Boomtown Rats

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Geldof's in town, peddling a new album and (presumably) trying to align himself with Dylan, Jagger et al by dropping his first name. Not heard any of the new stuff, but...anyway.

It occurred to me that apart from I Don't Like Mondays, which still rocks hard, and Rat Trap (which I'm not sure I've heard), I couldn't name another BR song if you put a gun to my head. Are they worth a decent second hand rummage or should they be left well alone?

― Charlie (Charlie), Monday, 16 September 2002 02:30 (10 years ago) Permalink

"Looking For #1" is a great Punk shouter I think. Dunno 'bout the rest.

― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 16 September 2002 03:29 (10 years ago) Permalink

She's So Modern brings back fond memories of school.

― Jez, Monday, 16 September 2002 09:27 (10 years ago) Permalink

Big fat hairy dud.

Geldof's talent is for publicity not songwriting.

Actually I quite like the Vegetarians of love album he did, its a decent Van the Pan/Dylan rip off but nothing else he ever did had the subtlty or depth of that album.

And the Boomtown Rats stank, Rat Trap just shows his talent for publicity and Mondays was crap then and is crap now.

― tigerclawskank, Monday, 16 September 2002 09:52 (10 years ago) Permalink

Oh fuckin' classic!

"Someone's Looking At You," "Banana Republic,""Up All Night," "Rat Trap,"......classics.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 16 September 2002 12:08 (10 years ago) Permalink

"I Don't Like Mondays" is their one good song!! It shd go on tom's melodrama thread!!

― mark s (mark s), Monday, 16 September 2002 12:10 (10 years ago) Permalink

"I Don't Like Mondays"... has any other song in history been ruined more by its intro?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 16 September 2002 12:53 (10 years ago) Permalink

"... has any other song in history been ruined more by its intro?"

"Stairway to Heaven"?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 16 September 2002 12:58 (10 years ago) Permalink

I forgot about Banana Republic - I never think of it as a Boomtown Rats song what with it being good.

― tigerclawskank, Monday, 16 September 2002 14:47 (10 years ago) Permalink

What about Like Clockwork and Mary from the fourth form?

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 17 September 2002 12:55 (10 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

The Boomtown Rats' back catalogue is being released on CD for the first time, out 7 February.

― pj proby, Monday, 31 January 2005 16:41 (8 years ago) Permalink

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/interviews/story.jsp?story=605132

― pj proby, Monday, 31 January 2005 16:42 (8 years ago) Permalink

ummm. Fopp are selling Tonic for the Troops cd for a fiver .. have been for ages now. guess some of the catalogue sneaked out. and i have a soft spot for Fine Art of Surfacing .. as it was my first lp i ever bought. on cassette of course.

― mark e (mark e), Monday, 31 January 2005 16:55 (8 years ago) Permalink

I have always sworn by the first two albums - -well, the first self-titled borderline-punk-rock album on Mercury and *A Tonic for the Troops,* the latter of which in its American version repeated a couple tracks from the debut (including "Joy's On the Street Again," which like the great "Rat Trap" was a pretty blatant Springsteen imitation if not Thin Lizzy imitation seeing how they were Irish and all); wasn't their second album slightly different in the UK? Outside of "I Don't Like Mondays" (and maybe some punky B-side -- "It's All the Rage" or something like that), I haven't heard their post-*Tonic stuff in eons. I remember it being kinda wussed-out, but I also remember vagely liking the third album (which I reviewed for my college newspaper!) at the time. Maybe I should buy it again sometime.

― chuck, Monday, 31 January 2005 16:59 (8 years ago) Permalink

Also, as proto-Columbine songs, go:

"I Don't Like Mondays">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>"Jeremy"

― chuck, Monday, 31 January 2005 17:01 (8 years ago) Permalink

(And of course it was actually Joey, not Joy, who was on the street again.)

― chuck, Monday, 31 January 2005 17:03 (8 years ago) Permalink

Dud, so long as Bob Geldof was frontman. Maybe he was a better singer than Gandhi or Nelson Mandela, but I wouldn't guarantee it.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 31 January 2005 17:50 (8 years ago) Permalink

Also, as proto-Columbine songs, go:

"I Don't Like Mondays">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>"Jeremy"

Yeah, but in "..Mondays," isn't it the teacher that turns the guns on the kids? Or am I just projecting that?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 31 January 2005 17:56 (8 years ago) Permalink

really??? I always thought it was some girl in the class with a silicone chip in her head that slipped to overload and her daddy doesn't understand it and he always said she was good as gold, and it was supposedly based on a true story, in england or somwhere. (unless i'm projecting THAT...)

― chuck, Monday, 31 January 2005 18:09 (8 years ago) Permalink

Urghhh . . the Rats were the absolute last word in hack punksploitation, getting it painfully and infallibly wrong at every turn, every move utterly reeking of desparation. DUD!

What IS classic is Geldorf's bitter outrage about the Clash and the Pistols getting all the credit for punk. Still goes on about it.

― Soukesian, Monday, 31 January 2005 18:54 (8 years ago) Permalink

Resounding dud...

― Bob Six (bobbysix), Monday, 31 January 2005 18:59 (8 years ago) Permalink

8 months pass...

classic!

― howell huser (chaki), Sunday, 23 October 2005 02:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

"I Don't Like Mondays" was about Brenda Ann Spencer. And is totally great. I like "Joey's On the Street Again" too, I can't remember anything else by them.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 23 October 2005 02:45 (7 years ago) Permalink

i like everything!

― howell huser (chaki), Sunday, 23 October 2005 02:51 (7 years ago) Permalink

> I also remember vagely liking the third album (which I reviewed for my college newspaper!) at the time. Maybe I should buy it again sometime.<

I did! A few months ago. It's good! I remembered most of the songs even though I hadn't heard them in nearly a quarter century! Also it should be noted for the permanent record that my 7-inch copy of "I Don't Like Mondays" (which I never got rid of) has a good punky B-side called *It's All the Rage*, copyright 1979 but not available on either *Tonic for the Troops* or *Fine Art of Surfacing* (US vinyl editions anyway; not sure re: other versions.)

― xhuxk, Sunday, 23 October 2005 15:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

6 years pass...

Classic if only for Fimgers's pajamas.

― You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. (hugo), Wednesday, 1 August 2012 18:38 (9 months ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

Reformed!

― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Monday, 28 January 2013 14:37 (3 months ago) Permalink

Thought this was a revive for Monday.

― Leopard Skin POLL-Box Hat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 January 2013 15:33 (3 months ago) Permalink

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Boomtown Rats - C/D?