For the month of October, I’m selecting a song each day from the decade that has the most meaning to me: the 80s. It was the decade that I grew up in. The period of time where I discovered my love for music — and explored many different genres. For the next 31 days, I’ll highlight a handful of songs that I truly loved and that were representative of the decade. #31DaysOf80sSongs
So many new wave bands, so little time. Decades after the fact, I’m still sorting through which ones were the great ones, and which ones were simple just good. The Psychedelic Furs were one of the great ones. They didn’t sound like anyone else, because Richard Butler gave them a truly unique baritone voice that was rich and raspy. One note and they were instantly recognizable. Robert Smith once said Mirror Moves was one of his top five albums. On it, you could hear a sampling of some of the band’s best songs, including “The Ghost in You”, “Heartbeat” and my personal favorite: “Heaven”.
Like many of the singles over the course of the band’s career (“Pretty in Pink”, “Love My Way”, “Heartbreak Beat”), the hooks are simple here. The slo-mo guitar riff flirts playfully with the mid-tempo synth arpeggios. They form an instrumental bed to showcase Richard Butler’s iconic vocal performance. The melody was made for his voice. And his voice was made for the melody. In an age when many new wave bands sang with either a detached or robotic approach, Butler brought a unique style with his intensity and emotion. It was pure heaven.
“Heaven is the whole of our hearts.”