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Lost in the hugeness
16 August 2004 22:28The internet is a really big place. Huge, in fact. Fundamentally it is a library - a library where you can find any page of any of the books, but ninety-five percent of them were written by halfwits. In spite of this enormous scope and searchability I have noticed a significant hole in the internet - it appears that nowhere has the lyrics to Black Box Recorder's brilliant "British Racing Green" transcribed. I expect you had noticed that one too. Fortunately, this is one hole that I am in a very good position to resolve right here and now:
If you have never experienced Black Box Recorder then you have missed out on one of the greatest pop bands of the last few years- Sarah Nixey's sugar sweet vocals a smooth enamel over Luke Haines and John Moore's catchy tunes and clever, spiteful lyrics. If you imagine an evil St Etienne you are probably thinking in the right direction. It seems to me that a couple of mainstream hits are all that will be required to complete Luke Haines' progression from maverick pop genius to british institution. I can think of no more reliably excellent songwriter, both for catchy tunes and intelligent lyrics full of affectionate hate for british life and all it's institutions.
British Racing Green
(Moore/Haines, 2003)
Everybody needs to dream
Romance and love and eight hours sleep
A little cottage by the sea
A glass of gin a box of chocolates
To be both wanted and desired
To move away when we retire
No hell nor heaven in between-
British racing green.
Pebble dash houses underneath the flight paths
Still life perfectly preserved through double-glazed windows.
Satellite dish brings entertainment to our home.
Cracking the foundations clean for compensation leads to aspirations and pipe-dreams
buy myself a sports car - British racing green
Everybody needs to dream...
Still don't know where I was going
Top down in clement weather
just like all the english people
trying to win the island race whatever
british racing green
Everybody needs to dream...
Well I'm living in the chatroom with the diana fanclub
they sent a virus to my dream
that wiped the hard drive
british racing green
Everybody needs to dream ...
If you have never experienced Black Box Recorder then you have missed out on one of the greatest pop bands of the last few years- Sarah Nixey's sugar sweet vocals a smooth enamel over Luke Haines and John Moore's catchy tunes and clever, spiteful lyrics. If you imagine an evil St Etienne you are probably thinking in the right direction. It seems to me that a couple of mainstream hits are all that will be required to complete Luke Haines' progression from maverick pop genius to british institution. I can think of no more reliably excellent songwriter, both for catchy tunes and intelligent lyrics full of affectionate hate for british life and all it's institutions.