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Our single of the week (28th November 2008)
...according to our Ant on Thu 27 Nov, 2008.
Lydia Lunch has taken one of my Suicide personal all time classics 'Frankie Teardrop' into new realms of darkness. Where the originals menace lay in it's simplicity, she opts for a much denser sound with lots of effects and takes it into nightmare territory. Building on the disturbing undertones of the original, Lunch drops the subtle approach for a full on disturbo dark wave version. Holding this track sacred I was apprehensive to say the least at anyone even touching it. Of all the covers I've heard in this series so far this is probably my favourite. However...The real treat for Suicide fans is a 1976 demo version: "Frankie Teardrop, The Detective Meets The Space Alien' a 13:04min masterclass in hypnotic pulses, minimalism and repetition. The crude and primitive electronics excite me. After a short while the pulsing synths begin to sound like locusts, the kick drum like a racing heartbeat. The vibe: fear, paranoia... just waiting for something bad to happen. Vega's delivery on this version is brilliant and the alternative lyrics are well off the planet. His Elvis style crooning is at its finest and here he also restrains himself from the shocking outburst on the original. To think this recording is 32 years old and has lost none of its potency is mind blowing. It sounds like nothing else. I'd say if it wasn't for tracks like this there would probably be no Raster Noton, and no Sahko (who acknowledged Marin Rev's genius by releasing a solo album in 2000 on sub-label Puu). A seminal work that really laid the foundation for minimal electronica. As icy cold as the track is, the chilling tale of Frankie is one that touches me deeply. History teaches us to learn from our mistakes, yet with the current wave of youth violence and the UK knife crime epidemic, our society has not evolved from the tragic tale of Mr. Teardrop. The sleeve image is an actual x-ray sourced from the Metropolitan police and clearly shows the horrific results of the violence that plagues our youth. Absolute genius and essential for any Suicide fan. Ltd 10" on Blast First Petite.A limited edition of 2000 10" Vinyl. Lydia Lunch. Known to Rev & Vega as the Baby Faced Killer who they so kindly chaperoned through that lost downtown night world crucible from where both their futuristic, and highly influential, black arts would be born. Artistic Kings & Queens from the dumpster side of town. Lydia gets all wet and dirty with thought of what young Frankie Teardrop might do to her, over a twisted frug of an electronic beat-nicked soundscape by one time Lemon Kitten, David Knight. Rules are for breaking.Here we like to break our own.So our tried and true E.P. format of inviting a young 'un to try their strength on the Vega meter is torched in grace and favour of blessing the planet with one THE great lost Suicide archive items. This is the thirteen minute epic 1976 recording of Suicide dropping da' bomb on what was then known as "Frankie Teardrop, The Detective vs The Space Alien". Yowsa, yowsa ya all.
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