2000 Great Songs #1372: Winter
For our second visit to The Fall 's 1982 opus Hex Enduction Hour , we go with something, like a lot of their music, which isn't terribly approachable on first spin. While the previously-noted " The Classical " has enough chaotic bombast to carry you through Mark E. Smith's acidic mutterings, not to mention an actual melody, "Winter (Hostel-Maxi)" is far more sparse. Certainly at the beginning, which is just Mark speaking over a repeated bass note. But just over a minute into the song, the rest of the band kicks in, and while they're still riding that single one-note riff (now with more bass, and just a little bit more bassline variation!), the chaos of savagely slashing guitars and thunderous percussion makes it surprisingly exciting. It kinda just sputters out after about four minutes, just as a hint of Casio keyboard makes it sound like things might get more interesting... but for those of us won over by the simplistic groove, the album offers a Pa...
