TRAINWRECKORDS: "Crash" by The Human League
2021 ж. 29 Сәу.
625 703 Рет қаралды
(Go to www.curiositystream.com/toddin... for a special deal!) The Human League recruit Janet Jackson's producers and try to get funky. Yes, the "Don't You Want Me" band. Yes, it's as awkward as it sounds.
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"I HAVE to like it, its all I've got it" is such a familiar and gutwrenching feeling for anyone whos struggled with their creative work
Honestly, the moment I heard Todd read that was the moment where I knew that this was gonna be a way more tragic story than what you'd be able to parse just from reading the album's Wikipedia article. I knew the Human League's story past 1981 wasn't a pretty one considering that this is the same band that later wrote "The Stars are Going Out" (arguably the strongest track on the otherwise mediocre follow-up to Crash), but just hearing Phil Oakey openly admit to how trapped the band became with that album and its sunken costs is just painful and does a lot to contextualize how dire their predicament really was.
Yeah, I would love to pretend I don't relate to that sentiment as much as I do.
as an artist i can confirm
Took me about 31 years to not hate every note I had ever written. But then I realized it was just the lyrics that were bad lmfao
Or many "romantic" relationships
Best Worst Lyrics from each Trainwreckord: "We love Spam in America" (Jewel) "I'M KEEL ROY! KEEL ROY!" (Styx) (honorable mention to "modren man") "A Tribe Called Quest is a bad investment" (MC Hammer) "I've got my magic pie" (Oasis) "Word to the wisdom tooth" (Van Halen) "This here'll take the stain out and won't mess your hair" (CCR) "Jesus died for somebody's sins, I've got my HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROIN" (Billy Idol) (honorable mention to "I am the neuromancer and I'm trancing") "Rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel [said in the least rebellious tone possible]" (Lauryn Hill) "I'm drinkin' a soy latte, I get it double shotte, it goes right through my body and you know I'm satisfied" (Madonna) "Dancin' on my tippie toes, my tippie toes :)" (Robin Thicke) "We are the Claaaaaaaaaaaaash" (The Clash) "I'd love to hurt the population >:(" (Hootie and the Blowfish, the world's least threatening band) "It's a Love thing" (The Beach Boys) "I had to take the brother out for bein' rude" (Arrested Development) "I luv making luv to u
Your archival work is deeply appreciated. (God, I still cannot believe "peñis colada" happened.)
@@Tesseract_King You gotta love how that line is so befuddling stupid that she has to explain the joke.
@@Tesseract_King This line do have me one of my favorites Todd joke. "Peñis Colada is not gonna make you win a Grammy!"
"I had to take the brother out for being rude" isn't actually from the Arrested Development album that was covered. A better one would be "After I scold you, I hope I can mold you".
"Go to the counter to pay for me and my friend / A homeless man pulls out a roll, says it's on him." - Jewel "But you had an abortion..." - Arrested Development "I drive my Mini Cooper / and I'm feeling super duper / and they tell me I'm a trouper / and you know I'm satisfied" (HM goes to: "Couldn't take the loneliness, I couldn't take the phoniness / my father had to go to work, I used to think he was a jerk." - Madonna "Drifting from the way, she got turned down one day / now she thinks that she's bisexual." - Lauryn Hill "Did you ever sigh when a homeless walked by / or changed the channel on a starving child"; "THE CANDY MAN / YEAH, THE CANDY MAN CAN!"; "Open your mouth, and say aaaaahhhh-men! / Rinse cup and spit again." - Van Halen "My husband doesn't let me buy those tabloid magazines because he says it makes me fight with him more! / Positive people like positive people." - Liz Phair "Nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah" - Oasis "Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tock." - Metallica "I'm going to get me a big, big, big, great, big car / and I'm gonna drive, drive, drive, I'll drive so far; "Fingerpoint's gonna pop tonight / I'm gonna point at the best girl in sight"; "I shout 'I am a dirty punk!' / Gonna rock your neighborhood" - The Clash
16:13 It seems strangely poetic that Jimmy Jam co-wrote a song called "Human", and the Human League wrote a song called "Jam". Real creative energy flowing in _that_ studio, let me tell you.
These guys are more creative than Spielberg
I understood that Sopranos reference@@littlekingtrashmouth9219
Shyamalan level twist happening.
something very satisfying about the symmetry of jimmy jam and terry lewis being like "human league? i dunno, call the song human" and the human league being like "we're working with jimmy jam? guess we have to call one of the songs jam?"?
And writing the most hackneyed possible choruses around those titles
I love Human, it's soooooo slick, the rest of the album can die though
I love it when Todd contextualises producer/artist mismatches. The concept of Mitski being produced by Marshmello fills me with horror to this day
@@BenjaminSteber It was in the Liz Phair trainwreckords episode!
Door's open for a Chris Cornell/Timbaland episode.
Animal Collective's latest hit LP (Prod. Scott Storch)!!!
@@MrLurchMedia I'd pay five whole dollars to hear that
@@CMBlue A bit too steep a price for me.
if dj mustard produced for the lumineers? wouldn't that just be man of the woods by justin timberlake?
