This one popped up on a playlist recently, and despite having heard it multiple times over recent years, I suddenly had the thought that this could maybe work as a uketune. Well why not – a synth-based, percussion-heavy chant with bass breakdowns – that’s an obvious choice for a ukulele-based singalong, surely!
Well, why not. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes. So here it is.
Fascist Groove Thang was the debut single from Heaven 17, their first release after the break-up of the original Human League. Like now, the early 80s were not a nirvana of rubik’s cubes, day-glo clothing, deely boppers and legwarmers. There was some serious s**t going down – strikes, terrorist attacks, riots, unemployment, Thatcher, Regan, and the ever-present threat of nuclear war. It was against that backdrop that this tune arrived.
The record company (Virgin) and the band were both convinced that the tune had the potential to be a huge hit, and initially the record stared climbing the outer reaches of the chart. But stalled just outside the all-important top 40, Radio 1 DJ Mike Read took against it, prompted largely by the line “Reagan’s president elect/Fascist god in motion“, and proceeded to get it banned. Taking with it any chance of it breaking through as a hit (Read did a similar thing a few years later with Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax, but that time it back-fired spectacularly!).
However the song’s longevity has proved remarkable, covered by both LCD Soundsystem and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and – specific references, aside – the song is still (unfortunately) very topical. To quote joint songwriter, Martyn Ware – “That which used to be hidden from view in the past has now been normalised“.
And the song sheet? Well here it is. To be honest, I’m not totally sure whether these are the “correct” chords. There’s a version on Ultimate Guitar, but I’m not convinced that it’s right. There’s no sheet music out there. And I’ve tried various apps to decipher it and they come up with varying results. But I’m pretty sure that these work, even if they may not be “accurate”. I’ve veered between thinking this could be a real banger, and thinking it could be a car crash! So give it a try – what have you got to lose! Enjoy!
I’ve just finished reading Paul Simpson’s Revolutionary Spirit., and I’d highly recommend it, particularly for anybody who has an interest in the late-70s and early 80s Liverpool music scene that centred around Eric’s. But it is also a very honest tale of a talent that never realised his full potential, and of somebody who seemed to constantly want to sabotage his own success.
Simpson was a co-founder, along with Julian Cope, of The Teardrop Explodes. He formed his own band, The Wild Swans, who have been critically lauded but never had any success (apart from, somewhat bizarrely, in the Philippines), and backed out of this collaboration with Ian “Lightning Seeds” Broudie just as they were completing their debut album.
As a key figure in the scene that gave birth to Echo and The Bunnymen, Wah!, OMD and others, including The Lotus Eaters (who were formed when The Wild Swans decided to sack Simpson, their lead singer and founder), and dubbed at the time the best voice on the scene, Simpson could be bitter. But his story is anything but – a tale populated with great characters and ridiculous scenes, an individual who is aware of what he has squandered, but has come to terms with it (and there is a new Wild Swans record due next year).
If you’ve ever heard a Paul Simpson song, chances are it’s this one. Not that you may realise it. Flaming Sword was what they used to call a “radio hit” – played to death on Radio 1 on its release in the spring of 1983, but the great listening public chose not to pay attention. Peaking at number 48 in May of that year, it then proceeded to sink without trace, although Broudie did record a version with The Lightning Seeds. With no effective band to promote the record, the album wasn’t released, and it wasn’t until 1997 that a compilation of the Care recordings finally crept into the sunlight. But it is definitely worth checking out – Flaming Sword is (in my opinion) the best track on there, but there are some other great tunes from the band-that-was-never-to-be.
So here’s one to sing with gusto. The song sheet is quite straightforward – with the exception that it’s almost impossible to do without incurring some flattened chords. This version is true to the original key, although the recording is at a slightly odd speed which means it doesn’t quite sound right. I’ve also tabbed out the very simple intro / instrumental riff to sit over the top of the chords. Enjoy!
The Decemberists are a band that have flitted on and off my radar over the years. I first became aware of them with The Hazards Of Love album, a record that is probably not the most typical introduction to the band, being as it is a sprawling, epic rock opera that tells a long and winding folk tale.
I loved that record at the time, and definitely should revisit it at some point. The follow up, The King Is Dead, was also a record that I enjoyed very much, but was a definitely left turn from their previous recording, being a re-discovering of acoustic American roots, described at the time as the “most pastoral, rustic record they’ve ever made”.
The band have been quiet of late (their last record was six years ago), but earlier this year this single appeared. A new album (“As It Ever Was, So It Will Be”) has been announced for June, and there are a bunch of tour dates in the US later in the year, meaning the band are very definitely back to being active.
Burial Ground is described by singer, songwriter and guitarist Colin Meloy:
“‘Burial Ground’ is in that time-honoured pop song tradition, a paean to hanging out in the graveyard. The melody hook came to me in a dream and I hummed it into my phone on waking. Most dream songs are bad; this was the exception.”
It’s a simple but gorgeous song, and struck me as one that would work well as ukulele tune. So here it is.
