Guilty Pleasure of the (cough) Week - Flathead

Feb 28, 2007 at 9:56 PM
130 comments

All music for me falls into four categories: 1) music I both like and respect (e.g. the Clash) 2) music I neither like nor respect (U2) 3) music I respect but don't like (most jazz) and finally the big number 4) music I like but don't respect.

That fourth category is the subject of this COUGHweeklyCOUGH feature on Dabysan in Hammersmith Palais. It comprises a shockingly large catalog of music. As it turns out there's a heck of a lot of music I love in spite -- or perhaps even because -- of how little esteem I have for it.

The reason I mention this is that I'm not entirely sure that this song belongs in that fourth category. I'm still holding out hope that it might be genuinely good and make its way into the hallowed halls of category #1, but I'm doubtful. I think when all is said and done it will belong right here with its shabby brethren in category #4. The thing that I find the most immediately vexing about this song was that I "discovered" it by watching a fucking iPod commercial. For someone who prides himself on having an ear to the UK musical underground, that's a tough pill to swallow.

The band is "The Fratellis." The song is "Flathead," and I can't stop listening to it (on my iPod, naturally).

The Fratellis - Flathead

Pitchfork has already decided to savage this band, as has Drowned in Sound, and I may end up realizing that there's not much to them, but for now, this is the hottest track I've heard in awhile and I'm eagerly awaiting the U.S. release date of the album.

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I love this song! They've been playing it on The Current for months now. It's nearly the most addictive thing ever (first would be The Kooks' She Moves in Her Own Way).

What I want to know is the band named after the bad guys from the movie The Goonies?

Also, I just remembered that this is the song in the new iPod commercials, so I am sure hotrod will love it so.

Hotrod will almost certainly hate it. But he's narrow-minded like that. And no, they're named after the lead singer, whose surname is apparently "Fratelli." Though I think they may be doing a Ramones/Donnas thing and all going by it.

Yeah. That Kooks song was just stupendous. I have you to thank for catching onto them. They're coming to my town I believe. I'm definitely going to go.

I have to say it would be much cooler if they were named after the bad guys in The Goonies. Also, I am going to go check right now to see if my beloved Kooks are coming to MPLS.

yeah, this is most definitely a pile of shit.

see also: the kooks, kings of leon, arctic monkeys, babyshambles, the strokes, the darkness, scissor sisters, kaiser chiefs, the libertines, chumbawumba and every other piece of shit UK flash-in-the-pan band since the beatles.

i don't hate this song because it's the new voice of ipod. i hate ipod because i chooses shit like this to represent its' consumers. fuck ipod, and fuck you.

oh hotrod, your predictability is so cute it warms my heart.

i'm predictable, i guess, in that i like music that doesn't suck balls.

See. Told ya. I saw that one coming a mile away. Oh, and the Libertines are unappreciated geniuses. Their first album is better than everything Pavement ever did, ever.

i own that record - on daby's recommendation, no less. it's fucking terrible. if any random reader wants advice on what music not to buy, this is definitely the blog of choice.

Is Up the Bracket the first one? Because that record is awesome.

Is hotrod an old fuddyduddy stuck in a younger man's redheaded body?

Well you're clearly one of the many mouth-breathing troglodytes who is failing to appreciate their genius.

And I could swear I've heard you profess an affection for the Strokes (who aren't fit to carry the Libertines syringes)

That's the one. And it is awesome. Great minds think alike...and then there's Hotrod.

i don't appreciate their "genius" because they, um, don't have any. "up the bracket" is pedestrian, at best.

the strokes are okay, but everyone knows they were a flash in the pan. they just happen to have been the brightest flash.

For me, this is a Category 2. I can respect The Fratellis way way way more than that joke of a band called U2 or Billy Joel. But at the same time, you won't see me owning any of their material.

I won't argue with the Storkes flash-in-the-panness, however I don't think that takes away from the goodness of their first album (their live show, though, left a lot to be desired).

Do you not like rock and roll hotrod, is that your problem?

Well Hotrod, the Cap'n agrees with you. That's something.

i don't sell any CD's back. i still have shit from high school that i couldn't give away.

had i been stupid enough to purchase that libertines shit other than digitally, it would have had the distinct dishonor or the first CD i couldn't bear to keep. while you're feeling all proud of yourself for supporting that dougherty shithead's smack habit, keep in mind: i would rather (and proudly, for that matter) display and extreme CD on my shelf than the libertines. they're terrible. and apple has warped your brains.

fuck cap'n crunch. fuck jodi. and fuck you. none of you are allowed to talk about music anymore. you clearly know nothing.

But the Cap'n agrees with you. Surely that counts for something. Someone needs a hug.

