“I'm so hungry...” said Mr SDS.
“So hungry so angry...” I replied, without even thinking what I was saying, “so hungry, so angry, so hungry, so angry” and it started to take on a tune, “oh god - who did that?”
(Weird, last time I heard those lyrics must've been over 30 years ago.)
“I can't remember... was it someone like Blurt...? “
“It begins with M... I'm sure it begins with M for some reason” I suggested, “a word like Material?”
“I think it's two words”
“Oh I can't remember. Let's Google it...”
And we had to find out before we could even eat breakfast (we weren't really so angry).
Medium Medium (of course!?): Hungry, So Angry (1981)
Oh, thanks for letting me know, Yve. It's the video for the song in question which had randomly decided to lodge itself in my brain this morning in spite of not being anywhere near it for three decades! It's still showing up on my screen so I don't know why it's not on yours... Anyway, if you just sing "so hungry, so angry" over and over again and imagine some funky staccato guitars and percussion you'll get the general idea!
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard this for years, still sounds fairly fresh. Always loved The Glitterhouse which I will now have to locate on the hard drive for a long overdue listen.
ReplyDeleteHi Scott - yes, it does still sound fairly fresh, must be that funky beat! I didn't know anything else by them... I don't even know quite why I knew this so well (never owned it)... was it a John Peel favourite?
DeleteAh - it was probably a very similar scenario for me too!
DeletePretty sure Peel used to play them. Before Peel's show Kid Jensen had a Radio 1 show that was slightly more commercial than some of the some Peel played so might have been on there I heard them. Listening to it again today you can hear bits of Medium Medium in bands like The Happy Mondays.
DeleteI think it must have been Peel where I heard it, I don't remember listening to much KJ! That post-punk funk/dance sound has stood the test of time quite well.
DeleteNew to me. Will investigate further.
ReplyDeleteSwiss Adam
I knew nothing about them as a band - it was just this one song which had somehow lodged itself in there long ago and then resurfaced at random. As Scott mentions, there's an album The Glitterhouse, so might be worth checking out?
DeleteI remember the name but that's all. Memory behaves in such odd ways at times. Year? 1983?
ReplyDeleteOops...just noticed the caption. Two years out! D'oh!
DeletePretty damn good guess though, seeing as it was over thirty years ago! Nice to see you SB.
DeleteI can just hear the two of you now: "So hungry . . ." "So angry . . ." I didn't think I'd like this song, C - but I did!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to become a new catchphrase I think...
DeleteGlad you liked the song, Marie!
How do our memories retain these weird little phrases and musical moments? It's happened to me too. Mrs S and I will be in conversation and she'll innocently say something that'll prompt me too blurt out the most ridiculous portion of an otherwise long forgotten lyric, without any warning. She usually just looks at me with an expression of exasperation mixed with despair. I should probably learn to button my lip.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Medium Medium tune, but it sounded great.
It's odd, isn't it? In this instance it just slipped off the tongue seemingly from nowhere.
DeleteWith your vast musical knowledge and listening experience I'm not surprised you sometimes end up inadvertently speaking in lyrics!
The song made me think of Gang Of Four... but with a Chesney Hawkes lookalike on vocals, and then that sax... well... just very 1981!
I remember this also from Peel and like you haven't heard it or even thought about it in years. I remember also at that time in '81, actually, at being struck by what a relevant phrase it was for those times and me contemplating using the title as a slogan somehow - painting it onto a jacket or something. I was into punk rock at the time, of course.
ReplyDeleteNever knew anything about Medium Medium as a band also. In fact, when I started reading your post the band that came immediately to my mind was The Au Pairs who had a song called It's Obvious that went: "You're equal but different, you're equal but different" over and over again. So if your post was a pub quiz question I would have got it wrong!
If you've still got a bit of a blockage when it comes to writing then you should just do a post like this one again as it's good.
Hi John, yes that would have been a great slogan for a jacket...
DeleteI can see exactly what you mean about the Au Pairs 'It's Obvious'. I think we may have (yet!) another thing in common here in that I bought 'Playing With A Different Sex' when it came out... could it be that you did too?!
Thanks for your encouraging words about the post and writing 'blockage', indeed it seemed a short piece with a song was a way to keep some kind of flow at least... I've plenty of ideas but they all seem a bit protracted.... Will just see what happens next, it's totally unpredictable!. That's the lovely thing about blogging though isn't it - there's no pressure. I could never write for a living!
I seem to be giving away all my secrets here on this blog, although I'm not ashamed of any of them I must say. And if the truth be told I'm actually quite proud of my past. So yes, I did used to once collect stamps. And yes, I did buy 'Playing With A Different Sex' by the Au Pairs when it came out in about... let me see - 1979? Blimey! Where does the time go?
DeleteIn fact, I saw the Au Pairs play in Bristol around that time as a Rock Against Racism benefit and for some reason I came away with about 5 copies of the poster advertising the gig which I've still got to this day. I don't know why I kept them as they're hardly collectible. I mean, who remembers the Au Pairs? Apart from yourself, obviously.
The vocalist, Lesley Woods, is a lawyer now, apparently.
And you're right, when blogging there's no deadline or anything of the like to meet so no pressure. I reckon it's better to post only when you've got something you think is of interest to say or show (like the Medium Medium video) than to post for the sake of it.
Don't worry, I've given away plenty of 'secrets' here - and it's comforting to then find that I'm not alone!
DeleteI think the Au Pairs were probably very influential but it's only become obvious (no pun intended) further down the line. Yes... where does the time go?!
5 copies of the poster seems a bit excessive, but if you ever need to paper your walls... :-)