#drowners band

[moonybeam3]

Being a marauders stan is seeing an ad for a meal kit service and seeing a 5 second shot of a drummer and knowing immediately that it’s Matt Hitt

[thebl4ckstar]

I love being a drowners fan and a marauders fan because imagine the phrase "Oh yeah, my favorite band's lead singer is Remus Lupin."

[cannibal-rat]

Muire D'yaeblen

[suedeblueshoes]

My roman empire is the drowners performed by manic street preachers

[the-flavor-of-britpop]

Rest in Peace Steve Mackey. You were iconic.

Via The Guardian:

"His wife, stylist Katie Grand, announced the news on her Instagram page, writing:

After three months in hospital, fighting with all his strength and determination, we are shocked and devastated to have said goodbye to my brilliant, beautiful husband, Steve Mackey. Steve died today, a loss which has left myself, his son Marley, parents Kath and Paul, sister Michelle and many friends all heartbroken. Steve was the most talented man I have ever known, an exceptional musician, producer, photographer and filmmaker. As in life, he was adored by everyone whose paths he crossed in the multiple creative disciplines he conquered. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the NHS staff who worked tirelessly for Steve. He will be missed beyond words.

Mackey joined Pulp in 1989, first contributing to their third album Separations. He went on to play on all their subsequent studio albums, including the likes of Different Class and His ’n’ Hers which are regarded as high points in the mid-90s Britpop scene."

[suedesongs]

These Are The Suede Songs 003: The Drowners

1991. The University of London Union Ticket Office. Enter one Simon Gilbert, stage right. Gilbert, a twenty-five year old punk from Stratford-Upon-Avon, has just heard a demo tape from a band, supposedly one managed by, among a couple of other characters, his colleague Ricky Gervais. Gervais was, at this point, working at ULU and moonlighting in a band, as Brett Anderson recalls, called Son Of Bleeper. This was long before he would become better known for his “comedy” - and troubling views on transgender rights.

Gilbert asked Gervais if he could join, to which he was told he couldn’t “because he didn’t have flares and he didn’t have a fringe”.

Thank goodness, he would go on to ask another of Suede’s managers and secured a rehearsal. It would take six months of Gilbert believing he was on a trial period to realise he was officially in the band.

This was monumental in Suede’s musical journey. Gone was the faulty drum machine which would constantly break down, and here was a proper full-time drummer, and the final push to shake off the unpleasant spectre of Baggy forever, and to comfortably slide into something tighter, more violent, sexier. Gilbert’s drumming is melodic and calculated, whilst at the same time booming and tribal. It’s the kind of drumming that fills stadiums, and what a better way to introduce Suede to the world at large than with his iconic drum fill on ‘The Drowners’.

It was around this time, too, that Justine Frischmann would depart the band. Anderson recalls to Dave Thompson that, as Butler was increasingly developing his playing to incorporate both lead and rhythm at the same time, this, sadly, made her feel her place in the band was becoming somewhat redundant. Frischmann herself remarks that it was “better to be Pete Best than Linda McCartney.”

Another reason for her exit was the shift in the band’s musical direction. Frischmann increasingly felt that songs were becoming too long and overwrought. Though she would, fantastically, go on to create short, spiky post-punk with Elastica later in the decade.

On January 2nd 1992, Suede attracted the attention of Saul Galpern, the operator of Nude Records, whilst playing at The Venue in New Cross in a show under the name “On For ‘92”. He offered them £3,132 for a two single deal.

In April of that year, Melody Maker made the bold choice to place Suede on their front cover, proclaiming them the “Best New Band in Britain”. This cover has gone on to gain an almost infamy amongst Suede and their fans. Anderson, in the 2022 BBC Documentary Rock Family Trees: The Birth of Cool Britannia, refers to it in disparaging terms, likening it to winning a competition in school as a child.

However less discussed is the contents of the article itself. Not only were Suede described as ‘The Best New Band in Britain’, but as “the most audacious, mysterious, sexy, absurd, perverse, glamorous, hilarious, honest, cocky, melodramatic, mesmerising band you’re ever likely to fall in love with.”

And this leads us back, finally, to The Drowners.

Released on May 11th 1992 as a double A Side with To The Birds, The Drowners peaked at a not insignificant number 49 on the UK charts at the time of release, however it would later go on to hit an impressive Number 17 in July 2023 for one week as a thirtieth anniversary reissue, albeit in a time when chart positions don’t mean all that much.

