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Length: 2:52
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To our troubled evolution
Have no faith in constitution
There is no bloody revolution
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
Our so-called leaders speak
With words they try to jail you
They subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
Where does the answer lie?
Living from day to day
If it's something we can't buy
There must be another way
We are spirits in the material world
We were idiots then.
The Police have done some amazing tracks. Sadly, this really isn't one of them.
Copeland said it was his best drumming as everything was on the upbeat
I saw Police twice. The first time was in a sweaty dive in Bristol after Roxanne had been released but before their first album; they were one of the best live bands I'd ever seen. I later saw them at some grim aircraft hangar like Wembley Arena where they were tiny figures on a stage about six kilometres distant, and where I was surrounded by drunken hen parties singing along, out of tune and out of time.
LOL! Too Funny!
Was fortunate enough to see them on both Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity tours. They were an amazing live act.
You lucky duck! I wish that I could have been there too!!
this stuff hasn't aged well. what is it anyway? vaguely skaPop with pretensions
YOU probably haven't aged well also! ... And, your comment is pretentious!
Yes. But are Paul Newman and Robert Redford involved?
Boom-tss. I'm here all weekend, folks, be sure to tip you waitress well!
Good list. Add Styx and Foreigner.
oingo boingo
Some things get unnerving relatively quickly. Especially, if they've been played far too often on your local radio station for far too long, even if that was decades ago. The 80's harbor a whole lot of that runaway beats & melodies...
I basically agree! But, this was one of the better severely overplayed tunes of the '80s. There were some really horrible tunes, overplayed back then!!
Some things get unnerving relatively quickly. Especially, if they've been played far too often on your local radio station for far too long, even if that was decades ago. The 80's harbor a whole lot of that runaway beats & melodies...
Fuck the Police
They probably say the same about YOU,!
Your post was too long to read but heh - I've got the exact same mixed tape that you like!
Nor is proper grammar apparently.
No need to be a jerk.
Comments like this get my salivary glands juiced! So what you're saying is, of all the bands to make it to the big time, The Police and AC/DC were the worst. For you to accept this you would have had to have been exposed to the tiniest of musical samplings.
Here's a list of "Big Time" (your words) musical acts that I think are WORSE then your choices. In no particular order:
Whitney Houston
Phil Collins solo
Later Genesis
Lionel Richie (but not the Commodores)
REO Speedwagon
Garth Brooks
Journey
New Kids On the Block
Bon Jovi
Huey Lewis & the News
Chicago (Chicago 17)
Def Leppard
And this list is based on the best selling albums of the 1980s only.
Here's my take on The Police:
Quite often bands hit it big because they land on a sound through their own evolution, a sound that finds them aligned with popular tastes at that particular moment in history. The Police are such a band. Experimental enough to satisfy purists but at the time less raw then punk. Appealing to both genders with the convergence of video and audio media. Sting became a bona fide sex symbol, and the Hugh Padgham produced, easy listening masterpiece, "Synchronicity," exploded onto television sets and AM/FM radios everywhere.
For those of us who saw them in a small club or cozy theater setting, the Police were as tight and high-energy an outfit as any power trio out there. Although lyrically clunky, owing to Sting's famed "gay wadness," they often transcended this high-minded posing with songs that felt original and fresh in 1980. With Sting's thinly veiled jazz leanings, Copeland's classical underpinnings, and Summers' weird tonal proclivity, the Police were unlike any other band of their era.
Besides the much publicized animosity between the mates, they're break-up always seemed like a forgone conclusion to me. The pop bloat that found it's way into songs like "Every breath you take" became like a platinum-selling cancer, threatening all future creativity. To me, the break-up was only further evidence that these guys were for real.
Man, someone likes to hear themselves. I'm pretty certain it says "Post Comment" not Post Manifesto!
[b] i saw them live as a threesome touring on Zenyatta; and it remains one of the high points in my concert-going life. Less was more; their use of space in their songs was tremendous.
Nor is proper grammar apparently.
To these ears it's aging relatively well.
