THE THE - PERFECT 12” @ 40

 

Released on February 11th, 1983, The The’s single, Perfect, turns 40 years old today. It’s my favorite song ever released by Matt Johnson and completely summed up my feelings about the the times, as well as being the best dance floor fodder in a year with some dead-on all-time classics in the clubs.

In 1982, Matt Johnson was working closely with Stevo from Some Bizarre Records and jockeying with a number of major record labels for a contract. He’d released a debut solo album under his own name, but was now working on a debut under what would become his more popular moniker, The The. Johnson and Stevo had gone to NYC to work with producer Mike Thorne, who had been at the console for the recent success of Soft Cell. They initially worked on the Uncertain Smile single, which was released in October of 1982. Work on that song proceeded very effectively, though there was some issues in terms of Stevo and his verbal agreement with London Records to release the singles. He’d reneged on that agreement and, instead, had Johnson sign a deal with CBS/Epic, despite London Records footing the bill for their trip to NYC.

At the time of the NYC sessions, the new album was tentatively titled The Pornography of Despair. After the release of Uncertain Smile, Johnson and Stevo returned to NYC to record a second single in advance of the LP. The song they chose to work on was written for the new album and called, Screw Up Your Feelings, but would become re-titled as "Perfect". By the time Johnson had returned to NYC, he’d gone from penniless to having an £80,000 advance from CBS, so he took advantage of his financial situation to partake in some of the pleasures of the city, disappearing from the studio to explore the Lower East Side and take drugs. He and Stevo also took a side trip to Detroit where Johnson felt he could spend some time really getting into the headspace he needed to sing the lyrics for his new song, which were about being “down-and-out”, so he wanted a taste of that lifestyle so he could bring some authenticity to his performance.

Eventually, the pair managed to get back into the studio to record, but by this time, their indulgences were wearing thin on Mike Thorne’s patience and further disagreements on the song’s production didn’t help. Thorne had wanted to use his fancy new Synclavier sampler/synth on the track, but Johnson was insistent on using his “cheap & cheerful” Omnichord electronic auto-harp instead. With all this conflict, Thorne bailed from the project after completing the single and Johnson headed back to London to start from scratch, where he’d record the entirety of what would become the Soul Mining LP, recording new versions of both Uncertain Smile and Perfect.

The single for Perfect, especially it’s 12” extended mix, clocking in at nearly 10 minutes, became an immediate sensation on the dance floors of the underground and alternative clubs. I had just started going out to them at exactly the time this song was released and I remember being immediately enthralled by it from the very first listen. I have to agree with Matt about that Omnichord because the bass sound it created is completely essential to the song’s groove, backed up by that insistent, hypnotic Linn Drum machine back-beat. And that high-lonesome harmonica on it was played by none other than New York Dolls front-man, David Johansen. Lyrically, Matt tapped into the quintessential mood of youthful despondence and malaise that was essential for the emerging Goth/Industrial dance scene of the day. His lyrics were so poetic and I had so many days like that where his words echoed in my head as my post-teen angst over the sadness of the world loomed in my mind. Yet it was all done with this killer fucking groove.

Every time this song came on in a club, I HAD to get on the dance floor, and I was NOT at all into dancing in clubs before this, being painfully shy and self-conscious. This song, along with Blue Monday by New Order and All Lined UP from Shriekback, were irresistible when they came on. Heaven forbid some DJ should play all three in sequence, which I distinctly remember happening at least once, necessitating nearly a 30 minute continuous stint of high energy boogieing until I was a sweaty rag doll. It remains one of my all time favorite songs, EVER!!!