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The Jam — That's Entertainment
Album: The Jam - Greatest Hits
Avg rating:
7.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2104









Released: 1981
Length: 3:24
Plays (last 30 days): 1
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A police car and a screamin' siren
Pneumatic drill and ripped-up concrete
A baby wailing, a stray dog howling
The screech of brakes and lamplight blinking

That's entertainment
That's entertainment

A smash of glass and the rumble of boots
An electric train and a ripped-up phone booth
Paint-splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat
Lights going out and a kick in the balls

I say that's entertainment
That's entertainment
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah

Days of speed and slow-time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

I say that's entertainment
That's entertainment
La la la la la
La la la la la

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

That's entertainment
That's entertainment
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

That's entertainment
That's entertainment

Two lovers kissing masks a scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs

I say that's entertainment
That's entertainment
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
La la la la la, ah
Comments (240)add comment
Paul Weller, you brilliant bastard.
Posted 5 months ago by sfoster66    [ Reply ]
Fucking brilliant!!
Posted 9 months ago by Rcallinjr    [ Reply ]
A gloomy hymn for 1980s suburban Britain. 
Posted 11 months ago by dxnerd86    [ Reply ]
 hayduke2 wrote:

in nymag.com there's a great series of photos by Janette Beckman, which includes
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980

"Paul Weller always loved Pete Townshend, who was like the first-coming of the mods. This was the first time they met. They're standing outside the The Marquee Club, where The Jam and The Who probably both played. The headline was 'The Punk and the Mod-father.' Old mod meets new mod."

oh yeah, and a super shot of young Adam Ant!!!
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980


This pic and lots of other interesting others from that time here - https://janettebeckman.com/uk-...
Some background to the pic here - http://www.faheykleingallery.c...
Posted 1 year ago by rtrt    [ Reply ]
 CCSandman wrote:

Still packing the punch decades later - a flawless 10 from me 




Posted 1 year ago by Pedro1874    [ Reply ]
 ScottishWillie wrote:

Have you actually listened to the lyrics? The sense of isolation and despair spoke to a generation of us who missed out (and paid for) the Yuppie prosperity boom in Thatcher’s Briton.

Days of speed and slow-time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

Two lovers kissing masks a scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs

I say that's entertainment
That's entertainment

They so accurately depict a time and a place in my life. I was that man.

You may not have the wit or the life experience to ‘get it’ but my generation certainly did. I enjoy this song as a piece of music but also as a social comment. It is good for the now middle age and middle class person I’ve become to remember what its like for people currently in the “freezing cold flat with damp on the walls”.




THANK YOU. i love this song, always have. this is a number 1 comment for me. 
Posted 1 year ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
 walk2k wrote:

album: The Jam - Greatest Hits

why Bill? whyyyy...
so many listings here are from "greatest hits" records.  I don't know why, but it just bugs me..



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Posted 1 year ago by walk2k    [ Reply ]

album: The Jam - Greatest Hits

why Bill? whyyyy...
so many listings here are from "greatest hits" records.  I don't know why, but it just bugs me..
Posted 1 year ago by walk2k    [ Reply ]
....and if you like this side of the great Paul Weller, give a listen to 
"The Butterfly Collector" 
Posted 2 years ago by GingerandMe    [ Reply ]
Completely fantastic!!
Posted 2 years ago by GingerandMe    [ Reply ]
Paul Weller's voice is just as good now as back then ,now that's entertainment
Posted 2 years ago by lgonzale803    [ Reply ]
 CCSandman wrote:

Still packing the punch decades later - a flawless 10 from me 



Yep, I'm with you.  It's great that a three-piece doesn't get hung up about having all three elements in your face for every song  The minimal percussion here works with the acoustic strumming, aggressive vocals, and clear bass lines in perfect balance.  I love it.
Posted 2 years ago by pktinkler2984    [ Reply ]
Still packing the punch decades later - a flawless 10 from me 
Posted 2 years ago by CCSandman    [ Reply ]
 RabbitEars wrote:

