Tag: frightenedrabbit

Scott Hutchison RIP

Scott Hutchison was Frightened Rabbit. That was the nickname given to shy young Scott by his mother. That was the name under which he started making music.

Frightened Rabbit became a duo when Scott was joined by brother and drummer Grant. Frightened Rabbit added members over time.

Midnight Organ Fight, FR’s breakthrough album, came out in 2008. The band recently completed a tour marking the 10th anniversary of the release. It is for me a truly great album. As Kieran Devlin recently wrote in The Guardian:

A classic heartbreak record, Midnight didn’t navigate the travails of young love and lust so much as trip over them and mutter an unnecessary apology.

Here’s an acoustic version of my favorite track.

Scott recently took his own life. Here are his last two messages to the world.

Be so good to everyone you love. It’s not a given. I’m so annoyed that it’s not. I didn’t live by that standard and it kills me. Please, hug your loved ones.

I’m away now. Thanks.

They are quoted by Stephen Thompson at NPR, along with some words from Scott’s family.

Now please, be good to everyone you love. And to yourself.

Frightened Rabbit News

Scottish band Frightened Rabbit still have my favorite album of 2008 with The Midnight Organ Fight. I emphasized just how good it is in a previous post. Here’s “Poke,” my current favorite track from the album, albeit not the album version.

It’s from the band’s recent Daytrotter session, which I found via Heather Browne. Heather uses a line from “Poke” as her post title: it’s got lots to do with magnets and the pull of the moon. That line might have been a better title for the album. Actually I’d have gone for another line from the same song: I never hated you.

But Frightened Rabbit don’t consult me about album titles, which is why their forthcoming album will be called Liver! Lung! FR!. It’s a live album, and it was previewed at Pitchfork earlier this month. The preview includes a stream of “Old Old Fashioned,” one of the more upbeat FR songs.

Frightened Rabbit For Sale

I noticed at Frightened Rabbit’s MySpace page that tracks are for sale there, via Snocap. That’s the first I’ve seen of the MySpace music store. It appears to offer music by the track only, as opposed to by the album. I tried to create an account there, but it’s rather slow, and I bought The Midnight Organ Fight from Amazon, which was fast and straightforward as usual.

You can also buy, or listen, a track at a time at Fat Cat Records’ page for the album. However, that page currently reveals that the album is out of stock – on MP3, as well as on CD and LP. The music industry never ceases to amaze…

Frightened Rabbit

I’m liking The Midnight Organ Fight, by the Scottish Band Frightened Rabbit rather a lot. The review at Slant Magazine could have been written by me, except for the silly remark about Adam Duritz. Instead it was written by Wilson McBee, whose name is even more wonderful than that of the band.

Elsewhere, I’ve seen FR compared with the White Stripes. They were a guitar+vocals/drums sibling duo, and Scott (vocals/guitar) and Grant (drums/vocals) Hutchison sometimes sound like Jack and Meg. But that’s truer on their first album, The Greys (and especially of its title track) than on Midnight Organ Fight.

Frightened Rabbit sometimes remind me of The Proclaimers, with their tendency to be Scottish, folky, and anthemic all at once. But their duo days are behind them: they are now a 4-piece. Anyway, you should sample for yourself, so…

Here’s the video for “Head Rolls Off.” Shooting a music video in a school classroom, and having the kids come in to dance around is one of those ideas so brilliant that I’m surprised I haven’t seen it done before. Another thing I like about the video is the closing credits. It’s a rather bold choice of single, what with all the stuff about Jesus and God, but the kids rock regardless.