In short: In 1981, Heaven 17 consisted of two thirds of the original band members of The Human League. This is the first album after the split. At the same time, The Human League recorded "Dare". At that time, these bands also shared the studio during recording. The first two The Human League albums "Reproduction" and "Travelogue" were arranged and recorded exclusively with synthesizers. Even the drum sounds were created manually with synthesizers (miniKorg 700, Roland System 100). Not even drum computers were used. You can hear that clearly in "Being Boiled" in the original version from 1978. In addition to the sound of German bands such as Kraftwerk, Cluster or Harmonia, dystopian novels and science fiction films, Ware and Marsh were also influenced by Northern Soul. In addition, Ware and Marsh always saw themselves as part of the working class in the middle of an industrial city (Sheffield). All of this flows into this album.
What a classic track from one of my favorite bands ever. Energetic, rough. Even a bit unlike of what followed later with monster hits like „Let Me Go“ from 1982- the band‘s favorite track, super-elegant and catchy - and „Temptation“ from 1983. Still performing. Will see them live next Jan for the 5th time. Martyn Ware is a legend (massively helping Tina Turner to re-emerge in 1983) and Glenn Gregory‘s voice is just as impressive as it was four decades ago.
Hi! Great reaction again, thanks for posting so many videos a day! You could react to the Ikarus album by Ikarus released in 1971, a little known German band yet their one and only album is for me a great masterpiece! Have a nice day
Was going to mention this, probably commenting something like "Alex and his droogs would approve". Was beaten to it! I can remember watching the film for the first time and hearing "Heaven 17" and being like "Really? Oh! So that's where the name came from!" and being amazed for several minutes.
'Heaven 17' was made up from some past members of 'The Human League', after there was a line up change. The track was originally an instrumental called, "Groove Thang" before the vocals were added and then became, "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang", around this time some members of the band, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, had a side project 'The B.E.F.' ('The British Electric Foundation') who produced a few albums called, "Music for Listening To", "Music for Stowaways" the latter only being on cassette, "Music of Quality and Distinction: Volume 1" being the best known, it featured covers of songs done in their style with guest vocalists, one of those vocalists being Glenn Gregory who was one part of 'Heaven 17', later there was a Volume 2 of "Music of Quality and Distinction" done also.
Great tune man, was 19 when this came out, bangin dance trak. I think the BBC banned playing it cos of the reference to Ronnie Reagan. When's the next Stranglers track?. It's my favourite track on the album. Cheers Paul.
Dear Justin, Welcome to the British Electric Foundation ! This whole album is a Gemm ! Glenn is a fully great singer ! Martyn & Ian : great soundbuilders !!
Indeed very timely right now, and into next year. I first heard "Groove Thang" on the "Methods of Dance" album (compiled by Paul Morley in late 1981) which gathers together several cool, seminal singles of 1980-81 from bands that would nearly all become legendary over the next few years: Devo, Simple Minds, DAF, the Human League (Mk 2, the radio hit band) and others.
This is a fantastic debut album, all tracks worth reacting to! My only ever issue has been the production which to me sounds a bit muddy, even for the time, so it's interesting to hear your perspective. The title track is AMAZING, so pleased you're reacting to that.