Such a rollicking great song



rollicking is a fun word

we should all do it
say it
live it
Posted 2 years ago by idiot_wind    [ Reply ]
Such a rollicking great song
Posted 4 years ago by RabbitEars    [ Reply ]
'Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs'

should probably be

'Reading the graffiti about slash seats or fares'

as far I can tell - its a reference to graffiti about bus / tube / train fares being too high
Posted 4 years ago by rtrt    [ Reply ]
I grew up in London to this music. Being violently attacked was not unusual where I lived. This shitty city. That's not entertainment, that's hell. Thank you Paul Weller for singing out loud just how it was in the city back then. BTW. the song is from 1980, not 1991. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That's_Entertainment_(The_Jam_song)
Posted 5 years ago by garyevans    [ Reply ]
10 --> 11
Posted 5 years ago by The_Enemy    [ Reply ]
The lyrics in this song are just really really great.
Posted 5 years ago by Sam_Hill    [ Reply ]
 Grayson wrote:


Dear goddess. Is that not EXACTLY like a Scot... still whining, decades later even, that it is/was all Thatcher's fault! And we whine about DJT. His mom was a Scot after all. Where do you think he gets all that... I'm so miserable; everybody hates me and I'm misunderstood so I'm going to just tell more lies; whiny-child crap from. Jeez. 
 
Geez, shows you dont understand about what the song is REALLY about...

But  - and that makes people like you so insufferable -  you FEEL the NEED to shout your total ignorance out into the world...

And does the world wanna hear it?

NO MATE WE DONT!!!!
Posted 5 years ago by VH1    [ Reply ]
 Grayson wrote:


Dear goddess. Is that not EXACTLY like a Scot... still whining, decades later even, that it is/was all Thatcher's fault! And we whine about DJT. His mom was a Scot after all. Where do you think he gets all that... I'm so miserable; everybody hates me and I'm misunderstood so I'm going to just tell more lies; whiny-child crap from. Jeez. 

I'm sorry that your so miserable and everybody hates you. However, I feel no need to justify myself or my nation, I rather leave it to the good sense and decency of the readers of this blog to decide who's responsible for the "whiny-child crap"!
Posted 5 years ago by ScottishWillie    [ Reply ]
 tiggers wrote:


Excellent post and well put!
 

Dear goddess. Is that not EXACTLY like a Scot... still whining, decades later even, that it is/was all Thatcher's fault! And we whine about DJT. His mom was a Scot after all. Where do you think he gets all that... I'm so miserable; everybody hates me and I'm misunderstood so I'm going to just tell more lies; whiny-child crap from. Jeez. 
Posted 5 years ago by Grayson    [ Reply ]
 ScottishWillie wrote:

Have you actually listened to the lyrics? The sense of isolation and despair spoke to a generation of us who missed out (and paid for) the Yuppie prosperity boom in Thatcher’s Briton.

Days of speed and slow-time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

Two lovers kissing masks a scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs

I say that's entertainment
That's entertainment

They so accurately depict a time and a place in my life. I was that man.

You may not have the wit or the life experience to ‘get it’ but my generation certainly did. I enjoy this song as a piece of music but also as a social comment. It is good for the now middle age and middle class person I’ve become to remember what its like for people currently in the “freezing cold flat with damp on the walls”.


 

Excellent post and well put!
Posted 6 years ago by tiggers    [ Reply ]
Now follow this gem with another Paul Weller jam.

"You Do Something To Me"
Posted 6 years ago by cavemanleong    [ Reply ]
I can't think of a reason to give this song anything but a 10.
Posted 6 years ago by gmsingh123    [ Reply ]
 
 justin4kick wrote:
I saw Paul Weller last week in Amsterdam. A great concert but unfortunately he played only 1 song by The Jam.

  
poetdancer wrote:

Paul Weller is playing in Berkeley in October, and I was planning on going, hoping he'd play more than one song by the Jam... now I'm reconsidering.

