For sixteen or so years Clem Snide -named for a character in William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch- were one of the greatest bands on Earth, whether you've heard of them or not. They played a brand of music that was pop, country, jazz, folk and a dozen other things all at once, while being none of them outright and it's own thing entirely. Over the course of five full-length albums and a couple of EPs, Clem Snide established a style, twitchily idiosyncratic and coolly smooth, that was quite unlike anything anyone else was doing anywhere, in any way.
Fronted by a man from Israel with the improbable name of Eef Barzelay -which sounds like he's named for a character in a William S. Burroughs novel- Clem Snide were based out of Texas. They started as a three-piece; their debut -1998's You Were A Diamond- contained barely any percussion whatsoever, instead floating along on Eef's guitar and vocals, Jeff Marshall's bass, and Jason Glasser's bowed strings... What drums there were were supplied by Eric Paull, who became a member of the band full-time in short order.
Clem Snide excelled at economizing, never crowding a song with unnecessary anything, band members sometimes sitting out multiple tracks on a single album. You imagine a sign hanging in the recording studio reading "All In Service to the Song."
Eef Barzelay's lyrics were esoteric and witty, erudite and simple; they were stripped down, like the music supporting them. His lyrics were skewed Norman Rockwell paintings: Just enough information to make you care, just enough melancholy to make you cry, just enough just enough just enough. His songs, almost always sung first person, were about details.
They were designed to make you stop paying attention to anything else that might be happening in the room.
Clem Snide's songs were like the nuanced, good-hearted little indie film that comes out of nowhere and wins all of the Oscars one year.
Whenever I bought a Clem Snide album I would listen to it immediately, many times in a row, and the second time through the songs felt already familiar, and sometimes with some songs they felt familiar the first time through. This is not because they sounded like anyone else -I've already been over that: They sound like no one else- but because they are songs that should have always existed. When Eef Barzelay wrote a song and Clem Snide recorded it they were not just inventing something, but filling a hole. And when I would listen to them I would think, and still do think when I listen to them, "I would be okay if all music by all bands sounded like Clem Snide."
Clem Snide, you will be missed.
Eef Barzelay has disbanded Clem Snide. He is about to release his second solo album. His first, Bitter Honey, was good. But it was half of a puzzle. The album, almost entirely Eef's nasaly voice and strummed guitar, was missing what the rest of Clem Snide brought to his songs, and in particular was the worse for the lack of Jason Glasser's bowed strings... I've heard tracks from his up-coming album, and I must say, things look bright. I won't say that Eef's best days are behind him yet, but whatever comes from the man in the future the songs he made with his Clem Snide co-horts will always occupy a special and rare place for me.
Here's a rundown of ten -err, eleven- songs you should know by Clem Snide. These aren't the band's ten -err, eleven- best, that would be an impossible list for me to make... But these are great songs all.
ACTION | Soft Spot | 2003
"Action" is one of Clem Snide's breaking-out-of-their-shell songs. It's an up-tempo barn burner, what the kids in the fifties would have termed a rave-up, but it makes room for personal details and sincerity:
"And if you're alone just pick up the phone it's me; I'll bring nothin' to eat, but I can tickle your feet 'til you smile."
And let's not over-look the quirk:
"Give me a shove and I'll fall in love, don't wait! 'Cause if a civil war buff can love a diamond in the rough that's great!"
"Action" is a great track that will get your blood boiling and feet stomping.
Click HERE to hear a pretty cool, though slightly less raucous live version of "Action."
ALL GREEN | Soft Spot | 2003
"All Green" is the first Clem Snide that I fell in love with. It's one of those rubber ball's of a pop song, bouncing bouncing bouncing, ringing guitars and jangly melody... The lyrics are simple and profound:
"I buried our love in the back yard; until it thaws we could play cards.
I know that it's hard when it's dark and cold, and all that you feel is yourself getting old.
But summer will come with Al Green and sweetened ice tea. Summer will come and be all green with the sweetness of thee.
So feed me a kiss chapped lips and all, and I'll bring back the tape of an empire's fall.
I'll tie a string around my finger so I don't forget not to get so tied up to the things that I regret."
Click HERE to listen to a very rough version of "All Green."
BEAUTIFUL | The Beautiful E.P. | 2003
Clem Snide's version of the Christina Aguilera hit is looser, more sincere and more melancholy than the original. Linda Perry, who wrote it, said when she heard this version that it's the way the song was meant to be played. That Eef Barzelay and company weren't splashed across the covers of men's mags all over the world, or dancing in their videos in short shorts also removed the sense of irony that accompanied Christina's take.