HR, take care of that IOD. It's back again. But I am in partial agreement with you. But isn't a little hypocritical of you to accuse the other 2 of "supporting that dougherty shithead's smack habit?" Hello...Johnny Cash anyone?

Ha! I love when you get all upset and tell people to fuck off. It's my favorite.

I would argue that I know a lot about music, I've been listening and studying for years. I even took a Rock and Roll class this summer with special guest lecturers from Husker Du and Prince's Revolution (and New Power Generation). So I am a certified Rocknrollologist.

Okay, you can diss on Billy Joel (my first favorite 'band' ever) but you gotta leave Johnny out of this. Is there nothing sacred?

Oh yah. Johnny Cash (yes I'm a fan...maybe not on the level that HR is, but I am) was as clean as a whistle. Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, John Lennon, Nick Cave, Pete Doherty. What do they all have in common? That's right.

hotrod replied to Cap'n Crook’s comment:
Feb 28, 2007
Reply

yeah, crunchy - i saw doc's post earlier. i ignored it because it doesn't apply to me. i'm not insecure. in fact, i have never made any claim with more certainty that that i made earlier: most of those bands i listed in my initial comment are terrible and therefore utterly worthless. those include both the fratellis (at hand) and the libertines (which have been the subject of some discussion). the strokes were also mentioned as a good, yet vacuous example of the genre.

the difference between cash/lennon/cave/reed and dougherty is that the aforementioned overcame their addictions with talent and pete, well, didn't.

Heroin is a nasty drug. A heroin addiction is a vile habit. But it has been proven repeatedly that it is no real obstacle to an excellent career in rock and roll. The Libertines were responsible for the most vital, exciting rock in a decade and anyone who appreciates music that has any balls knows it. For the rest of you (hotrod) there's wimpy chamber-folk drivel like Sufjan Stevens.

Okay now Daby, put the smack down and step away from the Sufjan. There are intelligent ballsy people who can appreciate the vitality of The Libertines AND the sweet charms of soft Sufjan folk.

What's wrong with y'all? You got no depth. It's all black and white, hard rock or chamber music. Can't you develop an appreciation for them both?

I think what Sufie (that's my pet nickname for him) is doing is no less exciting than the Libertines.

Barf, I can't stand Sufjan, singer-songwriter alt-indie-honkytonk bedtime music.

I declare that this Fratelli's song doesn't suck and it's not shameful to like it. I doubt they'll go anywhere, but there is a solid place in musical history for one-hit-wonders and flashes-in-pans. Music doesn't have to be meaningful or even lasting to be great. Come to think of it, there are quite of lot of things like that.

shades of gray don't make for interesting arguments. QED.

i declare that while your greater point about one-hit-wonders is sound, you're way off base on this particular song. i'm not surprised you like it, though. it was blessed by the only successful divsion in history of the corporation that steve jobs built: the marketing department. these are things i can set my watch by. "appleappleappleappleapple. appleapple. appleappleappleapple"

And I agree akai, which is why they earned a spot in the coveted Guilty Pleasure of the (cough) Week. Silly, fun music.

which record, exactly, was the one that was "the most vital, exciting rock in a decade?" because it wasn't either of the records i have heard.

Well we've already concluded that you're one of the countless hidebound, close-minded estalishment thugs that fails to grasp their greatness.

and you have still failed to provide proof of this alleged "greatness."

Note that I did not say that I liked the Fratelli's song, only that it doesn't suck. There's definitely something interesting there but I'd need to listen to it a few more times to decide, and I dunno if I can be bothered to do that.

I love how you get the rap for the most narrow-minded music snob, when more often than not it should go to me. I s'pose the difference is that I keep my disdain to myself.

I like the Fratellis song. In fact, I may love it. I'm just not sure that its good. But I am sure that I don't care whether or not its good.

I don't think a song has to be good for you to love it. In fact sometimes it's fun to love a bad song (see: My Humps by The Blackeyed Peas) for reasons that you can't even begin to explain. It's the magic of music, it makes you feel things you never expected and cannot predict.

Agreed. Which brings us back to the whole purpose for Guilty Pleasure of the Week. Highlighting bad music that is worthy of our love.

sure. but this song is not worthy of love.

Maybe not, for people dead from the waist down!

Hear, hear.

Ah. So that's why cover bands must play Bon Jovi and Def Leppard music all the time. Thanks for the explanation, Super G.

Crunch are you drunk? I have no idea what you're talking about.

seriously, crunchy. what's the deal?

Jodi, have you heard "Chelsea Dagger?" I like it almost as much as "Flathead."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPUZqcibh4E

Sorry. My mistake. This was the enlightened explanation I got from Jodi.

