Level 42, "Man"

As a fellow who has a long history with the Black Dog, and as a lifelong lover of music, I have a mixed relationship with songs about melancholy. Sometimes I find strength from experiencing another’s struggle, but more often I just end up feeling sorry for myself. 

I must tread carefully, for the fickle feeling of the moment can quickly sweep me away. Art has a creeping way of magnifying who we already are, for better or for worse. 

Much of the new wave or progressive rock I so adore can dwell too much on the loss and the sadness. Yes, it is necessary to mourn, but then it is even more necessary to heal. 

Why have I found myself in this state? How might I work my way out of it? To cast blame on others is never a solution, and to merely bemoan my fate is an act of surrender. 

Many years ago, I picked up the newest album by Level 42, expecting more of the same funky pop I so enjoyed. Instead, I was surprised to find the band in a state of transition, with two new members, guitarist Alan Murphy and drummer Gary Husband, along with a number of tunes that displayed a far more refined sound. 

I was especially taken with a longer track, simply titled “Man”, which almost seemed to be composed of two separate movements, each with its own mood. I had always known that Boon Gould could write introspective lyrics, but these struck me with their remarkable depth and sincerity. 

It was only much later that I learned about Boon’s own battle with depression—now it all made more sense. 

There isn’t just brooding in these words. There is also an attempt at coming to terms with the causes, and at finding a means to escape from the cycle. 

There is then that painful moment when I recognize how I have, however unwittingly, brought this upon myself, and that my vanity has fixed me in my stubborn ways. 

Let me stop making excuses and demanding attention. I can choose to be my own man. 

—1/2016 

Level 42, “Man” from Staring at the Sun (1988) 

Hey man where you been? 
You can't run away
From the life you made your own
Now that it's gone and left you down and out
You're not so complete
Now what do you say? 
All the answers you propose
Nobody chose to hear this time around 

Hey man you're so vain
You rise up again
To perform to pressure now
No way to treat that precious heart at all
Calm down you're too proud
Now what do you know? 
You present some facts to face
But nobody chose to look this time around 

Head in the clouds
No silver lining
What could be wrong? 

Hey man why so blue? 
What's come over you? 
Sentimental apathy
Ain't gonna buy no sympathy today
Wide world wearing thin
Wild words deafening
Shout about integrity
And then you go and throw your dignity away 

We're all the same
We're all to blame
What could be wrong, yeah? 

Hey man you got carried away
Carrying on the games that you play
Playing is not the way to win
’cause winning can be a way that you lose
And losing is not the way you would choose
Given the choice you're trying to change
Changing again you're carried away 

Do you remember the day? 
So long ago so far behind 
That history wrought in the fire
That filled your mind with mad desire
Chasing the centuries down
Long roads you cut through flesh and field
Pulling the past as you run
And it's dragged you to your knees
It's time to pray 

It's getting harder to pay
Too many people
For the rent 

Given a number of ways
Is there no way that you can change? 

Fire, the heart of history 

Time marching on . . . 
Face the future 
Fall and fade away 

Hey man sing the blues 

Missing

When one of Britain's most haunting songs is covered by one of Britain's funkiest pop bands. A moment of musical brilliance for the day . . .

Level 42 performs "Missing" by Everything but the Girl, live on BBC Radio 2 in 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEaCJ5vV71o

Level 42, "Gresham Blues"

"Where are the lyrics?"

"There are none."

Then how is it music?"

Hmmm. 

One of my old favorites, Level 42, were once known for their funky and fiery instrumentals. As the years passed, they made more of an effort to produce short and sweet pop songs, complete with many words to help us understand what we should think about it. 

They were brilliant at eventually making hits, but I did miss the old jazz-funk vibes. 

So in 1988, they told me that if I bought the CD instead of the LP, I would get a new bonus Level 42 instrumental track. Yes, they would surely be back in form.

As it turned out, the entire album was a reinvention, and the new guitarist, Alan Murphy, added a totally different feel. 

"Gresham Blues" was not the usual slap-and-pop from Mark King's bass, with some rhythmic staccato additions from Mike Lindup's electric piano. This was actually a real jazz tune, both slow and enticing, and it equally had the sounds of melancholy and of hope. 