Suede would often be touted as some kind of antithesis to the Grunge which dominated the airwaves in the early 1990s, however, The Drowners’ opening chords could, in some sense, be described as “grungy”. They’re hard and powerful and dirty. Not dirty in the greasy-haired grunge sense, but in a way that oozes sex. This is what truly sets Suede apart.

In the Channel 4 Documentary Opening Shot, Everett True, at the time assistant editor at Melody Maker, explains: “the critics loved them [Suede] (...) because they are exactly the same as everything they grew up with. They hark back to an era of rock and roll that critics understand, 1993 down the front at the Hammersmith Odeon watching David Bowie.” I feel that this perspective, whilst it may have some truth to it, is rather an oversimplification and focuses primarily on Suede’s image (cobbled together from charity shops and largely consisting of whatever they could find). Suede only have as much in common with Bowie as any of their contemporaries, it feels like a rather lazy comparison.

Anderson’s vocals have once again assumed new inflections and has a great deal more character, not to mention confidence. Listening to the Rocking Horse Demo, which is a much rawer, grittier take, the first thing that sticks out are, indeed, the vocals. They’re sung in near falsetto, they’re a little girlish and coquettish. Inviting, sexy. If there’s one way that The Drowners can be described, it’s certainly sexy. The rhythm of the guitar line, the pounding drums, the pleading of Anderson’s vocals.

There’s the ambiguity of it all, too, as Anderson describes how “we kiss in his room”. Is this the room of a third party? A male partner? Or is he singing from a woman’s perspective? It’s kept completely open, and this ambiguity is something that will become a theme throughout Suede’s catalogue.

Interestingly, two music videos were shot. One for the UK market by Lindy Heymann, which depicts the band flouncing around a white soundstage intercut with footage of Anderson and an unnamed girl walking around a manky railway bridge in Camden (now a pilgrimage spot for avid Suede fans, complete with an unofficial blue plaque), and another for the US market, depicting a kind of frantic gig scene with fans, real fans, clamoring for a piece of the boys on the stage, before it devolves into a foam party. I feel the latter captures the song considerably better. It's so thrilling, sexy, dirty and primal. It's everything Suede are, and everything that drew me to them.

At the time of writing, this is the song that Anderson uses as his excuse to do his crowd walk, wading through a sea of adoring fans. It's fitting, with the use of the “we” pronoun (another characteristic of Suede lyrics), creating a convivial experience. Whilst the power dynamic between band and crowd will always place the band upon a higher footing, oftentimes literally, at this moment he becomes one with his audience. It's also a chance for Mat Osman and Richard Oakes to really shine.

Although, the production on The Drowners, and Suede’s back catalogue as a whole, I feel does Osman rather poorly. He's a truly accomplished bass player who creates some truly incredible baselines which compliment and tie together the songs so perfectly, and combined with Gilbert’s ferocious drumming, it's truly a match made in rhythm section heaven. The bass, though is so often disappointingly low in the mix, and so can only be heard with the highest quality headphones.

Anderson admits part of this would likely be due to how he listened to music throughout his adolescence, on a cheap sound system which cut out the low tones. The recent remasters rectify this somewhat, but it still rather feels a shame.

All in all, The Drowners is a delightful, sleazy, beautiful introduction to the world of a band who still aren't given the credit they're due.

If you enjoy what I write, please consider buying me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/suedesongs

[stardustxfox]

Okay. I have to post. Here's a couple pics from a Suede concert in Austin, TX. Also featuring my stupid face. lol

[ashercries23]

did i scream when i got my Vundabar spotify wrapped message and he said they’re putting out new music? yes. yes i did.

also the way that i got into three of my top artists bc of marauders, and all of my top songs were of bands i was introduced to during this year. this god forsaken fandom has taken over my whole like /pos

[localcouchgremlin]

suede // mcr parallels... my absolute fave

YOURE TAKING ME OVER STOP TAKING ME OVER / ANOTHER NIGHT AND ILL BE YOU

[elucienweekofficial]

Elucien Fanfic Crossword Answer Key- One Shots

How did you do? It's our hope through this week of puzzles that folks are able to find an existing fanfiction that speaks to them! Consider these a small masterlist filled with recommendations from the community itself. Below you'll find every fanfiction recommended attached to the author who created it, added in the order they were submitted! Fics were also categorized to their best of our ability. Check them out below!