Thanks for getting to this LP, Justin. Heaven 17 as a band name has a literary connection to a dystopia, kind of fitting for the industrial city of Sheffield at the time (when they split off from the Human League, around 1980). In 2010, the band went on tour to play this first LP, Penthouse and Pavement, live. A DVD from the Sheffield show on that tour is out there, and some or all of it can be found on RUclips, including this first song. Btw, in an interview clip with Jools Holland the two guys at the core of the band said they were listening to Kraftwerk and Parliament/Funkadelic before starting this band. ruclips.net/video/Yj84RwQpvCo/видео.html
I never understood why The Human League's first line-up split into two parts, because at first I understood it was a question of musical differences, but in the end The Human League's second line-up and Heaven 17 ended up doing the same style of mainstream synthpop. What's the point? 🤔 "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" has fairly sparse instrumentation and a slightly more experimental style than the rest of the album, apart from “Geisha Boys and Temple Girls”, “Song with No Name” and “We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time¹” which are even more minimalist. In that sense, this track is a bit like early Human League, but more in spirit than form and content, because I think The Human League from ‘78 to ’80 was much more inspired...... which I invite you to discover with their 1978 debut single "Being Boiled" and its B-side "Circus of Death", released on the Fast Product label. This is an important detail because "Circus of Death" was re-recorded in 1979 for their debut album Reproduction and "Being Boiled" was re-recorded in 1980 for their second album Travelogue, which means that these original 1978 single versions were later renamed (Fast Version) on the bonus tracks of Reproduction for its CD release. Then you'll know you need to listen to "Being Boiled (Fast Version)" and "Circus of Death (Fast Version)".😉
@@80sandretrogubbins25 Not for "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" and the other tracks I mentioned above, but "Penthouse and Pavement", "Let's All Make a Bomb", "Let Me Go" and quite a few others are close to what The Human League did on Dare, Hysteria and the non-album singles "Mirror Man" and "(Keep Feeling) Fascination".
@@a.k.1740 Heaven 17 used guitarists and electric bass players whereas The Human League didn't except for The Lebanon (guitar) and (Keep Feeling) Fascination (bass guitar).
According to an interview with Martyn Ware I read; Their label, Virgin Records, was the cause of the split up. They thought that The Human League would be more popular if they got rid of the two less attractive guys. Record companies do this all the time, actually.
@@group-music Ah yes, now that you mention it, it rings a bell!😉 That said, I wonder if this wasn't just another lame excuse to cover up the fact that the two parties were no longer getting along on a human level but didn't want to say that in the music press! (It's happened more than once with other bands!).
The Human League was a rather experimental electronic bleeps and bloops band in the 70's. They fell apart and one part under Phil Oakley carried on with the name and new members, the other half became the core of Heaven 17 with a new singer. B.E.F. is listed as the producer, but its also a moniker of the band (less the lead singer) so this is effectively self produced. This is the sound musicians/producers in transition from trying cool sounds with self built synths to something a little more capable in the ways song writing and production. Oh and embracing their love of classic late 60's soul and pop which would show later on. Yeah the time around 1980 was a bit political in the UK. Especially for 3 lad from a failing steel town who found they had a voice.
The original The Human League were brilliant. Dark and dystopian. It is an insult to refer to them as a bleeps and bloops band. Also they never used self-built synths. They used Rolands and Korgs.
We have these lads to thank for Tina Turners 1980's comeback - she recorded a cover of 'Ball of Confusion' for one of their British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.) projects - it wasn't very good imo but it did lead to her recording 'Private Dancer'. Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory were assistant producers I think. It is a good album. My favourite track is 'Play To Win' but the fixed groove at the end of side two was a mixed blessing.
I like this band. I believe that this particular song was trying to give a dystopian feel to the music, intentionally leaving the listener disoriented.
The meaning is more important in this song. Temptation and penthouse and the Pavement I bet you will like. I love those. Also its not hypocritical, “shake” in Uk means “get rid of”
You must check out their "And That's No Lie" and "This Is Mine" tracks. Both are bangers. Loved me some Heaven 17 back in the early 80's. What an original band they were.
Not a great song but lyrically it reflects the rise of the racist Far Right in the UK and the ascent of Reagan and the cold warriors and religious Right in the US. It was a highly politicised time when you had to choose a side.
Subscribing. I’ve watched a few of your reactions and I think you have a good perspective. Could I request/recommend Bad Religion’s “Don’t Pray On Me”?
Hi Justin. Dave from Beyond The Sea. Not my favourite from the album, but this is a strange mix - it sounds a but muddy on my system. I prefer the following, title track, which is very Human League-like (not surprising as that's where two of the band came from). The album I have is the follow-up, The Luxury Gap, which has a bit more warmth, and spawned two UK top ten singles.
