edwyn collins returns

In 2005 Edwyn Collins, one of my all-time favorite songwriters, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage. For a while it was unclear whether Collins would even be able to walk and speak again, let alone record any more music. I followed his progress via his son’s MySpace updates, each of them simultaneously encouraging and heartbreaking. In December of 2006 things seemed at their bleakest with Collins posting by proxy, “Help me. Help me to explain. I want my life back. I want my freedom.”

Collins’ great strength was his ability to communicate sarcasm without being overly arch or self-consciously clever. With Orange Juice in the late ’70s/early ’80s he helped create the template that The Smiths would shamelessly steal and capitalize on for the bulk of their career. Collins was almost macho in his lack of machisimo — he was confrontationally effeminate, and while OJ bashed out deliberately unprofessional post-punk on stage, he’d prance out into the audience, trying with his fey gestures and his band’s proud sloppiness to provoke a hostile reaction from the beered-up and none-to-pleased bar patrons. Nine times out of ten, he succeeded. He carried that same attitude into his solo work, particularly in the flawless “The Campaign for Real Rock” (which I’ve often suggested should be the eMusic theme song). He ruthlessly dismantles a foppish fashion icon who shamelessly conforms to the classic journo ideal of “rock authenticity,” snidely referring to him as “Robert Zimmerframe” and poking fun at his stupidly nontroversial “Disco Sucks” T-Shirt. Each line is a bit deadlier than the one that precedes it, and the whole thing ends in a grand and enormous crescendo, Collins wise-assing over and over “Yes, yes, yes it’s the summer festival/ the truly detestable summer festival.” If you only download one song this month, make sure this is it.

Today, via paperthinwalls, we get a link to a brand new Edwyn Collins video. I’ll admit, I was nervous to watch it at first. The thought of seeing Collins, once so wry and full of vinegar, struggling through a new song was too much to bear. But by the end of the first line, it was clear my worries were unfounded. Collins is back in fine form and this song, “You’ll Never Know,” ranks with one of his strongest and sweetest. It’s the perfect way to usher in the weekend.