"I don't think a song has to be good for you to love it. In fact sometimes it's fun to love a bad song (see: My Humps by The Blackeyed Peas) for reasons that you can't even begin to explain. It's the magic of music, it makes you feel things you never expected and cannot predict (Chromey, Comment #37, 3-2-07)."

Crunch you are drunk, aren't you? Because I still have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

Ughhhhh! Nevermind. I'm thinking of contacting Jessica Simpson because maybe she'll understand what I'm getting at.

She'll understand that you are totally drunk right now.

cap'n crunch has been sipping on the grog a bit early today, methinks.

Which, of course, makes him smarter than both of us in this particular instance.

Okay, so I downloaded the whole album Costello Music and it's damn fun (reminds me a lot of the brainless, bubblegum pop of The Kooks). Chelsea Dagger is a good song buy my favorite has to be "Whistle for the Choir." I have a penchant for songs about lonely.

Also, I forgot to add this is the perfect soundtrack for dancing around before work on a Monday morning, while getting dressed and brushing your teeth. Perfect.

awesome -- I'm waiting on the US release (March 13) to put in my Amazon order. I'll be honest and say that Kooks album was a fairly short-lived infatuation for me (still love "She Moves in Her Own Way" and "Jackie Big Tits") but it was well worth it at the time.

I agree with The Kooks summation.But I think that's kind of norm when it comes to this kind of fun bubblegum pop music. I bet you'll find the same thing happens with The Fratellis. It's kind of like an 8th grade crush -- thrilling and wonderful for about a week and then you're on to something new.

and thus you've summed up perfectly why there's no way in hell i'd spend money on either of these records.

hotrod, you really are an old fuddy duddy aren't you?

of course. that was never in dispute. i listen to "the kinks are the village green preservation society" and consider it a call to arms. i was born at least a hundred years too late.

I sometimes forget that you're an old cranky man trapped in the body of a 30something redhead. My mistake. I won't let it happen again.

please don't. this particular thread has been excruciating.

Clearly you stumbled on the wrong thread. This is where youthful spirits talk about vital music that move their asses. Maybe you should go find the James Taylor thread somewhere else.

James Taylor is a little too up tempo for Hotrod. Maybe Laurence Welk.

hotrod said Laurence Welk rocks a mean polka and he just cannot abide by that kind of shenannigans.

moving one's ass is overrated. and nothing about the fratellis is vital. if, by "vital," you mean "boring," then i'll agree with you.

Oh yes, vital/boring I get those two words confused all the time. What would I do without you hotrod?

i don't know how you made it as long as you did.

"Moving one's ass is overrated."

Well, John Ashcroft would agree with you. So that's something.

I prefer the wisdom of George Clinton:

"free your ass and your mind will follow."

i never said moving one's ass was sinful. your ashcroft comparison is ridiculous.

hotrod, you should try removing the stick from your ass, then shake it. You'll be amazed by how fun and freeing it is. Don't worry, I gave the same advice to Ashcroft too.

I didn't compare you to him. I said he'd endorse your position on ass-shaking. You need to read better. Or is that overrated too?

music is for sitting and listening. anybody who's shaking their ass isn't paying attention to the music.

i think i just passed out from the sheer absurdity of that statement. Music is for experiencing. Anybody who is shaking their ass is paying attention with something other than their big, fat, overstuffed brain.

hotrod did you go to high school with Kevin Bacon in Footloose?

no song has ever made me want to "shake my ass." ever. using that faulty logic as a validation of a terrible song is absurd.

There's nothing wrong with shaking your ass to Lawrence Welk. Or Al Jolson, for that matter.

Jodi I can't have you slandering Hotrod like that. His brain isn't that big.

As for the liberation of his ass from the tyrany of treble-heavy, mope-fest indie rock, we may be dealing with a lost cause.

hotrod, remember how we all decided you were dead from the waist down? So of course the logic would appear faulty to you. But there is something to said for music that makes you want to move. You would, of course, have no idea what that's like because you lack a soul.

Since when does Jeff Tweedy ever yell out to his audience: "If you fuckers don't stop shaking your asses to my songs, I'm walking off the stage."

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, not all music is ass shaking music (Please see my argument for Sufjan Stevens somewhere). Tweedy doesn't write ass-shakers too often though I would argue that some of his stuff (especially Summerteeth) is worthy of a hip shake or two.

There are many, many kinds of music --- some breaks your heart, some makes you cry, some makes you shake your ass. . . not many (if any) songs make you do all three at the same time.

Sheesh.

we didn't decide that. and of course i have a soul. i just experience music on a higher plane than you.

Since never. Since when has anyone ever had to tell a crowd at a Wilco show to settle down?