"I am beautiful, no matter what they say," takes on a whole new meaning when what people are saying isn't Holy fuck, what a crazy hot body...
Click HERE to see a live clip of Clem Snide's version of "Beautiful."
Clem Snide also does a stunning cover of Richie Valens' classic "Donna" on 2000's awesome Your Favorite Music. They slow it down to a crawl and wring out every single ounce of melancholy that is to be had. The "Oh, Donna" part becomes almost tragedy. Certainly one of the best covers ever.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF YOUR ANGER | The Ghost of Fashion | 2001
"Don't Be Afraid of Your Anger" starts out like the end of some seventies arena-rock jam, so much so that you expect glittery tinsel to fall from the ceiling, before switching to a country bounce. "Well, your tongue can get sharp, but it's soft in my mouth, and there's towels and ice we can use."
It plays with cacophony a touch intermittently, before returning to the bounciness, and reverting back to that seventies style jam sound near the end.
"So don't be afraid of your anger; I'll eat it with mustard and wine, and lick the blood off your lip and the bruise on your hip when this pillow fight gets out of hand."
FIND LOVE | Soft Spot | 2003
This is an example of Clem Snide's rare and singular gift: They were able to create songs that were concurrently driving and subtle, chilled and immediate, completely abstract and 100% logical.
"Wrestle bears, bring them to their knees; steal the honey from killer bees: Find love, and let it slip away."
It's a melancholy tune, lightly swinging, bouncing along, equal parts sad and hopeful, it's message cloudy and crystal clear.
"Don't be scared to connect the dots; dig for gold in parking lots: Find love, and give it all away."
Click HERE to watch a really wonderful video for "Find Love." Seriously, this is an incredible video.
Click HERE to listen to a really beautiful live acoustic rendering of the song. This is melodically very different than the album version. Still awesome though.
I CAN'T STAY HERE TONIGHT | You Were A Diamond | 1998
"I can't stay here tonight, there's buttons to sew, and lust to be made to seem tender; with a freshened up face and smile-bearing lips, I'll practice it locked in the bathroom."
It's a song that barely moves, like stifling heat slows the air.
"We can't stay here tonight, this waitress is tired of waging a war of attrition; so pay for the coffee, and we'll take it to go... You hold the cup while I'm driving."
It's glimpses of normalcy, the mundane. This song stops the room, with it's just-askew words, and Eef's slightly strained vocals, and the way it takes it's own time to get where it's going.
"I can't stay here tonight, there's blankets to fold, and love to make polished and silver; we'll store it away behind memories and glass, and we'll take it out when we get lonely."
It's just over four minutes long, but it contains more pathos and sadness than most novels or films.
NO ONE'S MORE HAPPY THAN YOU | The Ghost of Fashion | 2001
"No One's More Happy Than You" starts off sounding as though it's coming to an end, or sounds like the the theme to some fucked up back alley circus.
It's one of a couple of Clem Snide songs that takes aim at those people who love to wallow in themselves, who take pleasure in their own pain.
This here's a song for the emo kids.
"No one's more happy than you! Even the sky's feeling blue! You don't believe but its true! No ones more happy than you! A beautiful Hackensack night, two teenagers kiss and hold tight; the satellite swimming above is sending a message of love! But no one's more happy than you!"
The theme of the self-loathing teen pops up again in "End of Love" off of the album of the same name:
"Guess what? Your pain's been done to perfection by everyone."
MADE FOR TV MOVIE | End of Love | 2005
Clem Snide dipped into the well of pop culture often and to great effect, but they never said word one about Paris Hilton or the papparazzi; instead they sang about Enrique Inglesias' mole, and wrote this wonderful ode to Lucille Ball. "Made for TV Movie" touches occasionally upon humor, but in a few words it paints a touching and beautiful portrait of a woman who was an entertainer in public, but a true tortured soul at home.
"Well, I heard he used to beat her like she was a conga drum. They always slept in separate beds, but somehow they had a son. Their neighbors were vaudevillians, and the laughs came from a can. Even though the club was hoppin’, it was the pills that she was poppin’ that did her in."
He goes on to acknowledge that he may be wrong about the facts, but says "They would never make a movie if everything was great."
The song closes with a direct reference to I Love Lucy's most famous moment, turning it from a brilliant piece of slapstick to a life lesson fit for a Hallmark card:
"Because happiness is boring, it’s always black and white; the good times never last, and the chocolates move too fast for us all."
Click HERE to see a great live version of "Made for TV Movie."
