Argh… I’m A Numpty - Free Download

Day 5 brings you lucky people a free download of track 5 from the Beginners EP - Argh… I’m A Numpty.

A fairly old song. Another one written around the time the band was first starting and it actually appeared on both the ‘At War With Melody’ solo EP and the first band demo, which were put out at the same time.

Here’s the solo version from 'At War With Melody’:

And here’s the band playing it at our second ever gig, at the 12 Bar (one of my absolute favourite places to play in London):

On the 'Beginners’ EP it’s Johnny drumming. Steve’s original drums gave it more a swinging, funky vibe. Great at the time and in its own right but when Johnny came into the band, he totally nailed the punkier style I was aiming for and so that’s version I went with. Sorry Steve!

Not much to say about the recording as it was a fairly straight ahead rendition with no fuss involved. Jon plays bass on the EP version as his bassline always sounded right and mixed with Johnny’s drums I think it’s the best rhythm section for the song.

Lyrically, this is another song routed in low self esteem. Listening back, there’s a lot of songs with that theme! Only one person (Liam from County Trials) has ever asked who it’s about and he guessed it right too. Top marks to him. Basically, as is obvious from songs like 'You Probably Shouldn’t Keep It All In’ I can be quite socially awkward. This song came about after going to see one of my favourite bands, Zolof The Rock And Roll Destroyer. They’re a great, fun pop-rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They did a UK tour with Mike TV and I went to see them at The Underworld. They were the headliner, but most people were there for the support acts, so when they came on it was just me and some random American girls at the front getting into it, and then the few polite gig-goers behind who were nice enough to not just fuck off early. For one song - 'This Was All A Bad Idea’, there’s a male vocal part and they wanted someone to get up and sing it. Suddenly, they were pointing at me and asking me to get up on stage. A little too drunk (I never play gigs with more than one drink in me as I’m bad enough sober and I’d had three or four at this point) and a bit freaking out I ultimately declined and they played it minus the male vocal. I should’ve said yes, got up and made a tit out of myself. No harm would’ve come from it and I’d have no doubt had a blast. Lesson learned. 

Anyway, as a second part of the inspiration, when I speak to musicians I like/admire/whose music means a lot to me, I tend to fall into mile-a-minute awkward fanboy mode. It’s odd because I know rationally that whoever it may be is just a normal human with flaws and hangups of their own. They could even be a massive dickhead. But for some reason I can’t hold a decent normal conversation where I don’t come away feeling stupid (Even if I actually come off fine to whoever I’m talking to). So afterwards I chatted to Vinnie (the guitarist) and Rachel and they were totally lovely. Really friendly and had plenty of time to chat, even though they had to pack up their merch/equipment etc. I came away happy that I’d chatted to them and they were so nice, but I was annoyed because I didn’t get up and sing and my brain was telling me I must’ve come across like an idiot.

I wrote the song in one sitting and edited it down to the final song (give or take some changes to the vocal melody). The first draft was lyrically much more obvious and factual. That approach didn’t really work and sounded too forced, so I kept in the more vague lyrics and the others got ditched.

The first line of the chorus ('So sick and tired of waiting’) is taken from their song 'This Was All A Bad Idea’ as a reference to the impetus for the song and that led to the rest of the chorus falling in to place. That chorus is one of my favourite lyrics that I’ve written. I hope if they ever happen upon the song, they take that line being used as the homage it’s meant as and aren’t pissed about me using it!

The title is a play on another of their songs, 'Argh… I’m A Pirate’, which is one of my favourite songs by them and the first song I heard when I decided to give them a listen. Sadly, their last album was back in 2007. I don’t they’ve split up, but there’s no sign of the new album they were working on and that’s a huge shame.

As yet another example of how my lyrics can been stream of consciousness and vague, the first verse and first two lines of the second are rooted in truth, albeit not explicitly giving away what I’m on about, whereas the last two lines of the second verse sort of flip things and go off an a more fictional, but still related tangent. So, the Rachel mentioned in that verse is Rachel from Zolof The Rock And Roll Destroyer. I definitely have a bit of a crush on her and somehow I wound up tying that awkwardness from the gig in with how awkward I can be around women I like. However, the line about marriage and being hung up on her isn’t serious. It’s actually meant in a light-hearted way, sort of mimicking their songwriting style and isn’t a heartfelt plea or anything. Another exaggeration for the benefit of the song.

On this recording Adam Boucher & The Dead Set are:

Lyrics