The Beat

[daddytodd]

The postman brought me my latest order from Amazon.uk: the reissues of The (English) Beat's three albums, in double CD+DVD "Deluxe" editions.

I don't know what Dave Wakeling thought "Save it For Later" was about, but it was about Coming Out for me ("Cry cry but I don't need my mother. Just hold my hand while I come to a decision on it" in particular) (You have to remember that my coming out was basically coming to a decision: come out, or kill myself. There were no longer any other options.)

One of the greatest songs ever recorded. Just amazing. Anyone who makes fun of "80's music" needs to be strapped to a chair and forced to listen to this stuff. The '80's was more than just Duran Duran and Flock of Seagulls.

Comments

[fingertrouble.livejournal.com]

Oh I love The Beat...love that Mirror in the Bathroom is about narcissism, consumer culture and probably coke addiction.

I know what you mean about '80's music' but that's usually said by those who weren't there or weren't interested in music then.

There's a lot of dark, uncheery, non-poppy, serious, non-fluffy 80's music, but the popular opinion is it's was all 99 Red Balloons and Katrina and the Waves *sigh*

I usually chafe against those <30 who actually like that poppy side and think the 80's were 'fun' and 'cool' - the era through an unremembered nostalgic filter of childhood or even no experience at all. I remember it as a serious, scary, shitty time growing up and far from cuddly or cute, and the better music also reflected the cold war, the class/yuppie divide, the alienation (no, indie wasn't pop music as it is now), the miners strike etc.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE the cheesy fluffy 80's pop - but annoys me those we say on a Rick Astley track 'I <3 the 1980's!' as if that is the be-all and end-all of the whole decade.

/rant over

[daddytodd.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Walking on Sunshine was fine for what it was, but to use it to sum up an entire decade of music doesn't really work.