Didn't that crash? Is Todd's hindsight better than his foresight? Stay tuned to find out.
😏yes
@@bendorlinhg6180 Todd Definitely owes us Man of the Woods Trainwreckords.
Sick burn
@@maxpowr90 We'd probably have to wait about seven years (10-year rule) unless Todd makes an exception like with Robin Thicke's Paula. I think Timberlake is still doing his own thing, but I guess we'll wait and see what happens.
Fun fact about Jam and Lewis: they produced two number one j-pop hits for Utada Hikaru, the kingdom hearts singer back in 1999.
everything's connected
@daveraschke So basically they're like Sora?
That's correct, jam and lewis produced the singles "Wait & See (Risk)" & "Addicted to You (Up-In-Heaven mix)" for Hikki's 2nd J-pop album "Distance" in 2001 on that same album Hikki also collab with Rodney "Darkchild" Jenkins on the single "Time Limit" As a long time Hikki fan, they have work with different very notiable Western Producers. On they're English language album "Exodus" Hikki had production by Timberland and Danja, on they're 2nd English album "This Is The One" they had Stargate and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. The KH3 opening song "Face My Fears was done with Skrillex and Poo Bear, they 2018 album "Hatsukoi" had drumming done by Grammy Winner Chris Dave. Even They're recent album "Bad Mode" last year a few of the songs on that album were produced by A. G. Cook of PC Music and Sam Shepherd A.K.A Floating Points.
*_RECONNECT_*
Who or what is that.
i'm just imagining giving a gut-wrenching speech of regret and guilt to your girlfriend about how sorry you are that you cheated, and she lets you get through all of it without saying a word and is like "yeahhhh.....funny thing about that".
Imagine a confessions pt 3 where the wife says she's pregnant too and it isn't usher's
16:22 - Todd has a dad? I’d always imagined he’d emerged from the shadows, fatherless, motherless, and opinionated.
ok old but, what if the shadow is his dad?
@@NikolaiOrelovGNR and the light is his mother, for video out light there can be now shadows
@@NikolaiOrelovGNRthanks now I'm imagining a shadow creature saying cringy day things and calling me sport
@@sugarbugx3564was your father the dad from Clarissa Explains It All?
This album sounds like watching a relationship that isn’t working any more, and the only reason the two people are still together is, because they own pets.
It feels like finishing a career in last place, out of breath and falling down.
That used to be referred to as an Irish Divorce (back before we could actually do that as a thing) where you're both just waiting for the other one to kick the bucket stewing in your mutual bitterness and stubbornness.
@@peema10 back in the before times when all we had was Scrap Saturday to get us through the week.
@@Amanda_Harper "Mara!" "yesboss"
This comment section giving me life support.
I can't help by find it utterly adorable hearing these white British girls like Joanne and Susan Ann be confused and dumbfounded over the meanings behind hip-hop vernacular.
Its not even hip hop, its like general "Hip' American vernacular that had been around for years before that lmao But I knew girls "like that" growing up, its very much an intentional refusal to read context. Because, you know, they're above it 😒
It's actually adorable 🥰 especially when they are being genuine in trying to say American Hip Hop/Rap lingos.. It's adorable..
You say that as if they're a seperate species lol
I was embarrassed on their behalf when I saw that clip but tbf when they joined the band they were literally teenagers picked up on a night out so. I guess you can't really expect better
@Terrence Clay I found that Scene the Best Part of the Video and yes they were adorable
"Human" may just match "Careless Whisper" for songs that people find romantic without knowing what they're really about
“Every Breath You Take” says hi.
And “The One I Love” by REM
"Saving All My Love For You" holds the irony as well
I really don't know anyone who thinks Every Breath or The One I Love are love songs. The one's like an in joke that everyone knows like Born in the USA. The second doesn't even *sound* romantic. Careless Whisper though. "Should've known better than to cheat a friend" is right there in the chorus but people still think it's the perfect slow dance tune. How? It's a friggin dirge. Human... I don't know anyone outside this video who cares enough to analyze the lyrics.
@@psychonaut1502 The one with The Sinatras? Dang...as if all of the complex love triangles weren't bad enough....
"So they had to turn their gut-rending power ballad into the goddamn Pina Colada song." You magnificent writer you that was fucking hilarious.
The best part is, they basically did the same thing to "Don't you want me", and it worked really well there.
@@grfrjiglstan I think that worked because the beat was still very cold and robotic, so the emotional vocals layered over it created a weird balance. Kinda like vaporwave.
My favorite line is the one about the scones
"they became a poor man's Wang Chung" Don't you mean...Swang Chung? 😉
I love Wang Chung!
Everybody Have Jam Tonight
Jam Hall Days
@@awzthemusicalreviews jam this!
kzhead.info/sun/o7egj5qMb3qohZ8/bejne.html
I love how "Human" is basically Ross saying "we were on a break" made into a song
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Upon review... It was written as Ross, it became Chris Titus and Erin from "Norman Rockwell is Bleeding" and the accompanying episode of "Titus". Which... ended poorly in hindsight.
