David Candy is a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Ian Svenonius Ian Folke Svenonius is an American author, filmmaker, and musician with various Washington, D.C.–based punk rock, punk bands including Nation of Ulysses, Make-Up (American band), the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ (2014 band), XYZ, Too Much (band), To ...

(formerly of

Nation of Ulysses The Nation of Ulysses was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply Ulysses, the first mark of the group consisted of Ian Svenonius on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner ...

, The Make-Up, and currently Weird War). Only one album was released under the name David Candy, ''Play Power''. The character of David Candy was part of a series of "Magazine-Style Records" conceived by Mike Alway (produced by Jez Butler and John Austin), which included other imaginary acts such as Death by Chocolate, Maria Napoleon, Mild Euphoria and Lollipop Train. The David Candy persona is that of a pretentious, over-opinionated, egotistical, self-absorbed, pseudo-intellectual hipster who has perhaps spent too long alone, absorbed in The Doors' American Prayer. This choice of character traits may have been a form of self-mockery by Svenonius, or perhaps a commentary on the personalities of the indie rock scene in general. Much like the assumed personas and personalities of all of Svenonius' bands and projects (see the "biographies" of Nation of Ulysses, Cupid Car Club, The Make-Up, and Weird War), a make-believe mythos surrounds the character of David Candy.

''Play Power''

''Play Power'' is the only album from the fictional musician David Candy, aka

. Three of the tracks, "Listen to the Music," "Bad Bad Boy," and "Lullaby From 'Rosemary's Baby'" are

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s from obscure film soundtracks. "Listen to the Music" is from the 1968 teen comedy-satire ''

Wild in the Streets ''Wild in the Streets'' is a 1968 American dystopian comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it ...

'', "Bad Bad Boy" is a cover from the 1967 British film ''Privilege'', and "Lullaby from 'Rosemary's Baby' " is a cover from Roman Polanski's '' Rosemary's Baby''. The instrumentals on the album are reminiscent of 60's

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

music, while Svenonius/Candy's vocal delivery is primarily

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

in the same vein as

beat poetry The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by members o ...

. The lyrical content of the vocals is often a pseudo-intellectual rant, meandering between overly-heady topics such as

historical materialism Historical materialism is Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx located historical change in the rise of Class society, class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. Karl Marx stated that Productive forces, techno ...

Suprematism Suprematism () is an early 20th-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstract art based upon "the supremacy of p ...

, and the "rampant public licentiousness" of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The album was written and performed by Ian Svenonius, Jez Butler, John Austin and Matt Hulse.

Track listing

#"Playpower (David Candy Theme)" #"Incomprehensibly Yours" #"Listen to the Music" #"Redfuchsiatamborine&gravel" #"Bad Bad Boy" #"Diary of a Genius" #"Lullaby From 'Rosmary's Baby' "

References

External links

*
www.boum.co.uk: Jez ButlerMatt Hulse
{{Authority control Candy, David 2001 debut albums