A brilliant, accomplished debut, Look Sharp! established Joe Jackson as part of that camp of angry, intelligent young new wavers (i.e., Elvis Costello, Graham Parker) who approached pop music with the sardonic attitude and tense, aggressive energy of punk. Not as indebted to pub rock as Parker and Costello, and much more lyrically straightforward than the latter, Jackson delivers a set of bristling, insanely catchy pop songs that seethe with energy and frustration. Several deal with the lack of thoughtful reflection in everyday life ("Sunday Papers," "Got the Time"), but many more concern the injuries and follies of romance. In the caustic yet charming witticisms of songs like the hit "Is She Really Going Out With Him?," "Happy Loving Couples," "Fools in Love," and "Pretty Girls," Jackson presents himself on the one hand as a man of integrity seeking genuine depth in love (and elsewhere), but leavens his stance with a wry, self-effacing humor, revealing his own vulnerability to loneliness and to purely physical attraction. Look Sharp! is the sound of a young man searching for substance in a superficial world -- and it also happens to rock like hell.
In 2008, it's a bit late in the day to get upset about the utilization of pop songs in advertising, but a little part of my heart imploded last night when I saw a Taco Bell commercial that used "One More Time" by Joe Jackson (off the absolutely essential Look Sharp! album). I know Joe hasn't had a big hit in a while, but does he really need the cash that bad?Joe Jackson, much like Squeeze, was ...
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I couldn't find a video of Joe Jackson doing this song, but I don't think it's necessarily something less to listen to Inara George's version.When it comes to lyricists from the new age/punk era, I think Joe Jackson heads the list. To be certain, Elvis Costello turned a decent phrase or two (c.f. Watching the Detectives), but Joe Jackson consistently turned out song after song laced with wit a...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 One More Time |
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| 2 Sunday Papers |
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| 3 Is She Really Going out with Him? |
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| 4 Happy Loving Couples |
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| 5 Throw It Away |
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| 6 Baby Stick Around |
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| 7 Look Sharp! |
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| 8 Fools in Love |
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| 9 (Do The) Instant Mash |
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| 10 Pretty Girls |
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| 11 Got the Time |
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 "Look Sharp!")
