The Psychedelic Furs’ 1981 LP Talk Talk Talk reverberates to this day—somehow director John Hughes got a whole movie out of “Pretty In Pink,” which appeared in its original version here sounding like a British punk band gone paisley. (“Richard Butler’s phrasing and intonation owe so much to Johnny Rotten’s scabrous caterwaul that he’s got to be kidding and ripping him off simultaneously,” critic Robert Christgau once wrote.) When dance-punk titans the Rapture covered Talk Talk Talk’s disorienting opener “Dumb Waiters,” they found in the Furs the blend of discord, beat and melody they’d later ride to worldwide fame. In between were punky-poppy-psych-light songs that proved they were a band just bristling with ideas and inspiration. This week, the Furs perform Talk Talk Talk from start to finish. If you’re into them (like a train), where else could you possibly go?
Thu., April 28, 7 p.m., 2011