The song is amazing…
They. Were on. A break. Toxic Ross haters need to accept he was right and move on.
@@AndreNDP somebody cheated on their girlfriend hey? Can’t think why else you would be so weird about it.
"Gotta get some jam? What, for your scones, you pasty Brits?!" Easily my favorite Todd line ever.
Would the ‘pasty brits’ be allowed to comment on Todd’s skin colour & ethnicity? 🙄
Web Intothevoid said that Human League unique points is ankward lyrics that sounds like someone who use english as a second language 😅
@@lukeh465it's not really a comment on their skin color but on the cultural differences and the awkwardness of hearing new wave pros use lingo they obviously don't know
@@lukeh465 I don't know if it'd be "allowed" but it would be very much be on brand for Brits to make disparaging remarks about skin color and ethnicity. Honestly most the world would have been happy if the Brits were just openly racist but left everybody else alone.
Todd's lack of respect for the English gets me every time
There's a moment with each TRAINWRECKORDS where I think "Oh God no." For this, it was when I found out the Human League had to sing a song titled "Swang".
For funstyle all of the songs were that moment.
@@daishoryujin95 Oh yeah from minute one you're like, "Excuse me?!"
Why is that?
"I'll swang me another girl, yessiree." Added to the legend of bad lyrics featured on Trainwreckords. I look forward to those even more than watching clips of trucks hitting the 11-foot-8 bridge!
That confounded bridge!
Literally came here directly from the latest bridge feeding!
You’re being a penius . . . colada that is.
Hate to say it but I'm pretty sure the 11 foot 8 bridge has been adjusted to accommodate the heights of the penske trucks. So we're not going to be getting any new crashes
I always cringe when I hear a Bullshit Apology for cheating song. If the bitch believes it they are going to get cheated again.
I think the interesting thing about Todd's ads is that you can hear the soul leaving his body while reading the script.
If he was enthusiastic about them, it would sound incredibly jarring. Todd still does these videos "in character" to a degree, albeit much less than he used to, and that character is a bit of a sadsack. Iif he'd actually sounded engaged and then switched back to asking "....at what cost a hit?" in a tone of impending doom, it would have been...weird.
The most delightfully miserable ad reads on KZhead.
I mean, he's paid for them. It's not like he's being forced to do it. Oh, and it's a character.
It's funnier when he does Nebula ads and mentions "My friend, Lindsey Ellis," when she's his ex girlfriend.
@@Anomaly188they are friends now, so why would he refer to her as his ex, when they broke up like ten years ago? That’d be really strange.
“The makeup that looked like it was applied with a t-shirt cannon” I always knew Homer Simpson’s makeup shotgun idea had legs.
And he also got it set on "Whore".
When he drops trainwreckords, it's like Christmas. This series has SO MUCH REWATCHABILITY. The cringe of those bad songs never gets old.
I must have watched the Beach Boys one a hundred times. "Petty dickery and shameless pandering" has become part of my daily life.
depends on the album. Some of them have good songs, even great ones
@@afterdinnercreations936 oh don't get me wrong. Thanks to trainwreckords I learned about "calling occupants" by carpenters. And that was my fav song for a good 3 months. Still love it.
I know right, to think that it’s something he’s only started doing in the last few years, I can’t imagine his channel with out it. It’s become one of my favourite KZhead series.
"See baby, if you'd stay with me I wouldn't cheat" - this song
Basically! Lol
Human gives the same excuse Pete Campbell gave Trudy for cheating.
I cant stop looking at the lead singer. Depending on the light and angle he can look like John Travolta in his forties, nic cage in his 30's, or a potatoe.
I honestly think he got better-looking when he got older; the increasingly thin buzz-cut from the mid-90's onwards holds up much better than that "80's Skrillex" look from the Dare era.
Or Darren Criss right now.
The Dan Quayle spelling!
or cillian Murphy
But, you listed 3 varieties of potato.
I love a lot of what Jam and Lewis did. Their sound likely got me into R&B, based on what they did and what I was listening to. But I have to say, not letting the female members of a band do their own vocals is beyond a dick move.
Funny thing is. Ian Burden (Bassist/Keyboardist) vocal in this album was Jam and Lewis idea 😆
"Human" sounds like a Phil Collins ballad, which makes me wonder if the Human League would have had more success in Adult Contemporary. That to me sounds like a more obvious sellout move than going R&B.
One less victim for soft rock to claim (Chicago, Lionel Richie, etc).
To me it sounds quite a lot like the R&B ballad-ish cuts Jam and Lewis did with Alexander O’Neal, like A Broken Heart Can Mend, Saturday Love and Crying Overtime. Synthetic but warm-sounding synths, energetic drum machines and vocals quite heartfelt with some spoken bits. I admit Oakey’s voice mightve lent itself well to AC though.
