Forgotten Songs of the '80s: Killing Joke

Forgotten Songs of the ‘80s: Killing Joke

Killing Joke are one of the most legendary post-punk bands of all time. Starting out in the early eighties, they evolved with time and with trends, occasionally adding bits of dance or pop music into the mix but they were always a good loud, alternative-punk band. While their legacy has grown significantly over the years, it’s about time that one track gets singled out: “Eighties.”

When the song came out in 1985, everyone was quick to point that the song was an indoctrination against the shallowness of the decade and how almost everyone around them was becoming more obsessed with consumerism and themselves than other less-fortunate people. It didn’t hurt one bit that Geordie’s amazing guitar work brings the song to life and allows Jaz Coleman the freedom to say what he feels is necessary over one of the best drum beats ever conceived courtesy of Paul Ferguson.

As the song gets darker, the tempo picks up as Paul Raven and Geordie lead everything towards the end of the line. But it doesn’t faze Jaz at all as he keeps up with the rest of the band and as a result, they deliver one of the best performances ever heard by any band in the eighties. The fact that the song was catchy as hell and a few years later provided Nirvana the inspiration for “Come as You Are” didn’t help it get any play anywhere. Now that the years have passed, it’s definitely time for the song to get its true reward and to be heard by everyone everywhere, so crank it up and let everyone know how good it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1oyfG6t2ew (Eighties)

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