Sigue Sigue Sputnik "Albinoni vs Star Wars (Parlophone) 12" 45 rpm Single, 1989

Tuesday, April 4, 2022

The 18th-century Venetian master Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio in g minor is a haunting melody reflecting sadness, disappointment, and depression. No one listens to this music to be upbeat, joyful, or even in a pleasurable mood. It’s music that reflects on the seriousness of life, as the pages and time float off and never be able to capture the lost moments. The melody repeatedly builds as one finishes off a sigh. Sadness is brutal and rarely pulls its punches. We absorb the pain as the body is punched one by one and is almost on a spiritual level of pain. On the other hand, Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s version of the Adagio in g minor is not feeling the misery but gives out the painful blows. It’s Alex and his Droogs out for the evening and kicking down a drunk or two.

The Sputnik’s Albinoni vs. Star Wars is as beautiful as the standard orchestrated version of the music. Still, the majestic electronic percussion and the synth playing of the main melody give it a tacky glamour. It becomes a profound sense of bliss, and still, one can feel the loss of something important. In one of his plays, “Private Lives,” Noel Coward said Extraordinary how potent cheap music is.

Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Albinoni vs Star Wars