"Reagan is President Elect" - kind of dates this a bit, but maybe not. Never heard this before, I guess the techno scene for me back then was Gary Numan, Kraftwerk and especially The Cars..
It depends on which Human League you're talking about! If we're talking about The Human League in their early days, from 78 to 80, then yes; if we're talking about The Human League from Dare onwards, then no!
when you hear Let Me Go, you'll be hooked. That being said, I think the musical production was cluttered and unbalanced. Everything was in the middlw. The tempo should have been slower to show off that bass solo.
@@gordon2945 OK. Thanks. I know this is the original song, but this sounded like a remix that had been sped up. I'll go pull out my vinyl - maybe it's my record player that's slow!
@@tintooki yes check your record player! - I have the 12" and it sounds the same to me although I thought this seemed to go on a bit longer maybe just because of listening to it here rather than whacked up high on my stereo!
I think maybe the difference is just the sparseness and the use of the "lo tech end" of the synth. We don't need fascist anything. So then I suppose we also might not need Devolution ... ? But no, we do need some Devo. Fascism nyet. Devo, Da. The "fascism" of Reagan is a bit of an exaggeration, though. Sounds a bit like the kind of thing you need to demonstrate that you can think, if you want to take the easy road through university, more than something one can take as seriously as presumably they want it to be taken. ("Right oriented"? Sure. But there are many grades of that kind of orientation. And if you lump them into one word that just says, "Different to what WE think" - or "WE" think when you're really just using it strategically in an exam you've been stupid enough to prioritize lower than tonight's darts championship at the Beer Club, and tomorrow's ten-an-hour - er ... if you lump everyone who simply doesn't agree with you down to the fine details into one box with a curse on it ... Isn't that a bit fascist? Feels so to me. That said, banning a song for expressing an anti-fascist announcement in fascist-leaning way sounds more fascist.) I do think fascist should be reserved for the kind of person whose politics makes lining them up against the wall and shooting them a valid choice, though. Fokkit, man, I was meant to just mention Devo. They've recently done a Tiny Desk Concert that might even be interesting to people who don't feel Devo (or maybe think they're fascist or some other such pejorative requiring a Shunning) (shut up sicko get back on track) ... ruclips.net/video/VKvYRDhPt_0/видео.html They start out with a more "songy" song, and sing it pretty much straight and simple. Then the songs get progressively (or regressively I suppose, but stop disturbing me ... Go! Go sit in the corner again ... Sorry ... Yes, yes, I know. Now go, go, go ... OK regressively but what?) Oh the songs get proregressively Devo. There's a Devolution through the concert. And they also fail more and more to look like they're taking this all Very Seriously. (But I think they might be, you know?) It's not too long, it has some songy songs, so you can't complain too much, and it has interesting structure. And it's funny, of course. You might even be able to dance to it.
The sentiment aside, this is pretty dire. Even for the times. Awful intro, and it doesn't really get much better. The trudging, if uptempo beat, the deadpan vocal, repetition, that makes it seem to go on an age, this's poor stuff.... The bass is decent, but unfortunately it's not enough to save this. They do get a bit better, when they funk it up more, but as openers go.....
Interesting thing is that this was lauded to the heavens at the time (mainly by the NME) as the future of music. In retrospect it has some of the charm of the early Human League but welds the excessively wordy political lyrics (the NME were big on politics at the time) to a fairly standard synth-funk beat that leaves it stranded in 1981. Spandau Ballet's Chant No. 1 and Duran Duran's Planet Earth were obviously superior tracks on the same dancefloor and those bands had far more lasting success.
@@kenl2091 Aye, this would''ve been right up the NME's alley. The politics, they were big on the whole RAR (rock against racism) movement at the time. And this lot did have a number of good tunes, but for me, this wasn't one of them. And as you say, they were rather eclipsed by the likes of the Duranies, Spandau. Musically, they were very 'busy' times :)
In short: In 1981, Heaven 17 consisted of two thirds of the original band members of The Human League. This is the first album after the split. At the same time, The Human League recorded "Dare". At that time, these bands also shared the studio during recording.
