Status Updates From One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem

It’s a sin

This track and its accompanying video clip (Neil as the prisoner, Chris the jailer, the Inquisition and the 7 Deadly Sins) is what got me interested in PSB’s music to begin with. If there is one song of theirs that everyone knows, this is the one. Iconic.

It’s a sin
Everything I’ve ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I’ve ever been
Everywhere I’m going to
It’s a sin

10/10

It couldn’t happen here

Another slowish song with a rousing orchestral arrangement, this one is more poignant due to the fact that it grew out from a conversation Neil was having with a friend about the AIDS epidemic in the states and how it wouldn’t really impact Britain.

I may be wrong
I thought we said
it couldn’t happen here

7/10

Invisible

Another track off of their Elysium album that I simply can’t remember (I honestly can’t say if I ever even listened to this album) and really does nothing for me. Sung at a glacial pace this one is more likely to put you to sleep than anything else. A song about how growing old is a process of becoming invisible and your light is well and truly fading.

3/10

In the night

Lyrics inspired by a book about Paris during the Third Reich this one had me doing some research on the term les Zazous (French dissidents who took no side and thus hated by both). Fascinating song with that typical 80’s sound I love (you’re living in the past, man!)

Well there’s a thin line
between love and crime
and in this situation
a thin line between love and crime
and collaboration

7/10

Integral

Now we’re cooking with gas! The last track off their Fundamental album and an absolute classic that should never be skipped, with ominous sounding lyrics that also are rather still relevant to this day and age.

If you’ve done nothing wrong
you’ve got nothing to fear
If you’ve something to hide
you shouldn’t even be here

Sterile. Immaculate. Rational. Perfect.

A generous 9/10 for this one.

Indefinite leave to remain

Another song that I had completely forgotten about until the opening notes from a brass quarter caused me to remember why I’d forgotten it in the first place. One of those songs towards the end of an album one tends to skip over, truth be told. Neil’s notes mention the term is a British government term for immigration. Still rather topical nearly 20 years later.

3/10

I’m with Stupid

Quite a funny video clip with the stars of Little Britain masquerading as the Boys while the song itself happens to have a few good lines as well.

Why would I be with someone
who’s obviously so dumb?

or

Is Stupid really stupid
or a different kind of smart?

6/10

I made my excuses and left

I walked into the room
Imagine my surprise
you were sitting close to him
staring in each other’s eyes

Each of you looked up
but no one said a word
I felt I should apologise
for what I hadn’t heard

The moment you walk into a room and see your partner making eyes at another and instantly knowing it’s lights out for you. Love the music in this one, especially at the beginning.

6/10

I didn’t get where I am today

How ironic is it that the next song in the collection is a 60-ish sounding, rock ‘n’ roll track! A song ultimately about regret and how you can miss your chance at personal happiness by chasing some other goal (fame, fortune, the corporate ladder).

When you can’t get what you want
you wear your bravest face
but deep inside you’re sinking without a trace

Not for me.

3/10

How I learned to hate rock ’n’ roll

As Neil himself says the title of the track is very self-explanatory. Another track that passed me by when it was originally released as part of the Further Listening series, this time the Bilingual album, so tonight was the first time I have actually heard the track. Not bad, not bad at all.

6/10