Oingo Boingo - Only a Lad
By Andrew Anthony
June 19 1981
Oingo Boingo
Only a Lad
Genre: New Wave
Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Anthony’s Rating: 11-12 year old Andrew—1 out of 5 stars
16 year old Andrew-2 ½ out of 5 stars
50 year old Andrew-- 4 out of 5 stars
Highlights:
Capitalism
Only a Lad
Little Girls
Requisite 80s Cover/Lowlight: You Really Got Me (although it’s growing on me)
When this album came out, 11-12 year old me would have wrinkled his nose and wondered what this weird crap was. 11-12 year old Andrew was not ready for quirky, experimental art rock. 11-12 year old Andrew was more into mainstream AOR and Top 40, his undying devotion to Van Halen still a year or two away. 11-12 year old Andrew wouldn’t have gotten the subversive, satirical lyrics of songs like Capitalism and Little Girls. The straightforward, earnest lyrics of Escape by Journey and Hi Infidelity by REO were more his speed. 11-12 year old Andrew wouldn’t have liked Danny Elfman’s partly spoken, partly yodeled, partly screamed vocals.
16 year old Andrew, having experienced a wider variety of musical styles, would find that later Boingo hits were more to his liking, but was starting to be more tolerant of non-mainstream music. He wouldn’t be put off by a brass section, unlike 11-12 year old Andrew. Boingo’s Devoesque version of You Really Got Me would have likely pissed him off, without an amazing guitar solo like Van Halen’s version.
50 year old Andrew listened to Only A Lad for the first time in his life a few weeks ago. 50 year old Andrew’s musical tastes have become almost insanely eclectic. 50 year old Andrew has seen Forbidden Zone and knows that Elfman and the Boingo boys were very much into experimenting and shocking their audiences with strange visuals and unusual audio. 50 year old Andrew, knowing more about the world than 11-12 year old Andrew could have ever imagined, has a greater appreciation for early Boingo than he would have had as a snot-nosed kid in junior high, or even as a less snot-nosed kid in high school.
50 year old Andrew WAS put off by Boingo’s version of You Really Got Me, so he asked his 48 year old wife (who WAS a big Boingo fan back in the day) what she thought of it. She wrinkled her nose and wondered what this weird crap was. I kinda had to agree.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7MhIp0eE5ymTKIZu0xO9lu?si=IO2BivaeQJ-pRhRrratLKw
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