Reading, Writing & Arithm

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What's also especially striking - and, given the title, wholly appropriate - is just how strong a reflection of student-age life this is, which, on reflection, is a rarer gift than might initially be assumed (consider, if you will, how much easier it is to rattle off lists of artists whose oeuvres correlate with adolescent experiences or properly grown-up concerns). At times, this can be remarkably specific - the excellent 'I Won' is perhaps the only song to ever build itself around flatshare politics - but it also captures the sensation of a life spent in preparation for a rather daunting sense of possibility. 'Hideous Towns' best expresses the intimidation this entails ("never went to Rome / I took the first bus home" etc), but it rears its head repeatedly, Wheeler at one point taking solace in the thought that "there's no harm in voicing your doubts" and, on 'Can't Be Sure', reflecting with perhaps an overly optimistic confidence that absolute conviction in what lies ahead is bound to emerge. Eventually. Dutchcharts.nl – The Sundays – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 October 2022. There is a peculiar tension between the everday mundanity, dreariness and weariness expressed by the lyrics and Harriet Wheeler's yearning, keening delivery that provides a unique bittersweet personailty to the songs; the guitarist and rhtyhm section have been oft-compared to the Smiths, which is neither innacurate or a bad thing. In any case the instrumentation is above average. Of course, whether The Sundays were ‘pop’ very much depends on one’s definition. The Sundays weren’t even that popular: only one Top 20 single, Summertime, from their swansong album and they were barely recognisable as stars, other than to those who adored them. But they were very ‘pop’ in that alternative/indie way, and one of the most melodically beautiful bands of their era. Static and Silence’ with its glorious single ‘Summertime’ was another hit in the UK and American indie charts.

Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > The Sundays in Australian Charts". Hung Medien . Retrieved 30 August 2018. The Sundays’ debut single was another example of usurping pop convention. As often with The Sundays, the chords are mostly implied by the bass, Gavurin’s guitar being “non-resolving” arpeggios and single notes, and Patch Hannan’s eager tom-tom drums only properly take off two thirds in. It’s thus impossible to dance to: an indie shuffle would have to suffice. Wheeler’s trembling lament of “England my country, the home of the free/ Such miserable weather/ But England’s as happy as England can be/ Why cry?” is Morrissey-esque.Ah, some levity. Barmy lyrics about joining The Salvation Army, the Civil Service and going to Piccadilly Circus (“I took the first bus home”) reiterate ‘outsider’ status, but well-knowing: “My hopeless youth it’s just so uncouth” echoes the notion that wisdom, as in Can’t Be Sure, will come later. Gavurin’s scratchy jangle is very mid-80s indie and Paul Brindley’s bassline is a close relation of Hollow Horseby The Icicle Works, early ‘dream pop’ explorers of 1983-84. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic was released in January 1990 and became a commercial success, reaching number4 on the UK charts [7] and peaking at number39 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. [9] It went on to sell over half a million copies worldwide. [4] Critical reception was very positive; [6] Rolling Stone writer Ira Robbins referred to it as "an alluring slice of lighter-than-air guitar pop, a collection of uncommonly good songs graced by Harriet Wheeler's wondrous singing." [10] The single " Here's Where the Story Ends" was particularly successful in the USA due to radio play and MTV rotation. [6] The Sundays devoted nearly a year to an "exhausting" promotional tour, [4] which encompassed America, Europe, and Japan. [6] The tour was considered successful, [6] although it was not without some mishaps; a London show had to be rescheduled due to Wheeler losing her voice and the group experienced some amusement when a Dallas, Texas, show was advertised with the slogan "See The Sundays on Sunday with ice-cream sundaes". [7] 1991–1993: Blind [ edit ]

Settled down with 20-something children, and with a reliable heating system, maybe they’ve now just run out of things to write about. Here's Where the Story Ends": "ARIA Singles Chart w/c 6-8-1990". Imgur.com . Retrieved 25 May 2019.a b "Gold & Platinum: The Sundays". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 26 June 2020. We were very close and had talked a lot about the second album. But between that first record being released and the second, that’s when all Rough Trade’s distribution problems occurred. I just remember one day David saying, ‘Let’s not talk about the second album at the moment because there’s a problem we need to look at’. a b c d e f g h i j k l Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2011). "The Sundays biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 30 March 2011.