random sundays/Chefs
>> And it would make me so happy if Leonard Roberge, Andy Adler, and Mike
>Caught in Flux would share more of their extensive knowledge with the list >>
>
>(blush) I can't speak for Leonard, but both Andy and I can often be found on
>the Typical Girls mailing list, which is dedicated to female postpunk from
>the late '70s and '80s. Otherwise, I'm in reactionary mode lately when it
>comes to email lists -- which is to say I tend to participate in discussions
>rather than initiating them. Work is really killing me lately.
Lurking, lurking, lurking... That's what it's all about these dark winter
days of too much work and too much ice... But Jamison's post made me feel
guilty (especially after his brilliant proposal for an el/Factory hybrid
that went totally unacknowledged a while back...), and Mike's reminded me
of something I've meant to post about for a while, and which someone told
me they'd ask about on the Typical Girls list but probably didn't.
Anyway, doing some record shopping a few weeks ago, I stumbled across a
couple of singles by late-'70s/early-'80s band The Chefs, who were
apparently from Brighton. I'd heard very vague things about them for a
long time, and didn't really know what I was in for (but, hey, the first
record I got was 77 cents, so how could I go wrong?). At worst, I figured
they played some kind of annoyingly quirky postpunk. I certainly didn't
expect them to play what they did, which is kinda like Girls at Our Best!
but sweeter, with a fine pop sensibility that veers way into proto-twee at
times.
The band's last single, "Sweetie" (plus three more), is especially
fantastic, and shows off the The Chefs' pop side best. (Check
http://www.sukeplow.demon.co.uk/chefs/chefs.htm for a discography and other
info.) Zippy, punky, but *definitely* poppy. "Records & Tea" is my
favorite; it's fabulously catchy and about--yes!--an obsession with
records: "Here we go 'round again, here we go down the drain/Records and
tea are all life means to me." The record's packaging is great, too: The
front cover shows the band all lined up reading children's books, and, no
lie, they look like they might be The Flatmates--short hair, glasses,
cardigans, cheap sneakers. Not to judge a band by its look, but you've
gotta respect people who could've been mistaken for a bunch of bookstore
employees (or The Pastels, in other words) in 1980. The back cover's got
lots and lots of tiny childish drawings, including an itty-bitty guitar
stuck into the lyrics of "Sweetie," right where the guitar break goes. And
the insert's hand-stamped "Luncheon Voucher." And the singer's name is
Helen McCookerybook. And...
...wacky cuteness (or tweeness or girliness or something...) harnessed to
punk and infused with a pop sensibility is just so compelling, isn't it?
(Much more compelling than it seems to be without the punkiness, at least.)
Dolly Mixture, with those combat boots peeking out from their floral
dresses, Girls at Out Best!, The Marine Girls, The Chefs... I dunno who
else... The Raincoats, but they weren't really poppy enough. Trixie's Big
Red Motorbike, maybe, whose stuff I still haven't heard. And Bad Dream
Fancy Dress later on. I suppose Stereo Total and Girlfrendo could be
contemporary examples, even though their music seems to me not quite as
compelling as the older bands'...
I wish there were more of this stuff out there (anyone?). I love Creation
and Sarah as much as the next popkid, but women were under-represented on
both of those labels. Subway was pretty girly at times, and pretty punky,
but not really wacky in , say, a Dolly Mixture kinda way, which probably
wasn't as easy to pull off in the mid '80s as it was in the late '70s.
Whatever; I'm just happy to have found such a refreshing bit of history,
and happy that there's still very nice pop out there yet to be discovered.
Anyone who knows where more can be had, please fill me in...
Leonard
NP: Nothing, 'cause it's 1:30 in the morning and some people are trying to
sleep around here, but it'd probably be something on Vespertine if they
weren't.