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Nothing In Common, Except, maybe

from This Is Not A Library by MJ Hibbett & The Validators

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Every so often I start to worry about TRUTH in poetry (as Rik would say - "DO have tin of alphabetti spaghetti under the bed"), and agonize like a twat about the fact that some songs do not contain absolute literal truth e.g. that we didn't actually visit the pubs in "Last Orders" in the precise order listed, and that the "Spanish Girls" we went to watch Simon chase weren't Spanish at all.

And then I tend to get over it and go completely the other way and write something completely unfounded in GRIM REALITY, like this song. From the very start I envisioned it as a big production number, with a tap dancing solo in the middle. The rest of the band all like this sort of thing too, and thus the GRATE IDEA got accepted pretty easily, although Tim had to be NUDGED a bit into doing a drum solo and Rob needed sustained PRODDING to do the trumpet noises in that section. "Do it like an elephant", I said, "being squashed". And LO! He did!

Trouble brewed though with our more delicate band members. As detailed elsewhere, Tom tends to get the BRUNT of my Excitable Rantings, and I think it was during the recording of this song that I gave him the Expert Production Note to do it again, but "less shit." Sorry (again) Tom - we spent nearly an entire evening recording his beautifully arranged strings for this song, and it was shortly after that titanic effort that he had to go on Long Term Sick Leave from ROCK. Urk. About a year later we went back and did it all over again, this time WITHOUT the Unpleasantness, and the results were Much More Good.

Similarly Emma's vocals came under a Harsh Critical Light. When we record the backing tracks I think I'm pretty easy going and open to re-interpretations because, frankly, I've no idea what's going on. However, I've discovered that when it comes to the VOCALISATION I become a ranting fascist, DETERMINED to get EXACTLY what I originally envisioned, and my dears it is awful. We spent nearly an HOUR forcing Emma to repeat the line "M People" - really, an HOUR - until it was done RIGHT. The worst of it is she doesn't even like M People, and LOBBIED for months to have it changed to something more acceptable. Also she was eight months pregnant at the time...

Oh dear. BAD HIBBETT.

lyrics

I walk and you won't
You dance and i don't
We got nothing in common, except, maybe...

You're cold and I'm hot
I'm slim and you're not
We got nothing in common, except, maybe...

I like to rise when the sun's still sleeping
I'd stay in bed 'til early evening, if i could because

I live for the night
And I'm in bed at nine
We got nothing in common, except, maybe...

You're suspicious of men
Aren't you one of them?
We got nothing in common, except, maybe...

I'm happy with obscurities by the Beatles
I'm happy with the Greatest Hits of M People

I'm muck and you're soap
Together we'll cope
We got nothing in common, except
Got nothing in common, except
We got nothing in common, except, maybe...

credits

from This Is Not A Library, released July 21, 2003

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MJ Hibbett & The Validators London, UK

MJ Hibbett & The Validators have performed live on Radio One, had a Record Of The Year in Rolling Stone, an Album Of The Day on 6Music, released one of the first ever viral videos, toured the UK and Europe, featured in an Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, and recorded a science fiction rock opera, all while maintaining their complete independence from outside record labels. ... more

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