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notes from a small vicar
from a parish
in Liverpool, UK
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Friday, October 06, 2006
Saint Etienne Heaven
posted by John Davies at 1:41 PM
Considering this week which artists and speakers would have excellent contributions to make to Greenbelt 07 on the theme Heaven in Ordinary, the band Saint Etienne come warmly to mind. That phrase (freed from religious baggage) might summarise the nature of their art very well indeed.
Listening to Tales from Turnpike House again (so refreshing) I'm reminded that here's a band with a strong sense of place, a poetic appreciation of the ordinary, a love of commonplace people and the towerblock-streetlevel-marketplace arenas where we live out our modest lives. More than one reviewer has noticed how their lightness of touch and celebratory tone makes London seem almost heavenly; and in the album's sleevenotes Jeremy Deller recalls an adolescence spent in the same South London suburbs as Saint Etienne, where a whole new world was opened up to him on Saturdays spent exploring the magical world of jumble sales.
Their film Finisterre (I blogged last year) is a psycho-geographical visual soundtrack to the city, a 24-hour journey of loving appreciation of London compressed into 57 minutes. Sometimes, though, loving the ordinary, finding deep meaning in the mundane, fills one with uncontrollable, inexpressible yearnings. Their gloriously crafted Teenage Winter brings tears to my eyes:
Amy checks the shopping list: pedal bin, washing-up rack, Santex
She goes to the baker's to buy a loaf
Aaah, she keeps forgetting it's changed into the Tropicana Tanning Salon
And in the charity shop
Mrs Brown sits at the counter
Pricing down some old stock:
The Moon's a Balloon, two copies of Every Loser Wins, Noel's Blobby Land (Deluxe Edition)
There's not much left on the doorstep recently
Something to do with Ebay Johnny reckons
He's bidding on it now
For a Subbuteo catalogue '81-82
He'll win it, put it in a drawer and forget he ever bought it
Holding on
To something
And not knowing
Exactly what you're waiting for
Teenage winter's coming down
Teenage winter throws a gown
Over every place I've been
And every little dream
Forever
Phone rings in Gary's flat (Can I speak to Mr G Stead, please?)
He hangs up and takes Tony the milk,
"See you in the Hat'n'Fan at 7"
Gary can't believe the Claremont Road pitch
Is going to be covered in executive housing
He talks about the Newcastle game, Bontcho's debut
But Tony can hardly hear him
They took the jukebox out
And the Aussie barstaff are playing Red Hot Chili Peppers
He tells 'em what he thinks, he manages to keep it clean
He buys another round
Holding on
To something
And not knowing
Exactly what you're waiting for
Teenage winter's coming down
Teenage winter throws a gown
Over every place I've been
And every little dream
Forever
Mums with pushchairs outside Sainsbury's
Tears in their eyes
They'll never buy a Gibb Brothers record again
Their old 45s gathering dust
With the birthday cards they couldn't face throwing away
Teenage winter coming down
Teenage winter coming down...
[hear sample here]
[explanation of football references in verse two here]
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john davies
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