1 | [[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/teenage_fanclub.jpg]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:299:The lads in the [[TheNineties early '90s]].]] |
3 | |
4 | ->''If she lived in space, man,\ |
5 | I'd build a plane.\ |
6 | Out of luck, so beam me up,\ |
7 | To hear her talking again.'' |
8 | -->"Sparky's Dream" |
9 | |
10 | Teenage Fanclub, or the [[FanNickname Fannies]], are a [[UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}} Scottish]] AlternativeRock band, known for being modern champions of PowerPop and pretty [[NiceGuy Nice Guys]]. They formed in 1989 and have, for the most part at least, been together since then. The three central band members are Norman Blake (guitar, vocals), Raymond [=McGinley=] (guitar, vocals), and Gerard Love (bass, vocals), with several people filling in for drums and keyboards throughout the band's career. |
11 | |
12 | If you cross Music/BigStar [[JustForFun/XMeetsY with]] Music/TheByrds, you get Teenage Fanclub. |
13 | |
14 | Oh, and they might've [[DarkHorseVictory beaten out]] Music/{{Nirvana}} for an [[http://www.spin.com/2015/04/teenage-fanclub-bandwagonesque-interview/ Album of the Year]] award, or something. |
15 | ---- |
16 | !!Selected Discography: |
17 | * ''A Catholic Education'' (1990) |
18 | * ''The King'' (1991) |
19 | * ''Bandwagonesque'' (1991) |
20 | * ''Thirteen'' (1993) |
21 | * ''Grand Prix'' (1995) |
22 | * ''Songs from Northern Britain'' (1997) |
23 | * ''Howdy!'' (2000) |
24 | * ''Man-Made'' (2005) |
25 | * ''Shadows'' (2010) |
26 | * ''Here'' (2016) |
27 | * ''Endless Arcade'' (2021) |
28 | * ''Nothing Lasts Forever'' (2023) |
29 | ---- |
30 | !!The Fannies provide examples of the following tropes: |
31 | * TheAlcoholic: The protagonist of "Alcoholiday", from the looks of it. |
32 | %%* AlternativeRock |
33 | * BadassBoast: "I'd steal a car to drive you home." |
34 | ** And the lines at the top, of course. |
35 | * BrokenRecord: "Norman 3" has ''"I'm in love with you / I'm in love with you / and I know that it's you."'' This takes up more than half the song. |
36 | * CarefulWithThatAxe: "Satan." |
37 | * CoverVersion: ''The King'' has a few covers, ranging from "Interstellar Overdrive" by Music/PinkFloyd to... "Like a Virgin" by Music/{{Madonna}}? |
38 | * DarkerAndEdgier: ''Thirteen'' when compared to ''Bandwagonesque'', ''Man-Made'' when compared to ''Howdy!''. |
39 | * DeadpanSnarker: Some of their album titles hint at this, specifically ''[[{{Grunge}} Bandwagonesque]]'' and ''Songs from'' ''[[{{Britpop}} Northern Britain]]''. |
40 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''A Catholic Education'' is darker and heavier than most of the band's subsequent work. |
41 | * EpicRocking: Most of their songs fall into the 3-to-5-minute range, but there are some notable exceptions. |
42 | ** "The Concept" at 6:07. |
43 | ** "Gene Clarke" at 6:37. |
44 | ** "My Uptight Life" at 6:55. |
45 | * GreatestHitsAlbum: ''Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Six Seconds: A Shortcut to Teenage Fanclub''. |
46 | * GriefSong: "Gene Clark". The man had passed away a couple years prior. |
47 | * {{Instrumentals}}: "Satan" and "Is This Music?" don't have lyrics. |
48 | * IntercourseWithYou: "Norman 3" is probably the most unambiguous example. |
49 | * InTheStyleOf: ''Bandwagonesque'' and ''Thirteen'' sound particularly reminiscent of Big Star, with the latter being a blatant ShoutOut. |
50 | * LimitedLyricsSong: "What You Do to Me" without a doubt. |
51 | ->What you do to me\ |
52 | I know, I can't believe\ |
53 | There's something about you\ |
54 | Got me down on my knees |
55 | * LongRunnerLineUp: Up until the recent departure of Gerard Love, they were a Type 2 for ''27 years'', give or take some minor lineup changes. |
56 | * MinisculeRocking: "Satan" (1:22), "Get Funky" (also 1:22), and "Hardcore/Ballad" (1:48). |
57 | * NewSoundAlbum: Twice. ''Bandwagonesque'' is quite different from their previous two albums, and would set the standard until ''Songs from Northern Britain'' introduced a more Byrds-esque sound with more vocal harmonies and jangly guitars. |
58 | * NonAppearingTitle: Examples include "The Concept", "Alcoholiday", "The Cabbage", "Norman 3", "Sparky's Dream", "Neil Jung", and many others. |
59 | * PrecisionFStrike: For a band whose lyrics are pretty clean most of the time, they sure do know when to thrown in a "fuck" or two. |
60 | ** "Alcoholiday:" |
61 | -->"Baby, I've been fucked already." |
62 | ** "Fear of Flying:" |
63 | -->"This is your one-way ticket, so don't fuck it up." |
64 | ** "Verisimilitude:" |
65 | -->"I've always said 'fuck' when I thought I could." |
66 | * PunBasedTitle: "Neil Jung", which is a pun on the names of musician Music/NeilYoung and psychologist UsefulNotes/CarlJung. |
67 | * RockTrio: More like songwriting trio, but the band's most consistent members have been Blake, [=McGinley=], and Love. |
68 | * ShoutOut: ''Thirteen'' is titled after the Big Star song. |
69 | ** "Gene Clarke" is a tribute to the [[Music/TheByrds man himself]]. |
70 | ** The liner notes to ''Bandwagonesque'' include a "thank you" section under the headline "Thank You Friends", another reference to a Music/BigStar song. |
71 | * SillyLoveSongs: It would be easier to name songs of theirs that don't count. "What You Do to Me", "Sparky's Dream", and "Norman 3" are particularly infectious examples, though. |
72 | * SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Mostly idealistic with the occasional dipping into cynicism. |
73 | * StepUpToTheMicrophone: [=McGinley=] only made one vocal appearance on ''Bandwagonesque'' with "I Don't Know", but would regularly do vocals on later albums. |
74 | * TakeThat: ''A Catholic Education'' takes shots at the Catholic Church. |
75 | * TitleOnlyChorus: "Sometimes I Don't Need to Believe in Anything", "What You Do To Me". |
76 | * TitleTrack: Twice on ''A Catholic Education'', but [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with the rest of their work. |
77 | * WordSaladLyrics: Like the bands that inspired them, the Fannies have a habit of writing ambiguous and/or borderline nonsensical lyrics. |
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