The first two The Human League albums "Reproduction" and "Travelogue" were arranged and recorded exclusively with synthesizers. Even the drum sounds were created manually with synthesizers (miniKorg 700, Roland System 100). Not even drum computers were used. You can hear that clearly in "Being Boiled" in the original version from 1978.
In addition to the sound of German bands such as Kraftwerk, Cluster or Harmonia, dystopian novels and science fiction films, Ware and Marsh were also influenced by Northern Soul. In addition, Ware and Marsh always saw themselves as part of the working class in the middle of an industrial city (Sheffield). All of this flows into this album.
What a classic track from one of my favorite bands ever. Energetic, rough. Even a bit unlike of what followed later with monster hits like „Let Me Go“ from 1982- the band‘s favorite track, super-elegant and catchy - and „Temptation“ from 1983. Still performing. Will see them live next Jan for the 5th time. Martyn Ware is a legend (massively helping Tina Turner to re-emerge in 1983) and Glenn Gregory‘s voice is just as impressive as it was four decades ago.
Hi! Great reaction again, thanks for posting so many videos a day! You could react to the Ikarus album by Ikarus released in 1971, a little known German band yet their one and only album is for me a great masterpiece!
Have a nice day
Before listening i read all the comments. I feared the worst but my phone was funkin like a trojan. Tinny industrial intensity. Loved it !
Fun fact - they took their name from a band mentioned in A Clockwork Orange. It was on the chart in the record shop where Alex was cruising.
Was going to mention this, probably commenting something like "Alex and his droogs would approve". Was beaten to it!
I can remember watching the film for the first time and hearing "Heaven 17" and being like "Really? Oh! So that's where the name came from!" and being amazed for several minutes.
Fuzzy Warbles
@@AriadneJC Droogs not groods 😁.
@@group-music Thanks! I cannot believe I made that typo and didn't notice it. Corrected now.
@AriadneJC I guessed it was just a typo 👍.
Glad to see you doing some heaven 17, I've always been a big fan
'Heaven 17' was made up from some past members of 'The Human League', after there was a line up change. The track was originally an instrumental called, "Groove Thang" before the vocals were added and then became, "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang", around this time some members of the band, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, had a side project 'The B.E.F.' ('The British Electric Foundation') who produced a few albums called, "Music for Listening To", "Music for Stowaways" the latter only being on cassette, "Music of Quality and Distinction: Volume 1" being the best known, it featured covers of songs done in their style with guest vocalists, one of those vocalists being Glenn Gregory who was one part of 'Heaven 17', later there was a Volume 2 of "Music of Quality and Distinction" done also.
THE SONG FOR AMERICA going forward from now. They were visionary.
Great tune man, was 19 when this came out, bangin dance trak. I think the BBC banned playing it cos of the reference to Ronnie Reagan. When's the next Stranglers track?. It's my favourite track on the album. Cheers Paul.
Dear Justin, Welcome to the British Electric Foundation ! This whole album is a Gemm ! Glenn is a fully great singer ! Martyn & Ian : great soundbuilders !!
This one gets an automatic like before even watching. Great band and timely song.
Indeed very timely right now, and into next year. I first heard "Groove Thang" on the "Methods of Dance" album (compiled by Paul Morley in late 1981) which gathers together several cool, seminal singles of 1980-81 from bands that would nearly all become legendary over the next few years: Devo, Simple Minds, DAF, the Human League (Mk 2, the radio hit band) and others.
So glad you are checking them out
I haven't heard this song since the early 80,s probably, they used to put this on at alt-dance clubs all the time.
A staple in those clubs!
This is a fantastic debut album, all tracks worth reacting to! My only ever issue has been the production which to me sounds a bit muddy, even for the time, so it's interesting to hear your perspective. The title track is AMAZING, so pleased you're reacting to that.
Great Track from my youth!
