The The

[Plugger35]

No I don't have a stutter. I'm talking about that criminally underrated UK band from the 80's/90's 'The The'.

Just a really great band that deserved to be so much bigger than they were and Matt Johnson is a musical genius. Aint no justice sometimes in this cruel cruel world though.

My timeline of 'The The' highlights.

[YOUTUBE]X43ZyUGOPyw[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]pMxrsL_DW1g[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]eF8VJMYYOhQ[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]zy57jFYrrEM[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]LU3MN3WJx78[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]yW0ltw7fsdI[/YOUTUBE]

Feel free to add your own 'The The' highlights/opinions.

 

[Eddie Dingle]

Like The Cult they were one of those bands that were "just there" in the 80's. I liked them but never went crazy about them.

Certainly had some great tunes and Matt Johnson is a gem. Johnny Marr had a stint with them after he left The Smiths IIRC.

Overall they deserved more commercial success than they got but critically were always rated very highly.

 

[bunsen burner]

Matt Johnson is an A-grade songwriter. But the sound has dated. Great songs, but a dated sound - it sounds metallic. I'd love to see modern bands cover him but with a more traditional blues sound - meatier guiter and get rid of that drum machine.

This is my favourite:

[youtube]kJ-1TZrh_nA&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[JimDocker]

Amazing timing for this thread. I listened to Infected for the first time in about ten years a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was brilliant. With so many of my older "favourites" I think they date, but not so much The The.

 

[Plugger35]

Matt Johnson is an A-grade songwriter. But the sound has dated. Great songs, but a dated sound - it sounds metallic. I'd love to see modern bands cover him but with a more traditional blues sound - meatier guiter and get rid of that drum machine.

This is my favourite:

[youtube]kJ-1TZrh_nA&feature=related[/youtube]

Yeah I know what you mean about their sound being a little dated. Some of their earlier stuff, in particular, suffers from that glossy overproduced '80's sound. A bit too much overkill on the drums/keyboards at times. The songs would sound better with just a more traditional guitar based sound. Kind of like the live version of 'Uncertain Smile' in the OP.

Good track btw, one of my faves too.

Amazing timing for this thread. I listened to Infected for the first time in about ten years a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was brilliant. With so many of my older "favourites" I think they date, but not so much The The.

Yeah I was listening to Infected and a couple of their other albums recently too, which made me start this thread. They're almost the forgotten band of the '80's/early 90's, very rarely here them mentioned these days despite them being one of the better bands from that era.

Whilst their earlier stuff has dated slightly with that overproduced '80's sound, in general I think Matt Johnson's songs stand the test of time and age better than a lot of other music from that time. No arguing that he was a very talented songwriter and probably deserves more credit than he recieved.

 

[External Inputs]

[YOUTUBE]IzlDyKGBNFs[/YOUTUBE]

Matt Johnson's a serious musician, one of many who defy the categorisation of 80's music as somehow unworthy of being great. I like the synths, the drum machines, the metallic sound etc, even the piano accordion! Traditional blues guitar was exactly what a lot of bands of that ilk and era were trying to get away from, out with the old and in with the new.

I guess when someone says they'd like to hear "modern" bands cover his stuff with a "traditional blues sound" a part of me despairs regarding that aspect of modern(?) music.

.

 

[Brown Bottle]

Should have been huge in the '80's! Infected was one of the great songs & albums of its time.

 

[bunsen burner]

[youtube]IzlDyKGBNFs[/youtube]

Matt Johnson's a serious musician, one of many who defy the categorisation of 80's music as somehow unworthy of being great. I like the synths, the drum machines, the metallic sound etc, even the piano accordion! Traditional blues guitar was exactly what a lot of bands of that ilk and era were trying to get away from, out with the old and in with the new.

I guess when someone says they'd like to hear "modern" bands cover his stuff with a "traditional blues sound" a part of me despairs regarding that aspect of modern(?) music.

.

Then you have bad taste.

He has great songs, but he has been forgotten. Why? Because that metal synthy sound sucks bawls.

He is the perfect person to cover. Great songs but relatively unknown. None of his songs are FM staples nor are the known by the wider community.

That makes them perfect to cover and lose that dated tinny sound.

 

[Adrian Shelton]

Always liked 'Love is stronger than death'

 

[sherrinorburley]

All them songs in the OP are still great.

Thought they were reasonably popular at the time too. Commercial radio was kind enough regarding thier first two i reckon.

 

[patsmith]

I've never listened to this band before, but these songs sound great.

