aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
#037– The Indelicates– ‘We Hate The Kids’ (Sad Gnome Records ’06)
Hello dear friends,
what would the world of music be without all those fine famous duets consisting of a male and a female part? You know what I mean, clear, strong, beautiful voices, which, in the combination of themselves – plus a little bit of seduction, if I may say so -, enrich a song to a degree where shivers are being sent down your spine each and every time you hear it. There have been quite a few of those duets over the years: Nancy & Frank Sinatra, John Travolta & Olivia Newton John, Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes, Sonny & Cher, Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson, Simon & Julia Indelicate … sorry, what do you say? Oh, the latter are not known to you? Well, let’s revise this then straightaway – because quite clearly they are the fucking best of the whole lot, no question about this!!
Simon and Julia Indelicate, or Simon Clayton and Julia Clark-Lowes, to give them their real names, founded The Indelicates in Brighton in 2005. Simon was a poet, active in cabaret things, so most probably that’s why he didn’t appear on our radar before. Julia though was active in The Pipettes for two years, and perhaps this name rings a bell – it certainly should, they were a great little combo!
The Indelicates gained some attention with the online-only release of a tune called “Waiting For Pete Doherty To Die” in 2005. Doherty, he of The Libertines fame, but back then in Babyshambles, still was quite big in the press at the time, mainly for what he put in (drugs + drinks) than for what he put out (good music), I think it’s fair to say, so the song soon became the source of a lot of misunderstanding and controversial mentions in the press.
I won’t go into detail here, but if you listen to the tune and its lyrics, you will very quickly find out that it wasn’t about wishing Doherty to die, but instead about the media profiting of the death of musicians in general (before I forget: by coincidence I saw an up-to-date picture of good ole’ Pete a few weeks ago, opening some art exhibition here in Germany. You have to google him, you won’t believe your eyes if you, like me, last saw him some 15 years or so ago).
But I digress, as I so often do. Today’s song has nothing to do with any of the above apart from the fact how important lyrics can be: it is The Indelicates’ first proper single from one year later, 2006, in fact. The band found a record company, Sad Gnome Records, the single being the label’s first release, and although I tried to follow them a bit for a few years, they never did anything quite as fantastic as this afterwards, I would say:
mp3: The Indelicates – We Hate The Kids
Obviously this is one of those songs that lives from its lyrics, and boy – that’s what I call lyrics! A perfect mixture of cynicism, disaffection and cleverness, well-packed in a lo-fi tune that make you want to jump along with it. What more could you possibly ask for, I wonder? One year later the band released an EP called ‘The Last Significant Statement To Be Made In Rock ‘n’ Roll’.
Well, as far as I’m concerned, ‘We Hate The Kids’ actually has already been the last significant statement to be made in rock’n’roll. By a mile …
Enjoy,
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
(I have no idea if this reply will be published as the interface looks really strange on my laptop…)
I quite liked the “Last Significant Statement…” single when it came out. I did follow the Indelicates for a short while, but I think I got bored of them quite quickly. I couldn’t work out if they were trying to be too clever, or if they just didn’t have enough ideas to keep me coming back to them.
I don’t often comment on posts….but I was really pleased when this landed in the Inbox. The Indelicates never chased fame or fortune… it was pretty uncompromising stuff in terms of what they wrote about, and quite a few of the tunes brilliantly masked the blackness/bleakness of it all. I don’t listen nowadays as often as I used to, but it’s good to be reminded of them.
Dirk, I’m so glad to read this, as it sometimes feels like I’m the only fan of this band. I’ve said a few times that We Hate The Kids is my favourite single released in the 21st Century, and I still can’t think of anything that beats it. They have made some great records since, and I’ll always follow them, but it’s almost like the set the bar too high with that song, and the first album as a whole. Thanks for making me feel a little less alone for one day at least.
Pretty sure the last significant statement to be made in rock n’ roll is “Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?” I guess that’s a question.
And this tune is pretty much ‘Apeman’ by the Kinks. Sorry.
Maybe time for a new series: “Singles I would have liked to buy but couldn’t because of the cover”
[silly kisser]
Thank you Dirk for brining this song back to my memory. I think it is more than 10 years ago, when I often listened to them but sadly forgot to follow them. Anyway this song is still great
I knew I knew of this song – was great to be reminded of it via this ace post. I like The Last Significant… too. Thanks Dirk.
Strangeways