If I had any Madness records
when I was 15 or 16 years old,
I lost them in the great vinyl purge
of 1988, and I don’t remember
which ones I had. I suspect at
least one of them was Absolutely,
and I come to that conclusion
as I’m listening this morning to the
2013 Yep Rock reissue of their
sophomore album and,
notwithstanding the hit single
“Baggy Trousers,” I find the rest
surprisingly familiar, this wacky,
nutty, silly music from Camden
Town, London. Only a smidge ska
adjacent, Madness plays a kind
of hyperactive and jumpy circus
pop with mostly goofy lyrics
delivered at a breakneck, tongue-
twisting pace by a singer who
goes by the name of Suggsy.
They were undeniably fun, cute,
irresistibly dance-friendly, but
mostly, as I listen, I realize how
tight they were, how musical,
how joyful. Everybody needs a
little Madness in their lives,
and in their record collection.
Notes on the vinyl edition: Absolutely, Yep Rock Records, 2013 (reissue of the 1980 album), heavyweight black vinyl.
In case you don’t already know: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing at least one, sometimes two or three long skinny poem-like-things in response for each artist, and on a few occasions, writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response to more than one artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays that veer every now and then into the poetic or lyric.
michael jarmer 