I was 12yo back then!🎉
Check LETS ALL MAKE A BOMB and I‘M YOUR MONEY!!!
Brings back days in my freshman dorm listening to the campus radio station. Heaven-17, the English Beat, Squeeze ...
For what it's worth, Penthouse to Pavement is a great cut. It was used for the soundtrack of the film Sliver. Awful movie - awesome album.
I was obsessed with Heaven 17 in the 80’s, before New Order took all my affection
Hey JP, imagine the bafflement of us old geezers back in '81. Don't worry, the title back drops the tempo. (Which you of course know by now.)
If I have a top ten of singles then it alternates wildly but this song is usually in there - this and the Human League's 'Empire State Human'.
Thanks for getting to this LP, Justin. Heaven 17 as a band name has a literary connection to a dystopia, kind of fitting for the industrial city of Sheffield at the time (when they split off from the Human League, around 1980). In 2010, the band went on tour to play this first LP, Penthouse and Pavement, live. A DVD from the Sheffield show on that tour is out there, and some or all of it can be found on RUclips, including this first song. Btw, in an interview clip with Jools Holland the two guys at the core of the band said they were listening to Kraftwerk and Parliament/Funkadelic before starting this band.
ruclips.net/video/Yj84RwQpvCo/видео.html
I'm in SoCal...this is Sooooo KROQ 1980s....oh well...times change
I was and you are 100% spot on!
Now we are talkin' :D
Their best song IMO was Play to Win
I never understood why The Human League's first line-up split into two parts, because at first I understood it was a question of musical differences, but in the end The Human League's second line-up and Heaven 17 ended up doing the same style of mainstream synthpop. What's the point? 🤔
"(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" has fairly sparse instrumentation and a slightly more experimental style than the rest of the album, apart from “Geisha Boys and Temple Girls”, “Song with No Name” and “We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time¹” which are even more minimalist. In that sense, this track is a bit like early Human League, but more in spirit than form and content, because I think The Human League from ‘78 to ’80 was much more inspired...... which I invite you to discover with their 1978 debut single "Being Boiled" and its B-side "Circus of Death", released on the Fast Product label. This is an important detail because "Circus of Death" was re-recorded in 1979 for their debut album Reproduction and "Being Boiled" was re-recorded in 1980 for their second album Travelogue, which means that these original 1978 single versions were later renamed (Fast Version) on the bonus tracks of Reproduction for its CD release. Then you'll know you need to listen to "Being Boiled (Fast Version)" and "Circus of Death (Fast Version)".😉
Hardly the "same style" of mainstream synthpop.
@@80sandretrogubbins25 Not for "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" and the other tracks I mentioned above, but "Penthouse and Pavement", "Let's All Make a Bomb", "Let Me Go" and quite a few others are close to what The Human League did on Dare, Hysteria and the non-album singles "Mirror Man" and "(Keep Feeling) Fascination".
@@a.k.1740 Heaven 17 used guitarists and electric bass players whereas The Human League didn't except for The Lebanon (guitar) and (Keep Feeling) Fascination (bass guitar).
According to an interview with Martyn Ware I read; Their label, Virgin Records, was the cause of the split up. They thought that The Human League would be more popular if they got rid of the two less attractive guys. Record companies do this all the time, actually.
@@group-music Ah yes, now that you mention it, it rings a bell!😉 That said, I wonder if this wasn't just another lame excuse to cover up the fact that the two parties were no longer getting along on a human level but didn't want to say that in the music press! (It's happened more than once with other bands!).
The Human League was a rather experimental electronic bleeps and bloops band in the 70's. They fell apart and one part under Phil Oakley carried on with the name and new members, the other half became the core of Heaven 17 with a new singer. B.E.F. is listed as the producer, but its also a moniker of the band (less the lead singer) so this is effectively self produced. This is the sound musicians/producers in transition from trying cool sounds with self built synths to something a little more capable in the ways song writing and production. Oh and embracing their love of classic late 60's soul and pop which would show later on. Yeah the time around 1980 was a bit political in the UK. Especially for 3 lad from a failing steel town who found they had a voice.