Heading Straight to You by @lucienarcheron

Inspired by a tumblr post I've also linked below: "I need elain to have her anthony bridgerton moment where lucien asks if she wants him to sever the bond and leave & she goes “do you think there’s a corner on this earth that you could travel to far enough to free me from this torment? you are the bane of my existence. and the object of all my desires."

So I decided to give elucien their own bridgerton moment :) Enjoy!

Hot and Clumsy by @witch-and-her-witcher

Feyre had warned him against falling into bed with her sister - but why hadn't she warned Lucien against the greater threat?

Of falling deeply, madly, inconceivably in love with Elain Archeron.

or

Lucien catches feelings bad in the yoga studio.

full moon, white honey by @shardminds

The worn parchment that had once held a recipe lay untouched in her quarters. She no longer needed it. Celandine, White Myrtle, Brain of a Drowner. Crush, Boil with Spirit, Bottle once cooled. Thirteen words seared into her bones. For the Witcher who too often showed her his.

all is for love, is for mind by @shardminds

Lulled by the song of the wind as it called through the valley, Elain watched the clouds form impossible shapes, carried on the same breeze that cooled her heated skin, and asked the only question she had left.

“What does love feel like?”

Letters by @nocasdatsgay

Lucien takes the brunt of Koschei’s curse and using her powers Elain sees the key to saving him is somewhere in the stack of letters he’s sent her over the years.

Hover Corte by. @areyoudreaminof

On her own self-imposed exile, Elain finds herself in the human lands to offer help to the Band of Exiles and try to make some progress with her estranged mate. Lucien, meanwhile, can’t quite find his footing with Elain. With the clock ticking, can they finally come to an understanding?

This Time, I'm Ready by @lucienarcheron

Inspired by Long Story Short by TS. I was listening to it randomly and a scene of Elain started playing out in my head. Recommend listening to it while reading :)

A Heartbreak in Mid-December by @climbthemountain2020

Lucien gets rip-roaring drunk after yet another failure of a Solstice and spends some time reflecting on the events that led him here. He decides that perhaps it's time to let go of the bond once and for all.

OR

ClimbTheMountain2020 couldn't stop picturing Elucien scenarios while listening to Neck Deep.

A Cut Above The Rest by @crazy-ache

“Wait!” Elain clambered to her feet, jumping off the bed. He looked at her expectedly, dagger in one hand and a handful of hair in the other. What was there to say? That she had always secretly adored his hair just the way it was? That he couldn’t possibly cut it before she even had the chance to run her fingers through it? “Let me do it,” she said.

While on the run in the Continent, Elain and Lucien must discuss what has remained unspoken after a frightening incident.

Desperately Waiting by shipatfirstsight

She tries not to think about Lucien

And now good-morrow to our waking souls by zipadeea

“Good morrow to you, little Lucien,” Rhysand crooned as he stepped forth from the shadowy ether, watching Lucien stand slowly and brush the grass from his trousers. “Here to treat with me again regarding my bargain with Feyre darling?”

Lucien took a deep breath, willing the need to punch the smirk off Rhysand’s smug face out of his body.

“No. Well,” Lucien said thoughtfully. “Yes. I suppose. I want you to keep her. Don’t bring Feyre back at the end of the week. Keep her in the Night Court.”

***

Lucien tries to save the three Archeron sisters. He fails.

Cinnamon and Honey by @velidewrites

Lucien has long given up on his crush on Elain Archeron — until she drops by his flower shop to return a bouquet from her now ex-boyfriend.

I Can't Help Myself From Looking At You by @tuzna-pesma-snova

Years have passed since Elain had last seen Lucien and since she had broken the bond. But once all High Lords get invited to Nyx's 18th birthday party their encounter is inevitable. Will this encounter change everything or not?

Rita's Shenanigans by @vulpes-fennec

Hoping to break the ice with her mate, Elain enlists her family’s help in setting up a night out at Rita’s. A post-ACOSF, Modern AU (with Fae lore).

Troublesome Child by NovaComette

Rhysand and Feyre left for the day and it's up to Elain and Lucien to take care of Nyx. And what hell of a day they'll have to deal with.

Help! I'm Fainting by @sunshinebingo

“I need a healer,” Elain loudly exclaimed. “What!?” Lucien pulled his chair back in a panicked state. Was she sick? What was – Elain reached him before he could stand and oh so gently dropped herself on his lap with a breathless, “Help! I’m fainting.”

