The Fall “Bill Is Dead”
Today’s track is “Bill is Dead” by The Fall, off of 1990’s Extricate album.
This record was made in the fallout of a particularity bad stretch for lead singer mark E. Smith— he divorced guitarist Brix Smith, and lost his father to a heart attack. “Bill Is Dead” provides a good window into where he was at in life. It’s a 180 from the usual raucous fun and agitpop they put out. No kazoos here.
Instead we get a quieter, but beautiful track.
It’s rare to see Smith in this state. Hearing him sing the “these are the greatest times of my life” with sincerity is odd, and yet I can’t help but think he’s being totally sarcastic. I’m also going to age myself a bit, but working in a reference to Dynasty was brilliant.
The Carringtons would be proud.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
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