Goldfrapp - 'A&E'
As any regular ChartBlog reader will already know, people say the strangest stuff when they're trying to explain how music sounds to them. Comparisons will be drawn, some people will claim a song sounds like a direct rip-off of another, and others just won't see the connection. Genres are thrown around with gay abandon, sometimes accurately, sometimes not, and again, one person's thrilling minimalist-funk-torch-dub-slowjam is another person's snoozy trip hop. And the thing is, because this is all about the effect a certain noise has on your personal eardrums, no-one can ever be said to be truly wrong, even when it's obvious that they really are.
So, when a lot of people, all of whom seem to be in possession of at least two ears each, start referring to Goldfrapp's latest musical endeavour as being a new 'folk' direction, there's not really a lot you can do about it, even though these people are clearly wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong WRONG!
Have you listened to it? You have? Good. Then you'll probably have pondered, as I have, that this has less to do with the sort of folk music which comes from playing time-honoured tunes on battered wooden instruments, and then passing them down from generation to generation in a wide selection of public houses, and more to do with a new catch-all definition of the word - one which encompasses only one acoustic guitar, washes of synths, wafty reverberated vocals and some enchanting titting about in a woodland glade.
Fair enough, Clannad have been making noises like this for years and calling it folk. Modern folk music isn't about putting a finger in an ear and singing in that particularly ripe, twangy accent which only occurs in folk songs, and it hasn't been for years. Although if you can think of a better way to cut out other people's singing in a group harmony environment than sticking your finger in your lughole, I'm all...all...y'know...headwings.
But still, this is only folk music because the person who is making it spent the last few years creating songs which sound like they were put together in a factory for sex-robots. It's folk music for Goldfrapp because it sounds ten million times more human than anything off 'Black Cherry' or 'Supernature', and doesn't seem to be solely aimed at the groin with mechanical precision. For anyone else, 'A&E' would just be an extremely U2-ish sort of song, sung by a lady with a pillowy voice.
And yes, you're quite right, it doesn't matter what kind of pigeonhole you seek to put music into. Or at least, it wouldn't if the people who rush to praise Goldfrapp to the skies for their/her artistic vision weren't the same people who would slam a Delta Goodrem, or a Nerina Pallot, or even a Natalie Imbruglia for being mere pop nothings, even though sonically they now share a lot of similar territory.
So, in summary, feel free to enjoy this song. I do. Just don't be too quick to claim artistic superiority, or too free and easy with your genre names. There are people watching, and we WILL notice...
Download: Out now
CD Released: February 11th
(Fraser McAlpine)
Comments
I like this song but it ain't typicla bloody goldfrapp (is that how u spell it??). I say this cos i like their old ones like, well i dunno their names, but they do go lalala:).
Could you BE any more incoherent? You gave this song the same rating as Westlife's?
Somebody needs to be reviewed....
oh and somebody needs to get their second ear examined, because clearly you are "wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong WRONG!" Now I'm not a massive fan or part of [her] following so don't start to think this is a direct attack from a Goldfrapp loyalist, however, I do have the ability to recognise good and decent music that has been worked upon, finely tuned and well thought through so that when it is released it can maintain it's dignity in future years to come.
Does the single as well as the album draw upon folk type and the use of guitars, yes, does it also experiment and develop it's ideas into something unique well yes it's supposed to. Music isn't meant to sound the same, we have American artists who do that for us.
oh, and if you ever happen to come across Felt Mountain, Fraser, I suggest you listen to it, and then listen again to the other albums, hopefully from this you'll hear (with your own two ears) a band who experiments with music, and isn't afraid to do it their way.
let's hope you haven't claimed any critique superiority over this appalling, incoherent review.
[Hope it feels good to get all that off your chest, Aaron. *headpat* I have indeed heard 'Felt Mountain'. It's alright, if an out-of-date trip hop rip off is your thing. Oh, and y'know that argument about music being superior if it sounds "worked upon, finely tuned and well thought through"? That's cack. All Westlife songs sound like that, and no Ramones ones do. TTFN! - Fraser]
Fraser you are a c***.
Goldfrapp are without a doubt - the sole reason i bother to listen to music anymore.
[That's great! All the more good stuff for the rest of us to enjoy. Bye! - Fraser]
Maybe you should try to prevent your irritation of those so-called 'wrong' pigeon-holers and reverent Goldfrapp fans from biasing your opinion of a fine song. Personally, I hate it when people refer to Greenday as a punk band, and god knows they enjoy their fair share of godly worship from fanatics across the globe, but it doesn't stop me appreciating (some of) their music. Do you also get annoyed at people pigeon-holing Destiny's Child et al. as R&B, even though they sound nothing like Ray Charles or
Chuck Berry? Definitions of musical genres change with the times, and the term 'folk' will not always be synonymous with weirdy-beardy, scrumpy-swigging West Country people from days of yore, complete with a few fiddles, a flute and a guitar or two.
You don't even mention what you personally think of the song in this review, other than the arbitrary rating of 3 stars. Try taking a step back, 10 deep breaths, and try again.
[Sorry you can't work it out, Leon. Why not have another go? I bet you can sort of tell what I think really. Also, I like the way I said that thing about ye olde folk better, but hey, thanks for re-writing it! - Fraser]
If you think Felt Mountain is trip-hop, then your idea s on musical genres are seriously deluded, or you simply haven't listened to the album at all. Trip-hop is very beat orientated, where Felt Mountain hardly touches on any beats. I have to admit, i'm not a fan of A&E, but i still respect them for trying something new, which is a lot more than artists are doing these days. And who ever said they sounded like folk? Did they? Because i don't ever remember them (Alison and Will) stating that their new sound was going to be anything remotely like "folk".