Oftentimes, notes can say more than words. It was that way for me with this tune.  I'll shut my trap now, and let you find your own meaning in it. 

Level 42, "Gresham Blues" from Staring at the Sun (1988) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfyE8-h5oUE

Level 42, "Freedom Someday"

As a reference for Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.30:

That beautiful chorus, both the music and the lyrics, remains deeply lodged in my memory. At the worst of times, it will pop back into my thinking, and I will sing along for just a moment, just in my own head. I inevitably feel better; these are not the worst of times at all.

. . . paint the planet red
or black and blue instead
but we are one world

I know I am getting too old, but it still seems to me that they don't write songs like this anymore. It may be more about me changing than the world changing, though I recall when I could listen to Top 40 radio without hearing about shooting someone, or buying and selling sex, or posing and posturing.

I hope it just means I've finally been growing up a bit.

Level 42, "Freedom Someday", from Running in the Family (1987)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brqApsUrsoY

I'm not chasing miracles
I don't want no sympathy
I'm waiting for the world
to keep me company
thinking 'bout the universe
trying to keep my fears at bay
and all I'm hoping for
is for someone else to want to say

Freedom someday—are you ready to make the deal
Freedom someday—freedom to live for real

I don't want no money
but buddy, can you spare the time of day
'cause silence is, I'm sure
the highest price we pay
I don't wish my troubles on anyone
but I can wish them well
so I'm knocking on your door
'cause there's something I would like to say

Freedom someday—I'm ready to make the deal
Freedom someday—freedom to live for real

Somehow life goes on
but when it's said and done
it's such a bitter pill
when you think the battle's won
you hear the distant guns
of all those fighting still
the battle's in our heads
one we alway lose
whichever side we choose
we can paint the planet red
or black and blue instead
but we are one world

I'm not chasing miracles
but I don't choose to be this way
now all I'm hoping for
is for someone else to hear me say

Freedom someday—are you ready to make the deal
Freedom someday—freedom to live for real

Freedom someday—a life we won't have to steal
Freedom someday—freedom to live for real 

And if our time has come
and if our race is run
who will pay the bill
when you think the battle's won
you hear the distant guns
of all those fighting still
but the battle's in our heads
one we always lose
whichever side we choose
paint the planet red
or black and blue instead
but we are one world. 

Somehow life's going on
but when it's said and done
it's such a bitter pill
when you think the battle's won
you hear the distant guns
of all those fighting still
the battle's in our heads
one we alway lose
whichever side we choose
we can paint the planet red
or black and blue instead
but we are one world. . . .
 

Stoic Music 19

Level 42 were another guilty pleasure of my younger days. I was originally drawn to them through the New Wave connection, but their jazz-funk sound led me to even better things, like Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, and Roy Ayers. This also led to my love of Acid Jazz.

I bought this album, back when CD's were hardly cheap, at Kastner and Öhler, a department store in Graz, Austria. I had to wait another six weeks before I could play it, because no one in my Austrian family had a CD player. The wait was well worth it.

The sentiment of the song has stuck with me for over twenty years, and the lyrics will pop into my head at unexpected moments. It reflects, for good or for ill, my romantic tendencies, and it prefigured my love of Stoicism.

Written in 12/2010

"People", from Level 42, Standing in the Light (1983)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZo6BJAiqp4

I'm forever struck
by the people in this town
and the way they go about their world
have they given up
all the fun they used to have in adolescent xanadu
everything is too much time and trouble
they must be seen as being respectable
they're too busy with their social climbing
waiting for a rise

Why can't people just be people

when they were young
they would wish for the summer evenings that would never end
now the day's too long
and the key to life is locked away in childhood memories
some people judge a man as reasonable
if the wine he buys is seasonable
they've time for friendship if it's advantageous
and causes no pain

why are people so deceitful
why can't people just be people

there is more to the world
than is offered by the soap and war found on the TV screen
and there is more to this life
if you would only take the time to look within and find the key
don't believe words when they're superficial
don't put your trust in values artificial
let your heart do the talking for a little
and feel yourself shine

why can't people trust in people
why can't people just be people

find the time and you'll realize
life isn't too much time and trouble.