Oddly I'd argue 'invisible sun' has held up, only the location has shifted
No, that would be a sin of omission.
With words they try to jail ya
It's the rhetoric of failure
(Very few rhymes for couplet. Doublet?)
Big Bob Marley fan...
one word Roxanne....
And that's some sweet drumming. I ignore Sting's overwrought "I'm a smart guy" lyrics.
This time, it was the right time.
I'm a little surprised by all the hate. I have a hunch the Sting hate pollutes the perception of the band, but that's just my take.
SOME people DO make pretty convincing points on why The Police's music might deserve criticism.
I can't argue about that band being relevant, having aged well or badly: I'm 50, they are a glorious part of my life. ANY song by them is wired inside my brain and has brought me joy, relief etc. in one way or another.
Nothing against the band. They had some great tracks. The problem is they were FM darlings and, like REM, Elton John and others, a handful of their tracks got robo-played beyond death and put me off hearing those cuts or anything else they did. Including this one.
Oddly, I hear the bass in a new way (better speakers) and end up impressed by this song that has been one of those background pieces for me for decades. It seems to have aged well for me. So you inform us, almost parenthetically, that you could not stand it when it was released and it has not aged well. If you started off disliking it, what sort of rotting detritus does it represent now? One must wonder...
Ha! Rotting detritus indeed. They peaked with Truth Hits Everybody, way before it became the reggae tinged Sting show
With words they try to jail you
They subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure
A thousand hosanna amens to that.
Couldn't stand it then actually.
Oddly, I hear the bass in a new way (better speakers) and end up impressed by this song that has been one of those background pieces for me for decades. It seems to have aged well for me. So you inform us, almost parenthetically, that you could not stand it when it was released and it has not aged well. If you started off disliking it, what sort of rotting detritus does it represent now? One must wonder...
Couldn't stand it then actually.
Lazarus wrote:
Comments like this get my salivary glands juiced! So what you're saying is, of all the bands to make it to the big time, The Police and AC/DC were the worst. For you to accept this you would have had to have been exposed to the tiniest of musical samplings.
Here's a list of "Big Time" (your words) musical acts that I think are WORSE then your choices. In no particular order:
Whitney Houston
Phil Collins solo
Later Genesis
Lionel Richie (but not the Commodores)
REO Speedwagon
Garth Brooks
Journey
New Kids On the Block
Bon Jovi
Huey Lewis & the News
Chicago (Chicago 17)
Def Leppard
And this list is based on the best selling albums of the 1980s only.
Here's my take on The Police:
Quite often bands hit it big because they land on a sound through their own evolution, a sound that finds them aligned with popular tastes at that particular moment in history. The Police are such a band. Experimental enough to satisfy purists but at the time less raw then punk. Appealing to both genders with the convergence of video and audio media. Sting became a bona fide sex symbol, and the Hugh Padgham produced, easy listening masterpiece, "Synchronicity," exploded onto television sets and AM/FM radios everywhere.
For those of us who saw them in a small club or cozy theater setting, the Police were as tight and high-energy an outfit as any power trio out there. Although lyrically clunky, owing to Sting's famed "gay wadness," they often transcended this high-minded posing with songs that felt original and fresh in 1980. With Sting's thinly veiled jazz leanings, Copeland's classical underpinnings, and Summers' weird tonal proclivity, the Police were unlike any other band of their era.
Besides the much publicized animosity between the mates, they're break-up always seemed like a forgone conclusion to me. The pop bloat that found it's way into songs like "Every breath you take" became like a platinum-selling cancer, threatening all future creativity. To me, the break-up was only further evidence that these guys were for real.
One music critic I read (in Rolling Stone? can't remember) wrote before Synchronicity that the band's reggae roots and three-man setup were going to limit their commercial success. Synchronicity tossed aside that three-man sound in favor of everything including the kitchen sink. I wouldn't call it easy listening and it got raves from almost every music critic...
The video to "Synchronicity II", though: that was the pop bloat cancer you describe.
As Sting kept complaining, "Every Breath You Take" isn't a love song. It's gives voice to a stalker. It's meant to be menacing.
