The Comedy of Errors: Orson Karte - Tonight (22 May 1992)

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When it comes to assessing this wonderfully dreamy, chilled out piece of techno house, we need to talk about names.  Artist names and track titles are the listener’s first point of contact with any musical artefact.  If a person is record shopping in a laissez-faire, ‘surprise me’ mindset then names, titles and cover art all have their part to play in sealing the deal.  John Peel admitted that whenever he went out and shopped for records, he would, quite naturally be drawn to records that stood out in this way.
Alas, had he seen the debut release by Lex Blackmore and Julian Dembinski on one of these trips, he would probably have passed on it.  He confessed to dreading having to cue up a record by a collective with the name Orson Karte (say it quickly if you’re puzzled as to why).  I’m still of the childlike mindset that finds the name quite smart, but I would have probably thought twice at seeing the track title, which is one of the most overused in popular music.  Wikipedia lists over 70 examples of songs called Tonight and you can guarantee that there will be many more from artists who haven’t yet or never will deserve their own wiki page.  It may be irrational of me, but I feel instinctively prejudiced against songs called Tonight.  It shows a lack of inventiveness though Blackmore and Dembinski could argue that they saved all their invention for the track itself, which I love, especially when the counter-synth line comes in around 3:32.

They do such a good job that the track may just be able to find a place among my own, resentfully admired songs called Tonight.  However, I’m not sure which of The Move, Supergrass or McAlmont and Butler it would dislodge.

Video courtesy of Duckkkarma