The story of There She Goes and The La's debut album is darker than you think
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- 00:00 The dark meaning behind There She Goes
01:34 The rise of The La's and Lee Mavers' early influences
03:18 Writing and Recording of the album
04:56 The meaning behind the tunes
09:22 The aftermath of the album's release, and the band's influence
10:16 Did Oasis steal this riff from The La's?
In the late eighties, The La's, led by the enigmatic and increasingly erratic Lee Mavers, entered the studio to record their debut album. The recording sessions were helmed by a revolving door of a range of upstart producers, all of which failed to win the approval of Mavers, who was insistent that no stuffy recording studio could capture the dynamism and shimmer of the band's live sessions.
As the recording sessions wore on, Mavers found himself increasingly at odds with the producers and his fellow bandmates, and this sense of isolation and listlessness made its way into the music. The lyrics of 'Timeless Melody' and 'Looking Glass' hint at a young lad at odds with the world around him, where only melody and music could soothe his real-world anxieties. And in 'There She Goes', which would go on to be one of the great hits of the era (and indeed, indie music more generally), Mavers would capture the hearts and minds of fans. But a closer look at the lyrics suggests that the song is actually about dr*g addiction.
Let's look at this album together - how The La's were inspired by The Stranglers, Roy Orbison and The Ramones, and how they in turn inspired the next incoming class of Britpop titans, including inspiring one particular riff that Oasis as good as stole from The La's.
Let me know what you think of the album in the comment section, and which record I should cover next.
#indie #indiemusic #thelas #leemavers #debutalbum #musicdocumentary #makingof #oasis #britpop #thereshegoes 
Видеоклипы
Let me know your favourite track on the album and what this record means to you! Which album should I do next?
The opener "Son of a Gun" is great, and "I Can't Sleep" rocks pretty hard.
@@bigbadbillb I love the interplay of the guitars on I Can't Sleep. Thank you for watching!
Looking class for me beacuse it’s all the other songs on the ablum combined to make this awesome ending section, and it’s a perfect closer to a perfect ablum:)
The start of ‘I.O.U’ with the instruments vamping and the volume coming up…one of my favourite experiences in a life of listening to music.
Awesome video! I live in Germany and became a huge fan of English Rock and Pop around the late 80's. I only found out about The La's through John Powers' next band Cast. Great music and very underappreciated to this day.
I hope your channel blows up (in the positive sense of the phrase), cause this is exactly the stuff I enjoy. 👍
Great video! I don’t have a clue how a channel with this level of quality can be so unknown. People are missing out, keep it up!
I really appreciate your comment. Thank you! More videos on the way
Thanks for featuring the La’s. When they were forced to tour the album they played here in Los Angeles and were forced by the record company to have various “meet and greets” and Lee Mavers’ misery was palpable. It was already common knowledge that he was forced to promote an album that he considered inferior versions of the songs. Despite its classic status, I don’t think he’s a fan.
I was probably one of the first people to hear this song. I was in a band in the late 80s and one night after a gig we were staying in Lancaster Gate Hotel in London when these guys came in. We got chatting and went upstairs to their room for a smoke and drink and they played us their demo. I remember sitting on the floor and Lee was standing on his bed, this song came on and my jaw dropped. They were nice fellas, younger than us, but I knew I'd heard something special. You don't believe me? Fine.
Do you think the demo was way better than the song on the album?
This is one of those times I open RUclips and find a video that feels like it was made just for me.
What the song means to me: for one it’s just a perfect pop song, no explanation needed. But to me this song is special because it was on the soundtrack to the movie Parent Trap; I had insomnia as a kid and would stay up all night rewinding and rewatching that vhs until I finally fell asleep. I was often scared being the only one still awake in the house, so that movie (and consequently, this song) provided me a lot of comfort as a kid, and actually still do.
Thank you for the view and comment, and fort sharing your memory of the song. I always associate it with my childhood too. A lot of those early-Britpop bands bring lots of great memories for me.
I find it crazy that there are no videos like this about Shack who were another underrated forgotten Liverpool band from the 90s. They had similar problems with heroin and are also shrouded in mystery. Their album Waterpistol wasn’t released on time due to the tapes being lost. Michael head the lead singer is a genius and he has had a late rebirth at the age of 60 he is still making albums and receiving critical acclaim for them. I would love for someone to do a video on Shack
The Magical World of the Strands is an absolute masterpiece, criminally underrated.
I... think I need to check all this out
In 1987, my mum was walking around the house singing in a staccato stuttering style ‘There, she, goes, theeere she goes. Again’
I asked if it was an old sixties pop song that o didn’t know.
