Line #75 Music/TeenageFanclub


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.

Context Music / TeenageFanclub