@@mmsiphonevinyls1027 Ya like Huey Lewis and the News? 😉👉
@@SamAronow am I sounding that much like Patrick Bateman? If so, yes quite a lot, although I don’t find Fore their most accomplished album like he does 😂
Because of the synths, I could easily see it being a Duran Duran or Culture Club record.
I live for this series. I have watched every trainwreckords episode ten times and it is one of the best series ever to grace KZhead.
ditto
Same here
Same.
It's so addictive!
Only 10 each? Get on my level
"Gotta Get Some Jam" could have been an amazing jingle for a jam company.
Need jam? Go to the supermarket.
This message brought to you by the UK Jam Board.
Or Tesco's.
Human isnt an "apology" song, its an "acknowledgement of how I fucked up" song
Your profile picture makes me deeply uncomfortable.
"Compared to the polished NES graphics of the later 80s, 'Dare' is strictly Atari." Goddamn I love what a way with words Todd has.
So "Dare" is Desert Falcon or Solaris?
“Video gaaaaames, I play those! Yaaaaay!”
~ I guess she's an XBox. And I'm more an Atari. ~
Is that a Cee-Lo Green reference?
@@typicalfurry2747 Maaaaaaaaaybe
“The make-up that looked like it was applied with a t-shirt cannon.” Yes!! Love it, good times
@Pete Harrison Stop it.
That counts as a Simpson reference.
@@schris3 "women won't like being shot in the face" -Lisa S.
@@jonathancote9372 "women will like what I tell them to like"
"Human" played every day at the gas station I worked at 7 years ago. I got tired of it but I've realized that the song is just polished to perfection. Its a good song but not something I'd listen to everyday
Which Jimmy Jam power ballad did it best? "Human" "Let's Wait a While" "Come Back to Me"
I used to work in retail. They would play the neck out of this song.
It is a beautiful song. It's now unfortunately misplaced in an insurance ad, but I still listen to it to this day.
@@tcbvgames "Can You Stand The Rain" "Tender Love"
Yeah, as a massive fan of Prince and Minneapolis sound in general, I can forgive the lazy lyrics and just appreciate how gorgeous the production on Human is.
This album is just f-tier Duran Duran
^
Human League are f-tier Duran Duran.
Haha
I really love how those British gals say kicking with their accents.
They looked so taken aback too. I wonder they’d react to popular modern slang today lol
Ki'n
The Sheffield accent has it's charms.
@@Mitch93 The only British accents I knew are kinda the popular ones, the scouse, mancunian, brummie and the London one.
- "And then 'e says to us, "that's cool," and we were goin': "wot?!" Wot's "cool"?!" 😵
As a grocery store employee, I could gladly go my entire life without hearing "Human" ever again.
I think that song deserves credit for starting the adult contemporary movement of the late 80s. They were pioneers again.
I mean, I understand how you could feel that way. Me on the other hand, as a retail worker putting up with the most obnoxious assortment of big band music and boring pop rock music, I would do anything to hear "Human" in the daytime again.
When I worked in a grocery store back in high school I wanted to pull my hair out everytime I heard "What A Fool Believes"...
As a fellow grocery store worker, I think we all have a certain few songs that really drive us up the wall. For me, its Always Something There To Remind Me, god i cant stand that song
I know the pain. When I worked retail, it was Manic Mondays. For some ungodly reason it would repeat about 4 times an hour, which sucks for an 8 hour shift. Drove me near batty and now I cringe whenever I hear it.
I regularly drove to school in 1986. Yes Todd, "I Need Your Loving" did sound like every third song on the radio and yes it did blow.
How often was it played?
@@dragontales1999 Hourly
@@jimpemberton2246 oh god, imagine having to listen to that for days every hour.
When 80s nostalgia came back, I was completely baffled because I remember people back then complaining that music wasn’t organic anymore and everything sounded so cold and plastic fantastic. (Think of Bill Hicks’ stand up bit against Debbie Gibson and Rick Astley)
I can absolutely confirm that to Brits in the mid 1980’s “jam” was known by most people only in the context of fruit preserves. Not until Technotronic in 1989 did that start to change and even then many of us considered that song to about filling doughnuts (why else would you be pumping jam?).
But, George Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass came with a bonus disc called ‘Apple Jam’. Did it really take two decades for Harrison’s home audience to get the pun?
I always fill my doughnuts with my feet stompin’
have you never heard of The Jam?
honestly just using that context for the song makes it better
Are you referring to the 1989 release of the legendary Belgian techno anthem “Pump Up The Jam?”
Todd making fun of terrible apologies is one of my favorite running gags.
Did he ever do that Jason Derulo song? It seems like it would've been perfect.
@@sandboxsub333 if you're referring to "Whatcha Say", then yes! It's actually one of Todd's earliest reviews haha
"Top 10 Worst Apology Songs in Pop Music" when?
I'll say this; at least The Human League using "i'm only human" as a shitty justification for cheating is better than the Jonas Brothers using the same phrase to convince a girl that no, she does want to have sex, actually.
Is the 80's groove they're referring to this?
