SMC: Adorable - Against Perfection

This is a pick that I think Echoes might enjoy, Adorable is a British band that appeared in 1993 and Against Perfection is their debut album. They were called part of the "shoegazer" sound, though I think they have poppier sensibility than most bands said to be "shoegazer"

For this turn I really wanted to expose you to some band that sings in spanish, but that will have to wait, the happiness of finally having this album on CD is just too much to not share it with you. I discovered Adorable back in the day through the show "120 minutes", I remember watching the video to Sunshine Smile and immediatly falling in love with the song and its overdramatical lyrics: "The way I feel, doesn't feel quite real, how does it feel to feel?", I remember having written those words in almost all my high-school notebooks. On that time I used to buy cassettes from the bands I didn't know too well, so in case I didn't like the whole album I wouldn't regret it as much. And so it happened that over the years this album grew a lot on me, I found myself going back to it not only to listen to the perfect pop song that is Sunshine Smile, but the rest of the tracks were equally charming, Favourite Fallen Idol, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Homeboy with that voice full of despair singin' "you're so beautiful", as if beauty was this monster that fascinates as much as it hurts. So a few weeks ago, I finally made up my mind and ordered the cd second-hand from an amazon seller. It just happened that this album became like some sort of personal healing listening, but in my view this is also a great underlooked piece of music from the 90's, I always thought this band had the potential to be huge, but for one thing or the other it never happened, I think they recorded a second album and then they broke up.

Now, this is a record that really makes me think of its music in terms of colour, I don't know but those guitars building a tender melody to finally blast passionate distorsion just make me think of some impresssionist painters or remind me the work of Jackson Pollock and other abstract expresionism artists. The lyrics may seem a little too sentimental, maybe simplistic but I just think they suit perfectly the overall sound of the band and the particular mood of this record. The tunes have pretty fine hooks and most of them are so catchy that just get stuck in your head.. This is a record that has been with me for more than a decade, it just holds so many personal memories, but aside that I think it could have been released yesterday and sound fresh, it doesn't sound dated at all for my taste. I wish there were more bands like Adorable around: YOU'RE SOOOOO BEAAAATIIIIFUUUUULLL!!! Against Perfection (gotta love that title) in my mind is actually very close to perfection.

Now the surprise: As you know, PJ has just finished their tour in the loved-hated Mexico City where I live, I went to both concerts and had some of the most amazing days of my life, so as a way to share these feelings with my beloved SMC fellows, I have an extra poster from those concerts that I want to give away to one of you. The thing is I haven't thought of the mechanics to do it fairly so that everyone has a chance to earn it and keep track of the logistics used. I'd really like to do it on the most open way, a way in which everyone could be aware of how this is gonna be decided. I think some sort of raffle will do it, but don't know how to get it done so that it's clear for everyone. If you think in something please tell me.

Cheers and enjoy!!

Thanks for the idea, transplant, thing is I would really like to do it in a way everyone could be clear on how it's done, so there won't be any doubts. Will keep this one in mind, but if someone thinks of something better, something that everyone can keep track of, please tell me.

psycosmic wrote:

yes, TELL THE STORY!!!!

ok, for everyone asking, reading it maybe isn't as exciting as what really happened: I get the chance to meet 2 wonderful persons from this board due to the Mexico concerts, with one of them I made it to the first row on the 2nd. concert -luckiest girl I've known-, so Mudhoney rocks, then comes PJ, and I was so into it, you know, in the 2nd. song Stone stares at me, I put one hand on my heart the other pointing out him, he smiles and moves his head like "yeah, i know", and from there on we just exchange smiles and gestures and he nods his head in good mood like saying "you're insane". Yellow Ledbetter comes, I hug this beautiful person that I get to meet for this board and for PJ music, just like you guys, and ask Stone a pick for her. He throws one, didn't get it. I hug her again, "a pick for her", and Stone laughs, puts her hands on the pockets like saying "I'm out of 'em, man!", but then ge goes back the stage, comes back toward us, gives the pick to a security guy and tells him to give the pick to this friend. It was just the sweetest and most wonderful action. I jumped now ttrying to get "one for me", he just keeps smiling and throws a couple my way before leaving... and I couldn't catch them. And though this great person offered me to keep the pick, I refused to do so, after all I asked Stone to give it to her, and the simple memory of him doing what he did, and smiling with me all night through, and that sort of secret connection established through the music he played that night and the way it touched me is just enough....
And this is just another reason to love you all, because when you less expect it magic happens, because though I love the band, sometimes is not much about PJ but about what they generate in people... but then again that wouldn't be possible without their music. Just goes beyond words...

I think I've decided a good method to do this... according to the last numbers of the winning ticket at the Mexican Lottery on their Xmas. prize... every member interested send a "rock on" down my way as PM. I'll let everyone know what number they are (think I'll decide it randomly by myself) around friday, and as soon as the lottery here tells the winning number, then I'll tell who the winner is... the mecahnics are easy, if for example the winning number is 386757, then the winner would be whoever got the last digit, 7 in this case, problem would be if we got more than 10 -I think we're more than 10 at the SMC-, but I think I'll find a way to work that out, so far I have 2 persons who have sent me a PM, it'd be great if anyone interested sends me the PM before friday. Well, that's it.
cheers!