Ohtis - Schatze (feat. Stef Chura)
- NICK DUTFIELD
- Apr 8, 2021
- 2 min read
Salt ´n´Pepa´s Let´s Talk About Sex isn´t about sex, it´s about talking about sex, whereas Man Don´t Give A Fuck by Super Furry Animals isn´t just about a man who didn´t give a fuck, it´s about not giving a fuck in general. This conceptual swivel is easy to spot from the number of times that fuck appears in the lyrics, at least 50, which goes beyond biographical detail.
An abundance of fucks is also a feature of this week´s song, Schatze by Ohtis, where the word pops up like Tourette´s mole in Titchmarsh´s lawn. According to the NME, it´s a song about a Selfish Anti-Social Male, whose line of thought goes along these lines,
I do, do what I please. I´m a piece of shit, I just think I´d get away with it.
It´s not difficult, I do it with ease.
Although it´s also true that the title, Schatze, is borrowed from the name of a friend´s cat (It´s German for Treasure). So maybe the narrator could be a Selfish Anti-social Feline. Cat owners can check the lyrics above for any consistancies with cat attitude. Only joking, cats are fine.
The teaming up of Ohtis with Stef Chura (a labelmate from the Saddle Creek imprint) gives the track the air of a classic indie duet, like Sometimes Always or Young Folks, where the blend of voices creates a bittersweet mood, undercutting the melodic cheer, just as being a bastard can be undercut by undeserved affection. At this point, I´m drawn to ponder the possibility that 40 year olds keep cats as reminders of all the appealing but maladjusted flatmates or partners that they had in their twenties.
The song´s humour has clearly activated my flippancy, but it´s worth noting that Ohtis´ singer and sonwriter, Sam Swinson, devoted much of their 2019 album, Curve of Earth, to country-tinged observations of rehab and repentance, their gritty workings exposed with all the care, attention and generosity they merit. Today´s sharp laughs have been earnt the hard way, and the transformation from country sanctity to urban sass is matched by one from shame to Shameless. With a ton of swearing too.
THIS WEEK
Ohtis - Schatze (feat. Stef Chura)
16, 874 views since 26th Jan Weekly Average Views – 1,712
LAST WEEK
Caribou – Home (Toro Y Moi remix)
Weekly Average Views – 3,170 Blog Week Views – 459
EXTRA – More or less indie duets.
The Jesus & Mary Chain with Hope Sandoval – Sometimes Always
Barry Gibb, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings – Butterfly
Peter, Bjorn & John with Victoria Bergsman – Young Folks
Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell – Deus Ibi Est
Comments