Blog: PopMatters

Two new compilations explore the politics of echo. "Itchy finger (FINGER!) trigger (TRIGGER!) click click... clickclickCLICK!" ("Click Click") For the span of its short career, the Beat was a model of consistency. In three years the band fired off three studio albums, 12 songs per album, a big handful of pop hits, and then in 1982 they broke apart -- faster faster faster faster STOP. Well, not exactly "stop". The band still tours in twin configurations: singer and toaster Ranking Roger carries the...