6x7 1:Pete & The Pirates - Mr. Understanding

Writing about what BBC 6Music turned me on to in 2008 proved a bit more of a herculean task than I’d first envisaged. Being a firm believer of "less, but more often", I’m going to post them a song at a time, before the internet becomes obsolete. As there is seven of them, and I discovered them all on BBC 6Music, I'm going to call this thread 6x7. First up, it's Pete & The Pirates...

In the past year I have listened to this song more than any other, but I still don't know why. This time last year I had this song on repeat in the car pretty much every morning on the way to work, belting out the lyrics at the top of my voice, and I'm still listening to it quite a bit now. It's probably because it reminds me of halcyon days, what with the cod-Supergrass Britpop stylings - something which seems decidedly out of fashion these days. That and the fact it is bass led, which is something I always appreciate (unless Sting's involved). I always think it's hard to dominate this type of song with the bass unless the bass player is being a virtuoso twat who hasn't heard of the phrase "less is more". It's all quite simple in Mr. Understanding, but very, very effective.

I've had the album for months, but only started getting into it since just before Christmas. At first I thought it was a load of old cock, being cod-Supergrass and all. But following a subconscious listen round my friend's house one night, helped by some rather nice Rioja, I found the melodies of several songs getting lodged in my brain and causing me to wake up in a cold sweat on more than one occasion the following week. Now, after dozens of listens, I'm more than converted. Knots has become my theme for February 2009, like Mr. Understanding was for February 2008, and at that rate, I should be okay for February themes well into my forties. I only wish I'd gone to see them when I got offered some tickets last year. What a pisser...