The original The Human League were brilliant. Dark and dystopian. It is an insult to refer to them as a bleeps and bloops band. Also they never used self-built synths. They used Rolands and Korgs.
The lyrics are even more relevant now than they were then.
If you're living in the UK under Starmer most definitely.
@@pete3397 I don't but it is impossible not getting noticed with all that is going on everywhere.
We have these lads to thank for Tina Turners 1980's comeback - she recorded a cover of 'Ball of Confusion' for one of their British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.) projects - it wasn't very good imo but it did lead to her recording 'Private Dancer'. Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory were assistant producers I think.
It is a good album. My favourite track is 'Play To Win' but the fixed groove at the end of side two was a mixed blessing.
New to me. Love your description, re: Kraftwerk/Duran Duran. Romantic/Classical balance. Zen and the art.
I love Heaven 17 but really got into them when they released The Luxury Gap album. It’s more mainstream in my opinion.
Hadn't heard. Lliked it. Thanks.
Good album, JP. Very underrated.
Ah, the politics of dancing.
@@jefferybeckman5231 from station to station
@@greymatrix. Why Bowie?
@@greymatrix.Across the nation👍
Like an infection
@jefferybeckman5231 It's not Bowie, it's The Politics of Dancing
I like this band. I believe that this particular song was trying to give a dystopian feel to the music, intentionally leaving the listener disoriented.
The meaning is more important in this song. Temptation and penthouse and the Pavement I bet you will like. I love those. Also its not hypocritical, “shake” in Uk means “get rid of”
I came into this cold. It was alright. Struck me as part soul and part discotheque.
LCD Soundsystem did a good cover version in 2018.
You must check out their "And That's No Lie" and "This Is Mine" tracks. Both are bangers. Loved me some Heaven 17 back in the early 80's. What an original band they were.
I think some of them were in early Human League. Just wait til Temptation!
As relevant now as then.
I LOVE that second track!! One of my favorites of the era!!! Wanna know what you think.
The bass and guitar on this album were performed by John Wilson who was only 15 years old at the time.
I actually watched a documentary on this album yesterday, I believe he recorded it in one take.
@happyheretic01 Cool. That's impressive.
Heaven 17 made some really good albums, but you probably couldn't tell from this track.
best album ever , check out Let's all make a bomb , such a great song
Not a great song but lyrically it reflects the rise of the racist Far Right in the UK and the ascent of Reagan and the cold warriors and religious Right in the US. It was a highly politicised time when you had to choose a side.
Very apropos choice given the current state of our country.
Hey Justin,why don’t you listen one of their finest song, Let Me Go from the album The Luxury Gap.
Subscribing. I’ve watched a few of your reactions and I think you have a good perspective.
Could I request/recommend Bad Religion’s “Don’t Pray On Me”?
Hi Justin. Dave from Beyond The Sea. Not my favourite from the album, but this is a strange mix - it sounds a but muddy on my system. I prefer the following, title track, which is very Human League-like (not surprising as that's where two of the band came from). The album I have is the follow-up, The Luxury Gap, which has a bit more warmth, and spawned two UK top ten singles.
"Reagan is President Elect" - kind of dates this a bit, but maybe not. Never heard this before, I guess the techno scene for me back then was Gary Numan, Kraftwerk and especially The Cars..
Not really, because he was our(US) first president elect fascist. Trump being the second and latest. So, it's certainly still relevant.
A much better version is the BBC Radio 2 Live Lounge recording. Excellent
"Let Me Go" is the far superior song from this album. That is a great song!
Wrong album. And it would be the worst song on this album if it was on it.
That's on the next album, The Luxury Gap.
preferred the Human League.
It depends on which Human League you're talking about! If we're talking about The Human League in their early days, from 78 to 80, then yes; if we're talking about The Human League from Dare onwards, then no!
