Gang Of Four - Damaged Goods & The Undertones - Get Over You

Still here, lurking on the downlow since originally posted three planetary revolutions ago. Re-presented again because both singles are brilliant in their own way and should be listened to frequently over and over again.

Gang Of Four - Damaged Goods 7''EP MP3

A.     Damaged Goods

B1.  Love Like Anthrax

B2.  Armalite Rifle

                             

The Undertones - Get Over You 7'' MP3

A.     Get Over You

B1.  Really Really

B2.  She Can Only Say No

 

To Hell With Poverty!

Gang of Four's existence had as much to do with Slave and Chic as it did the Sex Pistols and the Stooges, which is something Solid Gold demonstrates more than Entertainment! Any smarty-pants can point out the irony of a band on Warner Bros. railing against systematic tools of control disguised as entertainment media, but Gang of Four were more observational than condescending. True, Jon King and Andy Gill might have been hooting and hollering in a semi-violent and discordant fashion, but they were saying "think about it" more than "you lot are a bunch of mindless puppets." Abrasiveness was a means to grab the listener, and it worked. Reciting Solid Gold's lyrics on a local neighbourhood corner might get a couple interested souls to pay attention. It isn't poetry, and it's no fun; most within earshot would just continue power-walking or tune out while buffing the SUV. Solid Gold has that unholy racket going on beneath the lyrics, an unlikely mutation of catchiness and atonality that made ears perk and (oddly) posteriors shake. With its slightly ironic title, Solid Gold is more rhythmically grounded than the fractured nature of Entertainment!, a politically charged, more Teutonic take on funk. It's a form of release for paranoid accountants. Financial concerns form the basis of the subject matter; the hilarious but realistic "Cheeseburger" is a highlight with its thinly veiled snipe at America: "No classes in the U.S.A./Improve yourself, the choice is yours/Work at your job and make good pay/Make friends, great/Buy them a beer!" This is a nickel less spectacular than the debut, but owning one and not the other would be criminal.

Entertain Me!

Entertainment! is one of those records where germs of influence can be traced through many genres and countless bands, both favourably and unfavourably. From groups whose awareness of genealogy spreads wide enough to openly acknowledge Gang Of Four's influence (Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine), to those not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it (rap-metal, some indie rock) -- all have appropriated elements of their forefathers' trailblazing contribution. Its vaguely funky rhythmic twitch, its pungent, pointillist guitar staccatos, and its spoken/shouted vocals have all been picked up by many. Lyrically, the album was apart from many of the day, and it still is. The band rants at revisionist history in "Not Great Men" ("No weak men in the books at home"), self-serving media and politicians in "I Found That Essence Rare" ("The last thing they'll ever do?/Act in your interest"), and sexual politics in "Damaged Goods" ("You said you're cheap but you're too much"). Though the brilliance of the record thrives on the faster material a true highlight amongst highlights is "Anthrax," full of barely controlled feedback squalls and moans. It's nearly psychedelic, something post-punk and new wave was never known for. With a slight death rattle and plodding bass rumble, Jon King equates love with disease and admits to feeling "like a beetle on its back." In the background, Andy Gill speaks in monotone of why Gang Of Four doesn't do love songs. Subversive records of any ilk don't get any stronger, influential, or exciting than this.