Urgh!

One more for the 80s- you really can't talk about that era and not shout out
the music...I remember watching a particular brand of insanity called "Urgh!
A Music War" which blew my art school, asymmetrical mind. This amazing
performance filled film came out in 1981 but think I must have seen it a few
years later. Needless to say, I watched it over and over again and was
completely in love with it.

What is it about Urgh! that is so damn special? The two hour film is packed
with musical milestones and encapsulates the indie spirit of the era- watch
a young and zaftig Belinda Carlisle lead the Go Gos, a stellar and off the
wall Oingo Boingo, and an awesome awesome Klaus Nomi experience. Oh, Klaus.
His insane operatic voice, amazing appearance, and performance art are not
to be missed. We lost him to AIDS like so many other geniuses of that era,
but this film shows him at his kooked out best. When I meet people who even
know who he is, I tend to like them immediately.

My personal standout is XTC's performance of "Respectable Street". Amazing.
Just watching this film you simply knew something awesome was going on in
places like LA, Europe, and beyond. Everybody looks cool in that art school
way- Urgh! is the best snapshot of the new wave/post punk scene happening at
the time. And we also get to see Sting when he was still very much a bad
ass.

Film is hard to locate a bit but we recently were lucky enough to score the
vinyl of the soundtrack. Genius.


Here is a link to the the XTC jam from the film. Crank that shit.