I've just decided to become a fan of The Police

luka

Well-known member
To my ears their music is a great deal better than that of their more fashionable and more dour contemporaries eg gang of four
 

droid

Well-known member
Archetypal white mans reggae.

Liked them for a while in my early teens. Heard walking on the moon recently and was surprised at how incredibly awkward and stiff it was. Wrong, but not wrong on purpose like, say, Wire. Dunno much about their origins but I imagine that they were only ever going to be a transient vehicle for Sting's slightly-better-than-mediocre pop writing abilities.
 

luka

Well-known member
I'd dispute that characterisation. I've only been a fan since yesterday so I'm not very familiar with their music but surely it's not the sound of a band trying really hard to do reggae vibes mon and falling short.
 

luka

Well-known member
Equally I'm no muso but I've met a few and they hold the musicianship in high regard, drummer in particular
 

droid

Well-known member
I'd dispute that characterisation. I've only been a fan since yesterday so I'm not very familiar with their music but surely it's not the sound of a band trying really hard to do reggae vibes mon and falling short.

"In 1979 Regatta De Blanc would be released (the title meaning white reggae)."


"So Lonely" was another song with reggae influence (Sting has said that he took influence for the way the vocals were sung from the Bob Marley song "No Woman, No Cry")"

...
 
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rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
i saw a brass band in clapham on the bandstand in the common doing a police medley yesterday (sort of enjoyable on a novelty level).
stewart copeland was a good drummer....
that bruno mars that borrows from beat it and the police at the same time is one of the best modern pop songs.
 
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luka

Well-known member
I'm not saying there's no discernable reggae influence that's facile
I'm saying it's clearly not archetypal white reggae. Adrian sherwood or ace of base maybe, not the police
 

droid

Well-known member
Nearly all of their hits are reggae with a tinge of rock. Sting repeatedly sings in mock Jamaican accent & cadence. They called their second album 'white reggae'.

I mean FFS, what do they have to do?
 
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CrowleyHead

Well-known member
Story I read about the Police... They show up to Top Of The Pops or something like that, and find out John & PiL are doing a gig. Now, they're apparently big fans, and they want to ask John if they can collab, he characteristically tells them to fuck off. However, John decides he's not doing the show, blah blah blah... So The Police fill in for PiL for the miming of their song.

I get that their appropriation of reggae is clammy handed and a bit lame, but they don't actively replay reggae. Its indebted, but its not wholesale copying.

I have friends who adore Steward Copeland as a drummer. It was cool for hipster/2dopeboyz rappers to namedrop stuff like The Police and Tears For Fears for a minute to say they're 'not like the other ones, they have taste', etc. Wiz specifically was always big on saying he loved the Police.
 

luka

Well-known member
Max b and French Montana do englishman in new York
Puffy BIG tribute
Probably loads more

Rappers endorsement is no guarantee of quality obviously

Part of why I've decided to be a fan before really digging into the catalogue is that it winds people up and therefore is inherently worthwhile
 

luka

Well-known member
Whats their hippest balaeric white reggae vibes album? I want to download it illegally
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
NaH THen you're not talking about the Police, who were shite, except for the drummer and the synth guy who did the intros to Invisible Sun and Synchronicity1. Otherwise just listen to Bob Marley if you're really that deprived.

If you want lovely stuff from that era that isn't "oh you should really listen to Talking Heads, I mean the production by Eno is sooo amazing", then The Feelies were waaaay better than Gang of Four and are probably the musicianship and production you may be seeking, or at least I hope so.


But you're not talking about The Police, is it, you're talking about Sting, and his solo career, Dream of the Blue Turtles and all that. You should be wasting your time listening to his solo albums. Dream. Of. The. Blue. Turtles.
 
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luka

Well-known member
You hate James Brown, Prince, Lisa Lisa and cult jam, baby jesus and meadows full of wild flowers in spring
How can I trust anything you say?
 

droid

Well-known member
Hes right though, if you really want to annoy people you should become a devoted Sting fan and passionately make his case on all available social media and internet channels - especially Youtube.
 
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