All My CDs, pt 22: Still Got Legs

Still Got Legs - Chameleon Circuit

Chameleon Circuit is a British band whose music is inspired by and mostly about the TV series Doctor Who. But don’t think that this means it’s inaccessible or unenjoyable by those who don’t know or like the show. Not that you necessarily would like it regardless of your familiarity with the show, or that understanding the references doesn’t provide a large part of its enjoyability for some, but... you know. Just like you don’t have to be religious to enjoy hymns, you don’t have to be a Doctor Who fan to like this. But it helps.

This is the group’s second album, and refers to events and characters from season 5 (a.k.a. Matt Smith’s first season) and the end of season 4 (a.k.a. David Tennant's last season), as well as stand-alone specials that occur between them. This review will not contain spoilers for the show, but the lyrics of the songs do, so be warned.

The sound of the album contains elements of punk rock and light metal, and ranges from spookily distorted to jangly and cheerful, from wholly synthesized to stripped-down acoustic. The tunes are mostly original, but often refer in varying degrees to themes and melodies from the soundtrack of the show, providing musical as well as lyrical connections for the attentive listener.

Individual songs are mostly first-person explorations of characters and situations, and are very well-written and expressively sung. Most of them are pretty glum, such as Everything Is Ending and Mr. Pond. But a few, such as Still Not Ginger and Teenage Rebel, are much more cheery. Teenage Rebel, in particular, is my favorite track, an excellent running song, and in my opinion the least explicitly Doctor Who-related - in other words, it could easily be interpreted as being relatable by many different listeners for many different reasons. Its fast-paced punky sound is infectiously upbeat, and its words are optimistic and self-confident: “I won’t ever stop / ‘cause I know what’s right / get in my way, I will burst into light / I’ll keep dying and living and changing my ways / but I was a teenage rebel and that stayed the same.”

One song, Big Bang Two, breaks the first-person pattern in favor of a blow-by-blow synopsis of season 5‘s finale from the perspective of a flabbergasted viewer. Since this song is all about how confusing the series can be even for longtime fans, it may also be accessible to non-fans who are equally bemused by the whole thing. But, like I said... spoilers.

I find this album pretty fun to listen to. I’ve been taught to be wary of metamedia (for lack of a better term) - art that builds upon or refers to some other art. It’s sometimes regarded as derivitive, unimaginitive, or even as plagiaristic. But I definitely have a few such items in my collection, and I’m not about to be ashamed of that. Let’s just say: this is a good album. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of Doctor Who, and possibly worth checking out regardless.

Next: Telepathic Last Words