Public Image Limited- Happy?

I think I liked the idea of Public Image Limited more than I ever liked any of their music. The band's name is great. It means nothing and everything at the same time, and could always be abbreviated to PIL, which pretty much described Johnny Rotten most of the time.

I always loved "Seattle" and "The Body." Those songs grabbed me right away. Beyond that I don't remember much about Happy? I always preferred Cassette when I needed a PIL fix.

I'm a little surprised I don't know this tape better. It's only 34 minutes long. But the problem is that it all starts to sound the same.

I remember buying this cassette in Madison on one of my weekend sanity trips away from Janesville. 9 had just come out, and Public Image Limited videos were in heavy rotation on MTV's 120 Minutes. My friend bought 9 and I bought Happy? (Yes, I really did. The question mark is part of the title and isn't meant as additional commentary on my part.) I had Never Mind The Bollocks, but this was my first foray into Public Image Limited. I was surprised by how different it was. Sure, you still have Johnny (Lydon) Rotten's voice. But other than that it sounds like a completely different band. Which it was.

This is almost dance/club music. It didn't do much for me, and it doesn't do much now. It's amazing how consistent I can be with my 17 year old self.

I've always wanted to dig a little deeper into Public Image Limited's music. I have Second Edition somewhere on vinyl, and I suppose I could dig that out at some point. But the problem with listening to PIL for me is that it always reminds me of how great the Sex Pistols were, and I end up pulling out Never Mind The Bollocks.

But that's another post.