I think using it that way predates the Jonas brothers
I also think, beneath it all, there is a powerfully dark message behind this kind of 80's, Kraftwerk inspired band singing "I'm only human, born to make mistakes": it's that, by our very nature, we are *doomed* to make mistakes over and over... and, like, isn't that THE TRUTH of it all? When we look at human history, that's the only constant. In a way, this isn't even an "apology song": it's just a resigned acknowledgement that people fuck everything up eventually
i a m j u s t l i k e y o u f e l l o w h u m a n s
"I HAVE to like it, it's all I've got" Wow...I cant even make fun of that, that is just...jesus
The "Human" song perfectly suited Phil Oakey's distinct vocal range, as did Electric Dreams, that's why it was a huge hit. The problem with the rest of the Crash album was that the other songs didn't, apart from "Love Is All That Matters" which at least did sound like a proper Human League song. Of course, Crash wasn't helped by the over-produced funk and jettison of the cold-synth pop feel of their earlier work.
After watching this video I looked up and discovered that “Human” and “Love Is All That Matters” are the only songs on the album by Jam and Lewis as a songwriting team (along with credits for a six-way collaborative effort w/ some frequent associates on “I Need Your Loving”), which feels like a significant piece of the puzzle - they made their name writing stunning pop songs that lived up to the promise of all that futurist holographic sound design, and when they used other people’s material it was usually with an ear for something that would benefit from the futurist-holographic-sound-design treatment… which is maybe something you could say of the _Dare_-era Human League’s work, but less so of their five-years-later burnt-out scraps of a failed album. There just wasn’t enough chasing-off of whatever it was that kept the League from finishing this record on their own, especially when Jam and Lewis gave as many of the surrounding slots to their former Flyte Tyme bassist (author of “Swang”) as they did to themselves.
@@Champiness Minor complaint but Terry Lewis was the bassist for Flyte Time, David Eiland (the guy who wrote Swang) played sax.
To be fair, the name "Human League" was chosen by the original band, before they left and had Phil deal with contract obligations. It's actually a weird story...
In all fairness it's a more attention-grabbing name than "Heaven 17."
@@VinchVolt oh and Orange Juice and Aztec Camera weren't? J/k I love all these bands unashamedly lol
@@VinchVolt That was a Clockwork Orange reference (book not movie):
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 in the movie too
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 Yeah I know, I just think "The Human League" sticks out more as a band name.
After years of covering early ‘80s British crossovers, we finally get a Young Ones clip.
Yes, loved that show! R.I.P. Rik Mayall.
No, we are not watching the bloody Good Life!
I thank my college girlfriend for showing me that back then lol
YES! WE'VE GOT A VIDEO!!!
Right. Anyone tell the stiffie joke?
Has "Human" ever been sampled in vaporwave? Because that is a perfect vaporwave beat. I could see someone like Saint Pepsi or Luxury Elite doing a lot with that beat
I never think about that. Luxury Elite could've easily sample "Human".
This also works in that classic slushwave way.
@@DerekPower Oh yeah. Give that shit to Telepath and watch him turn it into dreamy, vaguely dystopian magic
@@DerekPower Slushwave?
@@Splattermelt This is one of the many offshoots of vapour. This would be early telepath. A really good current example of this would be desert sand feels warm at night.
It's unfortunate that the rest of the album doesn't hold up to its lead single. As Todd discussed, the production, instrumentation, and vocals on Human are gorgeous and quintessentially 80s
Yup. That song is *brilliant.* It's a Jam & Lewis classic! I also think Phil does a GREAT job singing it. On that song, the collaboration works beautifully! As for the rest of the album... well... the less said the better...
Yes, but not even a bad album. He essentially just doesn't like the sound. This isn't even close to what would be considered a 'TRAINWRECKORD'.
@@Splattermeltright, he pretty much hinted at it when discussing Human, and Jam and Lewis. But if you liked that sound the album was.....fine?? Sure definitely of the time, but perfectly fine none the less.
I mean, its a good song. I'd say that it'd been better if they saved it for another band though, because while Oakey sings it perfectly, his little "compromise" (which almost caused the whole song to get trashed) is easily the worst part of the song and it isn't close. I spent so long looking for a version of the song without that spoken word part at the end.
Me reading the title: I don't know The Human League Todd plays "Don't you want me, baby": Oh god, them?
Yeah, that's pretty much me with almost every band he covers, even the One Hit Wonderlands where the song is right there in the title
Listen to the album that Don't You Want Me comes from. It's really good early synth-pop.
Yeah, I only know that song and “Love Action,” although I’m aware they were pretty important in the early 80s as a new wave act, which is one of my favorite genres.
@Pete Harrison Stop spamming links to a crappy mixtape you spam-bot.
@@Jaceblue04 It's a bot most likely, just report it.
You know, i always make the joke that Magneto loves David Bowie for "make way for the Homosuperior", but now I am gonna also pretend he hates the Human League in a similar principal.
They do definitely sound and look like low-tier X-Men villains. "Only Human" even sounds like one of those tongue-in-cheek issue titles.
@@devlinburgess2463 Human League do exist in Marvel Comics. They're anti-mutant, of course.
