The Vaselines- The Way of the Vaselines

Thank the lord for Kurt Cobain; if not for him we (see: most everyone) may never have learned of the music of the Vaselines, a band in my mind, that got as close to indie-pop perfection as anyone has ever come. Generally I don't even really care for what's tagged as indie-pop most of the time, but the catchy, sugary sweet songs of Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly (or at least a generous handful of them) are undeniably irresistible.  This collection compiles both of the band's 7" EPs as well as their first album, Dum Dum, all originally released in the late 80s. 

I first came into contact with the Vaselines, I suspect like many, when aforementioned Vaselines uber-fan Kurt Cobain's band (what were they called again?) included covers of two of their songs (Son of a Gun and Molly's Lips) on their b-sides collection, Insecticide (or something like that).  Cobain always said he appreciated the music of the Vaselines because of it's child-like qualities, and that makes a lot of sense to me.  Perhaps the reason I don't generally care for what is thought of as indie-pop is because the term brings to mind boring and utterly adult seeming bands like TV on the Radio, The Arcade Fire, or the Decemberists...I am an adult of course, but whatever those bands are doing speaks absolutely nothing to me; the Vaselines on the other hand come off as naively sweet and very warm, the complete opposite of what I think of when I think of bad adult 'indie pop'. 

While the the cover versions weren't terrible, they really can't compare with the real thing, as Nirvana chose to buzz quickly through both tracks sounding not unlike a mediocre pop punk band in the process and losing pretty much all that was subtle about the originals.  Son of a Gun for example, features, a false 'hard rock' intro, understated piano melodies, and fabulous male/female harmonizing among other things that were skipped over in the cover.  I'm not complaining, or calling the cover version bad, I'm just saying if that's all you've heard, you're really missing out.   

While not every track on this is a winner (I'm not a fan of their cover of Divine's You Think You're a Man, and several of the songs from the Dum Dum LP sound more like a cocky garage band than a jangly love-in) songs like the two previously mentioned, Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam (also covered by you know who), The Day I Was a Horse, Monsterpussy, and Rory Rides Me Raw are near-perfect pop gems.

I guess this release is actually a bit out of date, as a couple of years back, Sub Pop released the triple LP set Enter the Vaselines, which features everything included on this collection (which was originally issued only on CD) as well as demos and live songs from the band's heyday.  If that wasn't enough, the band just released their second proper album, and first in over twenty years, Sex With an X (oh yeah, did I mention they're really into sexual double entendres?  well, they are) also on Sub Pop.

You can, and I suggest you do, go buy their shit here.