Sting !
Nah...that was Ian Dury & The Blockheads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkdgJ_-Gg3Q
With words they try to jail you
They subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure
Still as relevant today as when written.
best. snare. ever.
....... sure is
best. snare. ever.
Everybody in my church loves this song...
with apologies to the 'EVERY'? one police
Good list. Add Styx and Foreigner.
Add Police.
Comments like this get my salivary glands juiced! So what you're saying is, of all the bands to make it to the big time, The Police and AC/DC were the worst. For you to accept this you would have had to have been exposed to the tiniest of musical samplings.
Here's a list of "Big Time" (your words) musical acts that I think are WORSE then your choices. In no particular order:
Whitney Houston
Phil Collins solo
Later Genesis
Lionel Richie (but not the Commodores)
REO Speedwagon
Garth Brooks
Journey
New Kids On the Block
Bon Jovi
Huey Lewis & the News
Chicago (Chicago 17)
Def Leppard
And this list is based on the best selling albums of the 1980s only.
Good list. Add Styx and Foreigner.
Put.
MiracleDrug wrote:
brilliant.
brilliant.
No! The Police? Repetitive? No!
(The Police are second to AC/DC as the worst band ever to make the big time. If you ask me. Which you didn't, of course. Nobody ever does. I can't understand why.)
Comments like this get my salivary glands juiced! So what you're saying is, of all the bands to make it to the big time, The Police and AC/DC were the worst. For you to accept this you would have had to have been exposed to the tiniest of musical samplings.
Here's a list of "Big Time" (your words) musical acts that I think are WORSE then your choices. In no particular order:
Whitney Houston
Phil Collins solo
Later Genesis
Lionel Richie (but not the Commodores)
REO Speedwagon
Garth Brooks
Journey
New Kids On the Block
Bon Jovi
Huey Lewis & the News
Chicago (Chicago 17)
Def Leppard
And this list is based on the best selling albums of the 1980s only.
Here's my take on The Police:
Quite often bands hit it big because they land on a sound through their own evolution, a sound that finds them aligned with popular tastes at that particular moment in history. The Police are such a band. Experimental enough to satisfy purists but at the time less raw then punk. Appealing to both genders with the convergence of video and audio media. Sting became a bona fide sex symbol, and the Hugh Padgham produced, easy listening masterpiece, "Synchronicity," exploded onto television sets and AM/FM radios everywhere.
For those of us who saw them in a small club or cozy theater setting, the Police were as tight and high-energy an outfit as any power trio out there. Although lyrically clunky, owing to Sting's famed "gay wadness," they often transcended this high-minded posing with songs that felt original and fresh in 1980. With Sting's thinly veiled jazz leanings, Copeland's classical underpinnings, and Summers' weird tonal proclivity, the Police were unlike any other band of their era.
Besides the much publicized animosity between the mates, they're break-up always seemed like a forgone conclusion to me. The pop bloat that found it's way into songs like "Every breath you take" became like a platinum-selling cancer, threatening all future creativity. To me, the break-up was only further evidence that these guys were for real.
Yeah, totally. AC/DC, The Police and Guns and Roses cannot hold a candle to the musical genius that was/is the great imports from Sweden; the one, the only, often imitated, never duplicated.........ABBA.
You're right, none of them can, though your beloved AC/DC did release the second-largest-selling album in history.
AC/DC = Sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Pretty simple, I think. (pun)
I had not heard this for a couple of years. Great to hear again, it still sounds fresh to me.
I just don't like them, never have.
If Stewart Copeland is a pretty good drummer then Beethoven was a pretty reasonable composer.
A matter of taste, for: ignorance is infinite, knowledge is not.
And: bad taste is taste as well . . .
It comes down to taste right? What I know - facts - is they both had / have incredible musical skill.
FYI: I enjoy both. An as for Beethoven: thus performed properly.
Ouch, I guess that's taste as well.
Enjoy your music!
The lyrics still ring true (to me). If we could separate organized religion from the picture, I think our world would be a better place if we all believed that we are spirits in the material world.
