22 March 2013 - Human League - Don't You Want Me (with a Sassy bonus)

This is the first song I can remember being my favorite song.  I outgrew it for a little while, but the song still endures for me.

The song itself is heavily electronic from a musical standpoint, but it isn't terribly sparse, like other electronic songs from 1982 were.  Human League were able to keep a deep sound, almost like a full band (more on that in a minute).  What made this song really intriguing, though, was the dual lead vocal.  It wasn't a traditional call-and-response song - the two vocalists each get a separate verse, with the male lead taking the chorus - but you still got both sides of the story, including a very dark and sinister possessiveness.

This song has been covered several times.  My personal favorite cover isn't going to wait for Totally Covered. It was done for a 1992 covers compilation that benefited Planned Parenthood.  Chia Pet's members included Christina Kelly on vocals, Jessica Vitkus Weeks on bass, Mary Ann Marshall on drums and Jane Pratt on violin.   Those names might ring a bell, if you were a fan of the magazine Sassy - Jane Pratt was the founding editor, and the others were writers and editors for the magazine.

This version was 100% NOT electronic, and didn't have a male lead vocal (there is a 2nd woman singing), but, because the song was so well-written, this still worked! Also, Christina Kelly was kind of bad-ass - still is - which helped pull off the sinisterness of the vocals.