I Feel Voxish
Lyrics
A pillbox crisp (2)
Offer, offer, it was not an unreasonable offer
A pillbox crisp, that French git
The spikes he left in the bathroom (3)
And I never heard from him again
Offer, offer, it was not an unreasonable offer
But it made me hungry
For victuals could not raise nor buy (4)
I feel voxish, stack-heeled Hari Krish (5)
Those disgusting vegan new punks (6)
Caught my life mould, give me silenced lectures
Offer, offer, it was not an unreasonable offer
But it made me hungry
For victuals could not raise nor buy
I've been sharpening a knife in the bathroom
On a brick I got from the garden
No one will fuck with me again
Offer, offer, it was not an unreasonable offer
But it made me hungry
For victuals could not raise nor buy
Feel vox crisp (7)
And voxish
Notes
1. "Vox" is Latin for "voice," so the title means something like "I feel like singing." There is also a line of amplifiers called "Vox."
From an interview for the 1987 book Tape Delay:
"I also like experiments where it's just a sound experiment. In a way I find that I did that with something like 'I Feel Voxish', I just wanted a vocal tune going - but the lyrics in that are dead interesting actually."
The song is built around a bass riff by Steve Hanley, and Karl Burns adds a second bass. From Hanley's The Big Midweek (via Dan):
"Being in Melbourne for a ten-day stretch lends itself to a spot of songwriting. During a rainy soundcheck, ‘I Feel Voxish’ comes about. It starts as a bass riff which everyone adds to and then Mark starts singing about sharpening knives on garden bricks in the bathroom. Psycho. So that’s what all the noise was about last night! We kept turning up the Superman cartoons that are on twenty-four hours a day but there was no drowning it out."
2. It's not certain whether this line is correct, or whether MES says "I feel vox crisp" each time. In any case, we spent quite a bit of time fretting over this rendering, and the below is what we came up with (for "I feel vox crisp," see note 7 below):
A famously obscure little phrase; a "crisp," in England, is what is called a "(potato) chip" in the United States, whereas "chips" are French fries over there. Maybe a potato chip shaped like a pillbox, or else a nonsense phrase (see note 7). From T.L.B.: "I think he's talking about Pringles type small round crisps that are packaged in cylindical tubes, like a longer, narrower version of a pill box used for storing a hat. This style of crisp hadn't made it to Britain by 1983, so MES wouldn't have had a frame of reference for them if he'd come across some on tour in America or Europe and might conceivably have described them as 'pillbox crisps.' Maybe it's used in the lyric as a signifier of something inferior, a shoddy version of British crisps like Smiths Crisps, which M.E.S. would doubtless have preferred!"
Even if T.L.B. is wrong about the details, it may be the case that the connotations of the term "pillbox crisp" are private in this way.
And PatrickH remarks that "the first thing that came to mind re pillbox crisp for me was the disc of foam that you get in the top of a pill bottle, it's thin and round, like a crisp, and might be the kind of rubbish that would be left behind by a drug user."
As Mike Groughsovt points out below, the general idea seems to be that the Frenchman whom we will soon meet is a jerk for leaving syringes in the bathroom and taking off (see note 3 below). His definition of "pillbox crisp" is "An effete French pill popping dandy now branching out into needle drugs." He goes on: "I'm proposing Crisp with a capital C, as in Quentin. That's the dandy. You know how you hear this done with historical names, someone is a corner-store Shakespeare, or, I dunno, a Robespierre on the Dancefloor... so 'pillbox Crisp' makes the French git and effete pill-popper..." And browneyespurplesockets suggests Nico's son Ari: Nico lived in Manchester at the time, and members of the Blue Orchids--formerly of the Fall--were her backing band. Her son apparently became hooked on heroin after a time of merely popping pills, exactly as Mike Groughsovt defines it above.
See note 1 above, though--the fact that the song was apparently written in Melbourne may suggest further options. Dan submits the following from an interview with the New Zealand zine Rip It Up, dated September, 1982: "The Fall of Slick, Mark E. Smith’s Enduction Hour" by George Kay:
"Did You Like Australia?
We stayed in Kings Cross, what a fuckin' nightmare, I was bloody horrified. I'm no moralist but in the street I was accosted by prostitutes, drunks, people tryin' to borrow money, everything's open 24 hours and there's junkies everywhere. It's all cheap stimulation."
Kings Cross is an area of Sydney, where The Fall played several dates in July 1982 (i.e., prior to Melbourne). Also to note that in the same interview, MES describes Bessy as an "old French friend of mine."
Dan points out below that there is no reference to the title in the lyrics, which is true, but "pillbox crisp," if it does appear in the lyrics, is certainly a pun on "feel voxish."
"Pillboxes" in the sense of concrete guard houses are mentioned in "H.O.W."
3. The reference here is almost certainly to hypodermic needles. John points out that the "French git" may be Claude Bessy, a journalist who was associated with MES and apparently liked his spikes...on the other hand, T.L.B. says "I'm not sure Claude Bessy would have been the French git, MES was supposed to be good friends with him and I don't think he would have described him like that as he wasn't a Fall band member or manager so there's no obvious reason for them to have fallen out. Also, it is unlikely that next line 'never hear from him again' would apply to Bessy either because he worked with The Fall on the Peverted By Language Bis' video which I'm guessing was mostly filmed after I Feel Voxish was written." And see note 2 above, where it is suggested that Nico's son Ari is the "git."