My favorite Clem Snide pop culture reference comes in the song "Ancient Chinese Secret Blues," from The Ghost of Fashion. "Why did you open your mouth? This isn't the time or the place for my love's disgrace," sings Barzelay before opining over and over again towards the songs close: "Calgon take me away!" It's a reference that's from out of nowhere, but is perfectly placed.
THE CURSE OF GREAT BEAUTY | The Ghost of Fashion | 2001
Perhaps Clem Snide's loveliest songs, and one that features nothing so much as Eef Barzelay's awkward voice and some static. No percussion, no guitar, no violin or cello, no bass. It also happens to contain all of the hallmarks of Eef Barzelay's great lyricism in one song: The quirk, the sincerity, the beauty... I love the words to this song so much that I'm going to post all of the lyrics here:
"Your toothache, an ivory tower; so let down your long perfect legs; I'll untie the knots with my lips and my tongue and rub Ambisol into your hair. 'Cause those paper cuts kept you from writing a poem so epic and true about how you are cursed with a beauty so great; I'm sure that it's hard being you. So put down that book it's too serious. I'll undress you as I make a joke. But please try not to laugh as I swim in your flesh, just hold your breath 'til I finish."
A masterpiece.
HERE is a short (30-second) clip of "The Curse of Great Beauty."
THERE IS NOTHING | Soft Spot | 2003
Eef Barzelay, as skewed as he can be, isn't adverse to a little romantic indulgence, and though a lot of the time his romanticism is cloaked in quirkiness, sometimes it shines through clear and unencumbered:
"There is nothing in the world that I wouldn't do for you, 'cause there is nothing in this world if I can't share my love with you. So many people in the world, they don't realize; so many people in this world with troubled thought and angry eyes. All the riches of this world can't compare to your smile, and if only for a kiss I would walk a thousand miles."
It's a delicate song, the polar opposite to those overblown love songs on the radio, eschewing sincerity in favor of bombast.
WEIRD | End of Love | 2005
Like "No One's More Happy Than You" and "End of Love," "Weird" takes aim at Dashboard Confessional fans and their like, calling out those kids with their happiness in direct proportion to their pain.
"Well, you wrote me a poem and it didn't rhyme; you're not as strange as you act all the time."
Click HERE to listen to a pretty fucked up version of "Weird." This is not the version from the album; it's looser and more rocking, almost punkish. Clearly a fun live version.
Fronted by a man from Israel with the improbable name of Eef Barzelay -which sounds like he's named for a character in a William S. Burroughs novel- Clem Snide were based out of Texas. They started as a three-piece; their debut -1998's You Were A Diamond- contained barely any percussion whatsoever, instead floating along on Eef's guitar and vocals, Jeff Marshall's bass, and Jason Glasser's bowed strings... What drums there were were supplied by Eric Paull, who became a member of the band full-time in short order.
Clem Snide excelled at economizing, never crowding a song with unnecessary anything, band members sometimes sitting out multiple tracks on a single album. You imagine a sign hanging in the recording studio reading "All In Service to the Song."
Eef Barzelay's lyrics were esoteric and witty, erudite and simple; they were stripped down, like the music supporting them. His lyrics were skewed Norman Rockwell paintings: Just enough information to make you care, just enough melancholy to make you cry, just enough just enough just enough. His songs, almost always sung first person, were about details.
They were designed to make you stop paying attention to anything else that might be happening in the room.
Clem Snide's songs were like the nuanced, good-hearted little indie film that comes out of nowhere and wins all of the Oscars one year.
Whenever I bought a Clem Snide album I would listen to it immediately, many times in a row, and the second time through the songs felt already familiar, and sometimes with some songs they felt familiar the first time through. This is not because they sounded like anyone else -I've already been over that: They sound like no one else- but because they are songs that should have always existed. When Eef Barzelay wrote a song and Clem Snide recorded it they were not just inventing something, but filling a hole. And when I would listen to them I would think, and still do think when I listen to them, "I would be okay if all music by all bands sounded like Clem Snide."
Clem Snide, you will be missed.
Eef Barzelay has disbanded Clem Snide. He is about to release his second solo album. His first, Bitter Honey, was good. But it was half of a puzzle. The album, almost entirely Eef's nasaly voice and strummed guitar, was missing what the rest of Clem Snide brought to his songs, and in particular was the worse for the lack of Jason Glasser's bowed strings... I've heard tracks from his up-coming album, and I must say, things look bright. I won't say that Eef's best days are behind him yet, but whatever comes from the man in the future the songs he made with his Clem Snide co-horts will always occupy a special and rare place for me.
Here's a rundown of ten -err, eleven- songs you should know by Clem Snide. These aren't the band's ten -err, eleven- best, that would be an impossible list for me to make... But these are great songs all.
