Howard Jones, Human's Lib 6

Whatever their greater musical or lyrical merits, pop songs are ultimately defined by how well they sell. As the fashions of the day change, so the contents of the charts change. 

Even back in the early 1980's, when it was easier to market something quirky and upbeat, Top 40 radio was still dominated by songs about sex, songs about gloom, or some clever combination of the two. There were cheery party tunes and dirges about lost love, such that I wondered if life was supposed to be evenly divided between "rockin' out" and crying in my beer. 

Whether you loved it or you hated it, "New Song" immediately stood out from the crowd. Somehow, it appeared in the UK Top Ten, and even made its way onto the US charts, surely swept along by what we were calling the "Second British Invasion". 

What struck me wasn't just how it was a "happy" song, but that it cut straight through all the obsession with image to point out how our attitudes are what matter, and why an open mind and loving heart are the cure for all of our ills. 

Many years later, Jones perfectly described his awkward place in the music "industry": 

My songs are not about drug-taking or debauchery or rock and roll. They're about positive thinking and challenging people's ideas. I wasn't fashionable. I never got good reviews. But I'm proud of the fact that I wasn't liked by the media. . . . Pop music is so reactionary and bigoted. And I found that what's "cool" is often very shallow and transient. 

'Nuff said. 

—4/2007 

A few words of commentary from Howard Jones: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyZXZMf8i7M&list=OLAK5uy_lFedI4jW6TKDjvu-C8M34duwjnJ3RlL3M&index=11

And the song itself: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fjg7N_mGaU&list=OLAK5uy_lFedI4jW6TKDjvu-C8M34duwjnJ3RlL3M&index=12

Howard Jones, "New Song" from Human's Lib (1984) 

I've been waiting for so long

To come here now and sing this song
Don't be fooled by what you see
Don't be fooled by what you hear

This is a song to all my friends
They take the challenge to their hearts
Challenging preconceived ideas
Saying goodbye to long standing fears

Don't crack up
Bend your brain
See both sides
Throw off your mental chains

I don't wanna be hip and cool
I don't wanna play by the rules
Not under the thumb of the cynical few
Or laden down by the doom crew 

Don't crack up
Bend your brain
See both sides
Throw off your mental chains