Behind the Movie Scenes

Cornershop - When I Was Born For the Seventh Time
Warner Bros, 1997

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I get this album after a long period of "what the hell am I supposed to listen to, now?" And I really don't know what to expect. I guess I was hoping deep down inside that not every song on "When I Was Born" would have the cheesy melodies and redundancy of "Brimful of Asha" but would have some of the catchiness and groove. I didn't really know if that was possible. But I figured that it was worth the risk at less than a buck used on Amazon.

So yeah, I've had Brimful in my head for four days now. The rest of it? Not really. It's one folksy hit song and a couple other thrown together bits of guitar work and then a whole ton of drum loops and remix sounds. For a while it's a simple beat and some noise generated by somebody who just now figured out how to spin a record but doesn't really know what to do with it. Then it's layers of simple noises that come together to weave a recording, sort of like Beck, only softer and farther back. And then it falls into something like Cake only with a more rehersed melody.

It's not bad, but it's not really good, either. Nice for ambience without actually paying attention, driving for long stretches, or falling asleep. Or passing out.