(40) - > 55- Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get out Of
Vulture.com ranking and comment -73/218 - Brian Eno can throw everything into a blender that he wants, but this is still a gospel song at its heart — a tribute to Michael Hutchence, the late INXS singer who was a friend of the band and whose suicide weighed heavily on Bono and Edge particularly. Bono told Rolling Stone, “
t’s a row I didn’t have while he was alive.” The last three stanzas of the song are heart-wrenching.
I know it's weird to be talking about this song now that we are into the Top 10 songs, but I was in Ireland when this one came up and wanted to double back and post about it. I consider INXS to one of my musical children (along with Duran Duran, U2, and R.E.M., and maybe one or two others). When I first started DJing at my high school in 1980, I played all these bands when they were completely off the radar. I remember their first singles, albums, and promos coming into the station and playing them on the air (with a listen base of probably 8 people).
U2 and INXS were on similar paths and trajectories at one point. INXS' first major album release dropped in 1982 (after a couple of Aussie releases). They had two of platinum selling albums before their Kick album in 1987 . . . the same year U2 released The Joshua Tree. Kick went on to sell 20 million copies (TJT would pass that much later with U2 having a longer shelf life as a band). There was actually a brief timeframe when INXS was on par, if not more popular globally, than U2 was (pre Achtung Baby).
Oddly enough, INXS was the one band that I was sort of on an island on. I didn't know anyone that liked them, in my 13 years as a DJ, no one else really played them. Listeners didn't call up and clamor for me to play them. I just liked them. I think part of the reason for that is they seemed to have a sound that I would want if I had started a band (all I was missing was talent, songwriting ability, and the ability to play an instrument). I loved their sound. A mix of rock, new wave, alternative, pop, and dance all rolled into one.
Hard to believe it's been 25 years since Michael Hutchence died. It seems like yesterday to me. Somehow, INXS tried to stay together for 15 more years after that before calling it a day 10 years ago. Does anyone remember Rock Star INXS? It's sad to me how things turned out for a band I enjoyed so much. They tried 8 different singers over the years and none of them stuck.
I know, people will be aghast with dread and horror when I say that I probably like INXS better than U2. Don't get me wrong, U2 is far and away a better band, but at times they are too cerebral and have so much back story and causes to some of their songs. Sometimes I just like to hear upbeat music that I can tap my feet to and enjoy being entertained. INXS is one of my go to bands to throw on that perks me up and gets me recalibrated and readjusted. They put me in a good mood, and I have lots of memories involving INXS (even though I didn't have people I knew that were into them). They were always a fortress of solitude band for me . . . I'd listen to them alone on hikes, walks on the beach, working out, doing yardwork, at work, etc. I'd say they have been a guilty pleasure of mine, but I don't feel guilty about it. I listen to Kick more than I listen to TJT. I know people will scream . . . HEATHEN! He's a witch! Burn him!
Hutchence and Bono ended up as drinking buddies and neighbors and in France. SIAMYCGOO is a fitting tribute and memorial to a showman and singer that could get a crowd into a tizzy. Go watch INXS' Live Baby Live DVD in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium. INXS wasn't a great band, but they were fun.