Sdtrk: ‘Lynda (Jensen sessions, 1982)’ by Strawberry switchblade
During my ten-minute break at work today, I was reading my copy of Q Magazine’s ‘Depeche mode + Electropop’ special from last year, when George, the fatter, more churlish of my two supervisors, lumbered over to my cubicle. ‘You into New wave and all that stuff?’ he asked. I very nearly choked on my drink.
Now, for a better explanation as to why this question was so out of left field for me, I’ll try to describe George, going by the kind of experiences I’ve had with him. As stated before, he is an immense beast of a man, who does indeed lumber when he walks. Also, if there’s a person on one end of the office opposite from where he’s at that asks him a question, he’s 95% more likely to shout across the office than he is to actually walk up to the person and speak to them, like a civilised person would. I attribute this to the fact that he walks so slowly, it’d be easier and quicker for him to shout a response than to mobilise himself over to the person before, y’know, the sun sets. His arms sport a number of gangsta-related tattoos, and in the four months I’ve been working there, I’ve only seen him smile or laugh about four or five times. His management skills consist mainly of haranguing the employees, such as, ‘speak up! It sounds like we’re whispering’, or ‘now would be a good time to check our equipment, so we can log in at ten o’clock’, or ‘we need to speak with some volume and enthusiasm’. He repeats those mantras at least once a day. Truly, an admirable man, with an infectious love of life and laughter that fills the room whenever he enters it! Heh. No, honestly he’s just a fat cunt with a complete lack of personality.
So! Back to the scene: I replied that yeah, I love New wave from both the Eighties and now. He then asked if I was into Duran Duran, to which I replied, ‘not so much, but I like their really early stuff’.
‘Yeah, I used to be a big fan of them and Soft cell’, George replied, ‘I used to have a lot of their tapes.’
I can’t remember, but I think I actually shook my head as if to clear it. ‘O.. wow,’ I responded.
‘That was some good stuff,’ he said, and made his leave, nodding approvingly.
Really, where do you go with knowledge like that? What else can you say?