Subhumans - Time Flies... But Aeroplanes Crash

SUBHUMANS -

TIME FLIES... BUT AEROPLANES CRASH

Over in Wiltshire, the Subhumans were showing no sign of a let up in their productivity with the release of yet another record from them on their Bluurg label. Time Flies... But Aeroplanes Crash was a 12” EP containing a mixture of live and studio-recorded songs that if truth be told was a bit of a hotchpotch.

Playing live was where the Subhumans were still on their peak form so it was understandable that they'd wish to capture that on vinyl. The original aim of Time Flies was that it be a totally live recording but when it came to it, the intended recording of the concert wasn’t very good so they instead entered the studio and bashed out newer versions of some songs from their guitarist's first band – Stupid Humans – to use alongside a few of the live songs they managed to salvage. The end result, however, wasn't quite as good as they might have hoped and out of the eight songs just three stood out.

The obvious first stand-out track was Susan, in which Dick recited a tale of domestic depression over the sound of a piano, an instrument not ever associated before with the Subhumans.

The second track was Work, Rest, Play, Die; a catchy sing-along that chewed over the subject of conformity, sung almost as though it was an advertising jingle.

The stand-out track, however, was People Are Scared, which contained what was possibly Dick Lucas' most keenly observed and insightful lyrics to that date:

“Nobody says anything on buses, it's not the noise the engine makes. You can watch them all staring nervous, sit at the back, it's the safest place. People are scared to say 'hello', the flick of the fag, the shifting eyes. Stare in amusement then look away, the conscious battle of who to despise. Self-restriction and paranoia, self-belief and the silent laugh. The inner conflict between one and other, when you're all the same it seems so daft.”

Half-spoken, half-screamed, the words are delivered over an almost Jefferson Airplane-style rock piece, Punkified yet shorn of any typical Subhumans thrash.

What was it about situations such as being on a bus or on a tube train that caused people to put up defensive walls of silence? Was it due to being in a confined space with strangers, or that it was simply dead time to get over with as quickly and as hassle-free as possible whilst journeying from one place to another?

Was it but a question of appropriateness and etiquette? Why was it okay to talk to strangers in some situations and places but not in others? In confined spaces, were people afraid for their personal safety and for this reason were suspicious of others' motives? In some cases, yes, but clearly not in all.

Were people wary of talking to strangers on a bus through fear of being judged or misjudged by them? Or was it a case of it actually always being like this and in a confined space it being simply magnified and laid bare? If so, then it was arguably to everyone's detriment but might it also be to anyone's or anything's advantage?

“People are scared underneath their silence. People are getting more afraid. They turn to their leaders for help and guidance and then the system wins again and will carry on winning til god knows when. Til people start to talk to each other, everyone just like a brother. Til the morals and fear that divides us all are no longer the excuse for the system's rule.”

The Subhumans and Dick Lucas with his lyrics in particular were touching upon something of huge significance but did they even realise it? If so, then why the decision to release what was one of their best songs only as a live version tucked away amongst seven other songs on what appeared to be a hastily-produced, almost throwaway mini-album?

People Are Scared was an anomaly but then Time Flies was a record full of anomalies, ending up as it was more through accident rather than design. It wasn't the best thing that Subhumans had released by any means but for the inclusion of nothing other than People Are Scared, it was worth it.