April 08, 2009 Earworm

Vince Clarke finally found his perfect foil in Andy Bell, an over the top vocalist with a body that screamed rough trade as loudly as his mouth screamed, "GIRRRRRRRL!". After two and a half years of serving up perfect techno pop singles as though it were just another day at the bakery, they hit the big time with their third album, "The Innocents", and its trio of singles which included "Chains Of Love".

Bell's ideas of romance where always darker than those he had of sex and the message of "Chains of Love" was open to interpretation but, looking back on the world in which is was released, it is hard for me not to hear it as a call to act up against the indifference that was allowing the world we knew to die around us. By avoiding the pitfalls of pop preaching, the details of the message received was on a need to know basis but, after watching a pack of forty-somethings from all walks of life storm the dance floor when it hit the turntable, it is clear that the theme of unity did not fall on deaf ears then and continues to ring true now.

The good folks at Rhino have just released an expanded version of the 1992 singles collection, "Pop", which brings Erasures singular story up to date. Now is a good time to catch up.

July 31, 2008 Earworm

Aside from the expectation of improved sound quality and bonus tracks, the thing I look forward to most in remastered releases is the chance to hear the content as a new experience; tossing out perceptions of the material built over the years. In the case of Dead Or Alive's "Sophisticated Boom Boom", the memories of an archly camp album became a realization of how just how inconsistent it is which in turn brings to light just how good the good tracks are. Considering the recently released Yaz(oo) box, "In Your Room", I was surprised at how consistently good their songs were after years of whittling down the brief catalog to a few favorites. Yes, "I Before E Except After C" is somewhat pointless but we can't really consider that a song... and they shouldn't have either.

If Yaz was started only to find a voice for Vince Clarke's "Only You", that alone warrants much thanks and respect, but hearing it in this new and improved setting has made me remember just how good it sounded before repetition and a preference for "Upstairs At Erics" other ballad, "Midnight", led to years of skipping over it. Under all those blips and beeps lies a lovely melancholy melody colored in by the air of Alf's resignation, an art that the boys in Depeche Mode probably knew they were then incapable of when they turned the song down. And with the delivery of one line, "'can't take no more", Alison Moyet demonstrated her worthiness of being called "The Voice"; adding so much to so few words that it almost distracts the listener from the preceding line, "and I wonder what's mine", which, as anyone who has ever had to divvy up a life when it's over knows, can be the cruelest part of the end.

"In Your Room" sounds great and the compilers have shown great respect for the source by refraining from the tampering called improvements to which so many such projects fall victim. The only beef I have is that the material could have easily fit onto two cds instead of three, providing a more chronological listening experience and a smaller price point.

April 15, 2008 Earworm

The dancefloor fillers are released as singles but it's songs like "Touch Too Much" that put Hot Chip's "Made In The Dark" album in heavy rotation at Earworm Central. Although they manage to combine the best bits of Vince Clarke, early OMD, and the fuzzy era of Love And Rockets and make it all sound brand spanking new, "Touch Too Much" isn't far from Monaco.

Beat that.