The Human League, "Hard Times"

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Posted on September 20, 2016 at 17:26:28

Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7336
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000

1981 gave us the breakthrough synthpop album, Dare, by The Human League. Before "Don't You Want Me" became an international hit, The Human League made inroads with the single, "Love Action (I Believe In Love)." However, when you flipped that over, it was the B-side, "Hard Times," which caused people to exclaim, "What in Kraftwerk is this?!"

So for 35 years now, "Hard Times" has been one of those popular underground discotheque favorites. Thanks to the Internet, "Hard Times" is finally making its way into common desktops and commutes.

If you have or get this on vinyl, be very careful. That warbly upper-midrange can drive you, your kids, your mother-in-law, and the pets crazy. I've had various mixes of "Hard Times" on vinyl, and they were and are quite difficult to stomach. Kind of ironic, considering that the song was made via what are now vintage analog synthesizers.

-Lummy The Loch Monster

Hard Times

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RE: The Human League, "Hard Times"

mkuller

21:56:55 09/20/16

4

Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?"

Luminator

07:09:38 09/21/16

2

RE: Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?"

mkuller

08:16:13 09/21/16

...

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RE: The Human League, "Hard Times"

mkuller

21:56:55 09/20/16

4

Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?"

Luminator

07:09:38 09/21/16

2

RE: Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?"

mkuller

08:16:13 09/21/16

RE: Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?"

fantja

03:25:58 09/22/16

The Lebanon

FenderLover

06:56:45 09/21/16

RE: The Human League, "Hard Times", posted on September 20, 2016 at 21:56:55

mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003

...back in 1985 when HP asked me to review for TAS I went back to Sea Cliff with my wife and had dinner with him.

We retired to his listening room with the big IRS speakers and he put on the extended 45rpm dance mix of "Don't You Want Me".

He said, "Listen to the seven different layers of sound as they come in".

And I did.

Don't You Want Me

The Lebanon, posted on September 21, 2016 at 06:56:45

FenderLover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf4PspAHizI

Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?", posted on September 21, 2016 at 07:09:38

Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7336
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000

I did not latch on to TAS until the early-90s, so I can only ask questions about the mid-80s. Obviously, "Don't You Want Me" was a song everyone knew and liked. Had the professional media used examples such as this, they would have found a much larger audience, brought more people to the table.

For me, in early 1982, my downstairs neighbor had Dare on LP, probably purchased from The Record Factory, then located on Geary & Parker. The stepdad looked like a Korean Jackson Browne. Every now and then, while tossing a football to a few neighborhood kids, he'd wink to me and my brother, invites us over, and let us play Atari 2600, and use the single-rack, tower Sony stereo.

Yes, we loved Dare. At the same time, the mom did not like Vangelis' "Chariots Of Fire." But there is no forgetting the stepdad also playing Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," Kenny Loggins' "This Is It," and Neil Diamond's "America."

It's pretty obvious that, if you have adults allowing and encouraging the kids to get into popular music, eventually, some of the latter will eventually take an interest in audio.

But anyway, thank you for sharing the story of visiting HP in '85, and getting to hear an extended mix of "Don't You Want Me." Of the myriad audiophiles who email me, Rocky Road, among AA's fora, is the most popular, most beloved. Stories and experiences relating to the music are a major reason why these audiophiles cite Rocky Road as their fave. Just the other day, one guy wrote (and was okay with me quoting him), "I've learned more from RR, than all the other forums combined."

RE: Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?", posted on September 21, 2016 at 08:16:13
mkuller Audiophile Posts: 38130 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: April 22, 2003	...Harry used to refer to some of this music in his reviews. There were some well recorded dance singles like Lionel Ritchie's "All Night Long" and Ah Ha's "Take on Me".

RE: Did TAS ever cite or refer to "Don't You Want Me?", posted on September 22, 2016 at 03:25:58
fantja Audiophile Posts: 15524 Location: Alabama Joined: September 11, 2010	What a treat! Dinner and listening w/ HP.