[TypicalGirls] The Slits - Boston, Great Scott - Mon Oct 30

J Neo Marvin j_n_e_o at hotmail.com
Tue Oct 31 19:18:58 EST 2006


Ah, the folk tradition. Songs change over the years or get half-stolen 
and/or transformed into something completely different.

John Holt and the Paragons still deserve credit for a completely different 
(and haunting) melody line even if the basic concept comes from the 
also-excellent Garnet Mimms tune. And the Slits deserve credit for slowing 
down the song and giving it a dark, spooky mood that I still believe 
influenced Massive Attack's version. I also like Ari's cheeky lyric change 
in which she longs for a noisy place where her own noise can be appreciated 
or at least not repressed. A lot of punks could relate to that back then, 
for sure, and no doubt still do.

I'm glad they're opening with that one. Great song.

>From: pascale amzallou <pascaleamz at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: "Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa  
>1975-1980s)" <typicalgirls at lists.ibiblio.org>
>To: "Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa  
>1975-1980s)" <typicalgirls at lists.ibiblio.org>
>Subject: Re: [TypicalGirls] The Slits - Boston, Great Scott - Mon Oct 30
>Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:37:46 -0800 (PST)
>
>
>Far from being a Massive Attack or Horace Andy or even
>a
>John Holt original (and it was a band John Holt was
>in, the
>Paragons, who did it, not John solo, and they
>originally
>performed it circa 1968, not in 1961!), the song
>originated
>in Garnet Mimms' 1963 soul tune, "A Quiet Place."
>Long
>the subject of debate, Holt admitted has admitted its
>origins
>recent years.  The Garnet Mimms original also was
>adopted
>into a rather different reggae tune called "Johnny
>Dollar,"
>performed by artists like Dave Barker.  Various reggae
>versions of both tracks abound, in addition to the
>Slits and
>Massive Attack's own takes on the tune.  Quite a
>pedigree for
>a song that never made it higher than #78 in the
>charts!
>
>Sample lyrics from the Mimms original:
>
>I can't get no sleep
>In this noisy street
>I've got to move
>(I've got to move)
>I've got to find me
>A quiet place
>
>There's a man next door
>With a radio and he plays it
>All through the night
>There's a couple in the
>Apartment above my head
>That don't do nothing
>But fuss and fight
>
>That said, the Paragons' version is a highly original
>adaptation,
>so some credit is due them, and the Slits' take was
>obviously
>inspired by the Paragons' version, not the Mimms
>original.
>
>Pascale
>
> > "Man Next Door" was originally performed by reggae
> > artist John Holt in 1961.
> > Massive Attack's cover was Holt's lyrics and also
> > included a sample of The
> > Cure's "10:15 Saturday Night."
>
>
>
>
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