This is a really interesting period of The Human League's history trying to find their place in a changing world. They are still perhaps the best pop band ever in my mind.
SWANG
Was I the only one who thought of Swangin.avi? With that Drake song in the background?
Anyone else watch Rae Sremmurd’s “Swang” immediately after this?
@@ratherbedealingarms No, because why would I subject myself to that? Between Rae Sremmurd and The Human League, maybe people should just stay away from that word, especially as a song title.
...relax and S W A N G
SWANG INTO TOMORROW
"Human" is one of those songs with a lousy premise, but the song still slaps.
Stop trying to make fetch happen.
@@BarronVonSchnoot ?
@@BarronVonSchnoot "fetch"...??????
Slaps like a mf!! I've always liked this song.
The only other clipshow videos I can think of are Queen's "Innuendo" and "The Show Must Go On," and they were done that way because, by that point, Freddie Mercury was too sick to film anymore videos.
From what I can tell it tends to be most commonly done either out of necessity (e.g. Queen, the Human League, the second video for Devo's "Post-Post Modern Man"), or to acknowledge the end of an act, be it through dissolution, retirement, or death (e.g. Michael Jackson's "Love Never Felt So Good", Talking Heads' "Lifetime Piling Up", the Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86", and even then those three all get more creative with the format, as does the Devo video). The only true exception to the pattern that I can think of is the video for the 1990 remix of "Fame" by David Bowie, largely because that was meant to be part of the lead-in to an unprecedentedly huge reissue campaign.
Wasn't also another reason why "The Show Must Go On" video was a clipshow was that it was used to promote the band's 2nd greatest hits album
Also, 2000 Light Years Away by Green Day, but - It's not a clipshow of music videos but rather old performances - It was done for the release of a greatest hits record in 2017 which included the song in spite of it being from their second album Kerplunk which had no singles or music videos
@Mister Metokur Basically the first video got rejected because MTV wanted to use a different version of the song, so a new one had to be slapped together at the last minute. The band weren't available to shoot new footage because of how suddenly it had to be made, so the director just shot a Home Shopping Channel parody with other actors and stuck in clips from old Devo videos that matched the fake products.
The video for George Harrison’s “All Those Years Ago,” released the year after John Lennon’s death, is basically a Beatles clip show.
"A poor man's Wang Chung" *Living In A Box wants to know your location*
"were so far into the future. It's like we're so 3008 and you're so 2000-late!" - the Human League probably
Giorgio Moroder sure managed to get a heartfelt performance out of Phil on Electric Dreams - but then he is a goddamn genius
That song is pretty good, I first heard it on their Very Best Of compilation. I have yet to see the movie.
Ironic because Moroder also got a shot at producing for Janet Jackson on the album before _Control_ and whiffed it almost as bad as Jam & Lewis did with Oakey
It takes a genius to recruit Kenny Loggins to save his planet from a black hole.
@@Champiness So...........if I follow, Moroder produced the album she did before Control and it turned out to be an EXTREMELY bad decision?
Well, it turns out that Janet had something the Human League didn't with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Control.
Ba dum tss!
Your avatar reminds me of another Human League album
@@p0werfu11 MAN GUE crew rise up
The Human League is a pretty underrated band here in the states. They still have plenty of good songs and mixes for anyone who likes synth-pop.
This is also the reason they alienated a lot of their original fans who just dropped their jaws in disbelief when they first heard it. It sounded *nothing* like The Human League, which in itself would have been a minor problem if the songs were good. They weren't. Hate to say this but American commercial radio was at an all time low during the mid 80's. The only thing that mattered were college radio stations where they played all the good stuff. This album was produced as the "hot ticket" to be played on American commercial radio (shivers) when they should have hired a producer who could make them played on college radio. I don't care what Jam and Lewis produced back then or how well it did. Most of it is dated today and R&B is probably the most intellectually dead music style these past 40 years. There were a whole heap of good producers who could have produced a good Human League records and they(?) picked some guys who made "funky rhythms" ? I'd say the record company and their "tin-eared accountants" (taken from Dead Kennedy's "MTV - Get off the air.") who insisted on this was the culprit.
That spoken word part is the one of the best parts of the song. The icy, cynical way she said it was just perfect.
I forgot how Northern, Young and naive the girls were.
I'm pretty sure they were still in sixth form when they were recruited for the band
@@hafsaz4513 Apparently, during the recording of Dare, they had to take several long bus trips to school, as the studio was quite a distance away
@@hafsaz4513 that’s pretty effed up tbh.
@@hafsaz4513 holy shit ! i never would’ve guessed that - the short hair and heavy makeup makes them look older
I still refuse to believe they didn't know what attitude meant. I'm pretty sure that's not just American slang.
The bafflement as to what 'attitude' could mean is physically hurting me
Thanks, Todd. I laughed my arse off at "Jam? What, for your SCONES, YOU PASTY BRITS?!"
I kinda love "Human" despite the bad lyrics. It's one of the most beautifully produced songs of all time in my book.
