You got it “Bang On” (by Rational Youth)

 

 A few weeks ago I received an e-mail and thought out loud, “That’s bang – ‘Bang On, like a jet in the breeze, bang on’…”

The last bit is part of the chorus of a song that is kind of an ‘80s ear worm for me, from a band that was popular in Montreal, if memory serves, but never got as big as they should have in the rest of the world.

Rational Youth
The first time I heard the band Rational Youth described was as one of the biggest bands in Montreal along with Men Without Hats.

Beyond that, I know very little about Rational Youth, that is until I looked them up on Wikipedia.

I discovered they were a pioneering new wave synth pop band, and in fact lead singer Tracy Howe had also been in Men Without Hats, as a guitarist, before forming Rational Youth. Interestingly, Howe and Ivan Doroschuk, who later formed Men Without Hats, had also been in a band together called Heaven Seventeen. That band was credited with being one of the first punk bands to use synthesizers.

Also, I discovered the band had some personnel issues and, by the time “Bang On” was released, they were Rational Youth in name – and lead singer – only.

In fact, it was the record studio’s idea to release this album as one by the band, and lead singer Tracy Howe went along with it, producing “Heredity” in 1985 with a bunch of studio musicians.

What ultimately happened was the sound was different from Rational Youth’s previous music, thus creating new fans – like me sort of – confusing existing fans.

“Bang On”
I have to say, “Bang On” does not sound punk or new wave at all to me. It is more of a pop song. It got radio play in 1985, and made the Canadian Top 100 at number 91.

Parting thoughts
It’s strange how just a word or two can trigger a song. It’s kind of an odd ear worm, or maybe Freudian free association.

Anyway, although “Bang On” seems to be confined to the dust bin of Canadian music history, it comes to mind every time I utter the phrase “bang on”.

“Bang on – like a jet in the breeze”.