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Graham Coxon
Happiness in Magazines
Parlophone
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Article
written by Alex M
Apr 20, 2004.
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Fame affects people in strange ways, especially in the music business. Some acquire a money-draining drug habit, others develop a Napoleon complex while a select few choose to disfigure themselves with plastic surgery and dream up nefarious schemes to interfere with children – or rather they don’t, depending on who you believe. Blur coped with their success better than most, lasting 10 years before their partial fracturing and, on the strength of his music, their departed member must be the most down to earth guy in the music business.
The world hasn’t been waiting with baited breath for Graham Coxon’s fourth ‘proper’ solo album. Even his fans, the “Coxon Fannies”, won’t have been expecting anything ground-breaking. He’s never been interested in seeking out unique new sounds and in that respect this album lives down to expectations. The easy-rhyme lyrics (mostly about his girlfriend and watching telly) and the almost Status Quo-ish chords are all there as usual. A cynic might say he tries to dumb down in deliberate contrast to the ‘grown-up’ rock of Radiohead (or even, latterly, Blur) but I’m prepared to accept that his 'rock n roll Buddhist' outlook is genuine, although it’s notable that even the order of tracks, with the least catchy ones placed first, seems designed to be as anti-commercial as possible.
Things don’t really get interesting until track 4, ‘Bittersweet Bundle of Misery’, an enjoyable Coffee and TV-like tune, but then we get the excellent punkish single ‘Freakin Out’, the Fall-like ‘People of the Earth’, some slow, melodic numbers and a few Kink-ish sounding efforts. Overall, this doesn’t have the magnificence of a White Stripes album but I’d argue that for at least a handful of tracks it is just as enjoyable.
BTW Before anyone points it out, I do know that Graham’s fans have never been known as Coxon Fannies but it’s such a good name for them that I want to start the trend. I’d like anyone likes him to ask people – ideally ones they don’t know – if they appreciate his music and, depending on their reply, to declare loudly “It seems there’s lots of Coxon Fannies around here!” / “You don’t see many Coxon Fannies in this area do you?”. If I can cause this to happen I will die knowing I have at least achieved something worthwhile in life.
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