13 December 2005

the cribs - "you're gonna lose us" (from the you're gonna lose us single, import available for purchase here.)

as i've said before, the cribs and the libertines are similar bands, but w/ different ways of expression. you get the sense that pete really beat himself up; he's probably done a lot of things beginning w/ the prefix 'self-" (including, on the babyshambles album, self-indulgence). the cribs, on the other hand, really take it out on the listener : shouty choruses; choruses that shout; skronky guitars; impulsive tempos.

like the libs, when the cribs--unintentional rhyme there--needed a boost in profile, they turn to bernard butler to produce a record. (for the record, bernard produced what i would consider the three best libertines records : "what a waster," "don't look back into the sun," and "death on the stairs.) "you're gonna lose us" was originally released as a b-side to "hey scenesters!" but on butler's version the tempo is upped considerably and then, characteristically, is upped toward the end. again, as w/ "don't look back into the sun," it sounds like a farewell, or at least the threat of one. here is a crucial difference between the two bands : recollecting what followed, i really wish "sun" had been the libs's last single; based on what may yet come, i really hope the cribs are just fucking w/ me.

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