Musical Monday (#12)

There was a time, I think it was towards the end of the 1990's, that it felt like if you set up some speakers in your garden one summer and had a couple of bands play, then Feeder would probably turn up. The Brit rock band that were two-thirds Welsh and one-third Japanese, just three friends who had formed a band.

It must have been exhausting for them, pretty much any festival going and they would be there playing. I smile now to think how they would usually be one of the first bands on the bill. I remember how I first saw them with my friends in around '97 or '98, supporting Terrorvision. We saw them play in small pubs in Essex -- pubs that, granted, had once hosted bands like Pearl Jam. You could be standing at arm's reach from the band, as they played their new single. I'm all nostalgic as I remember the band when Tangerine was a new single.

As happens with these bands, somewhere along the line they were catapulted to international stardom. I remember slight feelings of betrayal when they rereleased their first full length album after it was popular -- it felt like the fans who bought it originally weren't good enough, it was rereleased with different artwork and lyrics in the liner notes and some changes to the track listing. It was rereleased with the addition of their hit single High, which we'd all bought on single specifically because it wasn't on the album.

This isn't a rant about how the band turned their back on their first fans, because I don't really think they did. It's more likely the band themselves had no control over these things -- I remember from my discussions with Terrorvision being surprised how little control bands can sometimes have. You can ask old members of Terrorvision now if there's any plans to release their videos on DVD, and they'll tell you EMI own the rights to the videos, you'll have to ask them instead.

Feeder had a winning formula -- they came along at a good time for British music, riding a wave of indie rock with bands like Stereophonics, mixing catchy hooks with intelligent lyrics, and driving guitars with a live intensity that was hard to rival. And while the industry might have cooled to rock and the "Cool Britannia" wave broke and rolled back, Feeder still managed to stay ahead of the game. They might have opted to go a little more commercial -- songs like Buck Rogers were like a completely different band from their origins with Stereo World -- but sometimes you need to decide for yourself how much commercial success you want.

Things seemed to change after the suicide of drummer Jon Lee, in 2002. Although sometimes live there would be a second guitarist, Jon was one of the original three that made Feeder -- and I think the band came close to breaking up. But after a while they came back with a new album, Comfort in Sound. It was like a rebirth. It was grown up, sad, introspective -- the loss of Grant Nicholas' friend was obvious in his song writing, but with songs like Come Back Around and Just The Way I'm Feeling, it was some of the best songs the band had ever written. There were no three-minute catchy pop songs to bounce along to here, but as I say it is probably the best album they have ever made.

Ironically, perhaps, a b-side to "Just A Day" -- one of the band's big, singalong hits -- was a cover of "I Can't Stand Losing You". But interestingly the band chose not to sing the last line "I guess you'd call it suicide, but I'm too full to swallow my pride" -- I'm fairly sure this was made before Jon's death.

It's hard not to know who Feeder are any more, they have gone from playing first on the bill at festivals and pubs around the country, to headlining at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

I include today their third single and still my favourite song, Cement. This song didn't make it onto their "singles" compilation.
Feeder- Cement.mp3