@@a.k.1740 Yes the early albums.
when you hear Let Me Go, you'll be hooked. That being said, I think the musical production was cluttered and unbalanced. Everything was in the middlw. The tempo should have been slower to show off that bass solo.
I know this track and this mix sounds sped up to me. I prefer the original.
@@tintooki this is the original
@@gordon2945 OK. Thanks. I know this is the original song, but this sounded like a remix that had been sped up. I'll go pull out my vinyl - maybe it's my record player that's slow!
@@tintooki yes check your record player! - I have the 12" and it sounds the same to me although I thought this seemed to go on a bit longer maybe just because of listening to it here rather than whacked up high on my stereo!
I was disappointed with this album. Best track IMO is the height of the fighting.
remaster butchered it, listen to t he original version
I think maybe the difference is just the sparseness and the use of the "lo tech end" of the synth.
We don't need fascist anything. So then I suppose we also might not need Devolution ... ? But no, we do need some Devo. Fascism nyet. Devo, Da.
The "fascism" of Reagan is a bit of an exaggeration, though. Sounds a bit like the kind of thing you need to demonstrate that you can think, if you want to take the easy road through university, more than something one can take as seriously as presumably they want it to be taken. ("Right oriented"? Sure. But there are many grades of that kind of orientation. And if you lump them into one word that just says, "Different to what WE think" - or "WE" think when you're really just using it strategically in an exam you've been stupid enough to prioritize lower than tonight's darts championship at the Beer Club, and tomorrow's ten-an-hour - er ... if you lump everyone who simply doesn't agree with you down to the fine details into one box with a curse on it ... Isn't that a bit fascist? Feels so to me. That said, banning a song for expressing an anti-fascist announcement in fascist-leaning way sounds more fascist.)
I do think fascist should be reserved for the kind of person whose politics makes lining them up against the wall and shooting them a valid choice, though.
Fokkit, man, I was meant to just mention Devo.
They've recently done a Tiny Desk Concert that might even be interesting to people who don't feel Devo (or maybe think they're fascist or some other such pejorative requiring a Shunning) (shut up sicko get back on track) ... ruclips.net/video/VKvYRDhPt_0/видео.html
They start out with a more "songy" song, and sing it pretty much straight and simple. Then the songs get progressively (or regressively I suppose, but stop disturbing me ... Go! Go sit in the corner again ... Sorry ... Yes, yes, I know. Now go, go, go ... OK regressively but what?)
Oh the songs get proregressively Devo. There's a Devolution through the concert. And they also fail more and more to look like they're taking this all Very Seriously. (But I think they might be, you know?)
It's not too long, it has some songy songs, so you can't complain too much, and it has interesting structure. And it's funny, of course. You might even be able to dance to it.
This is the guys from the Human League. This is like a bad/good for me, the music is kind of garbage, but fun also, depending on my mood.
I don't need this ( rubbish )
Then go home
@@gordon2945 Lighten up its only an opinion .
The sentiment aside, this is pretty dire. Even for the times. Awful intro, and it doesn't really get much better. The trudging, if uptempo beat, the deadpan vocal, repetition, that makes it seem to go on an age, this's poor stuff.... The bass is decent, but unfortunately it's not enough to save this. They do get a bit better, when they funk it up more, but as openers go.....
Interesting thing is that this was lauded to the heavens at the time (mainly by the NME) as the future of music. In retrospect it has some of the charm of the early Human League but welds the excessively wordy political lyrics (the NME were big on politics at the time) to a fairly standard synth-funk beat that leaves it stranded in 1981. Spandau Ballet's Chant No. 1 and Duran Duran's Planet Earth were obviously superior tracks on the same dancefloor and those bands had far more lasting success.
@@kenl2091 Aye, this would''ve been right up the NME's alley. The politics, they were big on the whole RAR (rock against racism) movement at the time. And this lot did have a number of good tunes, but for me, this wasn't one of them. And as you say, they were rather eclipsed by the likes of the Duranies, Spandau. Musically, they were very 'busy' times :)