This was a toughie for me - a choice between two great albums by an artist that for me defined an era in my life. I could barely choose between this and the subsequent album by Matt Johnson's The The - Mind Bomb - which for many is arguably the better album, playing then as he was with a proper band (featuring the genius Johnny Marr) rather than the assemblage of various musicians that populated his earlier works.
But 'Infected' was the album that got me well and truly hooked on The The, and for me it will always have a special place in my heart. It's release coincided with my staring studies at art college, and my musical tastes were expanding from my safe, middle-class upbringing at a rapid rate. 'Infected' fair ripped into my consciousness with it's musical power, raw unflinching lyrics and memorable imagery.
Released in 1986 it's synth-pop driven hooks belie the anger and frustration seething within. The album's protagonist - Johnson himself, or 'just a regular guy' as he refers in the songs, is in a state of breakdown - along with the society around him. It's impossible to listen to these songs without putting them into context of the politics of the time - Thatcherism and the 'me' generation, and Johnson, whilst not an overtly political writer, makes his feelings about the way the country (and the people in it) are heading perfectly clear. 'Heartland' is a withering attack on the urban decay of the time. Eerily prescient, it's as relevant today as it was then:
'This is the land where nothing changes, the land of red buses and blue blooded babies...
This is the place where pensioners are raped and the heart is being cut from the welfare state'
whilst 'Sweet Bird of Truth' tells the story of a fighter pilot's crisis of faith as he flies to the East to fight in an unnamed war:
'Should I cry like a baby or die like a man,
while all the planet's little wars start joining hands'
and his personal search for love and meaning amongst the sleaze of the city is brilliantly (and disturbingly) played out in 'Out Of the Blue (In To The Fire)'
'I was feeling strong mouthed and weak-willed, when I ran into the cure for my ills...
Dont tell me what your name is, I want your body not your mind,
I want a feeling worth paying for before I say goodbye...
But as I was talking, I couldn't look her in the eyes,
I just kept wondering how many men, unleashed their frustration between her thighs...'
It's very much an album of it's time - but is somehow timeless too. The topics Johnson addresses in his razor-sharp lyrics are ever-present, and may be more relevant now than ever, and the raw musical energy and ideas that burst through - even though they may sound a little overproduced and dated to our ears - still hook me in as a listener and don't let go till the album stops.
His follow up, Mind Bomb, is also worth checking out - it's like a more polished, mature sequel to this with many of the songs echoing this album. 'Armageddon Days' is a broader take on the state of the planet that harks back to 'Angels of Deception', 'Kingdom of Rain' is the break up that followed 'Slow Train to Dawn', and 'The Beaten Generation' addresses the youth of today wrought in the fires that spawned 'Heartland'. The two should be listened to as a pair really (and on one re-release they are) hence the hard choice; but faced with only one, the raw power of 'Infected' won out.
So links:
Spotify is an awkward one. They only have it as part of 'London Town 1983-1993', a collection of 4 albums before his move stateside. It's the second disc in the collection:
The The – London Town 1983-1993
Grooveshark link here
And finally, 'Infected' was one of the first albums that was released on video in it's entirely too. Although a little dated now - there was very basic video trickery to be had in 1986 - the visuals in many of the pieces are still stunning, particularly the opening track.
[video=youtube;orIy18qIaCU]
But 'Infected' was the album that got me well and truly hooked on The The, and for me it will always have a special place in my heart. It's release coincided with my staring studies at art college, and my musical tastes were expanding from my safe, middle-class upbringing at a rapid rate. 'Infected' fair ripped into my consciousness with it's musical power, raw unflinching lyrics and memorable imagery.
Released in 1986 it's synth-pop driven hooks belie the anger and frustration seething within. The album's protagonist - Johnson himself, or 'just a regular guy' as he refers in the songs, is in a state of breakdown - along with the society around him. It's impossible to listen to these songs without putting them into context of the politics of the time - Thatcherism and the 'me' generation, and Johnson, whilst not an overtly political writer, makes his feelings about the way the country (and the people in it) are heading perfectly clear. 'Heartland' is a withering attack on the urban decay of the time. Eerily prescient, it's as relevant today as it was then:
'This is the land where nothing changes, the land of red buses and blue blooded babies...
This is the place where pensioners are raped and the heart is being cut from the welfare state'
whilst 'Sweet Bird of Truth' tells the story of a fighter pilot's crisis of faith as he flies to the East to fight in an unnamed war:
'Should I cry like a baby or die like a man,
while all the planet's little wars start joining hands'
and his personal search for love and meaning amongst the sleaze of the city is brilliantly (and disturbingly) played out in 'Out Of the Blue (In To The Fire)'
'I was feeling strong mouthed and weak-willed, when I ran into the cure for my ills...
Dont tell me what your name is, I want your body not your mind,
I want a feeling worth paying for before I say goodbye...
But as I was talking, I couldn't look her in the eyes,
I just kept wondering how many men, unleashed their frustration between her thighs...'
It's very much an album of it's time - but is somehow timeless too. The topics Johnson addresses in his razor-sharp lyrics are ever-present, and may be more relevant now than ever, and the raw musical energy and ideas that burst through - even though they may sound a little overproduced and dated to our ears - still hook me in as a listener and don't let go till the album stops.
His follow up, Mind Bomb, is also worth checking out - it's like a more polished, mature sequel to this with many of the songs echoing this album. 'Armageddon Days' is a broader take on the state of the planet that harks back to 'Angels of Deception', 'Kingdom of Rain' is the break up that followed 'Slow Train to Dawn', and 'The Beaten Generation' addresses the youth of today wrought in the fires that spawned 'Heartland'. The two should be listened to as a pair really (and on one re-release they are) hence the hard choice; but faced with only one, the raw power of 'Infected' won out.
So links:
Spotify is an awkward one. They only have it as part of 'London Town 1983-1993', a collection of 4 albums before his move stateside. It's the second disc in the collection:
The The – London Town 1983-1993
Grooveshark link here
And finally, 'Infected' was one of the first albums that was released on video in it's entirely too. Although a little dated now - there was very basic video trickery to be had in 1986 - the visuals in many of the pieces are still stunning, particularly the opening track.
[video=youtube;orIy18qIaCU]
