"Benvenuta nella gabbia delle scimmie", ovvero la traduzione di "Welcome To The Monkey House" nell'accezione vonnegutiana del termine. Non ho ancora avuto occasione di leggere la raccolta di short stories (si potrebbe dire "racconti", tanto è lo stesso, ma visto che si tratta di una recensione dei Dandy Warhols, tanto vale cercare di essere un minimo "cool") che dà il titolo all'album che mi trovo oggi a recensire, pare sia introvabile, ma in qualche modo ho la certezza che abbia ben poco a che fare con questo melting pot di drum machine e sintetizzatori petulanti, di coretti in falsetto e di chitarre (quando si sentono) pseudo-grunge, di testi minimalisti e nonsense e stoccate d'ironia hipster come quelle che il frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor snocciola nell'intro/title-track: "I Wire sono tornati/Hanno fatto causa agli Elastica/Quando Michael Jackson sarà morto, suoneremo "Blackbird". E dopo hits come "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth" e "Bohemian Like You", i nostri non hanno trovato nulla di meglio che allearsi con Tony Visconti (produttore), Simon LeBon (cori nell'orecchiabile "Plan A") Nile Rodgers (chitarra in "I Am A Scientist", una delle migliori del lotto) e Evan Dando (che co-firma insieme a Taylor-Taylor la malinconica "You Were The Last High"). In questo marasma di collaborazioni, di produzioni esagerate e lussureggianti, di stupidità e pochezza ostentate quasi fossero le bandiere della perfezione musicale trovano poco spazio la sostanza e l'emotività. Che non sono mai state qualità proprie e distintive della musica dei Dandies di Portland, ma che in questo specifico caso sembrano davvero essere vicine allo zero.
Cosa si può cercare, dunque, in quest'album? Forse si potrebbe cercare di azzardare un'analisi. A un primissimo livello, "Welcome To The Monkey House" può apparire come una specie di cronaca di una crisi esistenziale avvolta nelle fasce gelide e brillanti dei sintetizzatori, e il suo andamento ricalca quello di una festa: si inizia ballando e saltando come pazzi ("We Used To Be Friends", scelta azzeccata come primo singolo) si prosegue con l'autocelebrazione più smaccata ("The Dandy Warhols Love Almost Everyone") si comincia a provare il gelo della "discesa" ("You Were The Last High", "I Am Sound") e si realizza la propria condizione di vuoto e mediocrità (la lunga e conclusiva "(You Come In) Burned", pastiche di oltre sette minuti che mescola trip-hop e psichedelia con risultati abbastanza positivi, ma forse allungando troppo il brodo).
Il bilancio di quest'album così pomposo e smaccatamente glam? Un insieme piuttosto raffazzonato di synth-pop, dance, funk e disco con qualche sbandata nella psichedelia più trancey e allucinata. Pochi ritornelli, poco divertimento, parecchia malinconia e decisamente, ripeto, pochissima sostanza. Se è questo l'emblema del cool, beh, allora...
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Welcome to the Monkey House (01:03)
Wire is coming back again
Elastica got sued by them
When Michael Jackson dies
We're covering Blackbird
And won't it be absurd then
When no one knows what song they just heard
Unless someone on the ra-a-dio tells them first
So come on come on come on
Come
Come on come on come on
Come on
Come on come on come on
You monkeys
02 We Used to Be Friends (03:19)
A long time ago
We used to be friends
But I haven't thought of you lately at all
If ever again
A greeting I send to you
Short and sweet, to the soul I intend
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Come on now honey
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Just remember me when
You're good to go
Come on now sugar
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Just remember me when...
