Jew on a motorbike!

283. The Fall - "Garden" (from Perverted by Language LP, Rough Trade, 1983)
284. The Fall - "I'm Into C.B." (b-side to "Look, Know" 7", Kamera Records, 1982)
285. The Fall - "Theme From Sparta F.C." (Action Records, 2004)
286. The Fall - "Cruiser's Creek" (Beggar's Banquet, 1985)

I wondered, as I received these results last nite, whether our scientists have found a distillation of the essence of the mighty Fall in just these four songs, or if there are more to come later. I guess we'll have to wait to find out. Either way, if you don't know yet, the Fall are one of the greatest bands ever, and while their discography is a bit intimidating, what with the roughly 9739324 LPs and 8084034 compilations, they are more than worth getting into immediately if yr not already on the bandwagon.

Mark E. Smith, you see, is the finest lyricist the British Isles ever did produce. He doesn't just straddle the line between genius and rambling crazy, he manages to project himself onto both sides of it at the same time, all the time. For example, a b-side about a young C.B. hobbyist, included here, is one of the funny and sweet character studies evs. And, "Garden," well, God knows what it's about, but its climax of "Jew on a motorbike" is almost inexplicably one of my favorite moments in music ever. "Cruiser's Creek" is about an ill-fated office party and "Theme From Sparta F.C." is about supporting a fictional soccer team. But, as Roger Ebert used to say about movies (back when he was sane), it doesn't really matter what a song is about, but rather how it is about it. And these songs all kick assssss.