I Don't Believe

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Seriously, there is nothing on Numan's next album, Metal Rhythm, which I like. At all. I don't even own a copy of this one. I purchased it when it came out, was utterly underwhelmed, played it a few more times to try and like it, failed, and ended up giving it to a charity shop. It's that bad. So what went wrong? As Numan now says, by this time he had absolutely no confidence in his own talents as a singer or a songwriter so he started listening to advice. Listening to advice; the kiss of death for an artist. Desperate to write a hit, rather than to write a great song, Numan let others tell him how to be successful. As a result, he ends up sounding like a third-rate Janet Jackson wannabe. Janet does this stuff one hundred times better than Numan, so why try?

So how do I choose my favourite song from this rubbish? Answer; I cheat (well, it was on the 1999 reissue.) I've chosen the magnificent B side to one of the utterly lame singles from the album, America. I bought America, hated it, but played the B side, I Don't Believe repeatedly. I guess on a B side Numan felt more free to play the music he actually liked. It certainly seems like that to me.

Credit to the genius that is Bill Sienkiewicz for today's blip which comes from his classic Elektra: Assassin graphic novel - a very Numan-like title if ever I heard one and really in keeping with the nihilistic tone of this track.

Love is unsafe I'm sure
Wrong love,
Wrong time,
Wrong move.
Love is too short, too sharp.
Wrong men,
Wrong place,
Wrong heart.

I don't believe in love and
I don't believe in you and
I don't believe in anything

Love is too cold, too close.
because pictures TV
Love is you all with film.
You don't know me at all.