Can i ask, what artists/genres do you listen to then?
[See, this is where we run into more trouble with defining things. When I heard 'Felt Mountain' it reminded me hugely of Massive Attack, Portishead and Morcheeba, beats or no beats, I would call that sort of sound trip-hop, but others wouldn't, and they're not wrong, just as I'm probably not right! But whatever the genre, it didn't really do anything for me.
As for the folk thing, it's been fairly widely discussed, not least with the band. I found this quote from Alison herself just by googling 'Goldfrapp folk'.
"I think also what I like about Nick Drake is that he makes me think of England, you know? English countryside, ruralness-- which a lot of folk music does. Well, good folk music does-- more the American stuff. There's not that much English folk music that is really that appealing. But with Nick Drake there's such an atmosphere to it, which is why so many people like it."
Hope this helps. You have to understand that even if I get every single genre name wrong (to your understanding), and fail to talk about the music (to your liking), it doesn't make 'A&E' any better for me! - Fraser]
Your review is spot on. Had Norah Jones or Madonna did this, the same Goldfrapp fans defending it, would consider it sappy pop music. Goldfrapp has watered down it's music to appease the top 40 market. They are simply a pop band. Nothing wrong with that but don't consider it to be more than what it is.
Wow you use google to clarify your comments, we're talking serious investigative work here. Maybe a little more investigative work would have also meant you finding Will & Alison dismissing the album being a folk album. Seventh Tree is meant to be a step back from the full on nature of the last album, I've only heard one other track so far which is 'Clowns' which confims my feeling that a brilliant album will be following soon. Even if you don't like Goldfrapp's music, at least its music from the heart & brains from two very talented honest people following their own rules of how their music should sound.
(How many people in the musc business have those ideals?)
[Mike, let me take you through what happened again, cos you started sneering before you finished reading, I think. Jack said he didn't remember Alison or Will saying the album was going to be folk, I said that it's been widely discussed that this is the direction they were going in, and to prove it, the easiest of google searches - which as you rightly point out, is hardly investigative journalism - came back with a quote from Alison herself. Which sort of proves they've been talking about it, even though Jack thought they hadn't been. I do appreciate what you're saying about Goldfrapp, but please, a 3-star review is not a kick in the face, is it? Calm down! - Fraser]
Yeah, as Mike said, Clowns is astonishingly good, even if you don't like A&E (and neither do i, actually, i despise it) i would still recommend listening to the album as a whole, or ermmm "aquiring" it online. Songs like Clowns and Eat Yourself are just artistically fantastic, and a long shot away from A&E even if they are on the same album.
[Cool, well I look forward to hearing those then. For the record, I don't despise 'A&E' at all. My point was it's not sonically dissimilar to a Nerina Pallot/Delta Goodrem sort of a song. If that's something which bothers people, might I suggest a long walk in a stiff breeze? Really clears the head, I tell ya. - Fraser]
Re: Mike on Google (above)
There's nothing wrong with using Google; it's not being looked at as an authority in itself - it's just a way of finding things... like your eyes, or maybe a magnet.
So there! :-)
"Snoozy trip-hop"? Pfft.
I'd call myself a pretty hardcore Goldfrapp fan, yet to an extent, I have to agree with this review - every time I hear a fan describing the new album as 'visionary' or what have you, I sort of die on the inside. Seventh Tree is a well put-together album, yeah (the duo are undeniably talented) but like. . . it's nothing terribly new.
The artwork/photography is f* spectacular though!
[No argument here. I LOVE all of the visuals, from the massive owl to the leaf-dancers. I think the key word - seeing as 'folk' is such a hot potato - is 'pastoral'. - Fraser]
Okay.
What annoyed me most... I suppose it was the whole Big Brother comment: "There are people watching, and we WILL notice..." and I'm sorry I am not Winston and I will not be told how I should like this song or classify it - if I think Goldfrapp is superior, so be it.
I'm so sick of mainstream crap, bands walking into Topman, All saints etc seeing that skinny jeans are in and then suddenly having the charts filled with songs about wearing those same jeans for months on end...
When Goldfrapp releases their album I can't wait! the reason, I can finally unbutton my size zero jeans sit back and enjoy being sucked into Alison Goldfrapp's world and enjoy a british rarity. Some may say Goldfrapp is mainstream, all I say is that it is rare for a band who, with their music, visual art, photographic art etc pull me into a world, not of "mechanical" sex this time around, but of "pastoral" loveliness.
A&E is a holiday from the mainstream, somewhere were I won't be taking my umbrella, ella, ella eh. Not visionary, just a jolly holiday.
Happy Valentines day Fraser.
[Backatcha, Aaron! - Fraser]
When a band doesn't make some sort of change for their next album I forget them instantly.
Goldfrapp have and it's worked brilliantly, I loved the past two albums and I love the new ideas they've brought with this track ('pastoral' as you call it).
When a band not only make changes but dare with something unexpected I love the band even more, it shows signs of a true artist when they pull it off (sadly, some dont', and I'm sure you'll agree)
Many bands have changed their sounds and it's worked, may I refer to The Killers (well, I liked the album), and Goldfrapp are no different, I'm glad it's at #10 this week!