We never do the ideas we have in pubs. In pubs we go, ‘That’s a great idea!’ in the morning we go, ‘Hmm not so great’. But what if the ideas we have in pubs are the best?
I had an idea to re-record my album ‘The Ship’s Piano’ in a day on casios and call it the Shit Piano. Although on the surface it’s an idea based on a pun I was thinking about the tradition of remixes and the earlier tradition of Dub versions of albums.
I tried to use the limitation of the Casios to find new and interesting readings of the songs. The album definitely isn’t ‘shit’ on purpose.
Or at least I think it’s from Spain. Regardless, there are far too few high-quality live videos of Hefner (though plenty of killer videos of Darren solo doing Hefner tracks) out there.
They were the perfect mix of awkwardness, romance, sadness, and just a hint of perviness…all of which spoke perfectly to me in college when they first showed up and I instantly fell in love.
There is an honesty to this music, and to Darren Hayman, which you unfortunately don’t see enough of these days. It’s indie rock that isn’t cute, or ironic, or overly clever, or fit for a commercial. It’s just honest.
When people say “what are your favorite bands?” a lot of people hesitate, or hedge, or otherwise hesitate in their replies. Not me.
Number one will always be The Smiths & Morrissey. But Hefner always immediately follows.
So Darren Hayman is writing, recording, and releasing a song a day for the entire month of January. It’s brilliant, he’s a genius, and you need to be downloading these songs ASAP, as they’ll only be up for free download for a couple of days each.
Some songs just pry into my soul like one of those weird nut picks old people use to eat walnuts.
That’s this song. In particular, the lyric:
When she lies with me Will she forget I’m ugly Will she pretend I’m pretty Oh I’ve lived a lie I stole a pretty bride during the summertime
And the way Darren’s vocals just go off the chart during the last verse and chorus?
Full lyrics below…
And every Prince Who lives in Greece Will tear themselves to pieces for this beauty Born of a swan Jesus don’t be long Let her body sweat above mine in the summertime And was it she who wrote ‘Porn is Woman Hatred’ on my overcoat Christ I need that coat ‘Cause it’s cold outside It really shouldn’t be this cold in summertime When She lies with me Will she forget I’m ugly Will she pretend I’m pretty Oh I’ve lived a lie I stole a pretty bride during the summertime Why Must she taunt me so She still has his scent She still wears the suitors clothes I’ve lived a lie I stole a pretty bride during the summertime And when the swan coupled with the goose They conceived a holy beauty and they let her loose And she caused a war, for ten long years By running off with me she caused her husband tears And those big clipper ships They’re heading straight for me and I just want to kiss her properly Oh those big clipper ships They’re heading straight for me And I haven’t even kissed her properly When She lies with me Will she forget I’m ugly Will she pretend I’m pretty Oh I’ve lived a lie I stole a pretty bride during the summertime Why Must she taunt me so She still has his scent She still wears the suitors clothes I’ve lived a lie I stole a pretty bride during the summertime And when I stepped in her room With silver sword in hand She stood there semi-naked The sword fell from my hand She let the silk slip Gently fall from her hips And Christ I want to kiss her Because heaven lies within her lips When she lies with me Will she forget I’m ugly Will she pretend I’m pretty Oh I’ve lived a lie I stole a pretty bride during the summertime Why Must she taunt me so She still has his scent She still wears the bastards clothes I’ve lived a lie I stole a pretty bride during the summertime A pretty bride During the summertime
I FINALLY tracked down The Devotion Chamber. Hefner’s first cassette release, which featured some very embryonic versions of songs which would eventually get re-recorded for a few 7”s and ultimately find their final versions on Breaking God’s Heart. (or in the case of “I Stole a Bride”, The Fidelity Wars)
It’s unhealthy how obsessed I am with Darren Hayman.
Darren Hayman - “The Greedy Ugly People”
Love don’t stop no wars. Don’t stop no cancer. It stops my heart.
Darren Hayman, formerly of Hefner, is just so much genius it hurts.
