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<TITLE>EvilSponge: Album: 45 RPM: The Singles Of The The by The The</TITLE>
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              <td width="528" height="170"><img src="../images/TheThe__45RPM.jpg"></td>
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<div align="right"><b>Recording: </b></div>
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              <td height="20" width="528">45 RPM: The Singles of The The</td>
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<div align="right"><b>Artist: </b></div>
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              <td width="528">The The</td>
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<div align="right"><b>Label: </b></div>
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              <td width="528">Epic</td>
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<div align="right"><b>Release Date: </b></div>
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              <td width="528">21.May.2001</td>
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<div align="right"><b>Reviewed by: </b></div>
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              <td width="528" height="15"><A HREF="mailto:postlibyan@evilsponge.org?subject=A%20Single%20The">PostLibyan</a></td>
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<div align="right"><b>Rating: </b></div>
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              <td width="528" height="30"><img src="../images/RatingSponge.jpg"> 
                <img src="../images/RatingSponge.jpg"> <img src="../images/RatingSponge.jpg"> 
                <img src="../images/RatingSponge.jpg"> <img src="../images/RatingSponge.jpg"> 
                <img src="../images/RatingSponge.jpg"> </td>
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<div align="right"><b>Review:  </b></div>
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              <td width="528"> <p>What is "pop" music? How do you define it? Is 
                  pop music simply, "that music which a lot of people like"? Or 
                  is it more than that? When i say "The The are a damned fine 
                  pop band" i am implying that their purpose is to write catchy 
                  songs that portray a snippet of human emotionality within the 
                  context of a narrative story told in 4/4 time. At least, that's 
                  my definition.</p>
                <p>That said, The The are a damned fine pop band. One of my favorites 
                  ever, in fact. <b><i>Soul Mining</i></b> was the first CD i 
                  purchased, back when i upgraded from cassette to CD in the late 
                  80's! So i have a long history with this band.</p>
                <p><b><i>45 RPM</i></b> is a sort of "greatest hits" collection. 
                  Not that The The have ever really dominated the Billboard Top 
                  40 in this country. What it really is, is a collection of singles 
                  released over the years, with two brand new tunes at the end.</p>
                <p>To spice things up, some of the songs are different versions 
                  than what you are most likely familiar with. For example, things 
                  start off with <i>Uncertain Smile</i>, a tune off of <b><i>Soul 
                  Mining</i></b> which is a personal favorite. However, this mix 
                  is ... different. Supposedly this is the "original version", 
                  and here Matt Johnson layers cheesey synthesized horns over 
                  the song in place of the wonderful piano work on the &quot;album 
                  version&quot;. It's really different, and at first, i was really 
                  turned off by it. But it grew on me. I still think that it is 
                  a little weaker than the album version, but it's an interesting 
                  listen nonetheless.</p>
                <p>In total, <b><i>45 RPM</i></b> tears through 13 The The classics 
                  from all of their numerous albums. Some of the tracks chosen 
                  are not necessarily my pick off of a given album, but what are 
                  you gonna do?</p>
                <p>The great thing about these songs is that even though many 
                  of them are from the 80's, they really stand up to the test 
                  of time. Sure, there are bits that seem dated (such as the cheesey 
                  1986 sampled drum beat that starts <em>Infected</em>), but the 
                  overall strength of the rhythms, Johnson's forceful singing, 
                  and the wonderfully hummable melodies all make the music as 
                  alive today as it was back then.</p>
                <p>I still listen to a lot of 80's music. I still like it. But 
                  i can admit that, say, Erasure is very outdated. The Smiths 
                  are too, to a certain degree. But not The The. There is a difference 
                  there that i cannot explain really. Of course, it is entirely 
                  possible that i am, as Malimus would say, simply &quot;being 
                  a fanboy&quot;. I really thing that Matt Johnson (who is the 
                  only constant in The The's many incarnations) has a real talent 
                  for writing catchy songs. </p>
                <p>He also is capable of writing a song with political content 
                  that doesn't come across as cheesey and overtly preachy. For 
                  example, <i>Armageddon Days (Are Here Again)</i> could be an 
                  intolerably cheesey tune. It starts off with Johnson calling 
                  on Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed to lend him some back-up vocals. 
