It’s Genius, I Swear – The Go! Team on The Shaggs’ ‘Philosophy of the World’
The Shaggs were 3 ginger sisters - Dorothy, Helen and Betty Wiggin - from New Hampshire. In 1969 they released their only album Philosophy of the World and it’s one of my all time favourites.
Similar to the Jackson, 5 it seems that their dad Austin Wiggin was the force behind the band - living out his fantasies of stardom through his girls. Delusional about their talent, he rushed them into the studio, and it’s obvious in the conventional sense they weren't ready to be recorded - the drummer seems to be playing along to a completely different song, oblivious to tempo. This goes beyond loose.
Philosophy of the World must one of the only records that captures that in-between stage where you want to make music but don't know how to do it yet. This no man’s land where talent hasn't caught up with ideas is rarely documented ‘cos people think it’s something unworthy of documentation – ‘we'll release a record when we get better’ - but in some ways, it’s the purest kind of music. There was no intervention in the process, no producer telling them to tune up, no beat detective putting it in time, no awareness of the rules yet, they were just singing about the stuff they wanted to sing about - straight from the brain to the vinyl. It’s this lack of knowingness or irony that you can sense when listening to it and its this which has kept the record alive. There's also something else which elevates The Shaggs to greatness for me - the melodies - there is something about the clingy-ness of the melodies that gets under yr skin. Unconventional, complicated and totally original. Listen to ‘My Cutie’ and tell me this girl doesn't know how to write a song.
Without knowing it they seemed to create a blueprint for shambling lo-fi outsider indie pop of the K records variety - people like Beat Happening, Belle And Sebastian, definitely The Go! Team were undoubtedly influenced by them. The difference is this is unselfconscious - this is the real deal! The Shaggs - "You're something special to me 2, 3 ,4....."
The Shaggs - Philosophy Of The World by tadpoles shouldn't drive
Artists in this article: The Go! Team, The Shaggs