Monday, April 13, 2009

on "Travelogue" by the Human League



A friend in New Orleans is very much about this pre-pop-overthrow record (listen) by The Human League, particularly their analogue masterpiece "Being Boiled"

and so am I. I had to approximate a love for hair metal in junior high just to not wind up a bigger outsider than I already was (though I will still stand by Def Leperd's Pyromania and Judas Priest's Screamin' for Vengeance as righteous jamz in the right moment) but it was new wave that hit me where I live, and to some extent, still does. Listen to the voice of Buddha as courses through the wires.

The Human League reintroduced the fine art of the impassioned R&B spoken interlude to pop music of the 80's in "Human" but it has always been in their bag of tricks. Dig this ice-cold aside from "The Black Hit of Space"

I couldn't stand this bland sound any more so I walked towards my deck to turn it off
All I could see was the b-side of the disc which had assumed a doughnut shape with the label on the outside rim
I reached for the arm which was less than one micron long but weighed more than Saturn and time stood still
I knew I had to escape but every time I tried to flee, the record was in front of me


which is where the record always is, when you think about it. If I was asked to make a soundtrack for a roller derby team, I might suggest this variant on the Gary Glitter classic

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