[CHAT] The world needs more satirical indie pop

More biscuits please, waiter

I Love You Because (You Look Like Jim Reeves) - Half Man Half Biscuit

One of my earliest exposures to indiepop was Birkenhead's Half Man Half Biscuit. They, for some reason, appeared as a question on the TV quiz Only Connect (Don't judge! I was nerdy and 16. I never got any of the questions right anyway). HMHB stood out from its peers in because, instead of writing delicate and innocent tunes, they were much more fond of poking fun at small time British celebrities. "99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd", "The Len Ganley Stance", "I Hate Nerys Hughes - From the Heart"... All great tracks.

But it was their song writing that defined HMHB. No aspect of British life was safe, not even Mark's & Spencer's. My personal favourite lyric was from the Bob Todd track: "Mary had a little lamb, the doctors were astounded". "In debt I owe someone a fiver" gets a laugh out of me too.

I should state it now that I'm very much a fan of HMHB, but there's some problems. First of all, I'm too young for this! Sure, I get some of their humour, but a good chunk is lost on me. Much first time listening to "Back in the D.H.S.S." was spent googling who Tony Bastable was. How am I supposed to know a 60s English children's TV presenter? This raises my other problem: I'm not English.

Sometimes I lie awake at night dreaming of an Irish equivelent to HMHB that has yet to materialise. I suppose the closest we've got is Cork's Sultans of Ping, but to call them pop is a bit of a stretch. They do have a handful of jingly jangly songs, "Veronica" and "2 Pints of Rasa" are both great. "You are what you eat you know - that means you're everything in the fridge". But still, this doesn't scratch my itch for some good, modern, Irish, satirical indie pop. I'm picky, I know. But if you want me to be your biggest fan, just form a band and fills your songs with Belfast humour and jangles. I'll be at all your shows.