Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #61

[For more info, read the Ground Rules of The Song of The Decade List]

The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger (2006)




"Chelsea Dagger" was the closest thing this decade got to "Song 2." The decade's best drinking song that moonlights as a sex romp and a post-punk revival spoof (if only Franz Ferdinand could swipe a Peter Hook bassline so carelessly), "Chelsea Dagger" was a hybrid of XTC and T-Rex under the guise of a slight Queens of the Stone Age rip-off. The Fratellis dared you to name that band, and didn't care if you liked them. They ended up as one of the U.K.'s most successful bands of the decade, and by selling the fuck out of "Chelsea Dagger "—much like Blur did with their grunge spoof a decade earlier, they struck earbuds in America that had missed them the first time through. The difference between Blur and the Fratellis was that last decade the music press was smart enough to be in on the joke. Despite the removal of all technical obstacles, Americans fail to see Britpop as more than a cult act, and most British bands and rags failed to adjust. Same as always, except this time the Fratellis could be themselves without anyone to stop them from succeeding on their own terms.

Labels: 2000s, chelsea dagger, lists, pop music, songs of the decade, the fratellis