My Favourite Music

CLEM SNIDE

YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC- a second look

The other night I dug out a record I hadn't listened to in a while, Clem Snide's Your Favourite Music. I hit the play button, lay back on my bed and entered a near comatose state as the lilting, sweet melodies and transported me back to when I first heard it. My friend, and one-time producer Andrew McCully made me a mixed tape of music I really should be listening to. I've been listening to the artists on the tape ever since. It started off with some Matthew Sweet, from the album 100% Fun, then introduced me to a Heartbreaker era Ryan Adams, the early Ed Harcourt Maplewood EP, the Amazing Pilots and the wonderful Clem Snide. I remember driving in the rare but glorious sunshine as the gentle opening horns of The Diary Queen first met my ears. I was hooked. Eef sings with his tongue very close to his cheek, and while the irony was lost on Pitchfork who gave it 2.1/10, the joy he finds in the little things in life is unique.

I played it to my friend Tim, who mocked it for weeks. It's a slow record, with no hint of a distortion peddle, let alone a drum roll. At first glance it's sad, melancholy and morose. But listen a little deeper to the lyrics, and it's a celebration of happiness, and our addiction to sad music. Eef writes about breaking his heart and trying exercises to make it stronger, his girlfriend smelling of bread, his lack of a tan, and the pointlessness of drifting.


Clem Snide stand up for the nerd, the last-picked, the uncool and the not-sporty enough. I can't guarantee that you won't be bored by it, but I love it.

"Your favourite music/ well it just makes you sad/ but you like it/ 'cause you feel special that way"