ACTION | Soft Spot | 2003
"Action" is one of Clem Snide's breaking-out-of-their-shell songs. It's an up-tempo barn burner, what the kids in the fifties would have termed a rave-up, but it makes room for personal details and sincerity:
"And if you're alone just pick up the phone it's me; I'll bring nothin' to eat, but I can tickle your feet 'til you smile."
And let's not over-look the quirk:
"Give me a shove and I'll fall in love, don't wait! 'Cause if a civil war buff can love a diamond in the rough that's great!"
"Action" is a great track that will get your blood boiling and feet stomping.
Click HERE to hear a pretty cool, though slightly less raucous live version of "Action."
ALL GREEN | Soft Spot | 2003
"All Green" is the first Clem Snide that I fell in love with. It's one of those rubber ball's of a pop song, bouncing bouncing bouncing, ringing guitars and jangly melody... The lyrics are simple and profound:
"I buried our love in the back yard; until it thaws we could play cards.
I know that it's hard when it's dark and cold, and all that you feel is yourself getting old.
But summer will come with Al Green and sweetened ice tea. Summer will come and be all green with the sweetness of thee.
So feed me a kiss chapped lips and all, and I'll bring back the tape of an empire's fall.
I'll tie a string around my finger so I don't forget not to get so tied up to the things that I regret."
Click HERE to listen to a very rough version of "All Green."
BEAUTIFUL | The Beautiful E.P. | 2003
Clem Snide's version of the Christina Aguilera hit is looser, more sincere and more melancholy than the original. Linda Perry, who wrote it, said when she heard this version that it's the way the song was meant to be played. That Eef Barzelay and company weren't splashed across the covers of men's mags all over the world, or dancing in their videos in short shorts also removed the sense of irony that accompanied Christina's take.
"I am beautiful, no matter what they say," takes on a whole new meaning when what people are saying isn't Holy fuck, what a crazy hot body...
Click HERE to see a live clip of Clem Snide's version of "Beautiful."
Clem Snide also does a stunning cover of Richie Valens' classic "Donna" on 2000's awesome Your Favorite Music. They slow it down to a crawl and wring out every single ounce of melancholy that is to be had. The "Oh, Donna" part becomes almost tragedy. Certainly one of the best covers ever.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF YOUR ANGER | The Ghost of Fashion | 2001
"Don't Be Afraid of Your Anger" starts out like the end of some seventies arena-rock jam, so much so that you expect glittery tinsel to fall from the ceiling, before switching to a country bounce. "Well, your tongue can get sharp, but it's soft in my mouth, and there's towels and ice we can use."
It plays with cacophony a touch intermittently, before returning to the bounciness, and reverting back to that seventies style jam sound near the end.
"So don't be afraid of your anger; I'll eat it with mustard and wine, and lick the blood off your lip and the bruise on your hip when this pillow fight gets out of hand."
FIND LOVE | Soft Spot | 2003
This is an example of Clem Snide's rare and singular gift: They were able to create songs that were concurrently driving and subtle, chilled and immediate, completely abstract and 100% logical.
"Wrestle bears, bring them to their knees; steal the honey from killer bees: Find love, and let it slip away."
It's a melancholy tune, lightly swinging, bouncing along, equal parts sad and hopeful, it's message cloudy and crystal clear.
"Don't be scared to connect the dots; dig for gold in parking lots: Find love, and give it all away."
Click HERE to watch a really wonderful video for "Find Love." Seriously, this is an incredible video.
Click HERE to listen to a really beautiful live acoustic rendering of the song. This is melodically very different than the album version. Still awesome though.
I CAN'T STAY HERE TONIGHT | You Were A Diamond | 1998
"I can't stay here tonight, there's buttons to sew, and lust to be made to seem tender; with a freshened up face and smile-bearing lips, I'll practice it locked in the bathroom."
It's a song that barely moves, like stifling heat slows the air.
"We can't stay here tonight, this waitress is tired of waging a war of attrition; so pay for the coffee, and we'll take it to go... You hold the cup while I'm driving."
It's glimpses of normalcy, the mundane. This song stops the room, with it's just-askew words, and Eef's slightly strained vocals, and the way it takes it's own time to get where it's going.
"I can't stay here tonight, there's blankets to fold, and love to make polished and silver; we'll store it away behind memories and glass, and we'll take it out when we get lonely."
It's just over four minutes long, but it contains more pathos and sadness than most novels or films.