It sounds undeniably great. Just don't listen to what they're saying.
Todd : "Swang? I have a bad feeling about this..." Me : "it would be funny if that was the best song" Also me : "it wasnt funny"
At least Philip Oakey still has Electric Dreams to fall back on.
* he falls on top of Victor Vance. *
“Pobody’s nerfect!” Thank you, Todd. Thank you for giving me this riposte to anyone who plays that card. No one expects other people to be perfect. We only expect you to account for your behavior.
Whether Todd intended it or not, I count this as a Simpsons reference.
So it’s a line from a Simpson’s character? I have not watched that show in decades, so I would not know. In any case, thanks to whoever came up with it.
@@amandahaynes7030 When they go to Australia, Lisa wants to buy a digeridoo as a souvenir, but Marge tries to convince her to buy a “pobody’s nerfect” hat instead.
@@zombiedodge1426something tells me Todd was a young man who digested and committed to memory the Simpsons seasons 1,2, and 4 DVDs
Dang it if “Human” is so smooth. Crazy how good the song sounds.
I'll say one thing and just one thing: "Human" is my favourite 80's ballad ever. I just echo what Todd himself said: musically, everything is perfect. The lyrics... what lyrics?
we don't pay attention to the lyrics.
The song “Human” was featured on a compilation called “Hipertensao” which was put out by a Brazilian Portuguese label called Som Livre and it was a soundtrack to a Portuguese soap opera of the same name as it was shown on Rede Globo, a Brazilian TV channel in 1987.
Which Jimmy Jam power ballad did it best? "Human" "Let's Wait a While" "Come Back to Me"
@@tcbvgames "Making Love In The Rain"
@@tcbvgames Can You Stand The Rain by New Edition.
As a Brit who grew up watching reruns of Top of the Pops with my ex-goth Mum, this is insanely eye opening. Literally like, all of these songs are anthems imo. Love is all the matters and Tell me when are classic Human League songs, but apart from Human I'd never heard of anything from Crash. Says it all really
"Tell Me When" is a classic and I'm also fond of "Don't You Know I Want You."
The more I listen to this, the more the singers sound like they just want to go home and take a nap, but they're stuck trying to pretend this wasn't a bad idea.
I actually don't have a problem with the girl having cheated as well in "Human". I get the impression either one of them was traveling and they both gave in to loneliness or they have a bad fight at some point and turned to someone else in their sorrow. It's at least something different for an apology song instead of one person cheating and giving an apology that can't possibly sound anything but halfhearted in song form at least.
I swear at this point Todd has gone through half or more of the few songs they repeatedly play at my store over and over again.
Rofl. Yep, live it everyday.
todd really trying his darndest to not sound annoyed during the ad read
That's why I love him
Saving Throw would actually be a great name for an Emo Rock band
Yeah, it definitely gave me midwest emo vibes. They'd fit right in with American Football and Sunny Day Real Estate
Hopefully we can agreed that their lead single would be:" Death Save".
"It's 1986, I wear a headband" I died from this
The make up that looks like it was applied by a T-shirt cannon, had me.
I’m surprised he didn’t reference Homer Simpson’s make-up shotgun.
For many years, I thought that Human was a Spandau Ballet song for some reason. I kind of have to keep reminding myself it's a Human League song, despite the fact that part of the band's name is literally in the title.
Haha me too!
@@posajnejkwahb Glad I wasn’t the only one! Like, you play that song right after True and it really doesn’t sound too different.
"I thought that Human was a Spandau Ballet song" ~ I knowwwwwwwwwwww this muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch is FALSE ~
One of my favourite things Todd does is contextualising clashing/different musicians and producers from the past with 21st century examples. The DJ Mustard and Lumineers comparison sent me lol.
I’ll be honest, if “I Need Your Lovin” tried a little less to be about being a sexy lover man it might actually round the corner and be a pretty good Talking Heads album track.
@@nah....6151 Heck, in Talking Heads' hands, the repetitive lyrics of "I Need Your Lovin'" wouldn't sound too out of place next to the repeated samples of radio DJs and anonymous politicians on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Maybe Jam & Lewis should've tried working with them instead of the Human League if they wanted to get some crossover appeal. Then again, considering that Talking Heads was kinda falling apart by 1986 (among other things being strong-armed by their label into re-recording the soundtrack to True Stories), how well that theoretical collaboration would've worked is a bit up in the air.
"It's a clipshow of music videos from their past. I have never seen that before." 'Cries in The Show Must Go On.'
It’s different when the video is a tribute to your deceased lead singer, though.
Doesn't "Amazing" by Aerosmith have elements of that? Even if it's not the entire video.
m.kzhead.info/sun/htB8ptB_eqeHdX0/bejne.html Here you have another example. This is a creative take to compile many videos of an artist, in this case, Elvis Costello. And this is an official one.
I seem to remember Simply Red (You don't know me by now) and Culture Club (I think it was "It's a Miracle" but could be wrong) had music videos that were *part* clip shows of their previous videos, but even those at least had a framing device.
