Phil n' the Blanks - Multiple Choice
#224
1981 Housekeeping
Phil N’ the Blanks
Multiple Choice
Genre: New Wave
3.75 out of 5
Highlights:
(I’m Her) Sex Toy
Void Fill
Ah, the many stories that come out of listening to college radio in the 80s. I’ve spoken about WFMU, the Fairleigh-Dickinson student radio station often before. I won’t repeat that story but in this case, I just heard a track from this record ONCE and never forgot it.
“Vi-Sectomy”. For some reason that song never ever left me.
So much so that I picked up a copy of their follow up Lands an d Peeples and never listened to it.
Phil sounds like Russell Mael and the band actually does a pretty good Sparks impression.
Here’s what’s FASCINATING about this band:
Phillip Bimstein, the “Phil” of the Blanks is actually a alternative classical composer who served two terms as Mayor of Springdale, Utah. And here I thought he was just a guy who wrote novelty tunes about vasectomies. He’s so much more.
Think of this record as Sparks meets The Rezillos. And that’s terrific. Some of it is angular and difficult, like “Void Fill” but what would you expect from an “alternative classical” composer? His brain is going to filter things differently. But this isn’t Henry Cow or Captain Beefheart impenetrable. The opposite, actually. It’s very listenable.
The hit single is just as I recall. Not so great. A little sophomoric. As I said, The Rezillos, but without the edge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5k9TcjwYO8&list=PLlvn8uktX5Lsuyf9G1HQRcCUBHVJBQMMV&index=14
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