SONG OF THE DAY (#232)

'loving you hating me,' by soft cell

sure, marc almond and david ball are most known for their cover version of ed cobb's 'tainted love' [yes, it's a cover--and it wasn't even the first cover at that], but soft cell were a heckuva lot more than one-hit wonders. all you have to do is go back and listen to their first three studio albums to see what a terrific pop band they were. they had a slew of top singles in the UK ['torch,' 'bedsitter,' 'say hello wave goodbye,' among others] and courted more then their fair share of controversy--mainly for a highly publicized, highly protested and ultimately unaired video for 'sex dwarf.' i honestly don't think there's been a more hilariously unnerving song ever committed to tape than that one. listen to it--if you dare.

soft cell is a tremendous band. marc almond's over-the-top vocal theatrics and art-conscious image and dave ball's knack for alternately sinister and poppy pop songs made for an interesting and compelling marriage of sight and sound [you'd never guess they were both art students, right? gee, didn't see that coming], and gave birth to one of the UKs most sensational bands of the 80s and beyond. now i'm just worried that too many hipsters slag them off as so-called 'one-hit wonders.' memo to hipsters: there was a music scene before 2000. just because certain websites ignore that fact [you know who i'm talking about] doesn't mean you should too.

check yourself out soft cell. they're nothing short of revelatory.

→ soft cell: loving you hating me
→ soft cell: sex dwarf
→ soft cell: say hello, wave goodbye / video
→ soft cell: little rough rhinestone
→ gloria jones: tainted love [1964]