Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #48

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

The Fratellis - Baby Fratelli (2007)



There's a small, but important key to the Fratellis' appeal, one that their contemporaries from Jet to Franz Ferdinand to the Libertines lack: all those band's braggadocio comes from the attitude of "look at me." The Arctic Monkeys, like Oasis in the 90s (and James Blunt this decade), come from an attitude of "look at you." The Fratellis, conversely come from an attiude of "look at us."

The plurality of rock and roll is hard to come by, and it's always been hard to come by the third person in music. So let's settle with "Baby Fratelli," a song that includes everyone in Anglo-American western life of any race, sex, or religion. "Baby Fratelli" is not a love song, it's not a bromance, and it's not a drinking song. If anything, it's a song that starts with getting up to meet your mates, then realizing the joys that come with missed connections, hanging out, and all the drama that makes us human. That kind of shared revelry is what has made the Fratellis so much more popular among fans than they'll ever be among critics. In terms of songs this decade that got all the wonders of being in your 20s, "Baby Fratelli" takes the cake. The Fratellis were the only band this decade that let themselves have that cake and the cake, too, cholesterol be damned.

Labels: 2000s, baby fratelli, lists, pop music, songs of the decade, the fratellis

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