  
I must make myself clear on this one. Go there! You'll be amazed how great his Post Jam work is, especially live.
Posted 7 years ago by justin4kick    [ Reply ]
 hayduke2 wrote:
in nymag.com there's a great series of photos by Janette Beckman, which includes
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980

"Paul Weller always loved Pete Townshend, who was like the first-coming of the mods. This was the first time they met. They're standing outside the The Marquee Club, where The Jam and The Who probably both played. The headline was 'The Punk and the Mod-father.' Old mod meets new mod."

oh yeah, and a super shot of young Adam Ant!!!
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980

 
Extra wicked musicians  : )
Posted 7 years ago by hayduke2    [ Reply ]
 Sam_Chucklestone wrote:
Ditto DaidyBoy, it was the Moss Side riots in Manchester for me about ten years earlier. To see the streets covered in broken bricks and paving slabs next morning was so strange, like a burst pressure cooker.

Notice how the 2011 riots are never spoken about? No enquiry or investigation, just more riot training and kit for the Police. The next round of riots will be even more destructive, the pressure people are under now is far higher and many quite literally have nothing to lose anymore.

This is a great song that has a similar effect on me as on Scottish Willie ...  except I'm still common ;-)

 

For those of us who weren't tuned into those 2011 riots: what was going on? Was there any one reason for them or was it a free-for-all when people realized they could get away with mayhem? American TV news depicted the unrest as kids skylarking and destroying just for the fun of it...
Posted 7 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
 poetdancer wrote:

Paul Weller is playing in Berkeley in October, and I was planning on going, hoping he'd play more than one song by the Jam... now I'm reconsidering.

 


11.

His work since is great too.
Posted 7 years ago by Segue    [ Reply ]
 justin4kick wrote:
I saw Paul Weller last week in Amsterdam. A great concert but unfortunately he played only 1 song by The Jam.

 
Paul Weller is playing in Berkeley in October, and I was planning on going, hoping he'd play more than one song by the Jam... now I'm reconsidering.
Posted 7 years ago by poetdancer    [ Reply ]
I saw Paul Weller last week in Amsterdam. A great concert but unfortunately he played only 1 song by The Jam.
Posted 7 years ago by justin4kick    [ Reply ]
 ScottishWillie wrote:

Have you actually listened to the lyrics? The sense of isolation and despair spoke to a generation of us who missed out (and paid for) the Yuppie prosperity boom in Thatcher’s Briton.

Days of speed and slow-time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

Two lovers kissing masks a scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs

I say that's entertainment
That's entertainment

They so accurately depict a time and a place in my life. I was that man.

You may not have the wit or the life experience to ‘get it’ but my generation certainly did. I enjoy this song as a piece of music but also as a social comment. It is good for the now middle age and middle class person I’ve become to remember what its like for people currently in the “freezing cold flat with damp on the walls”.



 



Thanks Willie. I am enlightened.  I just liked the song. I won't hear it the same way again knowing the history you described. Tough times were had by all in the '80s- Reagan, Thatcher, Mulroney... and a recession caused by, imo, cuts to services.
Moved it up to 9.
Posted 7 years ago by nomnol    [ Reply ]
 ScottishWillie wrote:

....

They so accurately depict a time and a place in my life. I was that man.

You may not have the wit or the life experience to ‘get it’ but my generation certainly did. I enjoy this song as a piece of music but also as a social comment. It is good for the now middle age and middle class person I’ve become to remember what its like for people currently in the “freezing cold flat with damp on the walls”.



 
Well said, friend.  We watched (or experienced) the carnage first hand.  Many didn't survive it intact.

I was a student in Trafalgar Square when the Poll Tax riot kicked off.  That's entertainment, all right.
Posted 7 years ago by DaidyBoy    [ Reply ]
WHOO HOO!!!{#Dancingbanana_2}
Posted 8 years ago by Segue    [ Reply ]
 dragon1952 wrote:
I just can't see anyone actually looking forward to  hearing this "song". That's entertainment, that's entertainment now...blah, blah, fucking blah over and over. Some people are easily "entertained"
 

Have you actually listened to the lyrics? The sense of isolation and despair spoke to a generation of us who missed out (and paid for) the Yuppie prosperity boom in Thatcher’s Briton.

Days of speed and slow-time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

Waking up at 6 A.M. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summer's day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

Two lovers kissing masks a scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed-seat affairs

I say that's entertainment
That's entertainment

They so accurately depict a time and a place in my life. I was that man.

