Oh, Jimmy....
I have always been partial to nostalgia. Then I found this post by ABELARANA. I had no idea who Ricky Merino was and had heard of Conchita Würst, but what killed me was the song. You see, a group of friends and I had a very British Invasion period many, many moons ago. We loved everything Depeche Mode, Bronsky Beat, New Order, The Cure, Soft Cell, the lot. We were OBSESSED.
But we were delirious when it came to Jimmy Sommerville (Age of Consent, am I right?). He was queer and he was there to stay. He sang about loving boys and about leaving home because we were gay. The video for SmallTown Boy was in heavy rotation for us and we devoured the lyrics, lapping up the last reference we could find about queerness. When I found the new version, It struck me as quite fitting that Conchita (who got famous after Eurovision, right?) would be part of this new version and would become attached to the song's iconic (and über queer) pedigree.
I love Jimmy' version, though. It brings memories but it also marks a period of my life where everything had meaning, where every day there was a discovery of something that talked to us, when every new boy we kissed was a whole new world. I kind of miss that. Not that I'm blasé about the world now, but it's just not the same. The late 80's and the early 90's gave us such great queer anthems, books, plays, movies that it's difficult to translate that to a generation that carries a computer in their hand at all times.
This week when I was re-watching Love, Simon I realized that even though the angst of coming out is still the same, the discovery seemed not to be as thrilling. They play music on vinyl and some eighties songs make it to the soundtrack but I was wondering if the discovery was real. Or maybe is it and I am undervaluing the Millenial gay experience? I don't know. I really don't talk to anybody under twenty that much or in depth, so I don't even know how they would react. Queerness is much more immediate now, more accessible, more in your face. And I love that, but I miss the discovery.
Or maybe THEY feel the same thrill. I am looking at the new version of SmallTown Boy from my perspective, but maybe there's some queer boy somewhere listening to the song for the first time and finding it as thrilling as I did when I heard it for the first time. I loved it then and I still love it now. Maybe this new version will give the song a whole new public, with a whole different approach to queerness. Maybe I should give Millenials some credit and admit that maybe, just maybe, they will take time from their FOMO and find SmallTown Boy fresh and new.
XOXO
Living the cloistered life that I do, I had never heard this song or of Jimmy. But after watching both videos I think I like the original. The images, though shocking, I think tell the story better and you feel the angst if the time. And that angst is still present for many, yet today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, babe.
XOXO 👨❤️💋👨
Haha yes, bae you've been very sheltered.
DeleteAnd I may have to agree with you here. But I'm biased, because I obviously have a fave. It's a good cover, though.
XOXO
I am a HUGE Jimmy Somerville fan. This song is cute but lacks the passion of Somerville. Some things maybe you shouldn't remake.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jimmy rules.
DeleteBut I'm somehow grateful they covered the song? It's going to reach a whole new audience now. Representation, am I right?
XOXO
Nice Song. Conchita's on the way to becoming an icon.
ReplyDeleteConchita has done very well for herself.
DeleteI think her voice is really nice and she's done an overhaul to her image, which is cool.
XOXO
Great new version, love it! Thanks for posting this. Conchita's looking GREAT!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure!
DeleteAnd Conchita rules. More legs than a bucket of chicken!!
XOXO
Bronski Beat was a revelation and a revolution. I remember when the mainstream press took them seriously and I thought... wow. Things are changing. Jimmy's voice is amazing. Erasure also comes to mind, too. I never liked 80's coming out films... and still have issues with them. They never feel genuine and rarely reflect reality - they are all cleaned up and pretty. So I tended to rather loathe gay cinema. This was particularly true with all the terrible AIDs related offerings. So much privilege and everything was so stagey. That said... I think back then, being gay was something we earned. We had to claim it and there was a lot of risk involved in doing so. Today? No risk. I mean families may not react well... but the repercussions are less impactful, there is more of a safety net. There are services and a much stronger community. We have Allies now. Back then? Not so much. In fact, it was very dangerous. Rather what the transgender community deals with these days. So, I think kids coming out now take a lot for granted. That's why gay history is real history and needs to be shared. People paid for our freedom. We had soldiers who fought some very bloody values. They need to be honored and their sacrifice acknowledged. This must be a week for looking back. I am in the same mode, today. You and I, kid. You and I...
ReplyDeleteOh, I agree.
DeleteThe fact that Bronsky Beat got mainstream attention was very cool. And Erasure! How could I forget?
I kind of agree with you somehow about queer 80's movies. Like gay lit, they focused mercilessly on coming out and AIDS, but they were following the spirit of the times and the growth of the queer movement. Growing pains, I call them. I kind of agree with you that today, with the internet and with every kid carrying the world in their phone, the feelings of isolation are less pungent.
But yes, gay history is real history and this song kind of fulfills the promise of being a bridge with that past that many seem to have forgotten...
XOXO
I believe that Conchita is much more beautiful as a male than as a female, while admiring the cross between the two sexes in her person.
ReplyDeleteYes, well, she is very handsome.
DeleteIt's undeniable. And she can rock a beard.
XOXO
she/he's very beautiful expecially as a man. Or, at leadt, I love his male side!
DeleteCall me crazy.....but i think i like the new version better. And Ricky Merino can ring my bell any day of the week!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I too was a huge fan of the Cure. I liked Erasure...but was more into Depeche Mode myself.
Well, it's a cool version.
DeleteThat's why it's getting traction. And the fact that both Conchita and Ricky are very attractive does help, no?
And those bands were EVERYTHING! I loved their music and their aesthetic and their groundbreaking queerness.
XOXO
I prefer the Ricky. The vocal tones are better and one can actually understand the lyrics. (I know, shut up , old man! LOL) But the message is still the same: There are some places where being gay is not accepted and kids are either tossed out or do run away with nowhere to go, nowhere to turn. Yes, it is a teensy bit easier now than when I was young (and dirt was new), but it still happens way much more than it should. XOXO
ReplyDeleteHahaha oh, Big.
DeleteBut yes, it's obvious that the lyrics are clearer. Jimmy's falsetto can be tricky sometimes. But the message is still there, which is more important than the delivery, I think. I agree that it's a little bit different for kids these days and that it does get better, but I will take every ounce of representation because we still need it.
XOXO
Thanks for the music memories. I got into Depeche Mode at about the same time you are talking about. I transitioned from hair metal to alr-rock to grunge and now I am pretty happy with alt-country.
ReplyDeleteYay for memories!
DeleteDepeche Mode was the ish. I loved their remake of Route 66 and Personal Jesus was a personal favorite. And I see your musical journey. I still like alt-rock and I love me some Nirvana, btw. Alt-country, though. I have never explored. Should I?
XOXO