LogFAQs > #956357084

98. Orange Juice Rip It Up (1982)
from the album Rip It Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoqoxCr4054

Key lyrics:
I hope to god youre not as dumb as you make out
I hope to god (I hope to god)
And I hope to god Im not as numb as you make out
I hope to god (I hope to god)

Rip It Up is a quintessential New Wave song that could easily fade into the pack it is a song that plays so well to its genre that it risks being labelled generic. But there is a coyness in its presentation, both in its instrumentation and vocal delivery, that has slowly grown on me over the years. The electronic bass that opens the song, the first hit to use a 303, is bubbly, almost queasy. The odd inflection of the 303 would become a definitive element within electronic music, but Rip It Up is among the rare tracks to combine it with otherwise traditional instruments. This creates a layer of artifice that makes Rip It Up as off-putting as it is enticing.

Edwyn Collins vocal stylings are similarly uneasy. There is a certain bravado to his voice, and several lines find him rapidly descending to a guttural bellow. Backing vocals mix so well at certain points that Collins sounds thrice as large. These backing vocals occasionally split apart as well, a contrast suggesting these voices are many and one at once. The effect is something illusory, made all the more confounding by the relative accessibility of the overall sound.

Not everything that defines Rip It Up is unusual the saxophone solo is traditional yet stellar. But the overall bounciness of this track refuses to take off; as Collins sings about the sinking feeling of falling for someone, the song simply warbles. Orange Juice make all these odd choices to create a sonic simulation of love-struck anxiety.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/