The late eighties wasn�t the ideal time for Mark & The No-Marks� deranged hybrid of English folk, free jazz and ghost puppetry, but there never has been an ideal time. Exclamation Mark, dressed up in his ridiculous David Crosby-esque green cape, refused to pander to contemporary fashions and trends, and even seem to resent any acclaim or approval, as if it was a sign that he was doing something wrong. This may explain why he hated this live favourite, scornfully introducing it at shows as �our sell-out�.

I chose the track not only because it�s the only thing that was ever officially released (along with its b-side, an utterly spastic reworking of the Monkees� Theme called �March of the No-Marks� replete with Tube station announcements- �this is the Bakerloo line service to Elephant & Castle�- and girls yelling, �Mark NO! No MARK!!!� at the singer) but it is also by far the best thing they ever did. And it was still far, far from sell-out material (it barely sold any). It is the only No-Mark record you need to hear. All of their less grating eccentricities are here, the schizophrenic dialogues, the lyrical obsessions with pylons and German bunkers, the shoddy jazz drumming, the demonic chanting, the cackling, the mewing (!), but this time it�s all held together by an ace nagging riff, and a supremely warped and swashbuckling chorus where an increasingly unhinged mark sneers, �it�s cooool not to care, sooo cooool not to care�� before he eventually loses all sense entirely and barks breathlessly, �NOT NOT, it�s not sooo care! COOL!!!�

Mark of course was incensed that their label released it as a single and vowed never to �bow to the pound� again. And as a result retired to his studio cave, muttering that their forthcoming album, �a didactic concept album about animal reincarnation� would be their most progressive work yet. And disastrous. If the rumours are true �My Family Are Other Animals� was abandoned after a record company executive visited the studio, described the tapes as �utter utter shit�, and then tried to throttle Mark with a microphone cable.

Fine. I like it because it's mournful and I find the lyrics intriguing. Every time I listen to it, I come up with a different theory on what it might mean. It interests me.

And why NOT recommend it if I like it? If you don't, then fine, but I'll thank you not to jump down my throat because I do.

The best opening to any album ever. Amazing guitar solos, lagging drums, warm organs, and Mr.Barrett himself. It doesn't get any better than this.

The song is wistful, whimisical, magical, beautiful, introspective, and youthful.

I loved this song the moment I heard it. The melody is really nice, and Leonard Cohen does his standby trick of singing slowly and hauntingly about mysterious women wearing "rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters." Very romantic in a seventies way. if you like Bob Dylan's voice, you'll probably like Leonard Cohen, although the content is different.