Eddy Grant -- "Electric Avenue"
I remember the video to this one from my youth. I was 9 or maybe 10, and the song and video both left me confused. I was from the far western edge of the Kansas City suburbs, in other words, a step away from nowhere, a very provincial place. I had no idea where a guy like Eddy Grant might come from, what he was about. Now I know that Electric Avenue is a street in Brixton, South London, home to a large population of West Indian immigrants and their descendents, the rough place where the crooked beats come from. Now I know that England isn't just white people anymore. It would take me a while to find all of that out.
The politics of this song are one thing, represented in the video by the drowning motif. Then there's the beat, which takes the form of a revving motorcycle ride down Brixton High Street. Here is a thrill indeed. The sound of this track is electronic but organic. My own kids (ages 3 and 6) are in love with the song, and they know all the words, even if they don't have a clue yet as to what they mean.
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