Written by David Ball and Marc Almond
David Ball, half of Soft Cell, died yesterday. Again, I never spent much time with the band — I know “Tainted Love,” and it’s fine — but this track from the same album caught my ear. It's a story song, walking a fine line between poignant and sleazy, about someone being blackmailed for something tawdry. "You've got photographs to prove it / And I swear to God it's not me / You've got a hard heart / Being hard is your art." It's going to destroy his reputation, titillate the neighbors, destroy his wife, the lot. It seems his tormentor might even be a former love ("What have I ever done to you / But leave you?"). It's like a troubadour's song in disguise, the kind of quiet tragedy you might find in a Hold Steady vignette, just hiding in the shadows of neon and strobe lights instead of a cigarette-strewn bar. The protagonist lives an outwardly normal life, but hides behind masks, compromises, and the dull ache of routine. Musically, it's all restrained menace: looping, hypnotic rhythm, and minimal, pulsing, slightly claustrophobic synth lines creating a sinister tension.
No comments:
Post a Comment