{"product_id":"strange-young-alien","title":"Strange Young Alien","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt’s not often that a songwriter will deny being the author of his own lyrics, even less so when writing the introduction to a  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewhole book of them. But, without giving too much away, that's exactly what Bid, the man of words both behind and in front  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eof unashamedly literate UK post-punk psych sophisticates the Monochrome Set, sets out to do in \u003cem\u003eStrange Young Alien\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf you have followed the past five decades or so of his band's career, you may well have asked yourself what might \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003epossess anyone to write lines such as “Every night at sleepy time \/ I hang my skin out on the line”, from “Eine Symphonie \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edes Grauens”. You will find a very definite, highly intriguing answer to this question in Bid's book, though most certainly no  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eliteral interpretation. There are background stories, to be sure. Amusing and disturbing ones. Like the disfiguring haircut  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethat set off events to inspire “Letter from Viola”. Or the supermarket worker immortalised as “The Cosmonaut”. Or the  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecurious cases of the stalker and the spy, relating to “Reach for Your Gun” and “Hello, Save Me” respectively. But essentially,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe more you learn about Bid's writing process, the more mysterious it gets.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePart I of the book is technically a memoir, from his childhood experience in India and the Himalayas via his adventures in the  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emusic business to the near-fatal aneurysm that physically rearranged Bid's brain in 2010. Part II is a helpful compendium of  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003esome of the most fundamentally misheard lyrics in pop, from “He's Frank”, “Jet Set Junta” and “The Lighter Side of Dating” all  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe way to “The Ruling Class”. Most centrally though, Strange Young Alien is a book about the human brain, specifically its being  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003einhabited by “the Creature”, as Bid likes to call his artistic other self that was revealed to him after his stroke. Getting to know the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCreature through his description of this revelation may fundamentally change not just the way you understand Bid's lyrics, but the  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eartistic mind as such. Contrary to appearances, then, this book isn't just one for fans of The Monochrome Set, though they'll  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edoubtless be pleased.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ventil Verlag","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":53337177325899,"sku":"R1502-0658","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/image007_650411bf-94fc-4efb-b732-aa888b74eb29.jpg?v=1757323033","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/products\/strange-young-alien","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}