Review #159: Synchronicity, The Police
#159: Synchronicity, The Police
Remember when Sting was in Bee Movie? I do.
This is actually the Police’s last album, and their only entry on the RS 500 list. Sting was in the middle of breaking up his marriage because of an affair with his wife’s good friend when he wrote this album.
I guess that means that everything in your life has to fall apart if you want to make good art. Hey, does anyone want to ruin my life? I’ve been meaning to write a novel.
FAVORITE SONGS:
“Walking In Your Footsteps” — Is this song just about how the dinosaurs went extinct?? That’s awesome.
“O My God” — Why does my guitar never sound like this?
“Synchronicity II” — Wait, I know this song! The Police do bridges better than any other New Wave band.
“Every Breath You Take” — The RS blurb calls this a “stalker’s anthem,” but Sting has said that the narrator is not really supposed to be sympathetic: “It sounds like a comforting love song. I didn’t realise at the time how sinister it is. I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance and control.” Besides, it’s really pretty.
“King Of Pain” — Stop cheating on your wife! Maybe you won’t be the king of pain anymore!
“Wrapped Around Your Finger” — Hey, I know this one too! I love when Sting does the note-leaping thing.
“Tea In The Sahara” — Well gee, I hope it’s iced tea.
“Murder By Numbers” — Oh, would that it were so easy to murder.
LEAST FAVORITE SONGS:
“Mother” — This was creepy in a not-fun way. Sting, you have serious mommy issues.
“Miss Gradenko” — The Police are weirder than I thought they were.
IS RS FULL OF IT?
Yes, but not because the Police don’t deserve to be here. I just hate the way RS writes about the Police; they call this “…the finest example of Sting’s unique gift for distilling complex psychological and romantic dramas … while making proggy musicianship and dense composition palatable to the mall-rat masses.”
Did you hear that? Sting is so smart that he dumbs big-brain ideas down enough so they make sense even to us stupid people.
