e-mail me at billdeg@umich.edu

1/31/2007

The Police - Landlord (Beat Club 1978)

Rumor has it that The Police are going to reform and tour the world this year. They'll probably charge a fortune for tickets and play mostly their big singles from the 80s.

Here's hoping they at least leave the synthesizers back at Sting's mansion. Remember the new version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me?" they put on their greatest hits record in 1986? Ouch.

Instead, how about exploiting the simplicity of the three-piece rock band? Those early songs like "Landlord" and "Nothing's Achieving" showed that musicianship and punk ethos weren't mutually exclusive.

They were like the british version of Television: literary allusions and difficult chord progressions juxtaposed with ripped t-shirts and two-minute songs.

Personally, a reunion of The Smiths would excite me a whole lot more, but nonetheless I'll probably end up getting my nostlgia fix via this tour.

2 comments:

Donna said...

I heard they were reuniting for the Grammys. But you heard they'll be touring? That would be cool. I loved the Police back in the day, but never saw them live. (Though Sting alone, I did see a couple of times.)

bdegenaro said...

Yeah, same thing here. I saw Sting out in Phoenix years ago and then down on Oxford just a few years back and he was very good both times. But I never caught The Police either.

The tour thing's just a rumor. Pitchfork update:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/40818/Police_to_Reunite_for_Arresting_Grammys_Performanc#40818