One of my favourite days because it means a post on Hive will be written by me, and I get to hear other music that Hivers and Hiveians enjoy. Well for the select band that participate in ttt anyway!
Picture by me and it has some orange in it!
We are going back to my Silver Chronicles post of a few weeks ago My Soundtrack for the 80s my favourite decade
Quite a self-explanatory title and it is my inspiration for the next few posts on ttt!
The year is now 1983 and we are having something Scottish for that year ...
The single from the group today describes what I have done with some of my Hive posts in the past!
It is Tuesday and that of course means that it's #ttt or #threetunetuesday and so it's time to share some tunes with you!
Do go support
He has just released some winners posts, so go support those posts, he gets no support from any whales or even curation trails for these posts that he does. 262 weeks is an incredible amount of time, and I for one love that he runs this, and I appreciate the time and dedication that he puts in, when he could be doing something else.
For this week鈥檚 ttt, we are keeping a Glasgow connection that we had last week and taking a trip back to the golden era of post-punk indie pop, focusing on one of the most brilliant, literate, and rhythmically sharp bands to ever emerge from the Scottish music scene... the breakfast favourite ... Orange Juice.
Fronted by the wonderfully erudite Edwyn Collins, Orange Juice began life in Bearsden in the suburbs of Glasgow. They were originally called the Nu-Sonics, something I did not know until today! They became the flagship band for Alan Horne's legendary Postcard Records. Which operated under the brilliant, tongue-in-cheek slogan "The Sound of Young Scotland".
While Orange Juice started out pioneering a gloriously shambolic, jangly guitar pop that fused the energy of punk with the melodic hooks of Motown, by 1982/1983 they had evolved into a sophisticated, funk-inflected pop powerhouse. What a mouthful and thanks to Gemini for that wee blurb!
Here are three fun tunes from their Rip It Up album of 1983.
We have to start with the crown jewel that most people know them for. Released in February 1983 as the title track of their second studio album, this song smashed into the UK Top 10, peaking at Number 8.
Another claim to fame was that it was the very first chart single in history to feature the iconic, bubbling sound of the Roland TB-303 synthesizer bassline.
Edwyn Collins the frontman being well Edwyn Collins. He even quoted the Buzzcocks' song "Boredom" in the lyrics. It鈥檚 a perfect slice of Nile Rodgers-inspired disco-funk mixed with sharp Scottish wit.
The official follow-up single to Rip It Up from later that year. This track leans heavily into a bouncy, tropical-flavoured pop vibe, complete with brilliant guest percussion from Danny Cummings.
While it didn't quite replicate the spectacular Top 10 heights of its predecessor Rip It Up it's a wee cracker in its own right!
To round out our 1983 trio, we have to look at one of the absolute standouts from the Rip It Up album itself. "I Can't Help Myself" perfectly captures the transitional genius of the band during this exact year. It bridges the gap between their older, jangly guitar roots and the slicker, slap-bass funk arrangements they were mastering in the studio. It features a brilliant horn section and some of Edwyn's most passionately delivered, soulful vocals.
This is my favourite tune on the album, probably as some of you might have guessed for the horn section perhaps lol!
Which was your favourite tune? Or have you never heard of them?
Note: The 3 YouTube videos that I have shared are not owned by me, I am simply spreading great music on Hive.
I wish that you all have a brilliant happy fun and terrific Tuesday until we meet again enjoy your tunes 馃幎馃幍馃幎
The images and ramblings are from me, with some assistance from gemini on the verbage and the lead image, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated.
