Pye in the Face

“In my view, XTC is the greatest rock band of the 1980s… they’ve never really lost their edge: they’ve consistently delivered quality recordings that show increasing sophistication and maturity instead of burnout and boredom.” - warr.org

“Dear God” is the closest XTC ever came to a major Stateside hit, but they have have an enormous back catalog which includes 14 full studio albums, the first of which was released in 1978. I have been a fan for almost 20 years myself, and my favorite XTC tune is by far the fully infectious “Generals and Majors” off 1980’s Black Sea album.

The lyrics aren’t all that sophisticated and seem to poke fun at warmongers, for lack of a better analogy. So the tune should be soundtracking another questionable video from MoveOn.org within the week. To call the baseline simply catchy, would be a disservice to catchy baselines everywhere. If you can listen to this song without tapping your foot, either have your pulse checked or report to a Dave Matthews concert immediately.

Here is a great collection of videos I found on the expansive and interesting tribute site, Chalkhills - and you can also visit the official site for the latest news, audio clips, lyrics and a full discography. Revisit the XTC, kids. I can’t stress that enough.

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