Dan points out that "git" is relatively mild and may be banter. So, there is much we do not know.
4. Smith pronounces "victuals" the way it's spelled, eschewing the the correct pronunciation "vittles." The line is from H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Picture in the House" (thanks to John in the comments below), in which a traveling scholar seeks shelter in an old New England house. The denizen is an old man who has a book filled with pictures of supposed African scenes, and his favorite is one which shows the "butcher shop" of a band of cannibals. The old man waxes passionate about the picture: "Killin' sheep was kinder more fun [after viewing the picture]--but d'ye know, twan't quite satisfyin'. Queer haow a cravin' gits aholt on ye--As ye love the Almighty, young man, don't tell nobody, but I swar ter Gawd that picter begun to make me hungry for victuals I couldn't raise nor buy..." [emphasis in original]
5. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is commonly known as the "Hare Krishnas" after the movement's mantra "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." According to the movement's founder, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Har? means "the energy of God" while Krishna and Rama refer to God himself, meaning "He who is All-Attractive" and "He who is the Source of All Pleasure". The Krishnas are known for, among other things, their vegetarianism.
6. Smith pronounces "vegan" as "vegg-an," whereas the proper pronunciation is "vee-gan." This may be an honest mistake, as the word was not at all common in 1982; on the other hand, Smith often seems to enjoy mispronouncing words, and a mispronunciation is sometimes employed to convey contempt.
7. This may be a clue to "pillbox crisp," as both phrases pun on "feel voxish." "Vox crispa" seems to be a musical term, but one that is only used in Italian language contexts, as far as I can discover via the internet. One could probably take a guess at the meaning and come up with some vague notion that, if left unexamined, makes one feel like one is reasonably close...at least, that's what I did. Google it and see...
Comments (69)
My understanding is that "git" is an alternate pronunciation of "get" and maybe more common in England, but that in the North it was still likely to be "get." I'm not sure about this, though, and I'll have to listen again.
Translation: "... that French jerk, he left dirty syringes in my bathroom and I never heard from him again..."
Nest paw?
My understanding is that it's pronounced "get" in some parts of England and "git" in others, which is the entire question above, so in that sense, not the same thing.
Anyway, taking a stab, what about a "pillbox Crisp"? An effete French pill popping dandy.. now branching out into needle drugs?
http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-I-feel-voxish/179072/102082/view
and businesses:
http://www.voxishindustries.com/pages/about-us
Dan
Dan
Hello again, how are you?.. Hmmm did I make it clear I'm proposing Crisp with a capital C, as in Quentin. That's the dandy. You know how you hear this done with historical names, someone is a corner-store Shakespeare, or, I dunno, a Robespierre on the Dancefloor... so "pillbox Crisp" makes the French git and effete pill-popper, was my gist. I really really think it's "French git", not "get", don't you?
MES was never one for Dylan now was he,
Jus a thought
Pillbox crisp more of a drug reference than a military one, perhaps.
Which might be praise, but also might be making the point that MES regards Dylan as borrowing a lot from the Old Testament.
http://www.michael-stewart.org.uk/docs/2009-06-14_hudlitfest-transcript.pdf
I'm not sure Claude Bessy would have been the French git, MES was supposed to be good friends with him and I don't think he would have described him like that as he wasn't a Fall band member or manager so there's no obvious reason for them to have fallen out. Also, it is unlikely that next line 'never hear from him again' would apply to Bessy either because he worked with The Fall on the Peverted By Language Bis' video which I'm guessing was mostly filmed after I Feel Voxish was written.
but the actual line made me think of george harrison as well as bob dylan. I should probably listen to the song again.
I've made a decision for my concordance - I'm going to have "feel Vox Crisp".
But I am having a hard time pulling the trigger, it still sounds more like "pillbox crisp" to me. This will require some consideration and I hope other ears working in concert.
But, one thing I will say--"pillbox crisp"--what the fuck?
"Vox crispa" is a latin phrase in music, apparently
I'm sure someone can provide dates for ‘I Feel Voxish’ it first appears in set lists etc. but the song first shows up in 1983? At this time I think Nico was based in the Salford area.
I need to have a proper look when the book is at hand but – also around this time Nico's son (she conceived during an affair with Alain Delon) 'Ari' (Christian Aaron Boulogne) arrives in Manchester – when mentioned in ‘Songs They Never…’ he is basically described as being an effeminate French bohemian, or dandy, and is essentially a parasite for all the drugs those in Nico's band/circle/entourage acquire. Throughout his time in the UK Ari quickly progresses from softer drugs (mainly amphetamines and pot if I remember correctly), too eventually, via his Mother’s habit and influence - getting hooked on heroin. This would be the transition from “pills” to “spikes”.
This almost supports the below interpretation of “pillbox crisp” unless I've misinterpreted it? - I’m suggesting that Ari is the pillbox Crisp.
