End of Summer Noise(ttes)

The summer is officially over. According to the calendar, the season ended on Monday. I attempted to extend it as long as possible, but it really ended on Sunday when I had what will likely be my last water-ski of the season. While I was skiing, the Noisettes song “Don’t Upset the Rhythm” went through my head. I never found my rhythm navigating the extremely bumpy waters, but I did have fun. The Noisettes are great fun as well. They have that summer girl-band sound, even if they are actually two men and one woman. It’s amusing to me that with this summer sound, their newest album, Wild Young Hearts, was released in the U.S. on the first day of autumn.

Generally, I water-ski in Maine on a lake where my family has a modest summer cabin. The effort involves merely putting on a bathing suit, walking two minutes to the beach, and hopping into a boat with a few people. This past weekend I was not in Maine. On Sunday, water-skiing involved a two hour drive to New Jersey, some water-skiing and wake-boarding, a furtive change out of my suit and into dry clothes under a towel in the back of a car, and a two hour drive back to NYC. It was certainly a lot of effort for a short period time on the water. It was worth it, of course, even with the sore muscles that have made it a challenge to pick up my laptop all week. Not sure if it was being on the water, the boat, or just the beautiful weather, but the Noisettes kept running through my head. A last bit of summer music.

I first read about the Noisettes in Bust, “the magazine for women with something to get off their chests”. It’s a music/politics/fashion/craft, magazine with a feminist slant. I love it. Well, except for the crafty part. I can’t do much with a sewing machine, nor do I care to learn. The fall issue features Diablo Cody, who won an Oscar for the Juno screenplay. There's a short review of the Noisettes new album, calling “the girl group-tinged title track” a “delicious mix of sad, smooth, sweet and sexy.” After I read it, I had to hear the song. They are fabulous fast and catchy pop. Ideal for water-skiing, taking a quick run, or just dancing around the house (something I’ve been known to do).

The Noisettes signer and bassist, Shingai Shoniwa, has been compared to Adele and Amy Winehouse, retro soul singers I’ve mentioned in the past (see Birch). She’s also been compared to jazz legends Billie Holiday and Koko Taylor. While her sound is retro, and they do have some wonderful mellow songs, it's faster and zestier. Rather than retro soul, I would put them in a category with the Ting Tings and Little Boots (see posts) and call it retro '80's. Their newest album is far more poppy than their last, channelling girl groups from the ’80’s as well as the '60’s. Yet the have an underlying punk sensibility. Their first album, What's The Time Mr. Wolf?, sounded like a pop version of The Slits. They were a late '70’s/early '80's British band who toured with punk legends like The Clash and the Buzzcocks. Budgie, the drummer for Siouxise & The Banshees (see post), played with them for a while. The Slits are SWIK icons of punk and still tour occasionally. They have a new album due out in October, so we’ll see where their sound is headed these days.

The Noisettes also reminded me of a few tunes on the Valley Girl soundtrack. You know you loved that movie in 1983. Nicolas Cage, before he was annoyingly famous, is the a crazy-haired punk pursuing the popular blonde valley girl. From what I recall of the film, he camps outside her house and crashes her prom. Endearing, yet a bit stalker-ish. There are some great tunes from this soundtrack. One of my favorites being “Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime)” by The Flirts. This song sounds like a poppy, shallow reaction to "I Love Rock n Roll," made famous by SWIK Icon Joan Jett a few years earlier. Joise Cotton’s “Johnny Are you Queer” which, while politically incorrect, is very funny. So maybe they’re not what one would call ‘great’ songs, but listen and just TRY to get these songs out of your head.

The Noisettes’ tunes also stay in your head, but they’re not songs you want to get rid of quickly. Like the sore muscles, they stick with you for a few days and remind you of something you really enjoyed. The Noisettes can be addictive. Like wake-boarding, which I attempted for the first time this weekend out in the distant waters of New Jersey, I expect that I’ll return.


Hear Music
SWIK Noisettes Mix
SWIK Slits Mix
SWIK Valley Girl Mix

See Music
Noisettes: Wild Young Hearts, Don't Upset The Rhythm, Don't Give Up
The Slits: Typical Girls
The Flirts: Jukebox

Buy Music
Noisettes
The Slits
Valley Girl Soundtrack

More Info
Noisettes
The Slits
Bust Magazine