Fur Patrol ~ Bottles and Jars
(written: 4 March 2004)
There comes a time in every young person's life when they have to make those important decisions.
What do I want to DO with my life? Should I get that pierced? How do I define who I am? Do I define it with piercings? Is this infected? Etc.
Important decisions are made daily. Bomb this. Cut that money. Sign here. And when you have a band you love you have to be prepared for the looming question...
What is your favourite song by them?
Sometimes it's easier to just pick one and hope it sticks. Other times they choose you. They stick to you.
It's the important things in life boys and girls.
Back before my connection to this band was set in stone (or HTML HO HO HO HO), I went along to their gigs without feeling conscious that they were watching my reactions. One such gig was at the university in mid2000, when the Furs supported Regurgitator.
I didn't know any of the Pet album songs at this stage, except the brand new first single "Now", and aside from being familiar with the Starlifter ep, I was clueless as to what they were singing. I remember being there with Nike and Julia singing Lydia, the first time I ever heard it. Nike leaned over to me and whispered "Is she a lesbian?"
A pretty good gig. The crowd weren't there for the support for the most part and despite their jumping around and generally being their fabulous selves, the audience kept their distance. That is until Julia put her guitar down and a low dirty rumbling echoed through the venue.
What on earth is this?!
Fuzzy guitars burned through the air, feedback squealing softly. A steady but understated drum beat. The bass line snaked through the cables, the speakers, shaking the floor, creeping up our legs. Julia, eyes closed, stepped up to the mic...
I am twisting all the dials. And I'm tweaking all the buttons. And I'm sure that pretty soon, pretty soon all of a sudden...
Her voice, almost a monotone, was totally hypnotic. The boys in the band kept the slow burning groove going, swaying and twitching with their eyes closed.
Julia's voice kicked up a notch. There was a sudden urgency where the almost bored sounding vocals were before. But not bad bored. You knew she wasn't bored. No one was bored now.
But again, it got more urgent and desperate, and the drums started hammering louder to match her.
I cannot breathe for fear of failing
Her higher notes hung in the air and the previously apathetic crowd stared on in amazement. You know what it's like. When you've just realised you're witnessing something completely incredible. Something so beautiful you know you'll never see that band in the same way ever again.
I cannot see beyond these bottles full of nervous words and jars of lame excuses
The slow groove was replaced by anguished but totally dead on howls and crackling guitars.
After several minutes they seemed to be winding down. Julia's soft whispers were replaced by a wall of feedback. Then she reached back, picked up a guitar and they ripped the still beating heart of the end of the song out and bashed it to death with a torrent of guitar noise.
And then it was over and the eerie mask that had fallen over the band sorta lifted and they shyly acknowledged the feverish applause and whistles.
So I found out from my new friend Steve what the hell the song was called. Bottles and Jars, an early version of which could be found on a compilation album called Infocity Overground. But would it be on the album!?
Apparently it just wouldn't fit in with the rest of the tunes. Sneakily it was added 2 minutes after the last track. They used a creepy sample of children playing slowed down and played backwards over the dark rumblings of a theramin. Julia's vocals were more controlled and less shrieky on the album version than they were on the original version but no less powerful. Unfortunately the explosive ending was missing, only to be heard again when they occasionally played the song live without leading it directly into another song.
When I first got Pet I would lie in the dark and listen to B&J through headphones over and over again. It showed me just what they were capable of. Don't get me wrong I love their happy little pop numbers and I love their great big slutty dirty rock songs, but since hearing that song for the first time that night I've been a sucker for any Furry song that is slow burning and features Julia using that voice of hers for what it goddamn surely was intended for. And though they're not always represented as well as they could be recorded in the studio, I really can't fault the way Bottles and Jars sounds on the album.
Oy. Sexy song. Veeeery sexy song.
A'ight.