In Pace Requiescat

“Gilbert Sees The Future From 1986!”

Love & Rockets #17 (June 1986)

Gilbert Hernandez

Well, Since Working People Are Paying For The Wealthy’s Tax Cut …

Trump Fires Mueller?

End Trump’s Presidency!

Sweet Home,  Alabama!

The Vinyl of the Day is ‘Rhythm of Youth’ by Men Without Hats, 1983. The debut album of the Canadian synthpop group, this is the record that made them a 1 (well, 1 ½ if you include ‘Pop Goes The World’) hit wonder, due entirely to the now-classic single ‘The Safety Dance’. ‘Safety Dance’ was a song that, paired with it’s ultra-low budget video, combined to become a smash hit on MTV with a combination of an incredibly infectious, fun, and danceable tune and silly Renaissance-Faire images. Together they succeeded into making ‘The Safety Dance’ one of the pop culture icons of the 80s, so much so that even today you’d be sorely pressed to find someone who’s not familiar with the song, the lyrics, and the video. 

Men without Hats to me, define what “pop” music should be - fun, catchy, and melodic. “Rhythm of Youth” is the epitome of this kind of music. It’s very high energy fun - I would recommend it as a safe alternative to drugs for anyone who needs a pick-me-up! But it wasn’t just mindless new wave pop - Men Without Hats packed their songs with social commentary and civil unrest while at the same time keeping the music peppy and danceable. 

I was immediately drawn in by the catchy hooks that are everywhere - but the record as a whole is wildlly uneven. I will never tire of hearing my album favorites ‘The Great Ones Remember’ and the insanely quirky 'Ideas For Walls’. The second U.S. single from the album 'I Like’ is another tireless classic, though why the single did not perform very well is one of life’s great mysteries. Other styles displayed on 'Rhythm of Youth’ are very hit and miss. 'Things In My Life’ is a mid-tempo classic, while 'Cocoricci’ is remarkably irritating.

I’ve got to admit that there are lines where I firmly believe lead singer Ivan’s got a mouthful of something that makes it almost impossible to understand him, but those happenings are, thank God, far and few between. This is almost classic new wave disco from start to finish, and is great fun - and a terrific flashback to what Mom and Dad were dancing to back in the day, and doing it pole to pole.

PS - And now you can say that you know someone who actually owns this album!

Manapop Album Review by Cameron Graves

Rhythm of Youth, 1982 debut album from Men Without Hats, is an eccentric New Wave masterpiece. It is nearly impossible for any sane human being not to feel the incredible urge to dance to something that is so infectiously upbeat and motivational.

With a cascade of singles (‘Living in China’, ‘I Got the Message’, ‘I Like’, and their most notable success, ‘Safety Dance’) Rhythm propelled the band to success in the early 1980’s, landing them a career that spanned several decades, with two separate decades between the previous two albums spent disbanded.

Strong synth instrumentation and rapid, quirky percussion present the album with an unapologetically contagious quality. Lyrically, there is heavy focus on themes of freedom of expression, and happiness. ‘Living in China’, the first single, focuses on the Chinese Communist Revolution, with frequent references to General Mao.

‘Safety Dance’ is a popular dance track that has provides an apt representation of much of the sound that dominated 80’s music. Driven with an upbeat tempo and energetic lyrics, it holds nothing back and feels perfectly executed. The lyrics are a reference to a dancing style that came about as a result of the rising popularity of New Wave dancing, in particular a style known as ‘pogoing’ which was comprised of jumping up and down with a rigid body, and the clash of this style versus the fading Disco. To the unaccustomed person, it would appear to look unsafe. Bouncers in clubs and halls attempted to put a stop to it, often removing participant’s altogether. The song is therefore a message about Freedom of Expression.

As a New Wave album, Rhythm of Youth is, as writer and lead singer Ivan Doroschuck himself has stated, a fusion of Disco and Punk, and it holds true to that virtue from beginning to end: that punk-like defiance and primal desire for freedom is nearly rooted in every hook and in every chorus.

Most remarkable is how efficiently Rhythm of Youth has aged 34 years after its initial release. Messages about expression serve as relevant anecdotes to modern times, and the lyrically defiant attitude certainly appeals to modern listeners, and it’s easy to see why.

Regardless of the use of separate languages (some songs are written and sung in French), an artistic choice that hardly holds back what has established itself as a definitive New Wave classic; just as ‘Safety Dance‘ serves as a timeless anthem that people will continue to sing for decades to come.