I was honestly never the biggest fan of Little Steve & the Disciples of Soul. At the time -- circa 1982 -- I was much more enamored of bands like the Circle Jerks, Venom and the Lords of the New Church than with the extracurricular doings of a member of Bruce Springsteen's band. That all said, Little Steven was (and remains) inarguably the coolest member of Bruce's little organization, well prior to his high profile turn on "The Sopranos" and/or his excellent radio program. More to the point, the fact that the Disciples of Soul counted Jean Beauvoir in its ranks (then recently absent from another favorite band of mine at the time, The Plasmatics) automatically made me stand up and salute them.
The single I'm highlighting below was probably the closest the band ever came to notoriety before Little Steven was re-absorbed back into the E-Street Band. The then-nascent MTV put this video in semi-regular rotation. I always found myself wanting to like it more than I did, but at the time, my narrow convictions wouldn't let me truly appreciate any band with a fuckin' flute player. I mean, as if!!!!
Thirty years later (eeeeyouch!), I absolutely adore both this song and this video. Not only is it simply a great, catchy fucking tune, but the video is entirely worthy of being put in a time capsule for singularly capturing a New York City that is no longer recognizable. I've written about it here before I believe, but soak in the sight of Minetta Lane, Carmine Street, Times Square and beyond as the Disciples dart and weave around the island of Manhattan before converging on their rehearsal space. I especially adore the footage of the proudly mohican Beauvoir biking through the city like a badass. This is great stuff and the perfect summer in New York City song, full stop.
Jump in front of it as if it were a spewing, gushing hydrant of cool.
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