Friday, April 20, 2012

The Dark Romance of R...

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Rapture ~ Blondie

About the time this song came out, early 1981, my Mom worked in a factory as a seamstress. She'd save her lunch break for picking me up at the end of my Catholic elementary school day (I'd just turned 10 the previous December) and we'd walk the three or four blocks to the factory so she could finish her shift. I'd hang out, either in the crappy "break room" (more of a walk-in closet where the gals who worked there kept their coats, though there was enough room for a couch) or on the window seat near my Mom's work space, and apply myself to my homework (blah). Numerous Portuguese and Italian immigrant women worked there, of which my Mom is the former. One of the latter had a little radio, upon which the hits of the day blared tinnily. Late one afternoon, Rapture came on. Stricken by the jangly opening, I raised my eyes from my textbook and looked out the large, grimy window into the white glare of the overcast sky, transported. To where, I couldn't have said. I just felt myself floating far away from the roaring sewing machines and raucous, multilingual babble and into a night-time world lit up by neon and strobe lights. Though I'd not have been able to articulate it then, it was the first time I understood what it meant to feel sexy. It was, like, whoa.



Russian Radio ~ Red Flag

Apart from the yummy synth groove of this tune, I dig and find comfort in the lyrics which promise that "...love is only a smile away, getting so much closer to me, every day." Yeah, man. Lay it on me. I could use some righteous lovin' over here, bring it.



Right Now ~ The Creatures

If I wasn't clear enough just now, let me reiterate, "...right now, let me take you by the hand; right now, put your lips at my command; right now, fly me off to lovers' land." This snazzy cover by a side-project of Siouxsie and the Banshees members puts a spring in my step and zip in my...well, you know. Let's just say I "...feel it coast to coast." ;-)



8 comments:

  1. I love Blondie, and I love that story more! Makes me want New York out my window. I miss the city (used to live there). Thanks for taking me back for a sec.

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    1. Thanks, Daisy. I actually grew up in a city just north of Manhattan, and I still live in the suburbs but have commuted into Manhattan for work for roughly the past 10 - 11 years. That commute soon loses its charm (going through Grand Central and Times Square during rush hour, daily, is a major buzzkill!), though I can see how living in Manhattan could be loads of fun (if you can afford it!).

      :-)

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  2. Yeah! Blondie! Woot!

    I haven't heard of the other two so thanks for sharing...

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  3. We must be around the same age, because I can remember that sexy feeling when hearing Rapture for the first time too! Your story is really cool too...I could see you sitting in that room!

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    1. Thanks so much, Tracy! I think it's cool that I'm hearing from other folks that they, too, feel something special for that song. :-)

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  4. I remember when Rapture came out too; I was a junior or senior in high school. It was such a departure from the earlier Blondie stuff that we didn't know what to make of it. I was majorly into British punk and new wave at that time.

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    1. And even more different - what did you think of their "The Tide is High" cover? Turn off or on or just meh? (I like it, but there's no denying that it doesn't exactly put one in mind of punk.)

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