Song of the Day: 'Human' by the Human League

For some reason this seemed fitting.

Viral Laughs

Something good has come from this deadly pandemic -- I learned about these two hilarious videos I never came into contact with the first time around!

 Get ready to have both songs stuck in your head. 

And I'm told there's an "Eleanor Rigby" reduced to two notes!

(With thanks to Damian and Blobby.)

Song of the Day: 'Don't You Want Me' by the Human League

Today's pick is really an excuse to link to the excellent piece Pitchfork just did about "Dare," the seminal 1981 release by the Sheffield Six, "a prismatic album that all pop music would soon pass through." If all you know is the classic single "Don't You Want Me" -- a No. 1 hit in eight nations -- you're in for a real treat. Read HERE.

Did you know the album cover was inspired by this 1979 issue of British Vogue?!

And can you believe this has never been my song of the day before?!

UPDATE: If you haven't seen it, please watch "Working as a Waitress in a Cocktail Bar" right now HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Life on Your Own' by the Human League

Been on a bit of Human League bender, following mini addictions to New Order and Heaven 17. ("Seconds" and "Darkness" might be the best songs ever, which is to say nothing of "Fascination," of course.) Would love to meet someone whose favorite band is the Human League, who could straighten me out on the band whose discography is somewhat baffling to me. (Did they suffer from writer's block? What were they thinking with "The Lebanon" and why wasn't this a hit? I bought the single!)

UPDATE: A friend did a retrospective on Instagram HERE!

Song of the Day: 'The Sound of the Crowd' by Human League

This takes me back to ninth grade -- but in a good way.

Song of the Day: 'Don't You Want My Bad Romance' - Human League vs. Lady Gaga

Was about to post Michael Hensley and Adam Rio's same-sex spin on the Human League classic, but then got distracted by this competitive jam that I had never come across before.

Song of the Day: 'Seconds' by the Human League

A (follicularly gifted) little bird tells me the Human League is just one of the bands featured in an upcoming oral history of New Wave coming soon from Abrams Books. They deserve it -- "Dare" is one of the best albums ever.

Music Box: 'Dare' to Be Different With the Human League

With thanks to Mark Allen: If you're a new wave geek and obsessed with the Human's League's classic 1981 LP, "Dare," like I am, then you'll want to download this two-disc collection of unreleased demos and rehearsals from its recording sessions. Crash the Driver puts it into context, trying to figure out how the guy with the asymetrical haircut (Phil Oakey) and the guy who ran the band's slideshows at concerts (Adrian Wright) -- plus two schoolgirls they found at a disco -- managed to create such a masterpiece after the band's musical brains (Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, later of Heaven 17 fame) had departed. I'm just now digging in myself -- it's pretty interesting -- but it's so lo-fi that a lot of it reminds me of my early '80s band, the Casio-keyboard-friendly A La Plage! 

Have at it and let me know what you think. Click HERE.

Keep '(Keep Feeling) Fascination'

Was tickled to see not one, but TWO new advertisements using "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," the grossly underappreciated single by the Human League -- one of the highlights of 1983's British invasion. Samsung has gone so far as to call its latest smartphone the Fascinate, and is using the band's classic version that came out as stopgap between the huge "Dare" album and the long-overdue (and arguably disappointing) "Hysteria."

   But it's the slowed-down cover version used in this Kingsford charcoal ad that really made me smile. This is such a "my generation" moment -- now let's hope Jo Callis and Phil Oakey are humming all the way to the bank. UPDATE: A friend tells me the remake is by Rob Crow of Pinback. Download it HERE.

 

Music Box: Synth Pop Heaven

Three often-overlooked synth classics from the early '80s:

"Love Action (I Believe in Love)" by the Human League. The video for the band's smart followup to the No. 1 international smash "Don't You Want Me" is almost as hot as singer Phil Oakey's wedge haircut ...


"Fade to Grey" by Visage. Steve Strange was never more haunting ...


"Pocket Calculator" by Kraftwerk. Best remembered for "The Model," the band's 1981 single also added up nicely ...

Chart stoppers

Empty Walls Lyrics Serj Tankian	Don’t Stop the Music Lyrics Rihanna
What About Now Lyrics Daughtry	Whatever You Like Lyrics T.I.
Umbrella Lyrics Rihanna	Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Lyrics Miley Cyrus
In Da Club Lyrics Clyde Carson	Still In Love Lyrics Girlicious
Sumthin's Gotta Give Lyrics Big Boi	Tattoo Lyrics Jordin Sparks

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