I’m 56 and The Fall kinda passed me by first time round. I thought them too avant-garde for my youthful tastes back then. I loved “Frankie goes to…” and other pop stuff like that. But then I lived some years, done some stuff, had some laughs and pretty much pilled my way through the 90s and endured a failed marriage. Now I can’t get enough of Marks spot characterisation of growing up in 70s/80s England.All these years later, I find a Fall track (Hit The North) and have never looked back. Pure, class and genius. RIP all of the fallen.❤️
Head spinning, heart pounding, watery eyes, playing air bass.... This is not a song. This is Mark E. Smith destroying us with a smirk on his face. Forever grateful.
If I'm not mistaken this was the last Fall session track ever played by John, as he scheduled it last in the repeat session broadcast just before he left for Peru. He said something like "Sounds even better the second time round. There will never be anything like this again" ....and of course there won't
One of the many wonderful things about this song are the cymbal crash punctuations in it. Each one is so incredibly well placed, on varying parts of the bar, often deliciously unpredictable, yet massively satisfying when they happen. Also the only song I know where the bass line and hi-hat mimic each other like that.
It's heartening to read all these comments from people that feel the same way about this song that i do, it's so incredible! i don't have anyone around me that loves the fall as much as i do, so thank you fellow Fall lovers for your comments, I've found my people!
@JONATHAN SUTCLIFFE i try to recommend Scottish band Country Teasers...un-classifiable, Fall fans loved em and they were definitely the only band music writers could think of to namedrop. Led by a controversial genius and backed by a great band. not a Fall ape, but a similar vibe...Teasers were held back because of misunderstood lyrics, the best live band ive seen in 20 years or more, i think Ben Wallers could outdrink a young Mark E Smith. highly recommend checking out their singles, last album Empire Strikes Back...but you cant miss. the singles comp is overwhelming, the early stuff a bit garagey. its a case of one of the greatest bands on the planet being missed by people who would be blown away. they cover Butthole Surfers, New Order, partial In the Flesh by Pink Floyd Randy Newman...but their songs are where its at. Secrets in Welsh, a huge track...should be a classic beyond their cult following. they shed the garage production and kept getting better.
@JONATHAN SUTCLIFFE I don't know what yer getting at, Country Teasers broke up before the Fall ended. RU-vid Secrets in Welsh by Country Teasers. Ok...I read it again. Great post,!! Bands really gave him their best.
@@yvesescriva8661 I never knew what pangolin were before I saw them once in a dream. they were boulder-size and rolling down a volcano covered in rainforest
yeah, its cleaner and more lively than the original...but mark e. smith is more fiery in this one, different words and he is younger than he looks--booze will do that, but his performance makes this the best. his attack on Mumford & Sons at some festival is classic and was a punk till the end. A thrown bottle and calling them as he saw them: c**ts Always backed by a great band, like Lydon, who still walks the walk, people say they never changed but this song is an example of how they were always the same but ya kinda need most of their stuff. everyone from the Cure to Butthole Surfers to Galaxie 500 were much improved on Peel's show. Simple, minimal is usually what makes an unforgettable song. Even a band like Rush is basic without the solos. Dont know why i mentioned them, other than i'm probably the only man alive who likes both bands.
0:19 / 6:33 The Fall - Blindness (Peel Session version) 1024pm 21.1.22 oh oh... indeed a fine song if ever there was one to appreciate especially for the lard lad at x records no doubt. dont forget those ciggies will do you no good. ahaha i never got a job at x records. they seem to let any old slags work there. the kids spoilt it. p.s i still couldnt get hold of that steel pole bathtub or godflesh l.p - which may not even exist. i seem to have listened to a godlfesh lp which no one can get a grip of... ahahahahah... so how is the fall really doing as opposed to lame brains discoursing on carcinogenic growths and unhappy band personnel...?
It's amazing how silly and fashionable a lot of contemporary music seems when listened up against the Fall, this song especially. Listening to them is an uncomfortable pleasure for me. That's the best and most appropriate compliment I can muster at the moment.
I was explaining to my daughter why I couldn't get into The Fall. I randomly searched for The Fall this came up been playing it repeatedly since. The bass sound reminds me of The Stranglers.
bass sounds like an amphetamine reptile tone...the best songs are simple to play, not simple to come up with. busy bass players couldnt keep it simple. this song could cover a side of an lp and id be bummed when it ended
If Carlsberg ever made basslines.............................................................................................................................................................
i pressed this version on a dubplate and sometimes play it as an encore in my sets, which mostly consists of (weird) electronic dance music of today. this track / the BASS drives the techno heads MAD (in a good way)!
A thundering bass line that ploughs through the undergrowth like a chainsaw - augmented with such observational & intelligent lyrics: thank you for uploading : )
This was nearing the tail end of his career. Didn't become a nostalgia act and do the bullshit "we're playing the whole album" nights. That was money Mark left on the table because he actually had integrity.
BLINDNESS (Peel session version) And all humans Cavalry or calvary And not a drop of water Or paper Or paper J.W. said "walking bass, walking bass" Don't forget, don't forget He expected Aristotle Onasis But instead he got Mr James Fennings from Prestwick, in Cumbria Do you... reflect this evil? Thought of cavalry and calvary His first appearance was on Moscow Road The poster came at first At first I thought it was just a poster I was talking to James Seymour Eyes wide open
It's like there's a Mark E. Smith lyrics randomizer in front of him, and he's pushing a button and getting the verses for this version of the song. You know I might just make one for myself.
The flag is evil Welcome: living leg-end I was walking down the street I saw a poster at the top I was only on one leg The streets were fucked And the poster at the top of street said: "Do you work hard?" I was only on one leg The road hadn't been fixed I had to be in for half six I was only on one leg My blue eyelids were not (?) There was a curfew at half nine For my kids There was a poster at the top of the street Encapsulated in plastic It had a blind man So I said: "Blind man, have mercy on me." I said: "Blind man, have mercy on me." The flat is evil and full of cavalry and Calvary And calvary and cavalry "Do you work hard?" It said, "I am from Hebden Bridge Somebody said to me: I can't understand a word you said." Said: " 99% of non smokers die" "Do you work hard?" "Do you work hard?" I was walking down the street And saw a picture of a blind man The flat is evil Of core? cavalry and calvary Of core(?) Blind man, have mercy on me Said, blind man, have mercy on me ?? I am a ? My blues eye get...ID/I get My curfew was due half eight Now its half past six My curfew is at 9:30 I said. "Do you?" Blind man! Have mercy on me Blind man! Have mercy on me Blind man! Have mercy on me I'm on one leg My eyes can't get fixed And my kids Can't blue eyes get fixed Blind man! Have mercy on me Blind man! Have mercy on me
Golly Gosh & What-Nots......I've still got my original John Peel Session cassette recorded version of this, complete with his whoops fuck-up-skis......unsurpassable.
