Catching Up with Kid C

While I'd certainly seen their flamboyant album covers in the shops, I don't believe I actually ever got around to hearing Kid Creole & the Coconuts until some weeknight in 1984, when my step-father and I went to check out the arguably ridiculous Jeff Bridges film, "Against All Odds." Essentially a really long episode of "Miami Vice" featuring a wounded football player and a jilted, sleazy club owner competing for the pouty charms of sultry Rachel Ward, "Against All Odds" nonetheless featured a fleeting club scene wherein Kid Creole & the Coconuts put on a glitzy performance, coming across like some bizarre Caribbean amalgam of Cab Calloway and Morris Day & The Time. Being that I was otherwise infatuated with funklessly sneery bands like The Circle Jerks and the Lords of the New Church at the time, I didn't give them much thought. Although the song in question, "My Male Curiosity," strangely stayed with me.

About seventeen years later, I remember eagerly checking out another film featuring Kid Creole's little mob, that being the flawed-but-compelling "Downtown 81." Despite the inclusion of performances by endearingly skronky post-punk and No Wave acts like DNA and Tuxedomoon, I have to admit that my favorite bits of music in the film were of Kid Creole's performance at the long-since closed Rock Lounge on West Broadway (just south of Canal Street). Given my oft-cited preoccupation with the gritty downtown Manhattan scene of yesteryear, I immediately went out to prize the soundtrack. While there is loads on it to recommend, sure enough my favorite tracks on the disc ended up being those by Kid Creole & the Coconuts. In turn, this led me more recently to finally track down and re-visit that first taste, "My Male Curiosity."

I'm not sure the below video really does it it justice (this is the performance filmed for "Against All Odds," albeit with the footage of Jeff Bridges and James Woods mercifully omitted), but here's the song in question. It may not be your cup of tea -- let alone indicative of the standard fare on this weblog -- but twenty-six years after I first heard it, I think its pretty excellent. Crank it.

Comments

[James Taylor]

I've had this song stuck in my head for the last twenty-four hours, no thanks to this post! I've never seen Against All Odds (due to my general avoidance of Phil Collins' crimes in the name of music) but this is great. Oh, for the days of fun, sophisticated pop made by adults for adults.

[dark1p]

always loved the kid, and the coconuts were something else. great outfits.

in the early-ish 70s, august darnell used to buy vintage suits down on lower broadway...what was the name of that store? it became canal jeans, i think...or maybe not. those were great days for vintage. check out bowie's sniffing appearance on dick cavett's show to promote 'young americans', he was very into the 30s and 40s vintage stuff at the time, too.

darnell and his brother also led dr. buzzard's original savannah band before he hatched kid creole. the vintage clothes came to the fore back then, when they had a disco hit with 'cherchez la femme', one of the more playful/witty/retro hits of that era. I could never dance to it, but I loved the big band era references in the arrangement.

wonder where these guys are today....haven't seen them live in 25 years!