You may not have the wit or the life experience to ‘get it’ but my generation certainly did. I enjoy this song as a piece of music but also as a social comment. It is good for the now middle age and middle class person I’ve become to remember what its like for people currently in the “freezing cold flat with damp on the walls”.


Posted 8 years ago by ScottishWillie    [ Reply ]
Das...intertainmunt.
Posted 8 years ago by govna    [ Reply ]
{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}
Posted 8 years ago by VH1    [ Reply ]
Whoa, just totally MADE my day; where else would I ever hear this streaming while at work on a random and otherwise dull Wednesday...so so good.
Posted 8 years ago by bev    [ Reply ]
Play the live version from Dig the New Breed.

 
Posted 8 years ago by oppositelock    [ Reply ]
 Emwolb wrote:
Good song but I prefer Morrissey's version
 
Or the acoustic version w/ 1 of the Oasis Gallagher brothers: all 10's
Posted 9 years ago by Foot    [ Reply ]
 hayduke2 wrote:
in nymag.com there's a great series of photos by Janette Beckman, which includes
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980

"Paul Weller always loved Pete Townshend, who was like the first-coming of the mods. This was the first time they met. They're standing outside the The Marquee Club, where The Jam and The Who probably both played. The headline was 'The Punk and the Mod-father.' Old mod meets new mod."

oh yeah, and a super shot of young Adam Ant!!!

Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980

 
Brilliant photo. 

The notion of Townsend as the first mod rocker seems so at odds with "Tommy", but AFAIK Weller knew what he was talking about. Paul's gone through some serious stylistic changes of his own, but I love this song. 

Adam Ant—wow, talk about a trip down memory lane.  
Posted 9 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
 dragon1952 wrote:
I just can't see anyone actually looking forward to  hearing this "song". That's entertainment, that's entertainment now...blah, blah, fucking blah over and over. Some people are easily "entertained"

 
Maybe to you 'irony' is something a blacksmith does...
Posted 9 years ago by fredriley    [ Reply ]
I just can't see anyone actually looking forward to  hearing this "song". That's entertainment, that's entertainment now...blah, blah, fucking blah over and over. Some people are easily "entertained"
Posted 9 years ago by dragon1952    [ Reply ]
 DaidyBoy wrote:
Always loved  Bruce Foxton's bass work for The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers, but he never gets mentioned.  Cheers, mate!!  Rattled my windows many times.

 
Indeed, the bass and acoustic guitars carry the time on this one. Indeed convincing Foxton to switch to bass was one of Weller's shrewder ideas.
Posted 9 years ago by WonderLizard    [ Reply ]
A throwaway. The point was made about 20 seconds into this song. I like other tunes by The Jam far more than this one.
Posted 9 years ago by ziakut    [ Reply ]
 Not to quibble, but the original Mods UK band were a little combo called the High Numbers, they got more pub when the changed their name to The Who, Even Paul Weller would tell you that.
eddyrixhon wrote:
wow ! original MODS UK band ! Paul weller was nice in it !
good choice RP ! thanks !
 

 


Posted 9 years ago by copymonkey    [ Reply ]
What kind of radio station follows The Band with The Jam? That's entertainment!
Posted 9 years ago by PeterMC3    [ Reply ]
Always loved  Bruce Foxton's bass work for The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers, but he never gets mentioned.  Cheers, mate!!  Rattled my windows many times.
Posted 10 years ago by DaidyBoy    [ Reply ]
Agreed !
 
The_Walrus wrote:
Awesome band, awesome song. Early eighties England in three minutes

 


Posted 10 years ago by msymmes    [ Reply ]
 Emwolb wrote:
Good song but I prefer Morrissey's version
 

I was just discussing the Morrissey version with a friend recently. His style of melancholy doesn't mesh well with Weller's, IMO. When Weller gets angry, Moz just gets dramatic... : )
Posted 10 years ago by hencini    [ Reply ]
 treatment_bound wrote:

I'd ask 'em if I could bum a smoke, but they look like they'd kick the crap out me without wrinkling their suits, and then drive their bikes
 right over my head.
 




  

well, that's entertainment.