                  But it's toe-tapping rhythm and dramatic choruses make the song 
                  really work. Johnson's deep voice belts out his message of the 
                  stupidity of religous intolerance without seeming to beat you 
                  over the head with it. In fact, if you are bothered by the political 
                  content you can just ride the rollercoaster of the rhythm on 
                  this track.</p>
                <p>It seems to me that a lot of "politically active music" seems 
                  to be well, cheesey. I am not gonna name names here, but there 
                  are lots of examples. It's as if many people think that having 
                  a song that is about "real things" means that it doesn't need 
                  a melody: they count on the poltically charged lyrical content 
                  to carry it through. Billy Bragg is (usually) good about not 
                  doing this. So is Matt Johnson: his songs tend to be about real 
                  subjects, but he always tries to find a catchy melody to put 
                  with his politics.</p>
                <p>And that's the secret people: writing political songs doesn't 
                  mean that you can skimp on the actual musical content. It's 
                  a "political song": both words carry equal weight.</p>
                <p>Okay, one last comment on this issue: Johnson's politics seem 
                  to hold up over time. He has a song about religous war in the 
                  Middle East (<i>Armageddon Days (Are Here Again)</i>), a song 
                  about American Imperialism (<i>Sweet Bird of Truth</i>), and 
                  the most telling political tune on the disc: <i>Heartland</i>. 
                  This tune is off of 1986's <b><i>Infected</i></b> album, so 
                  it is full of New Wave dance beats. But it ends with Londoner 
                  Johnson singing over and over "This is the 51st state of the 
                  USA". If he felt like that in the 80's -- i wonder how he feels 
                  now?</p>
                <p>The political issues that Matt Johnson sings about are still 
                  important. That either means that he is a very wise person who 
                  can see right to the heart of our culture's diseases, or that 
                  we are not making any progress at all. I am not sure which is 
                  the case.</p>
                <p>That said -- if you are a diehard The The fan you have heard 
                  these tunes before. The "different mixes" strewn about make 
                  this collection essential for collector geeks. And then there 
                  are the new tunes. They are called <i>Pillar Box Red</i> and 
                  <i>Deep Down Truth</i>. </p>
                <p><i>Pillar Box Red</i> is a slow, largely acoustic number that 
                  feels as if it would have been at home on <b><i>Nakedself</i></b>, 
                  the most recent The The album. It's a decent song, with a nicely 
                  done harpsichord sample that lends the proceedings a melancholic 
                  and reflective air. <i>Deep Down Truth</i>, on the other hand, 
                  is a The The rocker like those that filled <b><i>Nakedself</i></b>. 
                  Here Johnson is strumming an acoustic, and backed up by a female 
                  voice. The drums thud and the lead guitar wails. It's a good 
                  bluesy romp.</p>
                <p>However, in all honesty, i am not so sure that either song 
                  would have made the "greatest hits album" had they not been 
                  the "previously unreleased" songs tacked on at the end. That 
                  is to say, while neither song is weak, neither of them is an 
                  instant classic either. They are average tunes.</p>
                <p>My overall verdict is this: if you are a The The fan you need 
                  this collection for the unreleased tracks and strange versions 
                  of familiar tunes. If you are a casual The The fan (say, you 
                  have heard <b><i>Dusk</i></b>, their most commercially successful 
                  album in the US), or you are one of those poor souls who haven't 
                  listened to The The yet, then this is a great introduction to 
                  their catalog, showcasing many wonderful tunes and offering 
                  plenty of opportunity to learn which albums to explore in more 
                  depth. (I suppose that a fourth type of person would be "those 
                  who do not like The The" but i have never met anyone who falls 
                  into this category. Primarily because, well, it's inconcievable. 
                  They would be wrong, and such people have probably long since 
                  been bred out of our gene pool.)</p>
                <p>Matt Johnson rules.</p></td>
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