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Pop Culture

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Parent Issue
Month
July
Year
1997
Copyright
Creative Commons (Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike)
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Agenda Publications
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Pop Culture

By William Shea

The Refreshments - "The Bottle & Fresh Horses" - Mercury Records

There's a wonderful (relatively) new television show on the Fox network that is worth noting. "King of the Hill" is an animated sitcom about life in the fïctitious Texas suburb of Arlen.

The show centers around one particular family - Hank and Peggy Hill, their son Bobby, and niece Luanne - and their neighbors. The central gag of this satire is the redneck factor, that is, Hank is a stereotypic southern yahoo (who ironically would fit into much of American culture anywhere) who doesn't see that the real pants in the family are worn by Peggy, that his son will never be a Dallas Cowboy football player, that his bubba bubbies have little redeeming qualities other than their belching and belly-aching abilities. But the heart of the satire lies in the same humor that made "All In The Family" such a success: for everyone who saw Archie as the epitome of rightwing horror, there are those who see him the hero. And the wickedness of the show is how often the creators, by focusing on the resistive and capitulating elements in the popular culture arena, make the viewers absolutely wrong in their views.

The creators of "Hill" are former co-executive producer of "The Simpsons," Greg Daniels and "Beavis and Butt-head" animator/creator Mike Judge. It was Judge who contacted the Tempe, Arizona four-man pop combo, The Refreshments to write and record the theme music for "Hill" (the band laterscored an entire episode).

This gig is not to suggest that the music of this combo is somehow satiric or quirky ala "Hill." Quite the contrary, they play very American music, music which combines classic American mythology themes (the outlaw as hero, the lure of the wild life, illicit love won and lost) with musical practices that likewise have a long tradition in American culture. It is not country and western, the two types of music animated character Hank Hill loves or the sappy ethereal theme music of "The Simpsons," but The Refreshments lastest recording "The Bottle & Fresh Horses" addresses both musically and lyrically the mythic issues that are familiar to both small town folk and those of the greatermetropolitan areas; not unlike those found in "King of the Hill."

The Refreshments are Roger Clyne (vocal, rhythm guitar), Buddy Edwards (bass), Brian Blush (guitar) and P.H. Naffah (drums). Their music fits somewhere between the rockier side of the Eagles, the aggression of punk, the lyrical sophistication of the Canada's Blue Rodeo, and the drunken lather of The Pogues. One the one hand, there is a definite country tinge here, but the themes and metaphors harken to greater images and illusions beyond the limits of that genre.

For instance, on the rocker, "Preacher's Daughter," we hear the mythic tale about the lonely boy who finally gets out of the slammer only to visit the daughter of the preacher who had him put there in the first place. The music fits this theme very well. It subtly builds as his hero gets closer to the daughter, building to a crescendo at the raucous point where the two have their lusty reunion.

On the Richie Valens "La Bamba"-inspired tune, "Wanted," we hear a different outlaw - one wanted in all 50 states and Mexico. But for all the thrills that he' s had, in a wonderfully poetic line, we find that he still yearns for her - "I've never been wanted like I wanta be wanted by you."

The storytelling of Clyne is probably the greatest strength of this recording. Although the music is strong, idiomatic and certainly reminiscent of great American Rock themes, it serves to augment and highlight the ballads rather than becoming the focal point of the work. For instance, the juxtaposition of ubiquitous pinball chimes and the hard rock chord opening on "Heaven" frames the story above the pick-up scene in Las Vegas. Similarly the instrumental cross-talk between the acoustic guitar and the bass ingeniously reflected the mixed lyrical signals in "Buy American." As the narrative digresses about "staying up all night with the radio on; sleep all day, keeping your clothes on, make sure, whatever you do, buy American" the guitar and bass offer similar mixed musical images. The result is a musical and lyrical completeness that makes for some great listening.

One of the stronger tunes on this overall strong recording is "Good Year." The music is mysterious, in a minor mode, but hard and electric. The strident lyrics about "a good year for bad taste and a bad year for good taste" are complimented by a soft guitar opening that builds into a strident cacophonous rage which genuinely reflect the lyrical intent of the singer. Again the musical and lyrical pieces fit together very well, showing a song-writing strength and talent not often heard in a groups second recording.

This recording definitely gets stronger as one listens to it; the images more poignant, the music more supportive. Give this a listen and . . . catch "King of the Hill."

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