Posted 10 years ago by adpucci    [ Reply ]
Mods rule!
Posted 11 years ago by Krakus    [ Reply ]
Pure BLISS.......{#Daisy}
Posted 11 years ago by d48m02h    [ Reply ]
Awesome band, awesome song. Early eighties England in three minutes
Posted 11 years ago by The_Walrus    [ Reply ]
I could die happy if I could write a song as half as good as this.... {#Cheers}
Posted 11 years ago by janac13    [ Reply ]
 melzabutch wrote:


 
I'd ask 'em if I could bum a smoke, but they look like they'd kick the crap out me without wrinkling their suits, and then drive their bikes
 right over my head.
 



Posted 11 years ago by treatment_bound    [ Reply ]
wow ! original MODS UK band ! Paul weller was nice in it !
good choice RP ! thanks !
 
Posted 11 years ago by eddyrixhon    [ Reply ]
Good song but I prefer Morrissey's version
Posted 11 years ago by Emwolb    [ Reply ]

I could say that I like Paul Weller, and maybe even the Jam, but...Ho hum, this song just does not do it for me{#No}


Posted 11 years ago by spiggy    [ Reply ]

Posted 11 years ago by melzabutch    [ Reply ]

Fortunate to have gone to school in UK in the 80's to catch this band in concert.


Posted 11 years ago by Krakus    [ Reply ]
in nymag.com there's a great series of photos by Janette Beckman, which includes
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980

"Paul Weller always loved Pete Townshend, who was like the first-coming of the mods. This was the first time they met. They're standing outside the The Marquee Club, where The Jam and The Who probably both played. The headline was 'The Punk and the Mod-father.' Old mod meets new mod."

oh yeah, and a super shot of young Adam Ant!!!
Paul Weller and Pete Townshend in London, 1980
Posted 11 years ago by hayduke2    [ Reply ]
{#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana_2}
Posted 11 years ago by oppositelock    [ Reply ]
 kcar wrote:
Captures a time and place so well...no matter where you lived and when. 

How the hell did Paul Weller go from this to Style Council?!? 

 
I guess a lot of things changed for him in three years or so, but it didn't seem like a jarring transition at the time (to me).
Posted 11 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Fine British pop - definitely captures a time and place.

One of my favorite bands from this era that has stood the test of time.
Posted 11 years ago by grant    [ Reply ]
Captures a time and place so well...no matter where you lived and when. 

How the hell did Paul Weller go from this to Style Council?!? 
Posted 11 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
 gemtag wrote:
This is a kick in the balls, in a good way....

  There's a good way ? Certainly not on the receiving end of one ..
That's NOT entertainment  !!!
Posted 11 years ago by drewd    [ Reply ]
I'm workin' late and Bill is rockin'.

Needless to say, I'm not getting as much done as I'd like.{#Dancingbanana}

Aw, well... the economy is in the tank, anyway. 
Posted 11 years ago by The_Enemy    [ Reply ]
obviously, as i've said, i love this tune. this recording of it seems muffled. maybe it's me. but, i agree - from the other album, it is a bit more there.
Posted 11 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
 
Stingray wrote:
Never liked them!
 

Not even Town Called Malice ?     Number one in the UK for a while.


Posted 12 years ago by msymmes    [ Reply ]
Never liked them!
Posted 12 years ago by Stingray    [ Reply ]
 rotten wrote:
Great song from the Jam, but the demo version from "Snap" is far superior to this version from "Sound Affects".
 

imo definitly right!
Posted 12 years ago by yuel    [ Reply ]
I will always feel thankful to Pete Townshend for reminding us in the late '70s and early '80s in our own already rather brain-dead and Profit-Driven media how we should be paying more and truly due attention to up and coming rockers The Jam and The Clash and all the stuff I was glad to get the scoop on and a tasty bite of then and really only still hear on RP anymore and thank God for that!
Posted 12 years ago by coloradojohn    [ Reply ]
I love the cleansing anger of this song!  A great anthem for the British 80's but also for today everywhere.
Posted 12 years ago by kaybee    [ Reply ]
Great song from the Jam, but the demo version from "Snap" is far superior to this version from "Sound Affects".
Posted 12 years ago by rotten    [ Reply ]
A classic and always entertaining even after all these years!
Posted 12 years ago by aspicer    [ Reply ]
Love it!
Posted 12 years ago by Purple_Turtle    [ Reply ]
YEAH - that's entertainment...

