(no subject)

[miko2]

Today's Song: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) by Simple Minds

Another of my favorite 80's bands was Simple Minds, who actually were making music since the late 1970's and didn't have their big success until Don't You Forget About Me from The Breakfast Club. I was a big fan of their before then, and my favorite cd has always been New Gold Dream.

The story I heard was that they were brought in to record the song for the Breakfast Club after Billy Idol turned it down. They did not write the song, and it was far more commercial than anything they'd ever done previously. Consequently, they all made statements about how much they hated the song and how it was the worst thing they had ever done... but they almost certainly enjoyed the success because their next cd release was their most commercial ever, and spawned several more hits for them like Alive and Kicking.

I said yesterday that I think of Simple Minds in conjunction with other "message" bands fro the 80's and 90's, but they weren't really a "message" band. Vocalist Jim Kerr liked to allude to his Christian beliefs in his lyrics, but there usually wasn't any particular message involved, unless it was a general, "the world is a beautiful and mysterious place" kind of message.

I still agree that their early material was the best, however. The following video combines not only one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, but also video footage from Card Captor Sakura, which is one of my favorite anime shows.

Simple Minds -- New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

Simple Minds -- Glittering Prize (from the same cd)
Simple Minds -- Hunter and the Hunted (also from New Gold Dream)
Simple Minds -- Waterfront (from Sparkle in the Rain which came right after New Gold Dream)