This Is Love

Splintered October: Images From A Broken Mind #23

This Is Love - Gary Numan

This is love
This is pain disguised as a dream
Memories
Are guaranteed to break your heart.

Look at me
I woke up and found me alone
I wonder
If you'll ever think of me.

I won't cry
Now you're gone
I won't cry.
I should take
Your picture
From the wall.
This is love
What's it for?
It takes everything.

Another reason why I went with the atheist theme in yesterday's Miracles blipfoto, apart from finding the lyrics terribly uninspiring, is because I knew the "my baby done gone left me" narrative would be repeated in today's blip. However, I think the lyrics are stronger in This Is Love. I love the line, "This is pain described as a dream." Therefore, I am sticking to the lyrics' theme with this image.

The Strange Charm album from which this single is taken corrected the dreadful white suit and dicky-bow tie of The Fury with a homage to Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty in Bladerunner. Unfortunately, by now the media, particularly Radio One, had successfully put Numan's career into freefall. After Numan's fans had marched on a BBC studio protesting Gary Numan's blacklisting, Steve Wright played this brilliant track on his show. After playing it, he said, "That was the most depressing thing I've ever heard. I only played it because my boss told me I had to." Well Steve, that's what is called emotional sincerity; I guess you can be forgiven for not recognising it as you don't hear much of it in popular music these days. Scratch one Steve Wright fan for life!

To lighten the melancholy mood here, a bit of comedy. This song always brings this scene from Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid to my mind.