She replied that she heard it on the radio.
A year later, The LA’s single played in the local radio in Manchester.
I always thought it this perfect slice of pop had been regurgitated somehow.
How interesting…
'88
@@JasonUmbrellabird yer that’s what I mean, she was singing it a year before so it must’ve been in her subconscious so makes sense that’s it’s been liberated from another song
A friend in a position to know has told me that there's really not much ambiguity here. Apparently Mavers makes a tidy little bit of money here and there on licensing the song and from covers of it, and that's all rooted in a belief of the innocent mis-read of the song being about a lovestruck lad, overwhelmed by "she" and "her". And that income goes away if he ever comes out and says that what the song's really about is smashing a junk-filled needle into your arm or between your toes. And so yes, as you put it, he's quite elliptical, but...darker meaning indeed. That was the origin story for the song, if you will.
Finally a good video on this masterpiece of musical history! Bravisimo!
Thank you very much - I'm glad you enjoyed! More to come, please stay tuned
Keep up the excellent work! Glad to have found you.
Why did I always think this was written in the 50-60s? I swear I heard it on the oldies channel in the 80s
Got to be Timeless Melody for me❤
Great tune. Another one that is a bit of a sleeper hit is All By Myself.
@@TheTitleTrack_Music Agreed
Dude your writing for this video is fantastic. Nice narration too. Great work. Can’t wait for more.
I can attest to trying to capture the magic of demos, even in my limited experience. It’s brutal and probably impossible. It’s sound great to everyone else but you know that sparkle is missing, the thing that makes the recording soar. Join that with a heroine addiction could make it a nightmare process.
It must have been not long after the release of the album that I heard it playing in a record store, in a bigger city, on a day trip with a friend. Bought it, still one of the best albums for me. Live they must have been phenomenal, Mavers voice was, even on a recording he apparently wasn't happy with, shockingly powerful, the only thing that seems to exist anymore in that moment. Thanks for this unexpected walk down memory lane some 30+ years later.
Great video! I’ve said for a long time the only person that could’ve even got close to recording the sound in Lee’s head would’ve been Steve Albini.
Whoah I never knew Lee was a big Stranglers fan. Up until Meninblack they were an incredible band.
Thank you for checking out the channel!
Funny, I think it’s after La Folie that the quality dips.
@@neilmclaughlin2347 You're right, tbf. La Folie has some great songs - Tramp, The Man They Love to Hate, etc. etc. It's blighted by rubbish like Non-Stop Nun and Pin-Up though. Meninblack doesn't even have a decent single though.
PLEASE KEEP GOING BUD! THIS WAS EXCELLENTLY WRITTEN AND PUT TOGETHER
Thanks a ton mate - I appreciate the comment and your support! More to come.
Great video. You got a new follower, I look forward to watching more videos.
Great video mate. Just subscribed 👍
I was rehearsing with my band in London and staying at the Everard Hotel. One evening after rehearsals I went to the hotel and these 3 cocky lads were kind of bragging about the new songs they'd written. They insisted they get their acoustic guitars and play me their songs in the lounge. I wasn't expecting much but they absolutely blew me away with their 60's pop sensibilities. Later on I discovered the band was called The La's.
There she goes
The girl with only one eye and no nose
Good video!
Your channel has Great Potential
Thank you, I appreciate that!
I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that Lee slavers liked The Stranglers? His love for the 60’s stuff is obvious, but never heard of him liking ‘The Meninblack’?
Truly, you learn something new every day.
It absolutely is about heroin, which was tearing through Northern England at the time. Also - it's not The La's as in "La La La", it's THE LADS said with a Northern accent spelled phonetically.
Saw the La’s, saw the quality content, subbed!
Thank you for the support and sub! Neutral Milk Hotel is a great suggestion. Stay tuned for more to come!
Whether Mavers had dabbled with the gear when writing There She Goes, I don't know. He'd probably have had the opportunity, it was rife in Liverpool in the 80's. But I highly doubt he was a frequent user while The La's were still recording and gigging. The signs are pretty obvious, I saw them live a few times back then and they always showed up and played well. Which I think would've been unlikely for someone gripped by a smack habit.
Saw Mavers backstage at an Oasis gig in the mid 90's (friends were on their road crew) and that was a different story, he was gouching his tits off and I was such a big fan that it really upset me.
Can’t believe I never pieced it together because it seems so obvious. I feel like my whole life is a lie. It’s always about drugs. Never as innocent as it seems
I always thought 'There She Goes' was about Heroin..
Plenty of songs were ..
Golden Brown..
The Stranglers
Another Girl, Another Planet..
The Only Ones
Shivers...
