For the month of October, I’m selecting a song each day from the decade that has the most meaning to me: the 80s. It was the decade that I grew up in. The period of time where I discovered my love for music — and explored many different genres. For the next 31 days, I’ll highlight a handful of songs that I truly loved and that were representative of the decade. #31DaysOf80sSongs
A band somewhat easily forgotten, The Alarm would sound off every couple of years during the 80s with a killer track in between a few long snoozes. They weren’t constantly on my radar, but occasionally they would put out these incredible rock songs that would floor me. They reminded me that hard rock and new wave could indeed coexist. They did it with songs like “Sold Me Down the River”, “Rescue Me” and “Rain in the Summertime”. But it all started with “The Stand”, a confident track that appeared on the band’s debut EP and got some fair airplay on MTV.
Throughout rock history, the harmonica has reared its head for better and for worse. Dylan. Petty. Neil Young. Zeppelin. Springsteen. Cash, The Doors. The list goes on. Even still, The Alarm kept it fresh. Their harmonica interludes were aggressive, playing the role normally handed off to the lead guitar without a thought. On “The Stand”, the harmonica was also a catalyst. Listen in on the 1:50 mark to see how it revved up everything else, including the stormy guitar riff, the drum barrage and the chorus reprise. Like The Clash, Waterboys and a pub band on a beautiful collision course.
“Come on down and meet your maker. Come on down and make the stand.”