And while Metal Box usually gets the accolades, I've enjoyed Public Image: First Issue just as much. Up until this past weekend I had never owned a copy. But most of the songs are familiar. The album must have been ambiently absorbed; it was widely played when I first arrived at the university in the early '80s. At Rasputin's on Telegraph my freshman or sophomore year I remember seeing the video for "Public Image" on one of those old big projection-screen televisions with the three lenses. Great single. It's probably the closest thing to a Sex Pistols song that PiL ever did:
Showing posts with label Public Image. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Image. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
"Public Image"
In preparation for Friday evening's usual Hippies vs. Punks post, I've been immersing myself in Public Image Ltd's first two albums: Public Image: First Issue (1978) and Second Edition from 1980 (which was originally released as Metal Box -- because its three 12-inch 45s came in a film canister -- at the end of 1979). And by immersion I mean I've listened to both albums several times in a row, falling asleep with my ear buds in while on the train in the morning. I am well versed in Second Edition, having owned and played a cassette tape copy repeatedly over the years. There was one summer at the end of the 1990s where it seemed like that's all I listened to for a couple of weeks. Tremendous album with a vibe all its own, it creates a dark, deep, distant space which I find myself happy to occupy. Jah Wobble, Keith Levene and John Lydon did it right in 1979.
And while Metal Box usually gets the accolades, I've enjoyed Public Image: First Issue just as much. Up until this past weekend I had never owned a copy. But most of the songs are familiar. The album must have been ambiently absorbed; it was widely played when I first arrived at the university in the early '80s. At Rasputin's on Telegraph my freshman or sophomore year I remember seeing the video for "Public Image" on one of those old big projection-screen televisions with the three lenses. Great single. It's probably the closest thing to a Sex Pistols song that PiL ever did:
And while Metal Box usually gets the accolades, I've enjoyed Public Image: First Issue just as much. Up until this past weekend I had never owned a copy. But most of the songs are familiar. The album must have been ambiently absorbed; it was widely played when I first arrived at the university in the early '80s. At Rasputin's on Telegraph my freshman or sophomore year I remember seeing the video for "Public Image" on one of those old big projection-screen televisions with the three lenses. Great single. It's probably the closest thing to a Sex Pistols song that PiL ever did:
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