I Love A Man In Uniform! (Gang of Four)

CHOUT · 05.24.2007, 02:43 AM

I found a couple clips on a tape I didn't even know I had including this live Performance of I Love A Man In Uniform from '82 opening for the Police (I have their set from this show on dvd and it's awesome too).

Upon buying a Gang Of Four retrospective (History of the world, I think) tape years ago which was my intro to this band, I was immediately taken by the early songs (the tape is sequenced chronologically, so Entertainment! tracks start it off) but hearing the later stuff was pretty jarring, most of which has very 80's dated dance-club/radio ready production, much like it would be jarring in reverse who heard their later material first to hear the earlier more raw recordings.

Well, I grew to appreciate some (not all) of it, like this song, and now it's one of my favorites from them...I really like the new version on Return The Gift, which gives you an idea what the song might've sounded like if it was recorded for inclusion on either the Entertainment! or Solid Gold albums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z49cmltJJeA

CHOUT · 05.24.2007, 02:58 AM

Also I found a writing on a blog someone wrote after seeing this video that sums the song up pretty well:
from:
http://www.grandpalace.us/wp/
"i have had this song stuck in my head ever since i woke up this morning. it was gang of four’s only real commercial radio/top 40 hit in america, which is weird if you consider the honest to goodness disco/funk pop abrasion of their earlier two albums. however, they had streamlined their disco/funk pop abrasion into an ironically consumable formula, setting their usually inflammatory left-wing rhetoric to the dying strains of the disco sound. the song’s smooth R&B feel hides a subtext with tongue planted firmly in cheek that surely sailed right over the multitude of heads and bodies on the dancefloor of any disco circa 1982. soldiers? sexy! rifles? erotic! amputations? well, the picture is clear. to the untrained ear, i’m sure it sounded as harmless as “it’s raining men” by the weather girls. however, with lyrics such as “The good life was so elusive/Handouts, they got me down/I had to regain my confidence/So I got into camouflage”, it seems as if the 45rpm single was dipped in sarcasm before it was shipped off to records stores in anytown, USA."
“The girls, they love to see you shoot.”

val-holla-ing · 05.24.2007, 03:03 AM

this is flyyyyy!!!!!! great song!

evollove · 05.24.2007, 09:05 AM

By the way... Return the Gift. What's up with this disc? I'm really confused. Did they think these versions outstrip the original versions? Why did they make it?

atsonicpark · 05.24.2007, 10:46 AM

this band really bores me now. dug em a lot as a sophomore in high school. i found that essence rare is a jam. they had really good ep's, but i think solid gold is my favorite thing by them by far. really dark production on that one...

CHOUT · 05.24.2007, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evollove

By the way... Return the Gift. What's up with this disc? I'm really confused. Did they think these versions outstrip the original versions? Why did they make it?

They just probably wanted something to support when they toured...I enjoy it, but it was unnecessary on some level.

Dead-Air · 05.24.2007, 09:38 PM

Saw them play after the original four got back together, and they were phenomenal. Didn't feel like a bunch of old has beens at all. Of course they stuck pretty much to the classics, but the energy was totally for real. I think if they did write and record a new record it would be much more along the lines of Mission of Burma's last album (which smoked) than the disgraceful thing the Stooges did.

05.24.2007, 02:43 AM	#1
CHOUT invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Minneapolis MN Posts: 3,128	I found a couple clips on a tape I didn't even know I had including this live Performance of I Love A Man In Uniform from '82 opening for the Police (I have their set from this show on dvd and it's awesome too). Upon buying a Gang Of Four retrospective (History of the world, I think) tape years ago which was my intro to this band, I was immediately taken by the early songs (the tape is sequenced chronologically, so Entertainment! tracks start it off) but hearing the later stuff was pretty jarring, most of which has very 80's dated dance-club/radio ready production, much like it would be jarring in reverse who heard their later material first to hear the earlier more raw recordings. Well, I grew to appreciate some (not all) of it, like this song, and now it's one of my favorites from them...I really like the new version on Return The Gift, which gives you an idea what the song might've sounded like if it was recorded for inclusion on either the Entertainment! or Solid Gold albums. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z49cmltJJeA __________________ Chout's rare Sonic Youth vids: http://youtube.com/SONICchout
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05.24.2007, 02:58 AM	#2
CHOUT invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Minneapolis MN Posts: 3,128	Also I found a writing on a blog someone wrote after seeing this video that sums the song up pretty well: from: http://www.grandpalace.us/wp/ "i have had this song stuck in my head ever since i woke up this morning. it was gang of four’s only real commercial radio/top 40 hit in america, which is weird if you consider the honest to goodness disco/funk pop abrasion of their earlier two albums. however, they had streamlined their disco/funk pop abrasion into an ironically consumable formula, setting their usually inflammatory left-wing rhetoric to the dying strains of the disco sound. the song’s smooth R&B feel hides a subtext with tongue planted firmly in cheek that surely sailed right over the multitude of heads and bodies on the dancefloor of any disco circa 1982. soldiers? sexy! rifles? erotic! amputations? well, the picture is clear. to the untrained ear, i’m sure it sounded as harmless as “it’s raining men” by the weather girls. however, with lyrics such as “The good life was so elusive/Handouts, they got me down/I had to regain my confidence/So I got into camouflage”, it seems as if the 45rpm single was dipped in sarcasm before it was shipped off to records stores in anytown, USA." “The girls, they love to see you shoot.” __________________ Chout's rare Sonic Youth vids: http://youtube.com/SONICchout
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05.24.2007, 03:03 AM	#3
val-holla-ing invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: baton rouge. the 225, big raggedy. Posts: 2,731	this is flyyyyy!!!!!! great song! __________________ please do not misconstrue the previous statement as an invitation for same sex relations or as negative towards anyone of another sexuality. -cam'ron (formerly "no homo")
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05.24.2007, 09:05 AM	#4
evollove invito al cielo Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 2,879	By the way... Return the Gift. What's up with this disc? I'm really confused. Did they think these versions outstrip the original versions? Why did they make it?
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05.24.2007, 10:46 AM	#5
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	this band really bores me now. dug em a lot as a sophomore in high school. i found that essence rare is a jam. they had really good ep's, but i think solid gold is my favorite thing by them by far. really dark production on that one... __________________
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05.24.2007, 09:38 PM	#7
Dead-Air invito al cielo Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Portland OR Posts: 4,300	Saw them play after the original four got back together, and they were phenomenal. Didn't feel like a bunch of old has beens at all. Of course they stuck pretty much to the classics, but the energy was totally for real. I think if they did write and record a new record it would be much more along the lines of Mission of Burma's last album (which smoked) than the disgraceful thing the Stooges did. __________________ FuckBook; My Band; My Radio Show; My Flickr Page; Science Fiction Message Board
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