Lyrics > X > Xtc > Upsy Daisy Assortment
Upsy Daisy Assortment Lyrics, Xtc
For the uninitiated, Upsy Daisy Assortment is a solid introduction to XTC (though the songs thrive best in each album's story-structure), but the compilation will probably feel weightier to those who remember when the band's mixture of cynical, biting lyrics and effervescent tunes was a relatively new concept. Musically, Upsy Daisy Assortment is pop, with styles ranging from stripped-down ooh-ah-ing '50s bubblegum in "Life Begins at the Hop," to the more jarring, jangly, quirky rock-pop of "Making Plans for Nigel," to Beatles-esque ballads like "The Mayor of Simpleton." But it's XTC's lyrics about class, politics, social restrictions, and the plight of the working class that make them seem like a punk band, even when they're at their sappiest. Andy Partridge's lyrics about an upwardly-mobile neighbor drunkenly retching over the undoubtedly white-picket fence a few hours before church ("Respectable Street"), crooned above sparkling melodies, seem so wrong that they're absolutely perfect. --Megan O. Steintrager
Songs
- Ball & Chain
- Chalkhills & Children
- Dear God
- Earn Enough for Us
- Funk Pop a Roll
- Generals & Majors
- Grass
- King for a Day
- Life Begins at The Hop
- Love on a Farmboy's Wages
- Making Plans for Nigel
- No Thugs in Our House
- Respectable Street
- Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her
- Senses Working Overtime
- The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
- The Disappointed
- The Mayor of Simpleton
- This World Over