...

When his mate barged into his office claiming to be sick, Lucien had to find out what she had and how to take care of her.

bet on me by @crazy-ache

Elain is caught sulking at her sister's mating ceremony. Lucien wagers a drinking game to prove who knows the other best.

“Go on. Tell me all about myself, Lucien Vanserra.”

And there is the matter of something charged sitting between them at the table. He was challenging her. An invitation for friction, a consideration to be included in the joke, a bid to entwine in something deliciously improper. Elain could not remember the last time anyone had offered her anything remotely tantalizing.

Inspiration by @lucienarcheron

Prompt: Modern AU | Aspiring writer Elain Archeron is looking for some inspiration for her new novel when she happens to meet the perfect man for the job.

Forget Me Not by @lucienarcheron

Drunk Elain and her shenanigans.

in eternal bloom by @crazy-ache

On the quest to find the sixth mortal queen, Lucien Vanserra meets a human with brown eyes and that same stubborn Archeron nose. Together, on their search for Vassa, Lucien befriends Elain’s father, and learns a bit more about his mate.

I Like You by @fieldofdaisiies

Elain decides that she is ready to make a move towards Lucien. And yes, it is a bit sad.

Speak Now by @separatist-apologist

I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion. But you are not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl

put your lips close to mine (as long as they don't touch) by @belabellissima

But in the end, it didn’t matter what Elain did to protect the puzzle - three pieces had been missing right from the start. They would never fall into place. Elain felt like that puzzle every time she saw Lucien, every time Feyre brought up his name, tried to push Elain into accepting him. She could see the image, see the outcome in her mind - the perfect life, the love, the children, the years together - but she wasn’t whole. She was lacking those pieces - the one thing that would make her the full image of a perfect, doting wife.

Or: The author saying ace!Elain rights.

Metamorphosis by @starry-mantle

How a butterfly and some reference books lead Elain to reconsider the mate she's been trying so hard to ignore.

A Feeling So Peculiar by @rarephloxes

As Elain struggles to embrace her new body after being drowned in the Cauldron for political purposes she has never been privy to, she undertakes the gruesome journey to dissociate herself from whomever she has ever been or could ever become, Elain feels ready to do what it takes to quiet her mind and dull her senses. In her haste and need to flee while staying inside, she finds herself drawn to knowledge that will change the course of her destiny.

-

Or: The Healer!Elain fic

curses and gifts by @crazy-ache

In which Elain is cursed to live that fateful day with the Cauldron again and again and again. Until a choice is made.

lost in your current (like a priceless wine) by @withclawandvine

On Elain’s birthday Lucien sends her a gift. She decides she’s going to put an end to these unwanted, unreciprocated presents once and for all. Instead, something begins.

Sunshine and Reunions by @shallyne

This Oneshot plays in the same Universe as Sunshine and Promises BUT you can read it seperately

Elain is sick and Lucien visits her

[folksreg]

Band of brothers as indie rock albums.

Richard Winters: everything you’ve come to expect

Lewis Nixon: twilight

Eugene Roe: wiped out

Ronald Speirs: ultraviolence

George Luz: tell me i’m pretty

Joe Leibgott: french exit

David Webster: lovers fevers

Carwood Lipton: tranquility hotel and casino

Buck Compton: drowners

Donald Malarkey: the record

[monstraduplicia]

