Ghost of a flea: Much ado about the nothing

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June 04, 2005

Much ado about the nothing

Much has been made of the somewhat derivative nature of Kelly Osbourne's fabulous new hit single, "One Word". Yes, the song is an homage to the 1980 New Wave anthem, "Fade to Grey" by Visage. Rather less has been made of the fact that "Fade to Grey", while fab, was itself derivative of the Human League's 1976 "Being Boiled"*

I am not certain what the problem is supposed to be. Should the video have included footnotes? The "One Word" video, and indeed song lyrics, are clearly inspired by Jean-Luc Godard's film, Alphaville and yet nobody has complained about that. And Flea-readers who have yet to see Alphaville should do so at once.

Alphaville subtitled A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution, Godard's hugely influential sci-fi thriller was originally called Tarzan vs. IBM, a title indicative of its pop art/pulp fiction sensibility and suggestive of its theme: the alienating, dehumanizing effects of contemporary corporate/computer culture. Lemmy Caution, Secret Agent .003 from the Outlands, travels through space in a Ford Galaxie to Alphaville, the city of the future where love, art, and individuality are outlawed. Armed only with a Zippo lighter, a .45 calibre handgun, and a volume of Eluard's poems, his mission is to neutralize the dictatorial Professor Von Braun and destroy Alpha 60, the ruthless computer that demands mindless conformity.

*Amazon is linked for their sound files not because they are paying me anything for it.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at June 4, 2005 02:23 PM

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Comments

Do we care about Alphaville of "Forever Young" in all this? Until we meet in meet space - and, oh, when we do the BBQ and pitchers shall fly - I live in trust, as your Europop '80s cred smacks up against mine heartily.

Posted by: Alan at June 4, 2005 11:57 PM

No, "Forever Young" has no relationship to my point excepting the irritating fact that people who have not seen Godard's film invariably bring up an 80s one hit wonder when I try to talk about it. Seriously, it is a movie that sf fans should see. Beer is good though.

Posted by: Ghost of a flea at June 5, 2005 05:43 AM

okay, so i didn't know that kelly osborne had a new single (i kind of live under a rock) but this post has let me know that i should see alphaville.

Posted by: mainja at June 5, 2005 02:51 PM