NO ONE'S MORE HAPPY THAN YOU | The Ghost of Fashion | 2001
"No One's More Happy Than You" starts off sounding as though it's coming to an end, or sounds like the the theme to some fucked up back alley circus.
It's one of a couple of Clem Snide songs that takes aim at those people who love to wallow in themselves, who take pleasure in their own pain.
This here's a song for the emo kids.
"No one's more happy than you! Even the sky's feeling blue! You don't believe but its true! No ones more happy than you! A beautiful Hackensack night, two teenagers kiss and hold tight; the satellite swimming above is sending a message of love! But no one's more happy than you!"
The theme of the self-loathing teen pops up again in "End of Love" off of the album of the same name:
"Guess what? Your pain's been done to perfection by everyone."
MADE FOR TV MOVIE | End of Love | 2005
Clem Snide dipped into the well of pop culture often and to great effect, but they never said word one about Paris Hilton or the papparazzi; instead they sang about Enrique Inglesias' mole, and wrote this wonderful ode to Lucille Ball. "Made for TV Movie" touches occasionally upon humor, but in a few words it paints a touching and beautiful portrait of a woman who was an entertainer in public, but a true tortured soul at home.
"Well, I heard he used to beat her like she was a conga drum. They always slept in separate beds, but somehow they had a son. Their neighbors were vaudevillians, and the laughs came from a can. Even though the club was hoppin’, it was the pills that she was poppin’ that did her in."
He goes on to acknowledge that he may be wrong about the facts, but says "They would never make a movie if everything was great."
The song closes with a direct reference to I Love Lucy's most famous moment, turning it from a brilliant piece of slapstick to a life lesson fit for a Hallmark card:
"Because happiness is boring, it’s always black and white; the good times never last, and the chocolates move too fast for us all."
Click HERE to see a great live version of "Made for TV Movie."
My favorite Clem Snide pop culture reference comes in the song "Ancient Chinese Secret Blues," from The Ghost of Fashion. "Why did you open your mouth? This isn't the time or the place for my love's disgrace," sings Barzelay before opining over and over again towards the songs close: "Calgon take me away!" It's a reference that's from out of nowhere, but is perfectly placed.
THE CURSE OF GREAT BEAUTY | The Ghost of Fashion | 2001
Perhaps Clem Snide's loveliest songs, and one that features nothing so much as Eef Barzelay's awkward voice and some static. No percussion, no guitar, no violin or cello, no bass. It also happens to contain all of the hallmarks of Eef Barzelay's great lyricism in one song: The quirk, the sincerity, the beauty... I love the words to this song so much that I'm going to post all of the lyrics here:
"Your toothache, an ivory tower; so let down your long perfect legs; I'll untie the knots with my lips and my tongue and rub Ambisol into your hair. 'Cause those paper cuts kept you from writing a poem so epic and true about how you are cursed with a beauty so great; I'm sure that it's hard being you. So put down that book it's too serious. I'll undress you as I make a joke. But please try not to laugh as I swim in your flesh, just hold your breath 'til I finish."
A masterpiece.
HERE is a short (30-second) clip of "The Curse of Great Beauty."
THERE IS NOTHING | Soft Spot | 2003
Eef Barzelay, as skewed as he can be, isn't adverse to a little romantic indulgence, and though a lot of the time his romanticism is cloaked in quirkiness, sometimes it shines through clear and unencumbered:
"There is nothing in the world that I wouldn't do for you, 'cause there is nothing in this world if I can't share my love with you. So many people in the world, they don't realize; so many people in this world with troubled thought and angry eyes. All the riches of this world can't compare to your smile, and if only for a kiss I would walk a thousand miles."
It's a delicate song, the polar opposite to those overblown love songs on the radio, eschewing sincerity in favor of bombast.
WEIRD | End of Love | 2005
Like "No One's More Happy Than You" and "End of Love," "Weird" takes aim at Dashboard Confessional fans and their like, calling out those kids with their happiness in direct proportion to their pain.
"Well, you wrote me a poem and it didn't rhyme; you're not as strange as you act all the time."
Click HERE to listen to a pretty fucked up version of "Weird." This is not the version from the album; it's looser and more rocking, almost punkish. Clearly a fun live version.
2 comments:
Nice write up. For the record, Eef Barzelay pretty much was and is Clem Snide. I was just at his album debut party/concert the other night in Nashville and the venue had it as Clem Snide/Eef Barzely. Meaning, he still plays as Clem Snide, but simply changes out band members. I believe he did the same thing when he opened for Ben Folds during his last European tour, and he didn't have any band members with him for that.
I've been looking everywhere for "I Can't Stay Here Tonight" but can't find it. Any advice?
Post a Comment