daddy's little girl he broke in thirty: a dean winchester mix

1. abuse me - silverchair 2. adam raised a cain - bruce springsteen 3. alcohol - sisyphus 4. alibis - marianas trench 5. animals - nickelback 6. anyone who knows what love is (will understand) - irma thomas 7. black-eyed - placebo 8. blown wide open - big wreck 9. blunt force concussion - the dirty nil 10. break me - mcfly 11. burn & shine - the posies 12. call of the playground - shudder to think 13. carry that weight - the beatles 14. christian brothers - heatmiser, elliott smith 15. colossus - idles 16. coward's son - the ballroom thieves 17. daddy - korn 18. daddy's daughter - merricat crellin 19. damage control - the dirty nil 20. degenerate - the jesus and the mary chain 21. the devil you know (god is a man) - face to face 22. discipline - nine inch nails 23. don't let the sun catch you cryin' - jeff buckley 24. the drowners - suede 25. father - the front bottoms 26. father and son - cat stevens 27. father figure - george michael 28. father of mine - everclear 29. feel the pain - dinosaur jr 30. fiddle about - the who 31. forgiven - alanis morissette 32. fortunate son - creedence clearwater revival 33. freak - silverchair 34. friends in the sky - the dirty nil 35. fuckin' up young - the dirty nil 36. ghost - sky ferreira 37. girls - the dare 38. good boy - patriarchy 39. hang yer moon - the dirty nil 40. hard times - ethel cain 41. he needs me - shelley duvall 42. i burn - toadies 43. i know it's over - the smiths 44. i'm with you - avril lavigne 45. i need somebody - the stooges 46. infra-red - placebo 47. i woke up in a strange place - jeff buckley 48. judge yr'self - manic street preachers 49. last night i dreamt that somebody loved me - the smiths 50. life becoming a landslide - manic street preachers 51. lightsabre cocksucking blues - mclusky 52. loverboy - you me at six 53. low self opinion - rollins band 54. monster side - addict 55. moodswing whiskey - jeff buckley 56. mr. self destruct - nine inch nails 57. nancy boy - placebo 58. o death - rhiannon giddens, francesco turris 59. oh comely - neutral milk hotel 60. pain - four star mary 61. papa was a rodeo - the magnetic fields 62. please hurt me - the crystals 63. please please please let me get what i want - the smiths 64. prayer - big wreck 65. pretension//repulsion - manic street preachers 66. renegade - styx 67. runnin' with the devil - van halen 68. samarians - idles 69. send the pain below - chevelle 70. sex and violence - the exploited 71. the shining - badly drawn boy 72. simple man - deftones 73. slab - silverchair 74. song against sex - neutral milk hotel 75. story of isaac - leonard cohen 76. (they long to be) close to you - carpenters 77. thoroughfare - ethel cain 78. a trophy fathers trophy son - sleeping with sirens 79. two-headed boy - neutral milk hotel 80. two-headed boy pt. 2 - neutral milk hotel 81. unloveable - the smiths 82. wanted man - ratt 83. the weight - the band 84. western nights - ethel cain 85. what will you say - jeff buckley 86. whipping post - allman brothers band 87. you are a runner and i am my father's son - wolf parade 88. you can't always get what you want - the rolling stones 89. your flesh is so nice - jeff buckley 90. youth gone wild - skid row

[forget-me-maybe]

💜💛🤍 (I would do the full rainbow of asks, but I will limit it to three xD)

hihi that's okay! answered white and yellow so i'll do the purple!

💜 Purple: Name one song you're listening to while writing your next/current fanfic. How or why does it help the writing process?

i listened a lot to drowners (the album by the band of the same name) while writing a story that's not posted nor finished and i used it for inspiration for being a very horny and very angsty young man (i might even have taken some inspo for metaphors). otherwise i mostly listen to music while i think about the story and less so when i write it

[suedesongs]

These Are The Suede Songs 004: To The Birds/My Insatiable One

When one mentions Suede, one of the first things that will inevitably come up, is the sheer strength of their B-sides, which stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest A-Sides of their contemporaries, even surpassing them. Perhaps it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to argue they even eclipse the quality of their own A-Sides at times.

Not to wear out the comparison, but this is another factor Suede have in common with The Smiths; more on that later. As a business decision, it’s certainly clever. It’s obvious, but a factor many artists fail to consider, and that’s keeping sales of singles consistently high alongside album sales. Whilst in the 1970s it may have been commonplace for artists to discard just another album track as a B-side, keeping the spheres of album and single purchases entirely separate, towards the eighties and into the early nineties, it became the norm to include specifically recorded tracks as the flip side, as the gap between the single and album markets closed. This was of course due to wider societal shifts; the singles charts were typically seen as the realm of younger consumers with less disposable income and more freely roaming eyes, and albums of proper, “grown-up” music aficionados. There was always a subtly gendered dichotomy at play here, too, which fortunately as time went on, reduced significantly though never quite went away. Women who are music enthusiasts, like myself, often have our love for the artform reduced to a mere frivolity, whilst our male counterparts are taken more seriously, even if they have much less to say on the subject. We’re “singles” people. Men are “albums” people. Quality B-sides, though, legitimised the single in the eyes of many, and whilst they should be considered an essential part of pop music and pop culture no matter the contents of the other side, proved that a single can be a worthy purchase if only to hear the bonus tracks you won’t hear anywhere else. To this day, it’s still something of a joke among musicians and music fans alike. I remember watching an episode of the cartoon Steven Universe as a teenager, where the titular character’s father Greg, a musician, dismisses a song he wrote and views as inferior as “just a B-side”, and I think this is representative of the general attitude towards them, which bands like Suede and The Smiths, and even dare I say Oasis, were essential in dispelling.

