Squeeze - "Up The Junction"
Jul 24, 2011 20:21:05 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2011 20:21:05 GMT -5
Squeeze were a new wave band who had a few minor hits in the US with their eighties work. In the UK their biggest hits were "Cool For Cats" and "Up The Junction", both of which reached #2 in 1979. The latter is my favourite single from them.
It tells the tale of a young couple in love who struggle to make ends meet when the girl gets pregnant. The first half of the song is positive and fits the tone of the music. But the second half follows the narrator's decline into alcoholism and gambling, which cause his girlfriend to leave him and take the baby.
I absolutely adore this song. I love how the story flips your expectations and its very British kitchen sink drama take on life, which has obvious Kinks influences. I love how the instrumentation, especially the organ, creates an uplifting feel which is at odds with the story's outcome. I also love how it manages to be catchy and addictive, even though it doesn't have a chorus.
However at the moment what I love most of all is the video, which I recently saw for the first time, because it caused me to develop a crush on lead singer Glenn Tilbrook. Clearly I wasn't the only one because it's basically three minutes of close ups of his face.
It tells the tale of a young couple in love who struggle to make ends meet when the girl gets pregnant. The first half of the song is positive and fits the tone of the music. But the second half follows the narrator's decline into alcoholism and gambling, which cause his girlfriend to leave him and take the baby.
I absolutely adore this song. I love how the story flips your expectations and its very British kitchen sink drama take on life, which has obvious Kinks influences. I love how the instrumentation, especially the organ, creates an uplifting feel which is at odds with the story's outcome. I also love how it manages to be catchy and addictive, even though it doesn't have a chorus.
However at the moment what I love most of all is the video, which I recently saw for the first time, because it caused me to develop a crush on lead singer Glenn Tilbrook. Clearly I wasn't the only one because it's basically three minutes of close ups of his face.
