Monday, April 16, 2012

Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark - The Best of OMD

OMD is great, and not just because of that "If You Leave" song that sounds so much better than all the other 80's hits in that one Time-Life infomercial (You know the one. They play that part of the 10,000 Maniacs video that makes you wonder what we were ever thinking in the 80's). OMD is a force to be reckoned with in 80's synthpop. In my world, 80s synthpop bands belong in a tier system. Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, and Depeche Mode are first-ballot top tier bands. New Order squeezes into the top tier because too many people would complain if they didn't make it. OMD is denied top-tier billing by a mere few votes. They're down there with Eurythmics, Yazoo, Duran Duran, and The Human League. That's not necessarily bad company, and we should definitely bring up the fact that they came so close to being a top-tier band and yet are forever shut out because there's nothing they could do now to qualify. Ummm, yeah. Let's pretend I didn't spend as much time as I did thinking up a Bill Simmons tier system for 80s synthpop.

OMD is seriously good. They have a bunch of really good hits that are compiled on this fine CD. It was a pleasure to listen to it, and it will be a pleasure to listen to it every time I do so in the future. If synthpop is your bag, this disc had better be in it.

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