The first of our songs today isn’t technically a B-side at all, rather the double A side of The Drowners, included on the 12 inch release: To The Birds.

This track started life in the dying throes of Suede Mk.1, shortly before Frischmann’s departure and after Gilbert’s recruitment, as The Bike Tragedy, owing its title presumably to the opening line, “Don’t take your life ‘cos your bicycle won’t fly”. It’s an ode to those small glimmers of optimism in otherwise bleak times, whilst touching on the bread and butter of Suede lyrics - infatuation and sacrifice and submission to love. Brett Anderson writes from the point of view of our protagonist, in a state of despair, watching and singing to, as the title suggests, the birds at his side, or, perhaps the woman he sees “by the window”. This takes on a double meaning, of singing to literal birds (the animal) or to a woman, or women (“birds” being a colloquial, usually Estuary-ism referring to women, often considered to be demeaning, though commonly used in English slang, indicating the shift towards shying away from flowery music-isms and more towards the gritty, often vulgar, language Anderson heard from those around him throughout his childhood and early adulthood). As To The Birds became a pivotal part of Suede’s live set around 1992, in fact, yet another layer of meaning is added. There’s a pretty equal gender split in terms of Suede’s fanbase, though there was always the vague air of them being viewed as a “girls’” band. Mat Osman recalls seeing advertisements for club nights in London in the 1990s, listing music from the blokey Britpop lot of the day, and it reading plainly “Sorry girls, no Suede”, and taking a great deal of pride in this, in being seen as a “girls’” band, separate to the rampant misogyny, leeriness and toxic masculinity so omnipresent in so much British music of the time. With this in mind, despite the obvious old-fashioned connotations of the word, Anderson himself is singing “to the birds” at his side, and that would perhaps save him from a life of office drudgery. God forbid, of course.

Seeing “her” by the window has this effect, also. We can take this as mere innocent love for a neighbour or friend, or perhaps a partner, with whom our protagonist is infatuated with, whether platonically or romantically, and will later in the song cross the bustling traffic, and submit themselves entirely to their feelings. However there’s another, more seedy and perhaps Suede-esque meaning, which would probably be more obvious coming from the mouth of somebody like Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker (love him though I do), and that’s one of sexual voyeurism. Anderson is a master at creating these multiple, layered meanings that explore the contradictions of our lives and of the human condition. His lyrics are almost a kind of poetic rorschach test. In this sense, To The Birds contains such powerful, vivid imagery, but each and every person who listens to it will come away with a different interpretation.

Onto My Insatiable One, which is the first many think of when Suede B-Sides are mentioned. It’s a melancholic breakup song, and it’s been said, by the man himself even, that Anderson wrote the lyrics from the perspective of Justine Frischmann, writing from the point of view of an ex in the same way as he would on Head Music’s He’s Gone years later, but that hasn’t stopped interpretations of the song hovering around homoeroticism for some fans, the ambiguity and use of a male pronoun being viewed in the same way as it was on The Drowners. Anderson has explicitly refuted this and has positioned Frischmann as the POV character, and has stated that the song is about himself as viewed through her eyes. Personally I’ve always sided with Anderson’s description, but I find his attitude somewhat dismissive. Artistic intent is one thing and cannot be ignored, but to tell people, straight-up, that their interpretation is wrong is rather harsh. When a work gets put out into the world, it becomes the audiences’, there for them to enjoy and interpret however they see fit. That doesn’t devalue an artist’s original intention, however, both can co-exist.

