“AND YES! THIS IS MY SINGING VOICE.”

I’m not sure if it has more to do with the genius of the lyrics or the inflection of the delivery, but these lines from Art Brut’s Bang Bang Rock & Roll have been cracking me up:

“We’re just talking… TO THE KIDS!”

“Why. Don’t our parents. Worry about us?”

“Stay. Off. THE CRACK.”

“DON’T TELL YOUR FRIENDS!”

“MoMA! Makes me! Want to ROCK OUT!” *

“And WOW! There’s something amazing about that blue.”

“So, I’m in the Pompidou. THAT’S IN PARIS.”

“And. I. RUN AT IT!”

“I’ve seen her naked. TWICE!”

“I hear the murder rate. Is in. Decline.”

“Hmmm, I might even get a tattoo.”

“TEXT in Top Shop. TEXT in Top Shop.” **


* NOT ACTUAL LYRIC. It’s a delightful story, really. See, I was listening to this song and saying to myself, “What’s he saying makes him want to rock out? Mo… something. Hmmm, maybe the title of the song will give me a clue. Ah, the song is called Modern Art. So… OH MYGOD! He’s singing MoMA makes me want to rock out!? Whoah! BEST. LYRIC. EVER. Now I completely love this goddamn band!” I later discovered, from the liner notes, that well, he’s not actually singing ‘MoMA makes me want to rock out’ in a song called Modern Art. No, he’s er, actually just singing, ‘Modern art makes me want to rock out’, in a song called, well, Modern Art. I am choosing to ignore this. MoMA it is.

** I have no idea what this means. I mean, I know what Top Shop is, but, what is text in Top Shop?