The tunes themselves aren't dated, but the production certainly is.

 

[Dan Moody]

one of my favourites from Mind Bomb, got a heap of radio play back then.

[YOUTUBE]isUCQIvOplA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Plugger35]

one of my favourites from Mind Bomb, got a heap of radio play back then.

[youtube]isUCQIvOplA[/youtube]

Yeah that's another great song. Probably one of their biggest in terms of radio airplay here.

Speaking of great songs, not a 'The The' orginal but a great version nonetheless.

[YOUTUBE]xYVXuauvZLA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Plugger35]

Just bumping this thread for EnglishWarrior.

 

[External Inputs]

Then you have bad taste.

He has great songs, but he has been forgotten. Why? Because that metal synthy sound sucks bawls.

He is the perfect person to cover. Great songs but relatively unknown. None of his songs are FM staples nor are the known by the wider community.

That makes them perfect to cover and lose that dated tinny sound.

I must have missed this way back then. Maybe you're confusing sound with fashion? Everything old becomes new again in music eventually, yet the sound hasn't changed, only the opinion of it. My ears are my own and have served me pretty well as a musician, so your views regarding my particular tastes don't phase me, and as for your assertion that he's the perfect person to cover, I'd say it's covers that generally suck bawls.

 

[EnglishWarrior]

Hey thanks Plugger, well chuffed you bumped this

I had always heard of this band but only remember "The Beaten Generation" at the time but had forgotton about it. The first 3 songs are all stella - interesting both lyrically and musically.

On the debte you were having (a couple of years back now!) about the "sheen" of the music, I wouldnt totally agree with some of what was said. I guess it just about sounds 80's, but on the other hand, if I had heard some of these on the radio today, I would have thought they were from a current band. And you know it doesnt have to sound grungey or bluesy to be good.

Anyways, can't believe these passed me by (all hail the youtube thread!). Potentially, for the era, these could be up there with Talk Talk for me - early days though!

 

[Twoslabs]

Loved them until .......

I saw them live at Festval Hall in '89, one of the worst shows I have ever seen.

Marr was bouncing around like a jack in the box but the rest of it was boring, boring, boring !

 

[MelbourneCrow]

I played Infected for the first time in years the other day and 'dated' is my impression of it too. Classic words though "She was lying on her back with her lips parted..."

I like Dusk best, their 4th album.

 

[Plugger35]

Yeah some of The The's music might sound a bit dated but it still doesn't take anything away from Matt Johnson's brilliant lyrics.

"I've got you under my skin where the rain can't get in"

His lyrics to Heartland still ring as true today as they did when he wrote them, not just for the UK but for Australia too.

Beneath the old iron bridges, across the victorian parks,
& all the frightened people running home before dark,
Past the Saturday morning cinema--
that lies crumbling to the ground,
& the piss stinking shopping centre in the new side of town.
I've come to smell the seasons change, & watch the city,
as the sun goes down again.

CHORUS
Here comes another winter, of long shadows & high hopes,
Here comes another winter, waitin for utopia,
waitin for hell to freeze over.

This is the land, where nothing changes,
the land of red buses & blue blooded babies,
This is the place, where pensioners are r*ped,

& the hearts are being cut, from the welfare state,
Let the poor drink the milk, while the rich eat the honey,
Let the bums count their blessings, while they count the money.

So many people, can't express what's on their minds,
Nobody knows them & nobody ever will,
Until their backs are broken & their dreams are stolen,
& they can't get what they want, then they're gonna get angry!
Well it ain't written in the papers, but its written on the walls
The way this country is divided to fall,
So the cranes are moving on the skyline--
Trying to knock down--this town
But the stains on the heartland, can never be removed,
from this country, that's sick, sad, and confused.

CHORUS

The ammunition's being passed, and the lords been praised,
But the wars on the televisions will never be explained,
All the bankers gettin sweaty, beneath their white collars,
As the pound in our pocket, turns into a dollar.

This is the 51st state--of the U. S. A.
(Repeat and fade.)

 

[tiger dream]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6wa-qOb8eI&feature=related

Armageddon days are here (Again).

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Matt Johnson is an A-grade songwriter. But the sound has dated. Great songs, but a dated sound - it sounds metallic. I'd love to see modern bands cover him but with a more traditional blues sound - meatier guiter and get rid of that drum machine.

It was the 80's - even the great indi bands started to fall for the trap of going electronic. The last few Hunters and Collectors albums had some great songs but the production killed them.