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Soundtrack by Modern English

Catching up with a so-called one-hit-wonder band 29 years down the line is a little like checking in on a former beauty-pageant winner or somebody who got kicked by the president. You wonder how (if) to bring up the hit/win/kick and the indecision quivers in your stomach at first. You find, in this case at least, history doesn't shackle the present. A smile and a nod to the past, perhaps, but this is now. The last time you checked in, you found blind ecstasy ("I've sold my wife/ I've sold my car/ I should be going very far/ I want to cum...") but on the grounds that that was 15 years ago, and many folks grab their inner bliss ninny sooner or later, you're willing to give the relationship another go.

Like many renewed acquaintances, this one leans on clichés at times — "Soundtrack" summons film noir; grab your fog coat and go brood out by the mildewed cobblestones. Some of the rest comes off ornery, not because of the checkered past but because of everyday slights and oversights.

The bit at the end about growing a fin... Metaphor? With everything getting under the skin, inevitable, perhaps, that something would sprout out. The fin seems interesting to everyone at first. Then, it's just something that happens. Everything gets absorbed into the soundtrack. Nobody gets out, but we can have some fun and fancy while it lasts. Is that selling this year?

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  • Album: Soundtrack
  • Artist: Modern English
  • Label: Darla Records
  • Songs: (1) It's OK (2) Blister (3) Bomb (4) Soundtrack (5) Call Me (6) Here Comes the Failure (7) The Lowdown (8) Up Here in the Brain (9) Deep Sea Diver (10) Antique Future (11) Fin
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Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much

Catching up with a so-called one-hit-wonder band 29 years down the line is a little like checking in on a former beauty-pageant winner or somebody who got kicked by the president. You wonder how (if) to bring up the hit/win/kick and the indecision quivers in your stomach at first. You find, in this case at least, history doesn't shackle the present. A smile and a nod to the past, perhaps, but this is now. The last time you checked in, you found blind ecstasy ("I've sold my wife/ I've sold my car/ I should be going very far/ I want to cum...") but on the grounds that that was 15 years ago, and many folks grab their inner bliss ninny sooner or later, you're willing to give the relationship another go.

Like many renewed acquaintances, this one leans on clichés at times — "Soundtrack" summons film noir; grab your fog coat and go brood out by the mildewed cobblestones. Some of the rest comes off ornery, not because of the checkered past but because of everyday slights and oversights.

The bit at the end about growing a fin... Metaphor? With everything getting under the skin, inevitable, perhaps, that something would sprout out. The fin seems interesting to everyone at first. Then, it's just something that happens. Everything gets absorbed into the soundtrack. Nobody gets out, but we can have some fun and fancy while it lasts. Is that selling this year?

Sponsored
Sponsored
  • Album: Soundtrack
  • Artist: Modern English
  • Label: Darla Records
  • Songs: (1) It's OK (2) Blister (3) Bomb (4) Soundtrack (5) Call Me (6) Here Comes the Failure (7) The Lowdown (8) Up Here in the Brain (9) Deep Sea Diver (10) Antique Future (11) Fin
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Sponsored
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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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