Lloyd Cole & the Commotions: “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?”
Camera Obscura: “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken”1
I’m giving you a pair of songs this morning that serve as their own call and response. In 1984, English songwriter Lloyd Cole asked the question “Are you ready to be heartbroken?” but didn’t get an answer for over twenty years, until twee-tastic Glaswegian popsters Camera Obscura nodded their heads yes.
I dig both songs despite not immediately making the connection between the two. The lyrical similarities don’t stretch past the titles; Mr. Cole’s literary stab addresses an entire group of elitists who “look like Born Again[s]” and “listen to Arthur Lee records” while Tracyanne Campbell is singing about, well, being heartbroken and being unable to “see further than [her] own nose at the moment”.
Give ‘em a listen. They’ll both get stuck in your head, albeit for different reasons.
1 If you’re seeing this on the Tumblr dashboard, you’ll have to click through to get your Obscura on.
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