ON REPEAT: Little Annie, Debby Friday, De La Soul, DJ Deeon, Deep Tan, Pulp

It's like a later Tom & Jerry, when the two of them could talk...

Brett Davis

Aug 15, 2023

Song of the Day: Pulp "Bad Cover Version"

Here’s a link to a playlist where I keep all of this stuff.

Also, DJ Crazy Times did it. Biljana restored. Rhythm + Sex. Hi-Tek Dream:

Little Annie “I Think of You”

The dub adventures of unsung punk renegade Little Annie

This is such a chill track, you wouldn’t think that the artist worked with Crass, but she did. Annie Anxiety, as she was originally known came out of the Max’s Kansas City scene in the late ‘70’s, part of the no wave band Annie & The Asexuals (the song? it’s a little annoying!) before settling in the Essex scene to make even more experimental stuff (also annoying, but I’m glad it exists).

She went on to work with Adrian Sherwood (whose work was collected in the GREAT comp, Sherwood at the Controls), who reined her sound in a little (just a little). Annie collaborated with the likes of Lee “Scratch” Perry and The Sugar Hill Gang band. Then in the early 90’s, she adopted a new persona, Little Annie, where we get these odd sounds blending into the background. You can still hear the spoken word punk anarchist weirdo roots, but it’s a more pleasant listening experience.

DJ Deeon “every freekin day”

This is literally exactly what it sounds like when I seduce a potential lover.

De La Soul “Trying People”

I’m a big De La Soul fan, but my knowledge of them leans toward their earlier work. This one was recorded in New York City a week after 9/11 and you can feel the weariness in their voice, along with this perfect 5th Dimension sample. Obviously, the lyrics were written before then but it informed the way they delivered them, a bit more subdued.

I’m realizing how I was so dazzled by the colorful DAISY-age De La Soul as a bright-eyed teenager, and not really digging a lot of the later work then, which speaks to me more now. De La Soul never tried to be anything they weren’t, whether that’s young dudes wearing flower shirts or tired, frustrated adult men.

They still had fun, though—their next two hits were with a dude in a mask and a cartoon band.

Debby Friday “What a Man”

The last Debby Friday song I featured was a jam. And I did jump deeper into her stuff and this one has been a highlight. This one kinda starts out as a noisey dirge, til the beat comes in. The vocals range from sexy whispers to something that sounds like a call to action.

Judging from the video, I gathered this is a song about how self-tapes are annoying but I am a dumb person, so here’s a bit of context:

The ‘WHAT A MAN’ music video is loosely based on…paintings by the Italian Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the only female professional artists of her era. Her paintings draw from myths and Biblical stories and almost always feature women as protagonists and equals to men. Arguably her most famous work, Judith Slaying Holofernes, is thought to be a self-portrait that depicts her as Judith slaying a Holofernes who resembles Agostino Tassi, a man who raped her when she was 17.

To be a woman and an artist in this world is to be, in a way, a shapeshifter. You take on the shape of whatever and whoever is looking at you - whether that be a camera, a phone, a lover, a thief, a killer. Always and all at once, you are a spectacle, a flower, a treasure, a ditch, a bitch, a miracle.

Deep Tan “Beginners’ Krav Maga”

Thematically relevant to the previous one, this song, according to the London-based band, is a response to the idea that women/trans/nonbinary people need to take self-defense classes to feel safe walking at night, with a spiky moody post-punk sound that puts you appropriately on edge.

night time checklist
keys in a fist
in the dark i can't relax, hah hah

THE GOLD STANDARD

Pulp “Bad Cover Version”

I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Pulp fan. Not that I dislike them, but I’m just not terribly familiar with the whole catalog. That being said, I’m pretty sure that this is my favorite music video.

We get impersonators of musicians ranging from David Bowie to Oasis joining forces for a “We Are The World” style song. Some dead ones are in there, like Kurt Cobain. Paul McCartney is from another era, I think. Some UK-specific 2002 people are there, like Craig David & Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Jarvis Cocker’s barely in the thing, save for a cameo at the end as Brian May, but we do have a fake Jarvis Cocker.

Here are a list of my favorite little moments in this video, in order: