Electric Light Orchestra - Here Is The News
“Here Is the News” is one of my all time favorite songs. It comes from the ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) album called, Time. This song is from, 1981 and the music was WAY ahead of its time. You’ll find that the vocals are extremely fresh. And the samples used are layered with perfection, probably one of the best examples of psychedelic vocal sampling layering that I can think of. There’s something exhilarating about how “Here Is the News” starts. It opens up with an orchestral deluge that doesn’t ask your permission to make you feel godlike. Then the beat kicks in and pulls you along into an upbeat electronic sonic jog. The synthesizers lay down lines of musical genius that are very pleasing to the ear. I remember blasting this song when I lived in San Francisco almost every day because I love it so much. It lifts you up. “Here Is the News” is only about 3 minutes and 45 seconds long but it packs a serious punch and there is a lot of musical things happening in that short time.
The reason why I say that this song is a musical masterpiece is because of the amount of pleasure it gives the listener after each listen. This song feels good to listen to. And it doesn’t get old either. It is the kind of song that you listen to until you memorize and then listen to it in your mind whenever you want. Oftentimes in music there are spots that sound only average or aren’t superb, but in “Here Is the News” every note is perfection, in spite of some serious polyphony. I wouldn’t be surprised if in 100 years this song is put in the same box as renown sections of classical masterpieces.