Posted 12 years ago by luvinlife    [ Reply ]
This is a kick in the balls, in a good way....
Posted 12 years ago by gemtag    [ Reply ]
Can't say it enough - the few, the proud, the godlike - 10++
Posted 13 years ago by Foot    [ Reply ]
Yes, I believe this is a perfect 10!
Cheers
Posted 13 years ago by Stranglersfan    [ Reply ]
 Dakota wrote:
I don't think this is the demo version, or at least there are various demo versions floating around.  Demo version on Snap! (which I have) sounds better, in my opinion.  It's simpler, more stripped down, without the synthesizer sounds overlayed. 
 
Could be the basic vocals and acoustic guitar are from the demo. They may have added other tracks to the demo in the studio.

Posted 13 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
Thank you RP - one of the best songs of all time - a rare 10+
Posted 13 years ago by Foot    [ Reply ]
The fact that THIS entertainment has been free for a long time convinced me to make a donation. Thanks for the service—and for The Jam.
Posted 13 years ago by ericeobrien    [ Reply ]
 peter_james_bond wrote:
Trivia - What you are hearing is the demo version. They couldn't better the demo in the studio so the band simply used the demo on the album. {#Cool}
 
Did not know that, but it makes a ton of sense.  Weller claims to have written this song in 15 minutes after coming home drunk one night.  Easily one of their best.  Billy Bragg does a nice cover as well.  
Posted 13 years ago by hencini    [ Reply ]
I don't think this is the demo version, or at least there are various demo versions floating around.  Demo version on Snap! (which I have) sounds better, in my opinion.  It's simpler, more stripped down, without the synthesizer sounds overlayed.  

 peter_james_bond wrote:
Trivia - What you are hearing is the demo version. They couldn't better the demo in the studio so the band simply used the demo on the album. {#Cool}
 


Posted 13 years ago by Dakota    [ Reply ]
I went crazy and laid down the biggest single sum I ever threw on a counter for a mint copy of "In the City" vinyl. An excellent band.
Posted 13 years ago by misterbearbaby    [ Reply ]
 fredriley wrote:

That comment alone could be deconstructed in more ways than a pomegranate has pips. FYI, this "wimp-rock" band was as big as The Clash in the 80s, with Paul Weller seen in the same league as Joe Strummer, as working-class heroes who spoke of the time and spoke for many of those of us in the working class who were getting it up the @rse from the Thatcher counter-revolution. This song is evocative, and descriptive, of its time and is as much social document as song.

Paul Weller himself has gone a bit far up his own @arse for my liking as a solo artist, but that so often happens with young, angry artists who become famous and become themselves the establishment. Even Joe Strummer admitted that he "sold out". So it goes.
 
Alas, all too true.

But, you know, you could make a good mix CD of all the songs, such as this one, that makes you want to go downtown and throw bricks through the windows of all the banks, stock market offices, and other lawyer emporiums.

The Who's "Summertime Blues" off "Live at Leeds," for instance. And, of course, John Lennon's "Working Class Hero." 

Maybe it's the fact that we just got a memo that the budget for office supplies has been cut to zero, so we need to bring in pens and note paper from home, and all the while our lords and masters are going on a "planning retreat" that just happens to be taking place at a 4-star golf resort, or maybe it's the 6th day of 100-degree heat here in NC, but I'm looking a little more lovingly at those bricks this morning. 
Posted 13 years ago by nagsheadlocal    [ Reply ]
Thanks to the Stranger than Fiction soundtrack for introducing me to this one. Good song.
Posted 13 years ago by eruwenolorien    [ Reply ]
 fredriley wrote:
FYI, this "wimp-rock" band was as big as The Clash in the 80s
 
truth.

I was a teenager living in Ottawa in the 80s and these guys were easily competing for the top of my list.

Ottawa's a nice tourist city now but it was a dumpy post-industrial city then. Literally, the city's only strip club closed due to lack of business.

I had a job in the downtown and I knew the homeless and the drunks on first name basis. The Jam absolutely hit a home run on this song so far as I was concerned at the time.

