Wednesday, March 21, 2007


Family Fodder:
Savoir Faire
Der Leiermann (organ grinder)

from the album Monkey Banana Kitchen

These guys Family Fodder have got it going on. I first heard tell of them via this eBay auction for their 1979 Sunday Girls LP, a conceptual tribute to Blondie. I didn't win, but as it happens the intriguing Annie's Animal has made a welter of OOP Family Fodder available for download, at least temporarily. Massive thanks to Annie's Animal for providing these crucial vinyl rips.

BTW, I'll be celebrating the vernal equinox all day today at the base of the ziggurat pictured above, doing the usual sacrifices and ablutions. Stop by and say hi if you're in the area...

Family Fodder on CD

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for these 2, Emmett - and the pointer to Annie's Animal.

Family Fodder somehow escaped me when they were originally realeased on Small Wonder, but "Der Leiermann" definitely ranks up there with the Slits and the Raincoats; i especially like the "Don't Fear the Reaper" riff which suddenly appears around the 3m20s mark. Nice.

For anyone who like this and is not familiar with the Mo-dettes (another Rough Trade stablemate), then check out their "White Mice" from 1979.

Emmett said...

I noticed the Don't Fear the Reaper connection too! But in a way it's interfering w/my enjoyment of the song now!

Savoir Faire is a classic. Sounds a lot like Blondie (singer Dominique Levillain was apparently obsessed with Debbie Harry; F.F. even have a song called "Debbie Harry", not to mention the aforementioned Blondie tribute album). Savoir Faire is like Blondie with more time signature changes.

Thx for the tip on the Mo-dettes, ib. This whole Stiff/Rough Trade territory is obviously a fertile one and, for me, largely unexplored...

Anonymous said...

Jake Riviera's Stiff Records was a great label - one of the first true Independents. As a PR stunt, i remember they manufactured a t-shirt in 1977 emblazoned with the aptly coined "If it ain't stiff... it ain't worth a fuck" and someone wearing it on the King's Road was promptly arrested.

Mike said...

Savoir Faire sounds to me like something Arcade Fire might attempt in a few years when they get past this whole Bruce Springsteen thing.

Great songs!

Big B said...

savoir faire! great find emmett. perfect for the spring weather we have blowin in this week.

Douglas Wolk said...

I've put out a handful of Family Fodder records, a couple of which are still in print--see www.darkbelovedcloud.com . They've actually been playing together on and off since 1979, and continue to be amazing...