Poly Styrene “White Gold” - from 2011’s Generation Indigo.

2011’s best pop album so far was released by an iconic rock/pop/soul figure who sadly died of cancer on the eve of this album’s release. Pretending there is such a thing as ‘fate’, Fuck You ‘fate’ and the cancer you bring.

As far as the twenty-tens’ nu-disco generation ruled by the post-Killers/Rapture/Lady Gaga empire, this album obviously has an ear for that sound, as it’s the primary influence here. What’s rarer is that every song is written as a potential hit single. Some really stand out, such as “White Gold”, others are merely beautiful. The only exception might be “Thrash City” and the “Straight To Hell”/”Paper Planes” pseudo-cover “No Rockefeller.”

You will not hear the urgent and thrilling screams of Germ Free Adolescents era X-Ray Spex on this album at all.  Poly Styrene gave that sound up anyway just a year later since her first solo album from 1980, Translucence. You *will* hear the same wrapping of politics and inquisitiveness around very catchy music, however.

I’m still at a loss for words for the passing of Poly Styrene. I’ve felt married to her music at least a decade ago, when I dove hard into the X-Ray Spex and very undersized solo discography of Ms. Styrene.  Rest in peace.

“Don Quichotte” was a novelty Latin synth pop hit by the French group Magazine 60.  While the group are classified as italodisco, “Don Quichotte” doesn’t showcase any such traits. If anything, it’s a humorous extension of the subtle clave rhythms present throughout Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express album (hat tip to Jeff Chang for that observation), but adding some strange characters and sounds over it, making this track more akin to Yello, if anybody else. The version here is the extended remix done by Martin Rodriguez for the U.S. 12” release on Baja Records.

“Don Quichotte” arrived at a puzzled crossroads for electronic dance pop. The forefathers of synth pop were waning - Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk both. There were more novelty hits than longevity hits that year. This track seems like an odd crossroads/rest stop for future late 80s dance styles such as freestyle (called “latin dance pop” then) and elektroclash.  Either way, this song dropped like a bomb on Los Angeles dance radio stations and dance floors when it came out.

None of the above will change the fact that the song is batshit insane, especially when you climax with the words “Marijuana, wha…what’s going on? You’ve got a whole new brain, I feel crazy!” “¡NO SEÑOR, DON QUIXOTE Y SANCHO PANZA NO ESTAN AQUI!” (Bless you, crazy French Latin synth-popsters.)