I rate it a 10. 
Posted 13 years ago by The_Enemy    [ Reply ]
 PA1749 wrote:
This song got me clapping my feet!
 
{#Clap}{#Roflol}{#Clap}{#Roflol}{#Clap}
Posted 13 years ago by Cynaera    [ Reply ]
This song got me clapping my feet!
Posted 13 years ago by PA1749    [ Reply ]
mgkiwi wrote:
Stonking tune from a great original band with a musical genius! Saw them back in 77 at the Greyhound in Groydon when they were starting out - little did we know then!
sorry - did you say Stonking? Oh, my.

Posted 13 years ago by Businessgypsy    [ Reply ]
 Art_Carnage wrote:
The funniest thing about this is the band name. What could possibly be less like a "jam" than this piece of lame wimp-rock? I would love to have been in on the band meeting when they came up with that name. "Hey guys! I got the perfect name, that in no way would it ever be possible for people in the future to see it as incredibly cheesy and unfortunately, sadly, ironic - The Jam!"
 
Hey Art I know of at least three or four net radio places where you can get all the Aldo Nova you like, bro.

Posted 13 years ago by forge    [ Reply ]
THIS is entertainment!  


Posted 13 years ago by jagdriver    [ Reply ]
 Art_Carnage wrote:
The funniest thing about this is the band name. What could possibly be less like a "jam" than this piece of lame wimp-rock? I would love to have been in on the band meeting when they came up with that name. "Hey guys! I got the perfect name, that in no way would it ever be possible for people in the future to see it as incredibly cheesy and unfortunately, sadly, ironic - The Jam!"
 
That comment alone could be deconstructed in more ways than a pomegranate has pips. FYI, this "wimp-rock" band was as big as The Clash in the 80s, with Paul Weller seen in the same league as Joe Strummer, as working-class heroes who spoke of the time and spoke for many of those of us in the working class who were getting it up the @rse from the Thatcher counter-revolution. This song is evocative, and descriptive, of its time and is as much social document as song.

Paul Weller himself has gone a bit far up his own @arse for my liking as a solo artist, but that so often happens with young, angry artists who become famous and become themselves the establishment. Even Joe Strummer admitted that he "sold out". So it goes.


Posted 13 years ago by fredriley    [ Reply ]
 mgkiwi wrote:
Stonking tune from a great original band with a musical genius! Saw them back in 77 at the Greyhound in Groydon when they were starting out - little did we know then!
 
Oh my. The Greyhound? 77? I was there! That takes me back somewhat. . . beer soaked floors, loons, long hair, head in the speakers. 

Those were the days. . . sigh. . .  
Posted 13 years ago by SquiddlyDiddly    [ Reply ]
Takes me back!
Posted 13 years ago by Monicks    [ Reply ]
Stonking tune from a great original band with a musical genius! Saw them back in 77 at the Greyhound in Groydon when they were starting out - little did we know then!
Posted 13 years ago by mgkiwi    [ Reply ]
some English Beat would follow this one nicely
Posted 13 years ago by Johnny-smooth    [ Reply ]
Nice!
Posted 14 years ago by helgigermany    [ Reply ]
 treatment_bound wrote:

Thanks for the support.  I've been lobbying for this for about 4 1/2 years now, and have only seen "The Butterfly Collector" added to the three cuts that were being played when I first joined the fun here.

We could start the additions with "Start!", the leadoff cut on Sound Affects.  That would surely kick off a lively discussion as to whether or not that riff is a tribute to or a rip-off of George's "Taxman" on Revolver.

 
It's pretty obviously a tribute or homage.  I don't think Paul Weller would have expected no one to have noticed the similarity.  Do you really think he thought: "Oh, no one will remember this tune - it was recorded by a now-obscure band called 'The Beatles' - we'll fool everyone."


Posted 14 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Always loved this song.  A refreshing and melodic change from The Jam's more hard core tunes.  Makes me think of post-party wind down on a hot summer's night in McLean, VA.


