Consumerism Track of the Day: The Wedding Present – What Have I Said Now

Okay, so I’m starting off a new feature that will appear from time to time on our pages.  It’s geared around two ideas that were spawned while exhausting myself catching as many bands as possible at SXSW: the idea of running a music web site and owning tons of music.  Sure, not all of you are inundated with tons of music like I am, but in this day and age, everyone has growing catalogues of singles and albums; it’s part of living in a consumerist society.  I wanted to force myself to revisit my own history, musically, by randomly going through my iTunes.  Read on for more details about the process of selection, and see how you can participate.First, this all stems from my own inability to possibly listen to every song on my computer/hard drive.  In our consumer driven music consumption, we compile all these tunes, and while we love them, they quickly fade into the past, disappearing from daily rotations, save a few favorites.  I wanted to go back…it’s always good to see where you came from.

Second…how did I choose? Simple. I loaded over 80,000 songs via hard drive and computer, busted out the iTunes, clicked on shuffle, and pressed play.  The first song that popped up is our song of the day; there was no skipping, no passing. If it’s in my music storage, I had it for a reason right?  You should try it out.  Leave a comment with your song of the day, maybe your comments.  Our first song is “What Have I Said Now” by the Wedding Present (1989).

Here’s my thoughts on the track:

For me, I’ve seen my love of The Wedding Present only grow over the years, though I can’t honestly say when I first heard the group.  Sure, they’re first album, George Best, name drops one of my favorite soccer heroes, but I think Bizarro (where this song comes from) is one of their most complete records.  Every track on the record resonates with me, whether it be the lyrics or the sound of David Gedge’s guitar, it all fits perfectly.

On “What Have I Said Now” you get the perfect look at Gedge’s lyrical prowess.  The entirety of the song is basically one side of a conversation between quarreling lovers, with our narrator struggling to get his point across.  You can tell that there’s love in the lyrics, but sometimes what has transpired in an argument just never cools…thus leaving our narrator to walk out the door.  Not only can most of us relate to the lyrics, but it’s also the simplicity that allows us to empathize here; there’s no secret double-meaning; he’s not hiding things behind some obscure allusion or metaphor.

The song itself, well, that’s just as special as the lyrical content.  When the guitar begins, it’s subdued a bit.  Eventually, it leads to more of a twanging ring in your ear as the chorus comes into play.  Personally, I like the deeper shift in the tone around the 2 minute mark as the guitars cascade in a different direction.  Also, one of the many things I appreciate about David is his vocal delivery.  From the very first chorus, you can hear a slight breath, or gasp, in his delivery.  It’s one of the most endearing things about the way he sings, not to mention the occasional gruff growl that he emits while emphasizing certain syllables.  Considering this is just 5 minutes of great guitar pop, it still amazes me that it holds my attention from start to finish; this is one of the reasons I can’t ever get enough of Gedge, be it The Wedding Present or Cinerama.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/06-What-Have-I-Said-Now_.mp3]

Download: The Wedding Present – What Have I Said Now [MP3]

Want to play Consumerist Music with me? Leave a comment with the first song that pops up when you shuffle your iTunes or iPod or iPhone. You can even go into detail with your thoughts like I did. The nerdier the better.