about Queen Elizabeth II.
'Dumper Truck Racing' was recorded at the 2003 Strange Fruit Festival at Bush Hall in London. According to one of the comments on YouTube, the show ran past curfew, so McIntyre just continued to perform acousticly without a microphone. Some Ballboy fans list this as their favorite song by the band.
