Thursday, January 14, 2010

Songs I've Just Realized I Can't Live Without: No Static At All

Well, actually, I've been looking for a download of this one for what seems like ages, and now that I've finally found it I'd be remiss if I didn't share.

From 1979, please enjoy Antipodean power popsters The Sports and their classic post-modern meditation on mass media, "Who Listens to the Radio?"




A terrific song, I think, and one that proves that Van Morrison was a bigger influence on a lot of New Wave acts (or at least the ones with pub-rock roots) than heretofore suspected. In any case, a natural single with a killer chorus, and the Beethoven quote at the end never fails to make me smile.
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9 comments:

  1. FD13NYC1/14/2010 1:28 AM

    Sounds a little like Joe Jackson too, no?

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  2. DeepKarma1/14/2010 2:02 AM

    Yep, I hear a little JJ in the vocals as well. I've asked this before...where do you FIND this stuff Steve? A killer track I never heard from a band I've never heard of and a stone cold classic to boot.

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  3. Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary1/14/2010 8:58 AM

    I totally agree with DeepKarma - outstanding piece! And who ARE - or were - these guys?!?

    As they say....that's what I'd like to know.

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  4. steve simels1/14/2010 9:19 AM

    This was, ironically, actually a big radio hit in '79, at least in NYC.

    Anyway, the Sports were pretty big deals in Australia -- this is from their second album, I think.

    Dunno what happened to them...

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  5. DaveB1/14/2010 10:07 AM

    According to Wikipedia, The Sports were active for about five years and broke up. Their discography lists two albums from later than that, but there's no information about them.

    "Who Listens To The Radio" hit the top 35 in Australia and peaked at 45 here in the US.

    The Sports:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sports

    Singer Stephen Cummings:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Cummings

    Great tune -- never heard it before. Hit Google for a YouTube video of the song.

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  6. ms. rosa1/14/2010 12:42 PM

    Tastiest songs that reference the radio? Oh, wait I jumped the gun...

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  7. Kid Charlemagne1/14/2010 2:37 PM

    I love the word "antipodean"!

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  8. Stephenc.1/16/2010 11:58 AM

    I think this has more of a Graham Parker vibe, but I can sense a bit of Joe Jackson too. Still, a great song I have never heard by a band unknown to me.

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  9. Unknown1/18/2010 9:14 PM

    This got a fair amount of airplay on the old WHFS in Washington. But I hadn't heard it in at least 25 years. Thanks for posting it!

    Marc

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