Purple Rain sounds like futuristic jazz music; a unique, somewhat chaotic, almost sci-fi blend of pop, rock, funk, R’n’B, and disco, shot through with sex, incessant partying, and rockstar messianism. It’s a cocaine record; bombastic, ridiculous, affluent, funny, arty, an album for the wasted bourgeoisie of some shimmering, declining space-age society. Prince’s lovers take him […]
Purple Rain by Prince (1984) Read More »
I grew up with the Sting of the 90s, the messianic, humanitarian spiritual guru singing orientalist dance songs and talking about the impact of tantric yoga on his sex life. So it came as a bit of a shock to discover that he started his career as the rather Aryan-looking frontman of a sparse, sometimes
Synchronicity by the Police (1983) Read More »
In my imagination, the 60s and the 90s are decades of eternal sunshine, characterised by an upbeat, optimistic spirit and defined musically by unmistakeably red-blooded men wielding guitars and making rock music. In the 60s, the post-war consensus and economic boom were still very much intact and supplemented by a spirit of youthful, buoyant revolution;
Thriller by Michael Jackson (1982) Read More »