The life and times of the legendary band.
Posts tagged This Mortal Coil.
Big Star- Jesus Christ (from “Third/Sister Lovers”)
I’m a bit late to the party on this one- I tried to get to love Big Star in college, reading about their supposed place among the first of tragically-underappreciated beloved tragic cult bands- the sort of thing I’m usually a sucker for- on the usual internet-criticism-derived required listening list for young would-be music snobs, but without much luck- “September Gurls” seemed fairly perfect but a bit lightweight, like cotton candy, and Holocaust and Kanga Roo were pleasing enough, but I still preferred the This Mortal Coil versions floating around the campus network. Now, listening again nigh on a decade later, it’s painfully obvious that everyone was right all along, and I wonder how I could have overlooked such sheer gorgeious elegance- their best songs, of which this is an example, are perfect classicist miniatures, models of refinement and restraint, aching and tender yet beautifully detached and not infrequently absolutely heartbreaking- a much better sonic approximation of “filigree and shadow” than the celebrated 4AD. I’ve grown particularly fond of this song, which manages the near-impossible feat of using lyrics taken only from stock Christmas carols in a straightforward pop song context, horn section and all, without their seeming the slightest bit cloying, insincere, or even out of place, the music perfectly evoking a winter night full of frost and stars and joy and glory. Granted, not all their songs are near so good, and when not firing on all cylinders they could be dead boring, but enough approach it to make each of their albums a delight- I’m only glad to finally realize it.