It's something I said
Or someone I know
Or you called me up
Maybe I wasn't home
Now everybody needs some time
And everybody knows
The rest of it's fine
And everybody knows
Come on now sugar
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Remember me when
You're good to go
Come on now honey
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Just remember me when
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
Yeah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
A long time ago
We used to be friends
But I haven't thought of you lately at all
If ever again
A greeting I send to you
Short and sweet, to the soul I intend
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah
03 Plan A (04:01)
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
There must be some kind of plan a
For all the people who can manage
All of us who can handle it
With all of this damage
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
There must be some kind of message
Simple but somehow impressive
Anyone who can think of something
Come on now just express it
There must be some kind of plan a
For all the people who can manage
All of us who can handle it
With all of this damage
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
All of us
All of us sing about it
All of us
Sing about it
04 The Dope (Wonderful You) (04:37)
Wonderful you
The dope you are
And beautiful me
Came for your party.
Well lately I can't stop talking about you.
And mainly I'm wondering why in the hell I left without you.
Take heart
Because you're art
And you're loved,
Not that only.
Take heart
Because you're art
And you're loved,
Just not only.
Maybe I do
Maybe do ya.
Now think about me
Coming onto ya
Or maybe I would if I maybe knew ya
And maybe you want me
Or maybe you want me to be it to you.
Take heart
Because you're art
And you're loved,
Not that only.
Take heart
Because you're art
And you're loved,
Just not only.
Because you're art
And you're loved,
But not only
08 Insincere Because I (03:49)
I might sound insincere 'cause I'm
Wasted all the time
I've thought it over and it
It's over and
It's over and
It's over and it's over
I'd like to thank you
My dear
In less than a year it's over and
It's over and
It's over and
It's over and it's over
10 Heavenly (03:36)
Heavenly scene of mind
Or could be hell
Oh baby I'm not yeah
Everything I should be yeah
Oh maybe I'm not yeah
And everything I wanted to realize
Baby I got yeah
Everything I could be yeah
Oh baby I'm not yeah
Oh I’ve got yeah
Heavenly scene
Oh I could be yeah
Heavenly scene
Oh I got yeah
Heavenly scene of mind
Or could be hell
Oh baby I'm not yeah
Everything I should be yeah
Oh maybe I'm not yeah
And everything I wanted to realize
Baby I got yeah
Oh I've got yeah
Heavenly scene
Oh I could be yeah
Heavenly scene
Everything I could be
Oh maybe I'm not yeah
Oh I’ve got yeah
Heavenly scene
Oh I could be yeah
Heavenly scene
Oh I got yeah
Oh I’ve got yeah
Heavenly scene
Oh I could be yeah
Heavenly scene
Oh I got yeah
11 I Am Sound (03:59)
I am alone
But adored by 100,000 more
Than I said when you were the last.
And I have known love, like a whore
From at least 10,000 more
Then I swore when you were the last
When you were the last high
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
You were awake,
And I should have stayed, but wandered.
I was only out for a day.
Out for a day.
It was Chicago for a moment,
And then it was Paris and London for a few
Days.
Well, I am alone
But adored by 100,000 more
Than I swore when you were the last.
When you were the last high
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
Well I was the first to have spoken
And I said just about all of the things you shouldn't say.
So maybe you loved me, but now maybe you don't.
And maybe you'll call me.
Maybe you won't.
So, I am alone
But adored by 100,000 more
Than I said when you were the last.
And I have known love, like a whore
From at least 10,000 more
Then I swore when you were the last.
When you were the last high
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
When you were the last high
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
Hi-i-i-gh
12 Hit Rock Bottom (02:53)
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
You ain't got music if you ain't got the muscle, oh yeah.
Ain't seen nothin' 'til you're down and you're rotten, oh yeah.
You ain't got nothing until you hit rock bottom.
Oh yeah.
You ain't got music if you ain't got the muscle, oh yeah.
You ain't seen nothing until you're down and you're rotten, oh yeah.
You ain't got nothing until you hit rock bottom.
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah
Well, the boys keep swinging, the girls keep bringing.
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeaaaaaaaaah.
Oh yeaaaaaaaaah
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