THE DAMAGE IS DONE

The Features
“Temporary Blues”
Live @ 12th & Porter
June 21st, 2002

Hold up, followers! Let it be known that this is the original version of “Temporary Blues,” one with completely different music. Same lyrics, different tune! Both have their merit, true, but which one do you prefer? 

Note, this is not a competition…but it’s not like I’m gonna ignore votes that are cast. Either way, it’s the Features, so we all win.

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Some Kind of Salvation, album release (2008)

LINEAGE:
Was “Discotheque” (1999; this version shares a bridge)

OTHER VERSIONS

Today’s request comes from me, as this is one of My Top 10 Features Songs.

The Features
“Temporary Blues”
Live @ The Exit/In
August 19th, 2005

I first wrote about the history of “Temporary Blues” on May 27th.

This is another great live version of one of my favorite Features songs. It’s the latter version of this incarnation of “Temporarly Blues,” with the “I wanna go home” bit instead of “I’ve got the temporary blues” bit. This version is great because of that amazing guitar scratching that Matt does on the second verse, which is probably my favorite noise that a guitar can make. Also, is there a real term for that? Because I don’t think “guitar scratching” is correct at all.

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Some Kind of Salvation, album release (2008)

LINEAGE:
Was “Discotheque” (1999; this version shares a bridge)

OTHER VERSIONS:
Live @ The Boro (May 2nd, 2002)
Live @ 12th & Porter (November 8th, 2003)

For the week leading up to the release of the Features’ new album, Some Kind of Salvation, I will be posting an older version of some of the songs from the album. This is part 5 of Some Kind of Week.

The Features
“Temporary Blues”
Live @ 12th & Porter
November 8th, 2003

I wrote about the history of “Temporary Blues” previously on May 27th. I really like this recording of the song from the band’s second show at their two-night-stand at 12th & Porter. The quality is nice and the lyrics (the one’s the song had) are very clear. This version also features the newer bridge lyrics (“I want to go home” instead of “I’ve got the temporary blues”), which were actually first used way back in 1999 for “Discotheque.”

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Some Kind of Salvation, album release (2008)

LINEAGE:
Was “Discotheque” (1999; this version shares a bridge)

OTHER VERSIONS:
Live @ The Boro (May 2nd, 2002)
Live @ The Exit/In (August 19th, 2005)

Today’s entry is inspired by Rory after a discussion at the Union Hall show in Brooklyn.

The Features
“Temporary Blues”
Live @ The Boro
May 2nd, 2002

I know I’m posting a lot of songs from this particular Boro show, but I’ve always felt that these recordings are the strongest. Plus I want to post the original original version of “Temporary Blues,” so here it goes.

At the time there was no other Features song like it. It’s hyped-up disco beat trumped “Armani Suede” and added a sense of manic energy to an already sharp guitar riff. The ominous keyboard part has always stood out, seeming like it leaped straight out of a kung fu movie and into this spastic ditty. All of this coalesces into one monster of a song that was a real treat to hear live. And that bridge that sounds like the entire song is tripping down a long staircase, it’s so catchy!

“Temporary Blues” started out as a re-worked version of a song called “Discotheque” in 1999 during the sessions with Brent Rawlings. That song was written about the band’s performance at a dance club in Nashville and musically has more in common with the version of “Temporary Blues” that would be released on Some Kind of Salvation. It’s a mid-tempo rocker that has a slow build, but also has a genius bridge with the refrain “I wanna go home.” The band abandoned “Discotheque” sometime in 1999 or 2000 and moved that bridge part (with the lyrics changed to “I’ve got the temporary blues”) to a new song called “Temporary Blues” in early 2001. This version of the song would be played sporadically until early 2003. It was then that the line during the bridge was changed from the new “I’ve got the temporary blues” back to “Discotheque‘“s old “I wanna go home.” The song wouldn’t really become a regular until after it earned a slot in the all-request show in November 2003. After that the song had a semi-regular presence at shows until 2006, perhaps because the song’s angular and dancey style fit in with the new direction the band was going in after Exhibit A, with songs like “Arcata” and “Love is Golden” sounding like descendents of dance-rock ancestor “Temporary Blues.”

“Temporary Blues” would resurface in 2007 in its current state, with all the same (plus a lot of finished) lyrics but without that catchy bridge that had been there since the early days of “Discotheque.” Matt Pelham only posted on the old Features message board once, and it was to post the lyrics to “Temporary Blues.” He revealed that the song is about his time spent working at Pillsbury and that he never wrote a second verse. The lyrics presented on the message board in 2003 are the lyrics that are present in the version released on Some Kind of Salvation.

Special thanks to Matt Peach for help with this entry.

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Some Kind of Salvation, album release (2008)

LINEAGE:
Was “Discotheque” (1999; this version shares the bridge’s music, but not lyrics)

OTHER VERSIONS:
Live @ 12th & Porter (November 8th, 2003)
Live @ The Exit/In (August 19th, 2005)