Album Details

• Artist: Bronski Beat
• Album: The Age Of Consent
• Label: London
• Year of Release: 1984
• Original Release: 2000
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: charlesmartel on 2011-09-02

In truth, though, I should hate this, as it is the sort of music I generally despise, being just a step away from disco dross. There is the same driving beat and the music, at first glance, seems solely to fit into the "made-for-dance" mold. I frequently divide music up into the categories of music-to-dance-to and music-to-listen-to, and would generally regard myself as having preference for the latter. There is, therefore, an instinctive stepping back within me when it comes to pure dance music, which I tend to associate with the most inane and facile aspects of the mainstream. However, it does not take long before you realise there is no inane chanting of "shake your funky booty" or other such pathetic lyrics which ruined all disco music for me.

In dividing up music in such a fashion, I am able to provide order and above all justification for what I like and what I don't like. Music you listen to is what you can sit down and concentrate on. You can hear what it has to say and appreciate the way, if it ids any good, it hangs together. You can pick up and enjoy various little facets of it which would miss if you weren't paying attention. Try dancing to it and unless you are a trained expert, able to provide a choreographed interpretation, you will look like an idiot. If you don't believe me, try putting on Mozart's "Eine Kliene Nachtmusik" and dance.

Music you can dance to is what you, well, dance to. Try sitting down and listening to it and all too often you are overwhelmed by the sheer banality of it while the repetition and the constant thump of the four-four beat becomes tedious in the extreme. It could be that, as I am not a great dancer, it will be inevitable that I have always veered towards the music you listen to side of the equation. Therefore it is kind of odd for me to find a dance album I can listen to, if that isn't a contradiction in itself.

What ultimately saves this album from being consigned by me to the slag heap of monotonous dance tracks is the political stance taken by Bronski Beat's driving force, Jimmy Somerville. He sang about his own life experiences, and a pretty hard an cruel life he had up until then. This was music which opened up a world of opportunity for gay people - stand up and don't be ashamed, there's nothing wrong with being gay. Jimmy Somerville didn't think so and he shouted it from the rooftops. For some, this message was lost among the energy of the dance music itself, while for others, the very theme was what put people off. Nevertheless, "Smalltown Boy", a sort of autobiographical look at the sometimes harrowing life of Jimmy Somerville, was a big hit in the UK.

Still, if you're a homophobe then you'll hate this, but if you are then no one's interested in your bigoted opinion anyway.

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