And there’s a songsheet to go with it. Simple chords, simple structure, there’s not much to say about this one. I have included some of the backing vocals as I think there are a lot of opportunities here for beautiful harmonising (listen to the recording and you’ll see). Enjoy!
As an aside, I thought I’d give one of those new-fangled AI tools a try. Asked to “write a 500 word article about Burial Ground by The Decemberists”, it came up with this – I think I’ll give up now!
Colin Meloy, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, has described the melody hook of Burial Ground as coming to him in a dream, a rarity as most dream-inspired songs do not translate well into waking reality. However, this one proved to be an exception2. The dreamlike quality of the song is palpable, with its haunting melody and ethereal harmonies.
The song’s structure is traditional, with verses and choruses that build upon each other to create a narrative arc. The instrumentation is classic Decemberists, with acoustic guitars, piano, and strings creating a folk-rock sound that is both familiar and fresh. Mercer’s contribution adds another layer of harmony, enriching the song’s texture.
The Decemberists have long been known for their storytelling prowess, and Burial Ground is no exception. The song tells a story not just through its words but through its mood and atmosphere. It invites listeners to reflect on their own lives, to find their own burial ground where they can lay down their burdens and find peace.
In conclusion, Burial Ground is a song that encapsulates the essence of The Decemberists’ artistry. It is a song of introspection and exploration, both musically and thematically. With its release, the band continues to cement their place in the pantheon of contemporary folk-rock music, offering a track that resonates with listeners long after the last note has faded.
For fans of The Decemberists and new listeners alike, Burial Ground is a testament to the band’s enduring ability to craft songs that are as thought-provoking as they are melodious. It is a welcome addition to their discography and a song that will undoubtedly be cherished for years to come.
So here’s me writing about another song and another band that I don’t really know much about. I do hope you’re not coming here for detailed, authoritative information about the music!
Hole were an American alternative rock band who have been through multiple members and line-ups over the years, with the only constant being that of lead singer, lyricist and guitarist Courtney Love (lead guitarist Eric Erlandson has been along for most of the ride as well). Forming in Hollywood, LA, the band became part of the US alternative rock / grunge scene of the late 80s and early 90s, an association that became even more entangled when Love married Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and became mother of their child, Frances Bean Cobain. The relationship was stormy, and Love’s contribution to Cobain’s mental state at the time of his suicide is a constant source of angst for Nirvana and Cobain fans.
But Love and Hole continued, and in 1998 released Celebrity Skin, an album that saw a swerve from the band’s grunge roots towards a more commercial sound that drew influences from disparate sources such as Fleetwood Mac and My Bloody Valentine. Aided and abetted by Smashing Pumpkin’s Billy Corgan, the album was both a commercial and critical success.
Malibu was the second single from the album. Apparently originally written for Stevie Nicks, it is definitely at the more poppy end of Hole’s repertoire. Written about Love’s first boyfriend, with whom she lived in Malibu in the late mid-80s, it’s a surprisingly melodic and sunny sounding tune (no surprise that it was a big hit in Australia).
And the songsheet? Well it’s a fairly standard verse-chorus-middle 8 structure, and nothing too tricky on the chord front. The Em9 adds a certain flavour to the tune, but it works well with a standard Em as well. I’ve also included some optional chords at the end of the middle 8 lines with some variations on A (Asus4, Aadd9) that give some nice little touches – consistent with the original. Other than that there’s not much additional to say. Enjoy!
I’ve never really got on with The Fall. On paper they should be something I enjoy. But they’ve always felt like hard work to me, and, well, you know – life’s too shorts. But recently a couple of tracks have come across my radar that have been more than passable, and one of those is making it’s way onto these pages.
The first tune that struck me as rather good was Bill Is Dead, a somewhat atypical tune from 1990’s Extricate album, which is a more reflective and melancholy take than should be expected of The Fall and is – in my opinion – all the better for that.
The second was Mr Pharmacist. As it turns out, this is actually a cover version, the original being by a band called The Other Half, a late-60s garage rock band from San Francisco. In the 1980s the song got added to a volume of the famous Nuggets series, which compiled/rescued obscure garage and psychedelic rock songs from the 1960s and brought them to a totally new audience. Whether Mark E. Smith picked the tune up from there (The Fall version came out the year after the Nuggets volume was released) or whether it was one that was familiar to the band beforehand I can’t say. But The Fall version is very good – their raw and aggressive sound allied to a great little song that doesn’t hang around. Tight and economical – does what it needs to do, and not hanging around afterwards.
And here is the songsheet. It’s a simple enough song that relies on a chugging chord-based riff, and definitely benefits from playing those chords as barre chords. I’ve transposed it down a notch to make it easier to play – capo 1 if you want to play along to the original, although The Other Half version is in exactly this key, so you play along to that without the capo. They potentially tricky bit is where the rhythm changes at the beginning of the instrumental. It sounds like it’s speeding up, but it’s not – it just moves to a different, more urgent rhythm. Anyway, make what you will of this – but enjoy!
Uke Tunes 