 |
"Tightly Stretched"
The Ex
" from Joggers And Smoggers, released 1989 jointly on Fist Puppet / Ex Records. |
While the previous song was all sugar and tricks, were this song a soft drink, it would be carbonated black tea. And with Bobby Conn's original use of displaying political discontent in an entertainment format, entertaining soapboxing is too often like dinner theater: Neither is done very well. What if, while using the medium of music to forward social constructs, the musicians stuck to making the music and they let another take the responsibility of raising talking points? Long-running Amsterdam improv collective The Ex seem to think that's a good idea on this track from its seminal Joggers And Smoggers double LP. The constructs of the tune are loud and tight, running and leaping, opening wholes every few bars to have a female vocalist yell hoarse readings from the women's rights activist Emma Goldman. These are not interpretations or thoughts on the Goldman's essays, but are taken word-for-word. The selflessness of a band to know when another's words better serve them than their own is a rarely shown homage and ceremony to the ideals of a common good. Plus, it's a kick-ass rock song. The whole affair has too much pressure and too much carbonation, the lid is on too tightly and by the end it's exploded down the front of the listener's shirt. Hopefully other places, too.
|
| |