GO-BETWEENS - "BYE, BYE PRIDE"

---

praise must go to tom for leading me to discover the go-betweens. they're a massively unheralded band and i'm quite pleased, as mentioned earlier, that they will be releasing a new album after twelve years.

with that said, "bye bye, pride," my favorite go-bee's song, sounds like it should be the theme song to a teenager drama starring jennifer love hewitt or someone like that, and i mean this in the best possible way: the song combines the wistfulness and the naive hope that is the youth experience and something that those sorts of shows try to capture but mostly fail to do so. besides, it'd be nice to see them get a paycheck out of it, a la alex chilton and that 70s show.

the lyrics to "bye bye, pride," like the ones to many go-between's songs, manage to stay this close from pretension, so instead of being annoying and inane, they're thoughtful and clever. as i've made known before, i'm not very big on lyrics, but this is one of those rare songs that has an impact on me both lyrically and musically. the words manage to evoke both joy and pain: a story of being fooled in love and having one's heart held captive gives way to images of a wide-open future and ceaseless opportunity. as i walk down the streets of new york with "bye bye, pride" playing on my walkman, i think i know what the character in the song feels when he approaches the tide barefoot.

the music is superb: just the right mix of pop and pure professionalism. the guitar chords are plangent and the oboe is a master touch as its sliding notes perfectly recreate the vicissitudes of both life and love. the pre-chorus harmonizing is heavenly as is the chorus itself -- the words "bye bye, pride" aren't said until the very end of the song, but with the music and the words, when they actually are said, you can't help but feel that it's redundant. the very feel of the song captures the definition of the titular phrase better than any words can do. with the very best music, i always find this to be the case and with the go-betweens, it's no different: they're one of the most underrated bands of the last twenty years and i count myself lucky to have found them. they're one of my very favorite bands, and if you go here and purchase this album, i'll bet they become one of yours too.