Andy Gill died today. I'm sure you don't know who he is, but here's a brief obit. And here's some stuff I wrote about his band Gang Of Four -- a band I was lucky enough to see in 2005 when the original members reunited for Coachella, back when that was a thing -- for my History of Rock & Roll class.
One of the things I love (and miss) about the F2F version of the History of Rock & Roll class is breaking down a song or album in more detail, and there are more than a few fertile pockets in rock and roll history -- such as U.K. post-punk from 1978 to 1982 -- that I loved using class time to unpack in greater detail. I wanted to focus on one particular album from that epoch in detail, an album that is one of the best start-to-finish debut albums of all time. That album is 1979's Entertainment! by Gang Of Four, and you can listen to the whole thing here:
There have been plenty of think pieces about the importance of Entertainment! as a post-punk document of intellectual rigor, as well as just how hooky and melodic it is. (For a handful of those hot takes, see here and here and here and here. For the lyrics to each song, see here. And for a review from a dude I was lucky enough to work with and learn from during the summer of 1998, see here.) It's a great example of what rock and roll could be, as both a conglomeration of musical styles and a vehicle for sociopolitical examination. And, like all great rock and roll, you can dance your ass off to it.
I've enjoyed Entertainment! for decades now, and I can find something new and different to focus on each time I listen. But each time I press play, I am struck by Andy Gill's use of the guitar as a post-blues tool of noise and dissonance, accenting the beat and the lyric while sonically attacking rockist cliches. I hope you take a moment to listen and read and think about this supernova of a cultural artifact, both of a time and timeless, and discover what Andy Gill -- as guitarist, songwriter, producer, and occasional vocalist -- contributed to the Western pop music canon that will outlive the makers.
One of the things I love (and miss) about the F2F version of the History of Rock & Roll class is breaking down a song or album in more detail, and there are more than a few fertile pockets in rock and roll history -- such as U.K. post-punk from 1978 to 1982 -- that I loved using class time to unpack in greater detail. I wanted to focus on one particular album from that epoch in detail, an album that is one of the best start-to-finish debut albums of all time. That album is 1979's Entertainment! by Gang Of Four, and you can listen to the whole thing here:
There have been plenty of think pieces about the importance of Entertainment! as a post-punk document of intellectual rigor, as well as just how hooky and melodic it is. (For a handful of those hot takes, see here and here and here and here. For the lyrics to each song, see here. And for a review from a dude I was lucky enough to work with and learn from during the summer of 1998, see here.) It's a great example of what rock and roll could be, as both a conglomeration of musical styles and a vehicle for sociopolitical examination. And, like all great rock and roll, you can dance your ass off to it.
I've enjoyed Entertainment! for decades now, and I can find something new and different to focus on each time I listen. But each time I press play, I am struck by Andy Gill's use of the guitar as a post-blues tool of noise and dissonance, accenting the beat and the lyric while sonically attacking rockist cliches. I hope you take a moment to listen and read and think about this supernova of a cultural artifact, both of a time and timeless, and discover what Andy Gill -- as guitarist, songwriter, producer, and occasional vocalist -- contributed to the Western pop music canon that will outlive the makers.
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