Skip to main content

The Brains - Money Changes Everything

It's become undeniably evident that the president of the United States had a sexual fling with a porn star while his wife was pregnant. Right before the 2016 election, his lawyer paid Stormy Daniels off with $130,000. POTUS denies the whole thing.
I'm so sick of money and the terrible things that it enables. It's pretty obvious no one in the GOP or Trump's base is going to bat an eye at this little hush money cover up. What it reveals about the soul of America is no surprise, but still troubling. Yeah, money changes everything. Even the core values of religious zealots and fiscally conservative nut jobs. But, we should have known that. The Brains called it back in '80. "You think you know what we're doing. We don't pull the strings. It's all in the past now. Money changes everything."


The Brains were a hard rocking quartet from Atlanta, Georgia. For their 1980 debut, Steve Lillywhite stepped in to the production role, added a little signature, Cars-y keyboard and transformed them into new wavy gravy. Lillywhite had just wrapped up working with U2, Peter Gabriel and XTC. "Money Changes Everything," which would later become a hit for Cyndi Lauper, is arguably the best song on the record. From the opening break up scene in the car to the realization that the singer's friends are all fake, the lyrics are compellingly fatalistic. Tom Grey repeats the chorus and by the second time through, you're joining in. As you sing along, a tear slides down your cheek at the realization that, perhaps, the moral arc of the universe actually bends toward dark corruption. 



Fun fact: Their bass player went on to join The Georgia Satellites.

Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

New Order - Your Silent Face

Originally released on 1983's Power, Corruption and Lies, this live version of Your Silent Face (from NOMC15) captures the enduring sound of New Order at Brixton Academy in 2015. On their third album, the band embraced synthesizers and romanticism wholeheartedly. They were emerging from the ashes of Joy Division and the more guitar-driven  sound of their first two albums. This song is exemplary of my favorite period of New Order's music -- the threshold of synth pop and post-punk. It's amazing to hear them, nearly 35 years later, performing the song with such vitality.
Post a Comment
Read more

Asia - Heat of the Moment (Live)

By the end of 1981, prog rock was in deep trouble. Punk rock's offspring had traded in guitars for synthesizers and learned to write catchy pop songs. Prog pioneers who had redefined rock and roll's sound throughout the 70s, with their bold use of Moog and ARP synthesizers (Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, etc.), now stood on the sidelines scratching their heads as Adam Ant lookalikes scored hits with their own brand of synthesized music. The new wave had arrived and proggers were beached. The only prog group that had managed to successfully make the jump to the 80s was Genesis. With Phil Collins out from behind the drums and singing love songs, the group scored hits with "Follow You, Follow Me," "Turn It On Again," and "Misunderstanding." Genesis wasn't new wave, but they had successfuly shed the odd time signatures and existential lyrics of the 70s and attracted a mainstream pop audience. But Genesis was just the beginning. Following the...
Post a Comment
Read more