Each Friday I pick a song–new, old, borrowed, blue–that’s been on my mind and in my ears, and write a short post about it.

This is “Say Hello Wave Goodbye” by Soft Cell:

For certain kinds of song about heartbreak, understatement and simplicity aren’t what the doctor ordered. Enter Marc Almond. Cynicism, wit, mawkish sentimentality, all mixed together–and all of it sincere.  On the verses, he’s trying so hard to sound like he’s tossing you away in an offhand way, but when that chorus hits, the whole tone changes. The synthesized strings crank in, his voice becomes longing, and the lyrics tell not of a cynical throwaway, but of lost opportunity. As the song continues, the apparent confidence of the verses begins to crack, and the final verse is entirely fragile.  The last chorus, as it breaks to pieces, brings that cynical edge back, but the cynicism rings just a little hollow.

This version is the 12″ mix from 1982, and it’s as overwrought as the vocal performance.

Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love” is undoubtedly their most famous song, but if “Say Hello Wave Goodbye” isn’t Soft Cell’s finest hour, I don’t know what is.