After spending an entire month looking back at the 80’s, I realized one thing. I need more. Luckily, a couple of fellow music fans on Twitter came up with the brilliant idea to highlight #30DaysOf80sMovieSongs during the month of April. I couldn’t resist at the opportunity to keep going, to keep listening, and to keep celebrating the decade that has meant more to me than any other from a musical standpoint. Each day I’m playing a different soundtrack favorite on the Mental Jukebox.
Movie: Out of Bounds
Let’s salute one of the most underrated bands of our time. A group that inspired bands who ended up inspiring other bands in turn. (The Cure, I’m looking at you.) Let’s also salute one of the greatest, most unique singers in Siouxsie Sioux. She could howl like a wolf in one moment, and then sing with a majestic stance in another. The instrumentalists were all exceptional as well. There was a revolving door of guitarists, but bassist Steven Severin and drummer Budgie stayed by Siouxsie’s side for many years. There are so many great rockers from Siouxsie & The Banshees – and one of them is certainly “Cities in Dust”.
Even when Siouxsie & the Banshees veered toward more accessible pop melodies, they never lost their brash post-punk edge. “Cities in Dust” is a case in point. Here’s a history lesson on Pompeii, put to a dance rock beat. Non-Banshee fans could appreciate this stuff. Alarming guitar riffs in the bridge. Haunting toy piano crescendos. And that unmistakeable falsetto howl from Siouxsie Sioux, one of the more underrated singer-songwriters of our time.
“Your former glories and all the stories. Dragged and washed with eager hands.”