Boys Next Door
There was mobs back then.
One of the greatest albums full stop. Pure gold.
Forget the hit song, the album is AMAZING!
Really great synopsis
Shit this is a great video man. Thank you.
Heroin is pretty damn good
"there she goes" that part is totally taken from a Velvet Underground song, is like they stole that part and then made the music with the rest, it is obviously influenced by the birds and beatles, they even use Rickenbaker guitars
Which Velvet Underground song?
@@p.g.reitsma7245 I don´t remember but i think there were 2 velvet underground songs that had that "there she goes" part, one was sang by Nico (femme fatale), and the other one was sang by Lou Reed, (there she goes again)
Of course it's about Heroin.
The Only Ones, Another girl, Another planet and
The Stranglers, Don't bring Harry and Golden Brown are also Heroin songs.
Aye. The Velvet Underground: 'There She Goes Again'.
I saw them live at Manchester Academy, I was pinned to the barrier right Infront of Mavers, he stared at me the whole gig, was a bit unnerving tbh
I grew up in NYC and couldn’t get away from this song.
It was everywhere, and perhaps still is!
Great song.
: Looking Glass is just about as close to a perfect album closer as you can get. I'd even go so far to say that if your career as a recording artist were to end after that track, you ought not to have anything to mourn.
please turn on cc
Well done..surely a morality tale on the excess and disaster of those seeking elusive perfection
Many songs are about smack…. Golden brown - stranglers.
Perfect day - Lou Reed
And more I can’t be bothered to type.
Yet they still insist on their war against drugs.
Can you do 'The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories' by Felt? or Ignite the Seven Cannons, the album before it? Felt were a rather very under the radar, cult band from the 80s, (classically trained) guitarist Maurice Deebank has been named by quite a few later 90s and even 2000s shoegaze and other bands as influence on the guitar. And of course, Lawrence was/is quite a person
Do Neutral Milk Hotel aeroplane over the sea. Fantastic album to dive into.
Are they doing Buddy Holly's That'll be The Day at 1:40?
Wonderful song. I'd say it's a smack reference, The Velvet Underground 'There She Goes Again' but maybe it really is just a heartbreakingly good song about infatuation. Who knows...
❤❤❤❤
subbed
American here - we had Lee Majors, The Six Million Dollar man - more or less the same guy as your Mavers (other than occupation, demeanor, outlook and worldview, looks, features, time period, etc...) but otherwise identical
cheers mates - let me know if you need further help
They are like two peas in a pod. Thank you for the view and your support!
Great vid.. how do you follow this album… I’m not sure you can.
Allegedly the management had to break into Mavers’s house and steal the master tapes of the album so they could release it as Mavers wasn’t happy with it (obviously) and wouldn’t hand them over to be released..
Also for those Las fans.. here a great vid on demos tat would have sure made it to the second album that was not.
ruclips.net/video/NskA2X5guKs/видео.htmlsi=LeoCyxmQj2AsE8M5
It's an album full of mystery. Thank you for the view!
Comments on cover by Sixpence?
Looking Glass is MEGA!!! How about Shack-"HMS Fable"? That's a true classic!!!
Looking Glass is definitely one of my favourites on the album. Thank you for your support!
Check out Shack. Another Liverpool band from the 90s shrouded in mystery and very talented. They had a lost album that was re released years later that was called ‘waterpistol’
popular music, like any art form, is subjective to personal interpretation, analysis, critique and eventual rumors. Unless an artist is documented stating their exact intent in creating some art, we can assume everything can be made into a plausible story. Entertaining stuff, nonetheless
Is it see or sea? (Doledrum)...
I don't believe Mavers will reveal his motivations or true feelings about the songs.
One of greatest British albums of all time. Lee Mavers is a lost genius. Saw them last in 2005, Lee was amazing.
Lost genius is a great way of describing Mavers. He belongs in the same canon as Nick Drake. Thank you for watching!
Mavers and Power had the talent to be the Lennon-McCartney of the '90s. Instead Mavers became the Syd Barrett of the 90s. (Great debut single(s) and album, difficult to work with and hailed as "lost genius").
i love songs about drugs!
I always thought it was cr@p
I used to watch the La’s in Liverpool when they practiced in a tiny shed like unit before they had success.
It nowt to do with heroin, it’s about a lass that Lee fancied.
I knew Cammy and John Power from the band. 👍🏼
The song is Velvet Underground rip off.
Utter nonsense! It's not about heroin. Read In Search of The La's A Secret Liverpool. Confirmed by John "Boo" Byrne and Mavers himself.
Nope, that’s dumb
I heard this song is about the holocaust