Pretty in Punk

Director John Hughes caught the Psychedelic Furs at their absolute best for the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. Performing the title song of the 1986 film, the Furs captured the musical Zeitgeist of the ’80s, a sound indebted to the arty punk of the ’70s that vied for a place on...

By Nicholas L. Hall

May 13, 2010

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Director John Hughes caught the Psychedelic Furs at their absolute best for the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. Performing the title song of the 1986 film, the Furs captured the musical Zeitgeist of the ’80s, a sound indebted to the arty punk of the ’70s that vied for a place on the pop music throne. On their mid-’80s albums Mirror Moves and Midnight to Midnight, the band conveyed punk’s muscle and grit as well as pop’s sensitivity and sheen. Such an artful balance was perhaps owed to the Furs’ affection for the dark, poppy sounds of early Brian Eno and David Bowie.

To fully understand the Furs, though, you have to remove the band from the cultural wormhole that is the Hughes legacy and listen to the music, from its early forays into blistering avant-rock to its unfortunate devolution into white-washed synth-pop. This Wednesday, She Wants Revenge, a group of New Wave revival rockers from Los Angeles, will open for the Furs.
Wed., May 26, 8 p.m., 2010

Nicholas L. Hall

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