1982 Singles # 1 The Go Betweens

 

So, to my favourite single of 1982, a quite wonderful year for music. A magical year. A single that never ever got anywhere near the upper or even lower reaches of any actual singles chart ever and I don't think I actually heard until a couple of years later, when I first started to get into this band, the namers of this actual blog.

The Go Beweens were pointing the way I would go next in terms of my musical tastes. The singles charts became less interesting I'd say over the next couple of years. More Thatcherite, more Reaganite, blander. Less honest. Scrambling for a buck. A lot of the bands I've celebrated on here in this series became less interesting too or had just had enough, or run their course and disbanded. Associates, Japan, Clash, Jam, or sold out pure and simple in the case of Simple erm Minds.

So I moved elsewhere, to R.E.M., The Go Betweens, The Smiths, Aztec Camera, The Triffids, Lloyd Cole & the Commotions. Not all of this stuff got into the actual singles charts but was a lot more interesting to me than the stuff that did and described the person I was, or was in the process of becoming or wanting to become. It spoke to me and I'm so glad it did. I'm still learning from it.

Still, to Cattle and Cane, perhaps the finest moment of a very fine band who had several wonderful moments though they sold precious few records, at least at the time. The world seems to have finally woken up to how great they were. Too late for Grant McLennan, the writer of this song.He passed, in 2006. Far too soon. Still with plenty of great songs and great thoughts within him. Still with plenty to give and say. It's a tragedy really.

It's no wonder this wasn't a hit really. I put it on the jukebox at my local on a busy Friday night a while back and given the general babble and chat, it sounded like three shy people trying to have an argument. It's one for the ages though . Too profound and nuanced for mass consumption. Though it does get its due these days. About memory and loss and about forging forward at the same time. What we all need to do. This is still a very good place to start when thinking about how to go about doing that, It's a masterpiece.