Well, it's Friday afternoon. It's been another long, strange week, but here we all are at the ass end of it, so crack open a beer for thyself and celebrate accordingly. On my rainy trudge to work this morning, I set my iPod on shuffle (yes, I'm back on the `phones again, but only in moderation), and this blistering little track from 1988 came on, completely fitting my mood. "Birth, School, Work, Death" by the Godfathers surfaced when I was a senior in college (and only half-way through the sequence detailed in the song), and as I was insufferably premature in my world-weariness, I immediately glommed onto its irrepressible pessimism. Despite (or perhaps because of) its surly theme, this single is a virtually flawless rock song. Perfecting a slightly glossier version of the sound older British bands like 999 and the Inmates had been practicing (sort've burly pub rock with a feral punk bite), the Godfathers augmented their shtick with a sharp dressed, frowny aesthetic. Sadly, "Birth, School, Work, Death" became the band's only sizable hit (though I think the single that followed it, "`Cos I Said So" is equally brilliant, if not better) and the band vanished sometime in the mid-90's.
I actually managed to see the Godfathers play in Columbus, Ohio on the tour for this record at the Newport Music Hall on High Street. Along with this obligatory all-fists-aloft anthem, the band belied its po-faced image by adding covers of "Fight For Your Right to Party" by the Beastie Boys and "Cold Turkey" by John Lennon. Suffice to say, it rocked. Regardless, this track will forever remain their angry calling card. And the second guitar solo fuckin' smokes! Turn it up.
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