Life From a Window

So that's August, and September is about to start, and I'm going to pace myself a bit with The Style Council. My favourite unexpected moment so far has been "Life From a Window" from This is the Modern World. As much as I love the later singles, this one catches my attention every time now. I love the sentiment that the world doesn't have to look any particular way... if you can raise yourself above it, that's the important thing, to see the whole picture, and turn the grey skies blue with teenage optimism.

For me, The Jam never quite fell into the trap of cynicism and satire the way TSC did, becoming more overtly political, which took away from the purity of their music. Their lyrics are often caustic, but stop short of becoming judgmental. In my head, I like to attribute this to the other two band members calling out Paul when he starts going off: "Oi! Oi!"

There are a few songs I feel like I've missed, too.

Speaking of songs called "Start" with a high saturation of "Oi! Oi!", I love the band Mega City Four so much. They put out a string of top albums before their lead vocalist Wiz left to join the Doughboys for a while and then form Ipanema. He later died from a brain clot in 2006, way too young. Great band.

"Liza Radley" was a b-side that tells a sad story of mental health, lost love, and not fitting into small town life. It's one of their most bittersweet songs, but it also reimagines the "Taxman" bassline - it was the "Start!" b-side.

It's quite perfect.