Grapthar's Song of the Day: Buzzcocks - 'Love is Lies'

grapthar (74)in #music • 4 years ago

Buzzcocks - Love is Lies

Alright, so I guess I've now

Buzzcocks performing live

officially abandoned the theme of contemporary bands and artists, lol, so I'll just embrace the change and go with whatever artists I'm feeling that day. Today, of course, we've got another absolute favorite of mine, the Buzzcocks. They were formed in 1976 in Bolton, England by songwriting duo Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto. The rest of the group has gone through a number of changes over the years, with all of the members listed on their Wikipedia, linked as a source below. However, one year later, Devoto left the group (to form Magazine), and Shelley took over the primary writing duties The band began in the burgeoning UK punk scene, though they always had a more unique sound, incorporating poppier elements, and some surprisingly complex songwriting, which allowed them reach a wider audience, and remain relevant into the end of the '70s.

Source - Wikipedia, Buzzcocks

Listen to Love is Lies by Buzzcocks here...

This song is from the band's second studio album, 1978's

Buzzcocks, Love Bites (1978, United Artists Records)

Love Bites, which is a super solid follow-up to their beloved debut release. The album took just two weeks to record (definitely fitting into the punk ethos of the time), and wound up charting really well on the UK Albums Chart, reaching #13. This is one of the 'lighter' tracks on the album, based around an acoustic guitar riff. It definitely is less punky than a lot of the tracks around it, but it is super catchy. The lyrics are about Shelley going out to try and find love, with the beginning of the song seeming hopeful, as he claims he will continue to search for love 'until [he] drops', but by the end of the song, he has become heartbroken, realizing these love affairs are '... in [his] head, now they're all gone'. The Chorus, which again, is a great, catchy pop Chorus, has some rather strange lyrics and phrasing: 'Love is lies, love is eyes. Love is everything that's nice. Love is not as cold as ice, But that's what that means to me'. I love that strangeness, it helps give the song a unique vibe despite the 'cliche' subject matter.