Glemmer nemt hvor store The Jam var i England i slut-70’erne/start-80’erne’s England. Sammen med The Clash var de det band som alle andre håbefulde fra den nye bølge skulle måle sig med – ialfald hvad succes angik – og hver eneste pladeudgivelse blev dækket af musikpressen som var det en national begivenhed. For mig at se toppede The Jam kunstnerisk på Setting Sons (1979) men også efterfølgeren Sound Affects (1980) er en meget vellykket og helstøbt plade, der også på nærmest The Kinks-agtig facon dykker ned og tegner billeder af Thatcher-England’s armod, forfald og disillusion. ‘That’s Entertainment’ var albummets 2. single (efter ‘Start’), en enkel sang med de trøstesløse, socialrealistiske ord, Paul Weller nedfældede en sen nat, da kommet hjem fra en bytur.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
A police car and a screaming siren
Pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete
A baby wailing, a stray dog howling
The screech of brakes and lamplights blinking
That’s entertainment, that’s entertainment
A smash of glass and the rumble of boots
An electric train and a ripped up phone booth
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tom cat
Lights going out and a kick in the balls
I say that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment
Days of speed and slow time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls
I say that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment
Waking up at 6 a.m. on a cool warm morning
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol
An amateur band rehearse in a nearby yard
Watching the telly and thinking ’bout your holidays
That’s entertainment, that’s entertainment
Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summers day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away
That’s entertainment, that’s entertainment
Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquillity of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs
I say that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment
© Paul Weller
Sound Affects er slet ikke et dårligt album. Setting Sons er selvfølgelig fra 1979 – jeg har rettet det. I mange år tænkte jeg uvilkårligt, at Paul Weller sang:
Watching the telly and thinking about topology
– men jeg har jo også studeret matematik.