Posted 14 years ago by Clark_Novato    [ Reply ]
The genius of this particular track is IMHO the instrumentation—two acoustic guitars and an electric bass—the AMG song review sez there are also shakers, but they're barely noticable. Oh, there's some backward electric guitar scrawl in the middle 8 that I think was/is misplaced, but otherwise a fine example of the infinite diversity of rock'n'roll.
Posted 14 years ago by WonderLizard    [ Reply ]
 Art_Carnage wrote:
The funniest thing about this is the band name. What could possibly be less like a "jam" than this piece of lame wimp-rock? I would love to have been in on the band meeting when they came up with that name. "Hey guys! I got the perfect name, that in no way would it ever be possible for people in the future to see it as incredibly cheesy and unfortunately, sadly, ironic - The Jam!"
 
Well, the eat a lot of jam on toast there—-also, they probably have a lot of traffic jams. Maybe they meant it that way?

Posted 14 years ago by Giselle62    [ Reply ]
The funniest thing about this is the band name. What could possibly be less like a "jam" than this piece of lame wimp-rock? I would love to have been in on the band meeting when they came up with that name. "Hey guys! I got the perfect name, that in no way would it ever be possible for people in the future to see it as incredibly cheesy and unfortunately, sadly, ironic - The Jam!"
Posted 14 years ago by Art_Carnage    [ Reply ]
 treatment_bound wrote:

Thanks for the support.  I've been lobbying for this for about 4 1/2 years now, and have only seen "The Butterfly Collector" added to the three cuts that were being played when I first joined the fun here.

We could start the additions with "Start!", the leadoff cut on Sound Affects.  That would surely kick off a lively discussion as to whether or not that riff is a tribute to or a rip-off of George's "Taxman" on Revolver.

 
Not sure that there's a debate on that: I'm pretty sure Weler copped to that as a "tribute".

Posted 14 years ago by apd    [ Reply ]
Trivia - What you are hearing is the demo version. They couldn't better the demo in the studio so the band simply used the demo on the album. {#Cool}

Posted 14 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
3—>2. Not very good entertainment.
Posted 14 years ago by crockydile    [ Reply ]
YAAAYYY!! THE GLORIES OF EVERYDAY LIFE!!!{#Mrgreen}
Posted 14 years ago by dannyboy57    [ Reply ]
 Albert1967 wrote:

Agreed!

One of my fav RP afternoons so far. Thanx Bill! 
 
Thanks for the support.  I've been lobbying for this for about 4 1/2 years now, and have only seen "The Butterfly Collector" added to the three cuts that were being played when I first joined the fun here.

We could start the additions with "Start!", the leadoff cut on Sound Affects.  That would surely kick off a lively discussion as to whether or not that riff is a tribute to or a rip-off of George's "Taxman" on Revolver.

Posted 14 years ago by treatment_bound    [ Reply ]
Everybody sing along:

"That's.......the most annoying chorus ever."

Posted 14 years ago by energilc    [ Reply ]
accoustic can be rockin' as hell ;-)
best jam-song imho
Posted 14 years ago by bobcat1963    [ Reply ]
 treatment_bound wrote:

Can we please get RP to add a few more Jam cuts? 

 
Agreed!

One of my fav RP afternoons so far. Thanx Bill! 
Posted 14 years ago by Albert1967    [ Reply ]

Can we please get RP to add a few more Jam cuts? 


Posted 14 years ago by treatment_bound    [ Reply ]
marvelous, Weller and Co at their best
Posted 14 years ago by rage    [ Reply ]
 copymonkey wrote:

Well you ARE in Canada. Didn't you guys invent 'hockey-hair'? We just stole it and renamed it "mullet".

 
Why do you call it a mullet?  It doesn't look like a fish-head!!


Posted 14 years ago by kaybee    [ Reply ]
Captured the time and the then politics in the UK very well.  Took me back.  Weller always a good tunesmith.   Ironically he is more stuck in a rut with his later material.   He disbanded the Jam at their peak, which was the right thing to do. 
Posted 14 years ago by garycha    [ Reply ]
 rosedraws wrote:
I adore this song... but I don't know why.
 
Because it is good entertainment

Posted 14 years ago by More_Cowbell    [ Reply ]
What blasphemy am I reading about the Modfather?

How dare you all insult one of the most influential artists of the last 30 years. 
Posted 14 years ago by jools    [ Reply ]