"You kids, stop staring at your shoes and swaying. You're causing a riot."

clearly you haven't watched the Tweedy DVD Sunken Treasure.

We voted while you were quietly contemplating the genius of Rhett Miller.

you all voted wrong.

If you had been there to demonstrate how you can indeed shake your money-maker, despite the rumors, perhaps we would have voted 'correctly.'

i think you're missing the fairly obvious point that i don't want to "shake my moneymaker."

Your moneymaker is just repressed, which is not surprising in a person without a soul.

How do you know you don't want to shake it, if it has never been shaken?

i'm tired of this thread. i don't care what happens after comment number 87.

Ha! That means we win.

You think I'd eventually tire of beating hotrod in arguments, but it's new and exciting every time.

Arguing with hotrod is exciting and invigorating, kind of like the music of The Fratellis.

ugh. fine.

a/ you didn't win.
b/ it's new and exciting for daby because it so rarely happens.
c/ the fratellis are anything but exciting. unless you consider wal-mart exciting, in which case i'll grant that they're exciting.

you coming back to argue your point only further cements our victory.

in your fucking dreams.

hotrod this the time for to graciously accept the fact that you got your ass beat.

i didn't.

We'll take that as a concession.

I have an unrelated question. . . have you two ever teamed up on the same side of a topic against a common foe?

i don't know why you would. but i suppose it's hardly out of character.

That's a lay-up of an answer. Against me, of course. Thousands of examples.

As Cap mentions Jodi, it happens on rare ocassions, but its never pretty. Ususally if we realize we're agreeing with each other, one of us turns on the other just to keep things interesting.

also, it hardly seems fair. don't let daby's O-fer record against me fool you - he's a skilled debater in his own right, and would score far more victories if he didn't persist in challenging the master.

this, by the way, is further proof of daby's previous point.

Right. Well sort of. The point being that when you combine my obvious intellectual advantage with Hotrod's persistence in the face of failure, you get a wicked combination.

that's not right at all. still, we make a formidable team on those rare occasion it happens.

Well the next time you two team up, invite me to the party. I would like to see you in action.

I'd just like to point out that I've seen Hotrod shake his, uhm, change maker a bit. I have seen it do a move or two.

That is all.

no you haven't.

Clearly we need the blow by blow details of this historical event, akaijen. We realize it might be traumatic to recall this kind of data, but we are here to support you. You can begin now.

lay off. it might take her a while to concoct the requested "details."

Keep it in mind that we're not talking Prince or Elaine dancing here, but...

-- A few times here and there at King Pepper. This "dancing" was little more than a sway and probably at the request of D-. Few men say no to her.

-- I saw a voracious head nod or two at a Barcelona show. I suspect that t

this isn't totally uncommon at shows.

-- And the creme de la creme is Emma's wedding. They had a lively Irish band. 'Nuff said. I believe I have photographic evidence of this, uhm, jigging. Don't bother to ask me to post it. I'm not the one to take it that far.

lies. damn lies.

Now that Akai mentions it...I definitely remember a certain riverdancing redhead matching hotrod's description at Emma's wedding. Now where did I put those pictures?

completely untrue.

hotrod you cannot hide from the truth! you do shake it on occasion. my perception of you has been permanently altered.

that's just not so. it remains unshaken.

Oh we all know that you shake it, sh-sh-shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture.

that is simply not true.

There hasn't been this much anticipation towards a single event since man walked on the moon.

It's interesting that you mention moon-walking, since that appears to be one of Hotrod's favorites.

nobody's gonna believe that.

I believe in miracle and fairies, and I know if I clap and hope hard enough hotrod will shake it before my very eyes.

Yes, he did dance at my wedding. But in all fairness, I dragged him to it.

that was somebody else. you weren't thinking clearly in your euphoria.

You shook it! You shook it!

no. no shaking occurred,

It wasn't shaking, it was jigging. Yes Emma lured him onto the floor, but that doesn't account for a few follow up steps here and there.

I'd like to point out my own shame. I actually like to dance but I have a huge, huge mental block against dancing in nice clothes and certainly not heels. I didn't dance at proms or home comings or the weddings I've attended. I feel a bit like a party pooper, but I just can't dance in my finery. It feels weird.

seriously, these libelous claims must stop. we all know this isn't true.

Hotrod, that shaking occurred is no longer even a question for this court. Multiple credible witnesses and a team of photographers testify to your repeated, willful rump-shaking at Emma's wedding. The only question now is how much you shook, to what songs and with whom.

no shaking occurred. further questions are based on a falsehood and thus inconsequential.

Photography never lies. Somebody post this evidence w/ haste.

Guilty Pleasure of the (cough) Week - Flathead

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