"Playing your game, verging on the humane, I get a little romance, when I get the chance to."
Similar to Gang of Four both in sharp-witted tone and stark, scratchy danceability, Au Pairs were easily one of the most politically confrontational bands of the Post-Punk era. What really set this band apart, however, was its passionately feminist politics and lead singer Lesley Wood, one of the first openly lesbian musicians of the rock-era, whose vocals were a force to be reckoned with. Au Pairs' debut, Playing with a Different Sex, is their enduring masterpiece, and takes no prisoners in its whip-smart evisceration of bourgeois notions of sexuality and gender. For example, "We're so Cool" is sung from the perspective of a woman trying halfheartedly to convince herself that "things are cool" with her emotionally vacant lover. Here, Wood pours on the irony while the band locks into a groove that sounds something like Post-Punk funk. While Au Pairs' follow-up LP, Sense and Sensuality, isn't as consistently great as their debut, the sound is more textured due to the addition of synths and occasional horns into the mix, and Wood's vocals show more range, almost taking on a smokey soul-like quality at times. As with Gang of Four, some will find the lyrical content too didactic in places, but musically, Post-Punk doesn't get much better than this.
Stepping Out of Line: The Anthology
CD I: Playing with a Different Sex (1981)
1. We're so Cool (3:29)
2. Love Song (2:50)
3. Set Up (3:21)
4. Repetition (3:49)
5. Headache for Michelle (6:55)
6. Come Again (3:54)
7. Armagh (3:37)
8. Unfinished Business (3:28)
9. Dear John (2:56)
10. It's Obvious (6:19)
-Bonus Tracks-
11. Pretty Boys (BBC Session) (4:01)
12. Monogamy (BBC Session) (2:56)
13. Ideal Woman (BBC Session) (3:56)
14. You (From You EP, 1979) (2:51)
15. Domestic Departure (From You EP, 1979) (2:22)
16. Kerb Crawler (From You EP, 1979) (2:47)
17. Diet (Single B-Side) (4:18)
18. It's Obvious (Single A-Side) (5:46)
19. Inconvenience (12' Version) (2:56)
20. Pretty Boys (12' Version) (3:39)
CD II: Sense and Sensuality (1982)
1. Stepping Out of Line (6:02)
2. Sex Without Stress (4:31)
3. Instant Touch (3:00)
4. That's When It's Worth It (4:07)
5. Shakedown (4:23)
6. Tongue in Cheek (3:02)
7. Intact (3:16)
8. Don't Lie Back (4:50)
9. America (5:20)
10. Fiasco (3:52)
-Bonus Tracks-
11. No More Secret Lives (1983 Demo) (5:16)
12. Runs with Honey (1983 Demo) (6:20)
13. Hokka He Ha (1983 Demo) (5:32)
14. Taking Care of Him (1983 Demo) (5:12)
15. What Kind of Girl (3:36)
16. Piece of My Heart (Live, Berlin Tempodrome, June 20, 1981) (3:50)
17. Headache for Michelle (12' Version) (6:38)
Oh yeah, more agitrock for the soul. All over this stuff back in the day (Billy Bragg, The Redskins etc.) Didactic yeah but stills rocks the house.
ReplyDeleteFirst heard them on "Brave New Waves" a CBC late night radio program which featured alternative music. I taped the hour long feature and had it for years. This comp has most of it but is lacking the Live In Berlin LP (1983)save one track.
More nostalgia tonight. Off to see Hugh Cornwell doing his solo/Stranglers stuff. Saw him last year...awesome. Anyone in Vancouver should brave the rain (did I tell you it rains a lot here) and shell out some bucks and see the man. Not just nostalgia but true cool.
Hexx, coincidentally, I have The Stranglers debut coming up soon. Personally, I like the "didactic" lyrics; in fact, sometimes I'm a didactic kind of guy. This is "thinking (wo)man's punk." I just think it's a crime for some to ignore an amazing band like this just because the lyrics are deemed "too political" or "too radical." I really love Wood's voice- very unique. The Cornwell show sounds amazing; wish I lived in Vancouver....hmmm, now that I think of it, I really do; Los Angeles is like an aging starlet in her death throes, but refusing to give up the ghost. Lying in her musty bed, lipstick smeared across her wan cheeks, she prepares for a return to glory that no one will attend. Yes, I love my hometown ;)
ReplyDeleteOh man you are welcome to live here but I would trade you in a second. Sure it's purty but the town (this is not a "city") is so parochial. The scene sucks, it was good in 1978 and there are still people living off that time...any cool person moves out asap. Why do I stay? good bloody question. Our provincial gov't is fascist they fool us to believe in crap like the Olympics ...who gives a shit just for the yuppie scumballs who control everything. We were planning to move to the good ol' USA but 9/11 happened and that was that. I'm bitter but positive...I got two kids who will be Au Pair fans because they'll know what is REAL and what is bullshit. So thanks for the political punk still so relevant in these bullshit times!!
ReplyDeletewell, L.A. certainly isn't parochial, but it's still full of the same crap you described in relation to your town. "Bitter but positive" is an apt description for me too. I lived in the SF bay area while I was in college, and that was a much better fit for me both musically and politically. I also lived in Texas for a few years after Berkeley, and man, talk about fascists! The place was crawling with them. Anyway, you're right; it's important to keep this music alive now more than ever.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of L.A. - what about Eleven ...? They've written some great songs - they know their craft. And what voices!
ReplyDeleteAnon. I haven't thought about Eleven in years; thanks for reminding me. Yes, the vocals are great.
ReplyDelete... and another one ...
ReplyDeleteBrazzaville (David Brown)
East L.A. Breeze is a great record.
Obviously,this night (12:03 AM in my country) i'm gonna replace some of my mp3 LPs with FLAC,and Au Pairs is 1 of them...
ReplyDeleteDo you have Raincoats ''The Kitchen Tapes'' (live) in FLAC?Or some other from Raincoats,maybe...
sunday, I am planning two Raincoats posts in the very near future (the first early next week). I think I will cover two albums per posts (all 4 albums in FLAC). More people need to know about the Raincoats!
ReplyDelete