3 singles

1.  SECOND CHOICE - Any Trouble (1980)

1980.  Summer.  New Wave.  Distribution deal signed between local record distributor and England's "Stiff" record label.  Heavy promotion undertaken to promote "Stiff" artists - Lene Lovich,  The Plasmatics,  Madness, Nick Lowe, Jona Lewie etc;  Radio began promoting the latest tunes recorded by these artists.  Record stores stocking the latest "Stiff" lps.  Among them, "Where are all the nice girls?"  by Any Trouble. 

"Second Choice" was the first cut on the LP, and the band's second single.  It's a piece of pure pop - standard chords, great chorus, impeccable production - nothing stays out of place.  Plus it's damn catchy, too!  Why wasn't this a hit I do not know - all I know is the song still gets me going whenever I play it!  Highly Recommended!


2.  HEARTLAND - The The (1986)

I picked this song because the sentiments of the lyrics seem to mirror the current state of affairs of this city. 
In fact, there is something for everybody here, for example:

This is the place, where pensioners are raped,
& the hearts are being cut, from the welfare state,
Let the poor drink the milk, while the rich eat the honey,
Let the bums count their blessings, while they count the money.

This part reminds me of those high-ranking civil servants sucking up to these greedy property developers.  So much has been discussed but never the social welfare for the majority of the local population. 

So many people, can't express what's on their minds,
Nobody knows them & nobody ever will,
Until their backs are broken & their dreams are stolen,
& they can't get what they want, then they're gonna get angry!

This part reminds me of the so-called "after-80s" generation who were protesting earlier regarding the legislation, about places being torn down to make way for "progress" and residential re-development.  Well, they ARE pissed that nobody's listening!



Quite possibly one of the best protest songs that came out in the 80s!


3.  AMERICA - Yes (1972)

This song, along with the rest of the songs that appeared on their "Yesterdays" compilation lp that came out in the mid-70s, was my first baptism to YES, the mother of all progressive bands.  I became indebted to them as they led me on to a journey of some really serious music - ELP / King Crimson inclusive - discovering for the first time that a piece of music could become this complex, evolving, and yet still arriving at a destination.

YES managed to turn this Paul Simon composition into a different monster.  The arrangement made sure that all the musicians have enough room to show off their stuff in the entire ten minutes.  Nobody would disagree with me when I say that Steve Howe's guitar-playing is nothing short of exemplary.  To hear his solo in the middle of the song was, and still is, in high heaven.  The rhythm section rocks hard as well - complementing the guitar from the beginning to the end. 

There you have it - 3 of a kind!