Five on Friday: Protomartyr’s Joe Casey

By Joe Casey

Here are 5 songs for you. It’s a hodgepodge of old favorites and newer ones that I’ve heard recently and can remember (which is rare for me nowadays).

‘Garden’ by The Fall

Who am I kidding? I have to pick The Fall every now and then. I would be disingenuous if I didn’t. “Garden” is one of their classic songs where Mark E. Smith is pulling lyrical ideas from old English horror, movies, and strange literature to write obliquely about what is probably just him making fun of people he knows (in the band or not). But who knows?

The Fall, Garden - Peel Session

The Peel session version of this is great, and so is the 10-minute live version from 1984 at The Hacienda. Burns and Hanley on drums. Pretty sweet.

‘Peach Sprite’ by Deadbeat Beat

A song from local Detroit band’s newest record, “From Here To Ohio”, which if you’re from Detroit, is the perfect name for an album. They kinda shoot you in the face right off the bat with “Peach Sprite”, the first song on the LP, which I think is nice. Why keep the gold to Side B? Bonus points for shooting their cover photo at the Science Center.

‘Holding Back The Years’ by Jimmy Scott

I think most people my age and younger would probably know Jimmy Scott from his appearance on Twin Peaks. The album this is on came out back when I was in college in 1998, and it couldn’t have come at a better time in my musical development. He covers Bryan Ferry, Elvis Costello, Prince, and more on this album. He absolutely crushes this Simply Red song so completely you’ll never think of curly-haired gingers again.

‘Senseless’ by Zastava

A newer Detroit band that I like because they actually attempt to tour and seem to have what the musos in my life refer to as a mastery of “dynamics.” Which I think means they aren’t punching you in the skull musically for a whole show...they might jab you in the ribs and slap your groin on occasion. All good. I’ll try and convince them to come to Phoenix next time I see them around town.

‘You’re Alive’ by Little Chrissy And The Alphabeats

When you have a small kid, you could listen to terrible kids' music or great kids' music. I choose the latter and Little Chrissy and The Alphabeats. The lyrics are opaque enough about the struggle of understanding existence that it could be a Protomartyr song. Maybe someday.

Protomartyr by Trevor Naud.