Documentary Evidence's Ten Great Mute Tracks
In the run-up to Mute's Short
Circuit weekend (13 / 14 May 2011), I decided to attempt to
create some sort of list of my ten favourite tracks released by
Mute since its inception. It turns out that a) I don't particularly
like the process of doing this and b) ten tracks is simply not enough;
inevitably tracks will get left off, people will disagree (give
me three weeks and I'll probably similarly disagree) and people
will say 'You can't pick x over y, that's sacrilege!',
'What? You haven't picked The Normal / Laibach
/ Neubauten etc' (delete as appropriate). Thus
all I can say is that the list below represents a highly personal
list of songs that mean something to me, that reflect on the diversity
of Mute's output and the label's consistent ability to straddle
mainstream and underground simultaneously. Use the contact button
on the left if you feel sufficiently compelled to air your grievances.
1. Erasure 'Sometimes'
Erasure are purveyors of perfect
pop songs and remain my favourite band. With the combination of
emotional vocalist Andy Bell and the limitless
electronic palette of Vince Clarke, Erasure have
crafted a distinct niche in the world of electronic pop music that
remains unchallenged. 'Sometimes' was their 1986 breakthrough single
and its opening 'wo-oh-ah-woah' (well, how else to transcribe
it?) followed by Vince's upwardly spiralling keyboards continue
to thrill to this day. I could have picked any Erasure song, or
any of the tracks Vince created with Yazoo or Eric
Radcliffe but 'Sometimes' has a special place in my heart.
2. The Birthday Party 'Mutiny!'
Picking a Nick Cave song for this
list is extremely difficult. His body of work for Mute is now absolutely
vast and contains so many examples of his amazing talent as a songwriter,
with The Boys Next Door (The Grey Area), The
Bad Seeds and Grinderman. I was going
to go for the beautiful ballad 'Straight To You' but opted for this,
from The Birthday Party's one and only 12"
for Mute. 'Mutiny!' is a harrowing heroin opus wherein after injecting
the drug the singer grows wings and queasily reflects that 'If
this is heaven I'm bailing out'. It reflects the uncompromising
nature of Cave's songwriting and the darker nihilism that has re-emerged
with Grinderman. [read more]
3. Nitzer Ebb 'Ascend'
'Ascend' was taken from Nitzer Ebb's
fourth album, the luridly-packaged Ebbhead. By Ebbhead
the Ebb had ditched the hard-edged arpeggiated basslines of their
debut (That Total Age) and thanks to the production skills
of Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode /
Recoil) Ebbhead presented a more mature
sound for the band (well, apart from 'Godhead'). 'Ascend' is a towering,
emotional epic of a track and a real highlight of Nitzer Ebb's often
overlooked career to date. I saw a snatch of the dystopian video
for this on ITV's The Chart Show back at the time and despite
only lasting a few seconds, I was hooked. (Note that the album version
is better than the single version.)
4. Plastikman 'Spastik'
Mute's seemingly now-defunct NovaMute
sub-label turned out some absolute classic dance vinyl during its
existence, most of which is now rare as hen's teeth. For me, the
pinnacle remains Richie 'Plastikman' Hawtin's 'Spastik'.
Skeletal beats and clattering percussion, 'Spastik' is the sound
of absolutely losing it on the dancefloor in the early hours of
the morning; manic yet precise, 'Spastik' can be overlaid onto and
mixed into any dance track and it makes that track sound far better
than it did before. I first heard this on a mixtape produced by
Justin 'Lionrock' Robertson for Select magazine and my
jaw just about hit the floor.
5. Moby 'Move'
Picking a Moby track from his Mute
back catalogue is also a pretty hard task, principally because his
output is so diverse - hard-edged dance, hip hop 'n gospel sampels,
high energy pop, thrash metal, ambient and indie rock. So instead
of trying, I've gone with his first single for the label, and my
first exposure to the restless Richard Melville Hall,
the non-album track 'Move'. Thudding beats, house piano and a solid
urgency make this a perfect floor-filler which has for too long
lived under the bushel of the much more successful 'Go'. The 12"s
for this contained some superb mixes, plus the original version
of 'All I Need Is To Be Loved', later recorded as a punk track for
his Mute debut album Everything Is Wrong. [read
more]
6. Inspiral Carpets 'Two Worlds Collide'
Signed to Mute in time for their first album, Life,
Inspiral Carpets were the articulate, intelligent
face of the Madchester scene, Clint Boon's haircut
and self-electrocution incidents aside. 'Two Worlds Collide' from
Revenge Of The Goldfish is just about the most ruminative,
deep track the band ever recorded; the type of track that never
fails to move you or bring a lump to your throat, the song is sung
by frontman Tom Hingley in a voice laced with despair
and regret. Bleak and beautiful.
7. Depeche Mode 'Enjoy The Silence'
Picking a Depeche Mode track was
again difficult, and I'm still not sure that this is the right one,
but it will do. Taken from 1990's Violator, 'Enjoy The
Silence' found Depeche blending subtle dancefloor-friendly beats
with a muted yet uplifting keyboard-dominated sound. It is a perfect,
perfect pop track with just enough of a dark edge to ensure that
this remains a fan favourite. The video was typically obtuse but
the track remains one of the most austerely captivating songs from
this enduring band. And lest us not forget that Depeche were Daniel
Miller's dream band and largely responsible for his ability
to keep Mute both in the mainstream (thanks to their success) and
the underground (by financing Mute's more esoteric endeavours).
8. Parallax 'Bullet-Proof Zero EP'
Parallax released just two singles
for Mute, this being their second. Their sound was a sort of industrial
noise mixed with dance beats and megaphone-delivered bratty, rap
vocals. Like Cubanate mixed with PWEI. Neither release would necessarily
win any awards for innovation or creativity, but this single showed
promise; once they'd got their rage out of their system they could
have matured into a Nitzer Ebb circa Big Hit but they blew
up before they had a chance. As much as anything this track reflects
the frequency of one-off singles and albums released on Mute over
the years, reflecting spot-on Miller's A&R radar and his faith
in the sometimes implosive music of the underground.
9. Josh T. Pearson 'Honeymoon's Great! Wish You
Were Her'
Ex-Lift To Experience member Josh
T. Pearson's debut album The Last Of The Country Gentlemen
was released by the newly-independent Mute early in 2011 and it
has been roundly - and rightly - declared a classic piece of songwriting.
The album is stocked full of emotional, finely-wrought masterpieces
but this is the track that, for me, unlocks the emotions of the
entire album. A lengthy, fragile ballad, this track explores infidelitous
feelings and regret at apparently marrying the wrong person - hence
the notions of painfully letting someone go, for their own good,
elsewhere on the album. There's always a chance I've misinterpreted
this, but that's how I read it. [read
more]
10. Wire 'Boiling Boy (IBTABA Version)'
It's the layers and the slow, gradual build on this
long-form 'live' version of this track from A Bell Is A Cup
Until It Is Struck that captivates me. Eighties Wire
produced a solid body of distinctly unique, uncompromising alternative
rock for Mute during their tenure, but for me 'Boiling Boy' - much
more so than 'Drill' - stands out as their defining Eighties moment.
Languid guitar licks, a grinding bassline, minimal drumming and
an oblique vocal all combine into a very sleek track. Let's call
it post-post-punk.
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