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If we had to reference an album that defines the "underground" sound, if we had to introduce a music "initiate" to all the best characteristics of the "new wave" sound, if we had to forget the good things that the much-maligned 80s brought, well... we would have to put this CD in the player.
The four youthful guys appearing on the curious cover were nothing more than typical cultured and intellectual students from the American middle class eager to form a band, like so many others. And like so many others, they began in complete anonymity, playing mostly at parties and in "garage parties," but soon became "famous" in the New Jersey "underground" scene, given their extraordinary ability to craft a nervous, sick, decadent, and icy sound, drawing inspiration from their idols (Velvet Underground, Beatles, Stones) but metabolizing them through a masterful work of "intellectual transfiguration."
The "Crazy Rhythms" of the drums by the never-too-acclaimed Anton Fier (who replaced the "first choice" Vinnie DeNunzio after a few months), the electronically treated guitar excursions, and Glenn Mercer's emotionally void singing reduce the sound to a psychotic and android raga, permeated by a subtle underlying tension that serves as the thread of the entire work.
The opening track, The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness, already shows its intentions from the title. It takes a minute before the track takes shape, before that tinkling and distant guitar progression is stormed by the drums. A pounding, penetrating rhythm stands in the foreground with guitars in the background weaving hypnotic noises. The following Fa Cé-La is a typical nonsensical, funny, and paced track, typically punk, with a sprinkling of "Marquee Moon" on the guitars.
With Loveless Love, we return to sick territories, with expressionistic vocal (the disorienting backing chorus) and electronic punctuations. To increase the anxiolytic level, the volume even drops in the middle section before exploding into a schizoid design at the end. Extraordinary.
The title track, placed at the end of the album (the CD version also includes an excellent cover of Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones) is perhaps the most experimental episode of the bunch, a manifesto of their world. A little song that starts carefree and cheerful only to derail into a Neu-like motoristic rhythm, embellished with brief electronic counterpoints. A headache.
One cannot avoid using the adjective "seminal" when talking about "Crazy Rhythms" (but the Feelies themselves also moved along already mapped coordinates), just listen to R.E.M. of "Murmur," for example. A legendary album (also due to its scarce availability), which the dust of time has not dimmed in the slightest, quite the opposite. Brilliant.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness (05:10)
There's a kid I know but not too well
He doesn't have a lot to say
Well this boy lives right next door and he
Never has nothin' to say
It doesn't seem like he does anything
He never helps out in the yard
He lets his mother carry in groceries
Cause he doesn't plan to work too hard
The boy next door is into better things
As far as I can see
The boy next door is into bigger things
The boy next door is me
All right
Well he's not like the boys we used to have
Not like them at all - oh no
Those ones made their parents proud
This one beats 'em all
The boy next door is into better things
As far as I can see
The boy next door is into bigger things
The boy next door is me
Yeah
03 Loveless Love (05:19)
You made your offer
A little too soon
It's not the first time it's happened
In a moment you said
You don't want to know me
It's seems as though that's never done
What I'm seeing as hopeless
You're seeing as ...
Won
The story asking
Could we be together tonight
I was raised by a different standard
And it wouldn't seem right
Ah ...
It doesn't seem important
I'd like to know what matters then
As it happened they already did
I don't remember it
Loveless love
Is not my plan
Loveless love
Said it isn't romance
Loveless love
You think it's cool I think it stinks
Loveless love
You don't care what I think
Well nobody's perfect
It's not the way you were raised to be-have
Try to understand
That's not the way to be
04 Forces at Work (07:05)
The tinge of the mind
The mind is in check
The check is the force
The forces at work
(?)
06 Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey) (04:11)
Your inside is out
Your outside is in
Your outside is in
Your inside is out
So come on
Come on is such a joy
Come on is such a joy
Come on and take it easy
Come on and make it easy
Make it easy
Everybody's got something to hide
Except for me and my monkey
The higher you fly
The deeper you go
The deeper you go
The higher you fly
So come on
Come on
Come on it's such a joy
Come on it's such a joy
Come on, let's take it easy
Come on and make it easy
Everybody's got something to hide
Except for me and my monkey
Your inside is out
Your outside is in
Your outside is in
Your inside is out
So come on
Come on
Come on it's such a joy
Come on it's such a joy
Come on, let's make it easy
Come on and make it easy
Take it easy
Everybody's got something to hide
Except for me and my monkey
Come on
Come on
Come on
07 Moscow Nights (04:40)
All you really wanted
Was to be alone at least a little while
How was I to know that
Well it seemed like an eternity
When you smile and say,
"I thought about it, it's the right time"
And I expect that
You're never returning to the USA
All the way the lights are
I can see your face is getting clearer
It's like you never even left here
It's like you never had the reason
To want to go
Well I don't know
I think it's time for you to face it
You never felt right in our world
You never felt right about yourself
And I think about what it might be like
If I could go alone, if I could go at night
Would it be just like you know you said it would
Would it start the life of O (?)
09 Crazy Rhythms (06:07)
Said it's time to go, well alright
I don't wanna go, I say alright
You never listen to me anyway
You're always talking, never much to say
You remind me of a TV show
That's alright, I watch it anyway
I don't talk much cause it gets in the way
Don't let it get in the way
We'll do our job, we'll get things done
Work real hard and get things done
It's time to sail but not now
Can't relax when there's things to do
Big plans stay while the little ones fade
It's nice to know when it's part of your life
I don't want much and I need even less
It's time to sacrifice
Crazy Feelies
Said it's time to go, well alright
I don't wanna go, I say alright
You never listen to me anyway
You're always talking, never much to say
You remind me of a TV show
That's alright, I watch it anyway
I don't talk much cause it gets in the way
Don't let it get in the way
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