S.S.S.

Sigue Sigue Sputnik's first single, "Love Missile F1-11," was unlike anything heard in the 30-plus years of rock & roll. Gunfire and explosions, bits of Mozart, then mad Thunders-like guitar breaks, backwards vocals, and tons of reverb all add to a song that shifts and changes every few seconds, leaving no chance that the listener will grow bored. Lines like "A U.S. bomb cruises overheard/There goes my love, rocket-red," allude to sex and nuclear war. Singer Martin Degville repeated calls to "Shoot it up!" sound like Elvis by way of Alan Vega, and every influence is thrown in, including Eddie Cochran, Marc Bolan, Suicide, Gene Vincent, David Bowie, and Little Richard, as well as ultra-violent movies like Scareface and the Terminator to create the pop song. "Love Missile F1-11" opens Flaunt It, with a harsh, attention grabbing synthesized symphonic crash, followed by a single, repeated phrase that explicates their true intentions: "I wanna be a star!" The subdued "Atari Baby," the track that has the dubious distinction of following the cacophonous "Love Missile," is a welcome comedown, but is disturbing nonetheless. An ominous love song for the virtual reality age, when sex with a human is replaced by sex with a video game.