My Insatiable One was written, apparently, unusually quickly and with surprising ease. Bernard Butler and Anderson apparently wrote it in around an hour, and it was a rare occurrence of a song just appearing fully formed. Like the previous songs discussed, the instrumental swaggers and moans, which makes a sexual interpretation all the more likely, and I find it hard to believe that Anderson and Butler were not aware of this. Lyrically, it’s simple and short, but there’s still evidence of the Suede tropes we would later come to know and love (or loathe, if you hate fun, I suppose). We have mentions of “the high life”, possibly a reference to Frischmann’s wealth, abd mentions of escalators - a fixture of the London Underground, cementing the use of imagery based around, not Britain, but around London specifically. This is another aspect that sets Suede apart, and why I refute the Britpop label when it’s haphazardly slapped onto them. There’s nothing celebratory about this portrayal of London life. It’s rather sad, in fact. It’s merely observational. Anderson said that he wanted to write about the life that he knew, which entailed “standing in dole queues, staring at the dandruff on the neck of the man in front of you, and feeling the throb of last night’s hangover.” You can really feel this with My Insatiable One. If you’ve ever been on the Underground with a bastard of a hangover, you’ll get it. The song conjures up imagery of standing there as you descend (or ascend), rubbing your temples, swaying slightly, focusing on not being sick, whilst the throngs of commuters and clueless tourists continue on the Merry-Go-Round that is Britain’s capital. I’ve definitely been there. It’s not a romantic or glamorous image. It’s not even cool in a gritty, grotty kind of way. It’s just a bit sad, and that’s what Suede sing about. It’s not romantic or cool, they’re not even trying to find beauty in it, they’re just talking about it. A world we know and live in.

Mat Osman puts it perfectly when discussing this song in the 2018 documentary The Insatiable Ones by Mike Christie, when he mentions Brett Anderson using words that you’d never normally come across in pop music, such as “leotard”. It’s really just a shame that he chose to rhyme it with a slur. I don’t hold this against Anderson whatsoever, it’s an unfortunate fact that a certain slur that rhymes with the word above was in common usage at the time, and if, as we’ve established, the lyrics are from Justine Frischmann’s point of view, whilst I can’t say for certain, when you consider that Elastica’s original name and the title of one of their songs is derived from another similarly derogatory term, one that rhymes with elastic, it’s likely this word was in her vernacular. It’s a relatively minor transgression in the grand scheme of things that musicians have done, and I’m not about to make a “Your Fave Is Problematic”-esque post or call for Suede and Elastica to be “canceled”, far from it. However, if I didn’t point this out, I would have somebody point it out for me, and it’s important to have an open dialogue about aspects of art you find to be troubling or have aged poorly. Whilst immediately writing something off as “problematic” is harmful, so is consuming everything you watch, read or listen to entirely uncritically, and defend absolutely every decision the artists have made. This is what this project is all about. I adore Suede, but I’m not exactly here to fawn over them. At least not all the time.

Around this time, Suede were not only making waves amongst the public and the music press, but were being championed by their own inspirations, notably David Bowie, and Morrissey. That’s right, Morrissey was an early champion of Suede, and even covered My Insatiable One as part of his live set. Legend has it that he was spotted at the back of a gig, scribbling down the lyrics in a notebook, though it’s more likely Moz was introduced to the song by his guitarist, Boz Boorer, who recalls buying the 12 inch of The Drowners and rehearsing it. Boorer even mentioned having to detune his guitar by a semi-tone in order to play it.

Anderson recalls being handed a bootleg of Morrissey’s performance of My Insatiable One, and it feeling rather like a full-circle moment. Of course, as we’ve mentioned, The Smiths are one of Suede’s biggest influences, and this can even possibly be connected to the quality of their B-sides, though this time did see Suede and Anderson in particular attempting to distance themselves from Morrissey. Of course, it was around this time that he started to adopt some slightly troubling imagery, based around 1970s skinheads, and some might argue, the National Front - a neo-fascist political party characterised by racist and homophobic violence and pedaling antisemitic conspiracy theories. Anderson spoke of this as just a crass adoption of 1970s imagery, but disparaged Morrissey’s music and backing band, but hindsight is 20:20, and it would later turn out that Morrissey has some incredibly conservative views, and some which could be interpreted as racist. It’s argued that this was a shift that none of his fans could have seen coming, but it’s no real surprise that he would go down this route. Writers of colour have pointed out statements made in the 1980s such as “I don’t hate Pakistanis, I just dislike them immensely”, and talk of conspiracy theories about the BBC trying to push a “black agenda” in music. This, of course, went over the heads of white indie fans, but during a time that we as a nation were becoming more aware of racial, sexual and class inequality, it was probably a good move to distance themselves from him.