There is no political solution
To our troubled evolution
Have no faith in constitution
There is no bloody revolution
We are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Our so-called leaders speak
With words they try to jail you
The subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure
We are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Where does the answer lie?
Living from day to day
If it's something we can't buy
There must be another way
We are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
If Stewart Copeland is a pretty good drummer then Beethoven was a pretty reasonable composer.
Love this album.
(The Police are second to AC/DC as the worst band ever to make the big time. If you ask me. Which you didn't, of course. Nobody ever does. I can't understand why.)
SweTex wrote:
Yeah, totally. AC/DC, The Police and Guns and Roses cannot hold a candle to the musical genius that was/is the great imports from Sweden; the one, the only, often imitated, never duplicated.........ABBA.
I gotta go with Rush and Kiss, hands down, no contest, but hey, that's just me.
I have always loved the bass line in this song...
Me too. That and the off-beat drumming from Stuart Copeland gives this track a great feel. I remember seeing the Monseratt recording sessions on TV.
Give it a rest TEX
but i am.
sorry.
romeotuma wrote:
This song is soooo good for the ears...
(The Police are second to AC/DC as the worst band ever to make the big time. If you ask me. Which you didn't, of course. Nobody ever does. I can't understand why.)
SweTex wrote:
Agreed...I'd add Gun's and Roses to the list, but no one ever asks me either. Probably for the same reason they dont ask you. Are we doing something wrong?
Yeah, totally. AC/DC, The Police and Guns and Roses cannot hold a candle to the musical genius that was/is the great imports from Sweden; the one, the only, often imitated, never duplicated.........ABBA.
Another plug for Andy Summer's memoirs (click link ->) https://www.andysummers.com/onetrainlater.php, which I'm finding to be a very interesting read. It turns out he played in The Animals and Soft Machine, jammed with Jimi, and was on the London scene when Stewart and Gordon were still in short pants. There's even a bit about him turning on another uberfamous rock guitarist to the virtues of Gibson guitars. All of this, and Andy is pretty decent writer, too (i.e., not ghostwritten).
Oh, and don't forget RP's Amazon link!
! Very good book
Yeah, how dare they play the same sequence of notes multiple times! And hit the same drums more than twice. It's a disgrace.
(The Police are second to AC/DC as the worst band ever to make the big time. If you ask me. Which you didn't, of course. Nobody ever does. I can't understand why.)
AC/DC I will never understand the appeal. (imoh) Police a bit overrated but, none the less, a very good band.
(The Police are second to AC/DC as the worst band ever to make the big time. If you ask me. Which you didn't, of course. Nobody ever does. I can't understand why.)
Agreed...I'd add Gun's and Roses to the list, but no one ever asks me either. Probably for the same reason they dont ask you. Are we doing something wrong?
Another plug for Andy Summer's memoirs (click link ->) https://www.andysummers.com/onetrainlater.php, which I'm finding to be a very interesting read. It turns out he played in The Animals and Soft Machine, jammed with Jimi, and was on the London scene when Stewart and Gordon were still in short pants. There's even a bit about him turning on another uberfamous rock guitarist to the virtues of Gibson guitars. All of this, and Andy is pretty decent writer, too (i.e., not ghostwritten).
Oh, and don't forget RP's Amazon link!
My sister and I saw them a couple of years ago in Louisville (Churchill Downs), and it was so much fun. We still remembered every word to every song, and sang along ever so obnoxiously.
No! The Police? Repetitive? No!
(The Police are second to AC/DC as the worst band ever to make the big time. If you ask me. Which you didn't, of course. Nobody ever does. I can't understand why.)
How appropriate. Brother, can you spare $700 billion?
1979 and a friend was helping me move into a flat. I'd just bought a second hand B&W TV and switched it on to test it out. There was The Police playing on a long-defunct TV program called "Rock Goes to College". We listened to Roxanne and when it finished we looked at each other and agreed they would never amount to anything.
We were idiots then.
I remember when their 1st album was released. I liked it & thought it was REALLY GOOD! But, hooda thought. ...eh?