For the past 20 years or so, I have deeply loved the Love and Rockets song "Haunted When The Minutes Drag." All these years, however, I believed it to be a heartbreak song, a lush, dark, angst-ridden tune about longing that I used to think was sung bitterly. But I listened to it in a different frame of mind today on my iPod on my way to spin class, and I realized with a start that it is, in fact, a love song about two people who are together in all meaningful ways, except physically. Perhaps it's just that my definition of love has matured with age.
Love and Rockets was a great British band from the 1980s that emerged, in part, from Bauhaus and was in the same vein as the Jesus and Mary Chain and other dark goth bands. They were accused of selling out when they had that one big album in the late '80s with that hit single on it, "So Alive."
But "Haunted" was recorded five years before that. I love the acidy, trippy bass lines in the song ... it still gives me the shivers every time I listen to it, especially when the psychedelic instrumentation takes over and the bass picks up and ... well, I just can't explain what else goes on there, but it is beautiful. And the lyrics are killer.
I turned someone lovely onto this song today, and now I feel a need to pay tribute to it. It's a brilliant, brilliant song. Download it!
9 comments:
I will listen to that. Thanks.
In other news, I'm hoping that Funnypants will get this message. I heeded his advice and went out to my local hippie freak shop and bought Nature Clean oven cleaner. It works a charm and I used bare hands to do the wiping. No noxious fumes or toxic waste.
Thanks Funnypants. Another oven is now clean and green.
Funnypants hasn't been seen or heard from in awhile. I am forlorn, like a war bride staring out the window and waiting for his return.
Funnypants? Where are you?
Yea, funnypants, where fore art thou?
Hello my dearies.
Ah, you know, it's good to be longed for. Makes me feel all warm and tingly.
Sorry, I've been on the lamb. I'm not going into details, but I will tell you this: crazy people can be surprisingly persistent! In fact, my associates and I can hardly keep up. Google search term: "rorke's drift".
In fact, I fear an unhealthy element may have followed me here (hi anonymous!), and I apologise for bringing this plague upon you.
And now, back to the quiet and safety of my woodland yurt.
So he just breezes in here and breezes back out. Funnypants! Come back!
Yeah Funnypants, we want to talk about Nature Clean products
... and hippie freak shops.
Still snortin' on that
We regret that our patient Mr. F. Funnypants misspelled "lam", and used "in fact" twice. He is not quite himself these days, for reasons we are not at liberty to discuss.
We have prescribed several bottles of Islay malt whisky, and hope he will improve in time.
heavy sigh
I haven't listened to this L&R song in ages — and now I'm off to iTunes it.
BTW, I included The Pogues' "Haunted" on today's mix tape, in honor of you.
Post a Comment