"A Little Respect"
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| Posted on May 15, 2015 at 14:40:25 | ||
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Posts: 7338
Location: Bay Area Joined: December 11, 2000 |
 In the second half of the 80s, my high school, Lowell, was legendary for its monthly dances. Those dances were so popular, we had not one, but two, DJs. Usually, the rap DJ played the gym, while the modern rock DJ played the courtyard. These dances didn't just court our own students; they drew from the rest of San Francisco, as well as Daly City, Pacifica, San Bruno, and South City. The synthpop duo, Erasure, may not have been well known across the U.S., but here, their "Oh L'amour" and "Victim Of Love" were wildly popular at Lowell. During the Spring '88 semester, Erasure came out with the solid The Innocents. However, we students disbursed for the summer, and The Innocents didn't really take off, until we reconvened for the Fall '88 semester. Okay, if you really must know, Vince Clarke used analog synths throughout. Those of you who have followed me have heard me say repeatedly, "Boy, there was nothing like hearing [Erasure's] "Chains Of Love" wafting through the courtyard." Perhaps second best was "A Little Respect," also from The Innocents. Were you an intimidated and overwhelmed incoming freshman? Didn't matter. Were you a shy and mousy little girl? Didn't matter. Were you a lonely and/or closeted LGBT? Didn't matter. Had no dance moves? Didn't matter. Couldn't sing? Didn't matter. Did you have no friends? Didn't matter. Were you a hard-core heavy metal banger, like me? Didn't matter. "A Little Respect" roped us all in. Its infectious nature took control of you, and moved you to grab whoever was next to you, and just start singing and dancing. I'll never forget some sophomore girl grabbing my arm. I, in turn, then grabbed some random freshman girl. Before we knew it, there were 5 of us, arm in arm, galloping like horses to "A Little Respect." The song made you so free and liberated. Whether the person next to you was a boy or girl, known or a stranger, it was so much fun to sing to each other: "I'm so in love with you that you gimme no Soul, I hear you calling When the song came to an end, everyone parted with huge grins on their faces. The modern rock fans would then go to the small San Francisco record stores, and try to find the 12" vinyl singles. Yes, many of my former classmates' kids are now in high school. Yes, my former classmates have passed Erasure down to our kids. Yes, it's all right; go ahead and call Erasure "old school." The Audiophiles' DJ,
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| RE: Yaz: Upstairs at Eric's, posted on May 15, 2015 at 18:26:29 | |
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Upstairs and You & Me Both were a couple favorite synth album of this era. -----
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