aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
#063: Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi – ‘Hear THe Air’ (V2 Records ’00)
Hello friends,
I must admit I know virtually nothing about today’s band of choice, Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi. All of the information below derives from various websites, so I hope the original authors bear with me when I partially quote them here. Here is what I found out, in all its brevity:
1) Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi were a Welsh indie rock group formed in 1996. The trio included Martin Bimrose on guitar, Richard Arnold on drums and Mike Carter on bass. Bimrose first played in both Chopper and Suki, Arnold in Fletch F Fletch Shepherd and Carter in Quarter Foil: our friend Robster may know all of those bands very well, me, I have never heard of any single one of them – then again, unlike the three chaps out of the band and probably Robster as well, I never attended Cardiff university.
Today’s tune is the band’s fifth single. The first two singles were issued on FF Vinyl Records, the third one on Seriously Groovy Music, after that they signed to V2. Here’s what the NME had to say about that deal:
“Speaking of really tragic record labels, you can’t beat Richard Branson’s very own, V2. It’s a heartening thought for seasoned Stereophonics haters that every penny that band have popped into the V2 coffers has been immediately squandered on witless, hitless, indiepop like this. The Delgados may like to note the alarming similarities between ‘Hear The Air’ and their 1996 indie-midget ‘Under Canvas Under Wraps’, but then again, life really is too short to get upset about such ultimately fruitless acts of plagiarism.”.
All in all a bit harsh, I would reckon, still I understand where the author is coming from re The Delgados, because:
3)‘Hear The Air’ is a duet and the female part is done by the wonderful Rachel Tomsk. Her appearance on this track is the only thing she ever did with/for Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi, at least as far as I know. Similarities to ‘Under Canvas Under Wraps’ are there, I agree, but that does not spoil my enjoyment. In fact I always thought this slightly quirky multi-layered sound they come up with here is rather unique and catchy.
4) whilst searching for some info on this record, I stumbled across the lyrics. This, as you might imagine, made my day (after having misheard them for 24 years now). They are not easy to understand, so I’ll give them to you as well – just in case you’re interested:
i * can hear the air moving * talking in time * the rhythm is soothing * with your smile * and you brand new opinion * hips and eyes * you’re out on a limb * and that’s fine * but not for me * i came to lend a four-way adaptor * in twenty years you lived one chapter * in life * one should be enough * orange paint * casual freedom * flashing lights * gallons of semen * all right * i can see you had enough to drink last night * and * you’re breathing with me * but no * you cannot screw me * with your walk and your re-re-invention * you’d like to talk * but you’ve got no intention * of what you want to see * that’s cosy * your new arrangements * you’re too busy * when you’re listening to pavement * that’s fine * i’ve already seen * what you saying * are you talkin’ to me now * you saying something * then i’d like to hear it * come on * be straight now * i * can hear the air moving * talking in time * the rhythm is soothing * (repeat to end) *
5) also, if you’re interested, there is a nice a video to the song on youtube, filmed, as far as I can tell, in New York.
6 )and finally: the information you’ve all desperately been waiting for, I suppose: the band’s name is derived from Moho bishopi, the scientific name of the Moloka‘i ‘ō‘ō, an extinct bird known to have lived in Hawaii. Martin Bimrose saw an article about the bird in the Reader’s Digest whilst waiting at the dentist’s. He thought that with some imaginative punctuation, “the name could be as mad as he is”.
mp3: Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi – Hear The Air
It’s certainly true that ‘Hear The Air’ is the best thing Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi ever did, it raised them to a level they’d never come close to again. Which is fine with me (obviously: ‘cos if this wasn’t the case, the record wouldn’t be in my list) because one great single is more than [insert name of the terrible yet inexplicably successful band of your choice here] ever managed, right?
Take care/enjoy,
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 