![]() ![]() Modern English plays Johnny Brenda’s Sunday, November 12. The last line is the most powerful: “I made a pilgrimage to save this human race,” Grey sings, then pauses before delivering the crushing blow: “Never comprehending the race was long, long lost.” ![]() Modern English, though English, sums up that existential discomfort nicely in “I Melt With You,” with lyrics about the losing breath and the world crashing. I Melt With You marks the band’s shift from the noisier punk of their earlier singles and 1981 debut Mesh & Lace the title also referenced in the songto the more new wave pop of After the. The group disbanded in 1987, only to re-form two years later and then disband after another two years (1991). They are best known for their songs 'I Melt with You', 'Hands Across the Sea', and 'Ink and Paper'. We’d forgotten what Lincoln said, that only America can destroy America. Modern English are an English new wave / post-punk band formed in 1979 in Colchester, Essex, England. We imagined losing contact with loved ones as we disappeared into shelters and hoarded Jell-O Pudding Pops and Fruit Roll-Ups. The Cold War and War Games and Halley’s Comet had people worried about fiery death from above and invaders on our shores. These songs were sometimes upbeat, but laced with desperation. Looking over the lyrics with modern eyes, I realize this song belongs alongside “Silent Running” and “1999” in my favorite ’80s subgenre: Vaguely Apocalyptic Pop. Helps that it was catchy, with a big synth riff behind it. (It’s no “I want to eat your cancer when it turns black” or every way John Darnielle does it.) But it says something nuanced and beautiful about human connection. It’s not the most twisted iteration of “I love you” in rock history.
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