If there was an all-encompassing guy who could capture the zeitgeist, the camp, the sound, of a specific time in music history, put it into his music, and also teach about it, you have George Alley. He is a favorite at the UK Pop Culture magazine Loverboy and he teaches Punk and Ethos at Gratz College in Philadelphia.
Preparing to release an album on September 27th, I got to banter with him about a couple of his new singles. Just released this week, “Summer Trophies” which is following up his previous single “Wishlist”. With imagery of The Pet Shop Boys and some old Tinsel Town. His voice is as if Jon Ginoli from Pansy Division was a crooner.
Some highlights of our mot recent conversation follow:
George Alley: There is a line, I have engraved all the names in my mind. It is the idea that these summer trophies are monuments to loves in the past. Like the perfect time being at the end of summer for me. I think about Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer”. It’s all that school is about to begin again, or the looming responsibility, sort of a metaphor for Sunset Boulevard and Norma Desmond, you know this washed-up movie star looking back on her life.
Jeremy Hinks (Instinct): Why were you walking around with the television in the video?
GA: I think when you look back at these memories of summer vacations on VHS, and you’re carrying them around with you, that was a TV/VCR unit that I had in my room during those vacations. I was in Provincetown for most of the video when we shot it. And every year I go to Provincetown, I think about these memories of past trips, so this idea of caring around this physical symbol of looking back. And recording half of it on a ’90s camcorder at high 8, to make it look like old scrapbooking.
JH: What about “Wishlist” it has the imagery of Depeche Mode’s “Strange” video collection. You are catching a lot of the great Depeche Mode-like visuals, the music was really intense and had some Gary Numan sounds in it, but the line ” Is the flicker in the headlights pleasure or pain? like thunder rumbling through my veins You’re talking of love but you’re lying instead you’re still lying in his bed…I need you like a drug I’ll use for a fix “. I get the sense that you know it’s going to be bad you know it’s shit, but this is gonna be worth it, cause it’s gonna be a good shag, but we know its not a good idea.
GA: It was a song about a guy I was having a relationship of sorts, who was already in a relationship, and being the other person in this.
The full recording of this conversation can be seen below, with all the banter about pop culture you could ask for.
Instagram – @georgealley
Website – georgealley.com
