Growing up as a teenager in a small town in the mid-80s Midwest, there were not a lot of places to hear new wave, ska, goth, punk post-punk and other alt music. I didn’t have a lot of cash and streaming services did not exist then. Local radio was mostly top 40 and some classic rock or country. Those of us into different groups and genres loaned each other tapes and records. You knew that so-and-so was into Depeche Mode and New Order. Or, his sister was into Bauhaus, Siouxsie and Sisters of Mercy. And so on.
At 14, my summer camp friend Tim Holmes got me into General Public in the summer of 1985. That led me backwards to The Beat. He also got me into The Who, and The Clash which led me to Big Audio Dynamite.
I know Tim felt it today too when hearing that Ranking Roger passed. RIP, Roger. Thanks for the art that helped a kid realize the world was a lot fucking bigger and far more interesting than one small town.
As I get older I realize these losses are about far more than the music. It can feel like a part of your history is gone. Poof. Some records, some bands, some musicians are biographical, part of your own story – embedded into your psychological DNA. This song was playing when this happened, I was going through this personal crisis when this album was new, and so on.
This one probably hurts a bit more than I would have expected.