Well that's different. That was when Freddie Mercury was dying of HIV/AIDS, so he technically couldn't do a video for the track. Apparently he was lucky to even record it in his state and have it come out as well as it did. So the video was technically a tribute to him and his contribution to the band. With that Human League song, it's more or less like a last-minute single that they weren't able to make a new video for, so they just had to Godfrey Ho one together for it.
TIL "Don't You Want Me" and "Human" is from the same group. ....seriously, as a kid I loved both of those songs and had no idea.
Giorgio Moroder composed a lot of the good human league. In fact he is responsible for a ton of 80's hits, like Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins, What a feeling- Irene Cara, On the radio- Donna Summer, The Scarface movie theme, Take my Breath Away- Berlin, Call Me- Blondie, Limahl - Never Ending Story, and a ton more. Giorgio Moroder is a musical genius.
I only know their “Don’t you want me Baby” hit. But there is me exposing my ignorance. Thanks Todd!
The whole album, Dare, is fan freaking tastic.
I loved the whole Dare album. It blew my little 14 year-old mind.
@@Remerdre my mom was also 14 around 1981. Don’t know why I’m bringing that up but she loves the human league too
Check out ‘Lebanon’.
I can’t help but be reminded of Cut The Crap by The Clash, despite the lack of band drama in Crash it has the same feel of a dying band desperately trying to pull together an album that nobody involved is enjoying - even down to the album being led by the producer who was most interested in making the band more pop.
I'm here to provide the obligatory "If Todd has a 10 year waiting period for Trainwreckords, that's actually 2011, not 1991" to blow your mind.
'that record's kickin' she said that in the most british way possible
I'm a simple man. Todd posts a Trainrecords episode, I watch it immediately.
I think I might like this series even more than one hit wonderland
@@tiffanielafleur6597 they both are equally great imho
I then watch it over rand over forever.
I'm that way with any Todd video. The wait is always worth it
@Bloody Pulp If that Disney jingle is a smash hit, he will be compelled to talk about it.
"Honey, there's a new Trainwreckords video!"
as much as phil oakey has a robot-like singing voice, i can not think of any other singer singing human. it perfectly fits his own voice and in my opinion is a great song, despite the stupid lyrics
So glad you intro'd this video with the legendary Rik Mayall! Nothing else says early 80's than The Young Ones.
The universe felt me grasping at straws, nearing the end of my nonstop Todd in the Shadows marathon, and delivered me from boredom.
Maybe get help on that?
@@TheEvilCheesecake I’ve said too much...
I did not know how much I wanted a remake of The Notebook starring Kelsey Grammer. And yet here we are.
Hard same. Everything exactly the same, just swap Gosling for Grammar
Someone should do a fake trailer for this using clips from Frasier
Where are we?
“A poor man’s Wang Chung” is heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time.😅
This story and especially Todd's strange take on 'the dying synth pop in 1986' made me WTF, the year Pet Shop Boys came around and the year of 'Black Celebration' must be one of the glory years of the genre. And then I realised that I look from a UK-centred perspectives: synth pop was dying in the US only. The major mistake The Human League made about this album is trying to make it for American rather than for British audience. Experimentally based Synthpop itself was never an American sound, it didn't have roots there and the 2nd British invasion acts like Duran Duran were the commercial cream upon the milk of synthpop. The Human League was just bystanders who accidentally got into their company. I wonder why Philip Oakey wanted to continue his popularity in the US or was it A&M records who wanted him to do so.
I want to hear a folk guitar song put through a DJ Mustard beat breakdown.
I would laugh my ass of if on the next Judah and the Lion album the first song would start off with his: "Mustard on tha beat, Hoe" tagline.
So, Avicii's Wake Me Up?
File "Swang" under the list of "Stop trying to make Fetch a thing!" words right along Batman Beyond and their copious use of the word "Schway".
13:04 “I know we’ve been living and breathing 80s nostalgia since 2002…” EXACTLY one year too late for the ‘Glitter’ Soundtrack.
“Pobody Nerfect” Todd in the shadows
This is my favorite channel on KZhead...
It still is!!!!
"Saving Throw" legit sounds like a good name for a band, by the way. Thanks for adding another one to the list.
Natural 20, gotta be the name of their big rivals. ;)
ngl, out of all the Trainwreckords episodes I've watched, this is definitely the saddest one, this isn't an album mired by conflicting members or changing trends, it's just a band with no ideas left and are just going through the motions until they inevitably disappear and dissipate, especially the quote "I HAVE to like it, its all i've got" is especially sad.
You can just feel them trying to will Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley into becoming Wendy and Lisa
I can imagine seeing those two lasses trying to keep up with the musicianship of The Revolution.
Is the water warm enough? YES WENDY
Wow... so this makes me appreciate Depeche Mode just so much more!!
Incidentally, the Mk I Human League song "Being Boiled" was directly cited by Vince Clark as his main motivator to form Depeche Mode.
@@VinchVolt and rightly so, Being Boiled is a masterpiece.
@@anophelesnow3957 Being Boiled does indeed rule.