dear project leader:
this alien won't rehash a thousand other online articles re adam and his career and / or life, but report that a previous project to which i was assigned, living on this planet during the 1980's, made the subsequent projects / decades somewhat...disappointing. adam perfectly encapsulated all that was right about the decade's pop:
- clever characterization
- costuming and makeup just crazy enough to intrigue, yet not require full buy-in
- a catchy, well-delivered, rhythm-heavy sound with
- lyrics that tip to the "IS" end of the "is he or isn't he" scale
- integrity of pop with enough bite to be recalled fondly almost 30 years later.
this alien's "college years" project: of course he'd heard of adam and the ants, but didn't really have the opportunity to view them. (early 80's midwest US media outlets were few, and most were afraid to venture off the shores of the states.) somehow, "friend or foe" hit the mainstream, and then this alien remembered he HAD heard adam and crew for a few years...but always in the back, not foreground, and the search was on to catch up. to really unplug the jukebox.
every record became a favorite and every image studied repeatedly. because there was something there that was so...alien. yet so...embraceable.
it's true this alien is on a different set of tasks now...but popping adam into the player transports this alien to a media era that made a memorable, unrepeatable yet again desired, impression.
(but empire of the sun are making a worthy attempt at repeating that impression.)
adam and the ants - antmusic.
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