Affairs Of The Heart - Waterloo Sunset

[Retro]

This classic new wave synth-pop song from 1983 just popped into my head tonight out of nowhere. Not heard if for decades, so figured I'd Google it and have a listen. Couldn't remember the band name so it was a bit of a challenge finding the right version as most hits are of the original by The Kinks in 1967. I don't like that version so it doesn't appear here, but feel free to post it in the comments.

It sounds seriously 1983, really embodying that time period. The repeated short "tssk" hi-hat reminds me of Visage's Fade to Grey and I rather like it. Have a listen and let us know which is your favourite mix.

@Hitcore I reckon you'll like this one.

Here's the original and some mixes.

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7 glorious minutes:

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These two are the same, but the sound quality is different with no clear winner. See which one you like better.

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[Hitcore]

It sounds seriously 1983

M8, it sounds so 80s that while listening to this I think I just shat out a Rubix Cube.
And 7 glorious minutes indeed.
Of the remixes I like the first one slightly better, though I can't really explain why.
What a great find, Retro. It feels pretty good to listen to something again after a few decades, right? Then it's almost like it's new again

 

[Retro]

M8, it sounds so 80s that while listening to this I think I just shat out a Rubix Cube.

Oh stoppit!

Indeed, I've been listening to it almost continuously since I posted it, like I would with a new song. It's got a real metronome rythm to it, finding myself rocking back and forth to it whether it's a whole body movement, just my head or my hands etc.

Did you know that they're a one hit wonder too? See this Discogs entry for more details:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/84621-Affairs-Of-The-Heart

 

[Retro]

Now, since I like this song so much, I wanted to get a pristine CD copy of it and willing to pay a premium price for it if I had to. However, since it's over 40 years old and an obscure one hit wonder, I couldn't find one. There's certainly no CD single. I found online what looked like a compilation CD with this on it, but that turned out to be a bust, actually something else, so I resorted to second best: buying the MP3 off Amazon. And believe me, it's second best in more ways than one, read on.

Sure, they had three mixes of it as an "album" for the princely sum of £2.97 and these were the files I received:



Great! I eagerly played the original mix, the one I really want, but hang on, it's actually the dance mix! I then played the dance mix - and that was also the dance mix. The files are slightly different lengths by a few seconds, but are otherwise identical. I then played the scrub mix and that really was the scrub mix, which I don't like. Where's my original mix?! I was quite pissed off, I tell you. Still am.

On top of this, the MP3s are only 32kb/s stereo, very low indeed, although they do sound ok, surprisingly. Why can't they manage the full 320kb/s?

So, I used the instant message function to contact Amazon (this is always hard to find, thanks Amazon). I explained this very simple problem very clearly, asking for a copy of the original version that I'd paid for and included the order number, yet droid "Chetan" managed to get completely flummoxed by my simple question and offered me a full refund straight away thinking I'd asked for that. I'd include the transcript, but it disappeared when I ended the chat. I actually had to ask him if he was human or a bot, whereupon he claimed to be human. Do we believe him, kids?

Anyway, he said that there was no option available to him to give me the correct file, so I accepted the full refund. Ok, so I got my money back and Amazon are always great like that when something goes wrong, but I'm not too happy. While I now have a free copy of the dance mix which isn't too bad a mix, I still can't find a full CD quality copy of the original and I have to keep on looking.

It also looks like Amazon have no escalation process to fix errors like this, so how many other customers are getting disappointed like this? How many do they just get away with when they can't be bothered to report it due to the low price? This isn't good enough. I suspect that this song gets hardly any sales now due to its obscurity, so probably not very many, but the point is still valid.


If you want to buy these tracks, they're available here, but remember, you won't get the original version.

Amazon.co.uk

@Mars @Tiffany you'll be interested in this one.

 

[Tiffany]

So, I have to also say, "that is so 1980's", omg!! Sorry to hear you had such a fiasco in getting the copy you wanted.

On the rubik's cube mention ... that brought back a memory from the 80's I forgot about. I used to work at the mall and the mall management was always doing some kind of entertainment in the center of the mall. They held a rubik's cube contest and the person that finished first, won. I wasn't a participant, I was a judge to make sure there was no cheating. Wow, that was in the last century. Now I feel old.

 

[Mars]

At least you got your money back, I guess there was nothing else the guy could do.
This is totally not my kind of music, but I can understand it is frustrating not to get the version you are after. Tastes in music are very individual, because they link so directly to centers in our grey matter, those little cells in between our ears....

Therefore we sometimes feel uncomfortable, almost physically, listening to a tune we love played 'badly'. It is a bit similar to the feeling we get having to wear something which just does not quite fit properly? We just want to take it off!

 

[Mars]

......Wow, that was in the last century. Now I feel old.

I so know the feeling, Tiffany