(Note 2). “On the other hand, his definition of "pillbox crisp" is "An effete French pill popping dandy now branching out into needle drugs." He goes on: "I'm proposing Crisp with a capital C, as in Quentin. That's the dandy. You know how you hear this done with historical names, someone is a corner-store Shakespeare, or, I dunno, a Robespierre on the Dancefloor... so 'pillbox Crisp' makes the French git and effete pill-popper...".
Moving on, some of Nico's backing band around this period where ex-The Fall/Blue Orchids members. Nico’s live album ‘Do or Die: Diary 1982’ lists Bramah and Baines under personnel. I remember in 'Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E Smith' MES, when recounting the early days of The Fall describes the likes of Bramah, Baines and Friel self-righteously lecturing on lefty-politics, vegetarianism and practising yoga, or at least something along these line - which obviously riles and distances MES. I think this could go towards these lyrics -
"I feel voxish, stack-heeled Hari Krish/ Those disgusting vegan new punks/ Caught my life mould, give me silenced lectures".
In MES's 'The British Masters' interview with John Doran for Noisey MES briefly talks about seeing Nico cycling by his window and generally being around the Salford area, which obviously means MES was at least aware of her presence. Although MES is known to not really mix with ex-members it’s not too far-fetched to presume that nonetheless they continue to mix in similar social circles, have mutual friends, music-business related contacts and possibly frequent the same drug dealers.
Also, in ‘Renegade…’ MES acknowledges that he once took heroin in the 1980's, (he describes being strung out and thinking that he had penned an epic poem/play/short story, only to wake up afterwards and find it completely incoherent drivel, and that he also also felt terrible). MES has since confirmed this during an interview with Dave Haslam at the Green Room in Manchester (March 2010).
“DH: There’s another story in your autobiography that the ghost writer tells us, about taking heroin…
MES: Yeah, yeah, that happened once.”
This all generally makes me think that MES encountered members of Nico’s band/circle/entourage, (including Ari and at least one of Baines and/or Bramah), when Mark took heroin, and that ‘I Feel Voxish' loosely documents this.
So it is I think easily established that MES knew of Nico's presence in Manchester, and may have met her (not sure if he says he ever did anywhere, but certainly he has said he knew she was around). Certainly he knew and met those in her orbit at the time.
However, MES obviously knew many other heroin users than just Nico or Ari. This is not a secret. And indeed in Renegade the quote about heroin mentions Nick Cave, as follows:
"Mid-80s", even assuming MES is remembering correctly and that his ghost writer has recorded him correctly, means a wider frame than just "1985" - could be a couple of years either side. Note that MES doesn't there mention Nico or any of her entourage.
Seems no particular reason, then, to prefer Ari's son to anyone else. But also, we're not even sure that the line is in fact "pillbox crisp" at all.
https://sites.google.com/site/reformationposttpm/fall-tracks/i-feel-voxish
Indeed, we don't actually know that this is a lyric based on MES' own experiences, or something he observed or overheard. Given one of the lines comes out of Lovecraft, we might want to a bit less confident that the song's narrator is MES himself.
It should also be noted that "spikes" doesn't necessarily imply heroin - MES uses the word in "U.S. 80s-90s" too, where heroin wouldn't appear to be the thing. Amphetamines can of course can be administered by needle too. etc,
So that dates the song's writing to around the time it was first played live - August 1982.
If Hanley is right, note that the bathroom in which the knife-sharpening occurs is an Australian one (can't find any information about where the group were staying). in which case perhaps the spikes were also not left in MES's home bathroom. In which case perhaps the "French git" is someone encountered on tour, rather than someone MES knew from Manchester.
An interview with a New Zealand zine, dated September 1982:
The Fall of Slick, Mark E. Smith’s Enduction Hour by George Kay (Rip It UP, September 1982, p.12) :
http://thefall.org/news/fallnz.html#Fall%20of%20Slick
Kings Cross is an area of Sydney, where The Fall played several dates in July 1982 (i.e. prior to Melbourne).
Also to note that in the same interview, MES describes Bessy as an "old French friend of mine."
Also "I feel voxish" before "Hare Krish" is far from clear...
MES: Some are and some aren't. I like to think they all stand up on paper. I also like experiments where it's just a sound experiment. In a way I find that I did that with something like 'I Feel Voxish', I just wanted a vocal tune going - but the lyrics in that are dead interesting actually, like the throwaways and that, it's the sort of thing I can't remember to write down, but it would look good written down."
Of course, MES was himself a vegetarian for a couple of years c1979.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thefall/in-the-city-fanzine-9-1979-featuring-the-fall-t43709-s7.html
But yes, "vegan" makes as much sense as "virgin". I agree with you.
MES commented on Crass a few times. Here he is from the "The Decline and Fall in Iceland" feature by Colin Irwin, in Melody Maker/i] 26 September 1981:
Link to Fall Online Bibliography
Also a few references in [i]NME 10 January 1981, but not worth quoting: https://thefall.org/gigography/81jan10.html
I think I know the one you mean, I'll see if I can find it.