[ikbeneenwong]

Started listening to suede nine years ago, and the first song I heard was THE DROWNERS. Before this, I was living a life without music, now I can hardly imagine the life without music. I said to Mat that u were the beginning of my rnr life, and he replied with thats sweet. But what's really sweet is seeing you guys onstage: I've heard so many other bands in between, but when THE DROWNERS started playing, all the music I've heard before fell out of the water. I just listened to the songs and did not know much about the history within suede before, but now it is not the case. What I admire most is the young spirit in the 1990s, which is completely different from me even now, full of vitality, valuable and tearful. BA, I initially admired him for the personal style and beautiful image, and sighed after learning about BABB's past. Standing at the node of 1994, looking forward, you said that you did not know how talented u were, even if there was no condition for you to create the music, even if there were so many wonderful British pops before, there was no possibility of giving up this attempt of continuing suede; Standing at this node and looking back, I would like to believe that all people have reached their own HE, even if frustrated, dissolved, restructured, but still have the enthusiasm for the stage, in my opinion BA is very: determined. That's it. I am not a suede focused, nor a BA focused, let alone a rnr focused, but I am very grateful to BA for bringing me these happiness, so I painted him:

HB to Brett Anderson!

[syntia13treeman]

Case 15.02

My thoughts on:

Case 15.02, the case of "Drowner Ending" or "Enjoy deep sea blues"

Once upon a time, a person drowned. She did not go down easy. She fought for her life with all she had, struggling toward the light above. She broke the surface three times, gasping for air, before the current (or weight or… something else) dragged her down for good, and she died. And then she woke up, still sinking into the infinite abyss, among other corpses.

One Saturday night, that person wandered through an alleyway near The Gladstone Arms, choking on saltwater filling her mouth, relieving her final moments, her death… and the first moments after her death.

One Saturday night, a band was playing at The Gladstone Arms. It was called "Penny for the Well" (object thrown in the water), and the man playing the bass, Luke Dyer is also in another band, "Dredgerman" (one who pulls things out of the water). Both those bands used to struggle, but recently they became very popular all of a sudden.

One Saturday night, one Alice Dyer (one who dies and dies and dies) walked back home from a show through an alleyway, and an unexplained tape recorder sitting on the alley floor turned on just in time to record her meeting with Ms. Drowner (one who drowns and drowns and drowns…).

There is no proof that those three events are connected. There is no evidence to the contrary either.

RESET: same night, from a different point of view:

Alice had a nice evening with her brother. On her way back home she stumbled onto a woman who was very obviously unwell; the women swayed, and grabbed her, and nearly dragged her down to the floor. The woman started choking; Alice called for an ambulance; the woman stopped breathing; Alice started CPR; Alice got too tired to continue; the woman continued to be dead. Alice noticed a tape recorder, just sitting there on the sidewalk, apparently recording the whole thing. Alice picked it up, confused. The dead woman next to her started talking again. Alice… dropped the recorder and run.

And I for one can only applaud her survival instincts. When the dead start talking, it's not time to play hero. She's already done all she could for Ms. Drowner, now she needs to try and save herself.

Here are some random thoughts:

One of the first thing they tell you on a life guard course is this: a drowning person will try to drown you - not on purpose, but because they will grab anything in range and pull it down in desperate attempt to get themselves UP and out of the water. (The irony of it is off course that if you go down, they go back down too. But logic has no sway over a dying mind). Ms. Drowner was drowning. Alice was in range. That is all.

Something something, Ms. Drowner struggling to stay afloat (literally) and going down three times. Her reaching out to Alice in the alleyway. Something something, Luke struggling to stay afloat (financially), reaching out to Alice for help (twice that we've seen already), and now doing well. Is Luke due for the third, final setback? Or is Luke staying up because Ms. Drowner can't?

So we had a second appearance of a random tape recorder. *staring at the tape recorder* *poking the tape recorder* Eh. Eh you. What are you? You're familiar, but do I know you? Are you a returning friend, or are you a new fiend, trying to trick me? What are you doing here? What are you planning?

For no reason at all I think that Ms. Drowner didn't drown out at sea. I think she dreamt of drowning; she dreamt of it every night, waking for brief moments, gasping for air, before falling back down into sleep the abyss. Until one day she woke up with water filling her lungs, not breathing. (It's just something that popped in my head and refuses to leave. Maybe it's because of her final words, about deeps claiming her over land).