As previously mentioned, the 90 s were bleak times loaded with hedonism. Nieztsche s "God is Dead" quote was present in popular music as never before. You could choose between hopelessness and bold aggression to spare your time. Even Christian champions like U2 infused themselves with Post-Modern cynicism. Subverting I Still Haven t Found What I m Looking For, Bono & the guys proclaimed: "Uncertainty can be a guiding light" (Zooropa)
Towards the end of the millenium, infamous Generation X became regretful. The bleak 90s were followed by even bleaker end-of-the-millenium-vaccuum ("End of the century/Is nothing special", BLUR, End of the Century). All the human psyche s fragility was daringly exposed in wrecked masterpieces from RADIOHEAD, SOUNDGARDEN etc (check out this series III).
In the end of times, there was still a chance for God to re-enter the arena. Or, at least, some kind of faith. Rock N Roll could be dead (as said by Lenny Kravitz) but what about Music in general?
Ethereal electronic moody masters never ignored existential matters (MASSIVE ATTACK, BJORK, PORTISHEAD etc). There was plenty of things to hear from them, especially in this sorrowful context (and when the Electronica tide was riding higher than ever). That never came to be truer than when MORCHEEBA released their debut (attention to the name), reflective Who Can You Trust.
But even U2 themselves were forced to a 360-degree turn inwards, even not abandoning Post-Modern cynicism, after their artistic 90 s departures. Pounding irony on irony on their Pop release, U2 was the best translation of the pre-millenium tension. But they managed to go even deeper and harsher, leaving behind Rock N Roll in the process to seek (dis)confort in the Blues.
That s how the story goes:
* Wake Up Dead Man by U2 (1997)
That s what I call Post-Modern Blues. Inspired by King David ("the first bluesman", Bono) who directly addressed Him his feelings and existential disconfort (as mentioned in the Bible s Psalms), U2 pours a relentless desperate cry to God himself in a world full of doubts and everything else painful. Amidst minimal beats and subtle background eerie bits of sound, the very meaning of life is put into question. Trying to infuse sense and purpose in a world full of chaos, disorder and nihilism, U2 displays brilliant lyrics and dishearted vocals.
"JESUS...JESUS help me...
I m alone in this world
And a f...up world it is too
Tell me tell me the story
The one about eternity
And the way it s all gonna be
WAKE UP
WAKE UP DEAD MAN"
The Edge waits for the chorus to pound one of his very best riffs, similar to a many-tons bell. The mood only becomes tenser and tenser (and the delivery, heavier)until the haunting falsetto arrives. Bono ends pledging JESUS to came rescue him from the cruel, mean world. In a much liver and moving way than any other U2-penned religious number. There s a steady conforting feeling I can track down to this song, a strong relief, a catharsis.
This great song wasn t a huge U2 hit, not even among the singles taken from this album. All we know is Discotèque and Last Night On Earth. Anyway, a must-hear number, one that closes the album in superb fashion (much better, indeed, than any other song there) (from the album Pop).
* The Music That We Hear (Moog Island) by MORCHEEBA (1996)
Once David Byrne sidemen, brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey formed MORCHEEBA alongside sultry ethereal diva Skye Edwards (nowadays my favorite) in early 1995. Their music consisted of a bizarre, yet accessible, fusion of Blues slide riffing and Wah Wah guitar effects, Trip Hop moods and moanings, Dub reverb and post-SADE soulful vocals, with laidback, reflective, existential lyrics.
Nowhere else the peculiar MORCHEEBA spell was as perfectly cast as in their second single overall, The Music That We Hear (Moog Island). Presented in not less than TWO different versions (a rocky one, released as a single, with wailing guitars and steady rhythm and an even better dubby album version with disembodied harmonies and harrowing sound effects), this group sketches the spirit of their time peerlessly:
"Sometimes I get up feeling good but greed gets me down,
I try to think about the highs, the freedom we ve found,
When the business in your life don t sit with your soul,
And they treat you like a child they need to control"
Amidst this outstanding combination - Moog organ harmonies, dry-to-the-bone guitar siblings, eerie percussion, oozeing vocal lines coming and leaving from out of nowhere - a serene optimism regarding life in general, as a consequence of a genuine faith in Music. Making Music to themselves as well as to the World is designed as a theraphy, a healing process. Not even Bob Marley would go on to carve a better description of their lighthearted redeeming ideology with these golden lines:
"The music that we make will heal all our mistakes and lead us,
The music that we hear is always standing near to feed us"
The song goes on and on, like a Mantra strenghtened by the sincere pleasure MORCHEEBA displays here as they make Music from their reflections (and for them). This great number only betters with further listenings. It is one of MORCHEEBA signature numbers alongside Trigger Hippie and Tape Loop. This band may not sell a lot of records. But each and every listener of theirs will be rewarded with an unique approach to Art - which translates into existential reflection and some confort! (from the album Who Can You Trust)
In the end, U2 and MORCHEEBA said, there was much more to life than this late-90 s void!
