Mick MacNeil’s synth for starters. Just right off the bat there. The pace of it. The time sequence of it.
More great lyrics from Jim. “The suit he wears belongs to me” and “She rag doll, she keeps him warm” are personal faves. And such a fantastically simple chorus “We can live / I can live / celebrate” and I love how the chorus is delivered. It’s almost regimented. Like the soldiers mentioned in the song – dum dum dum / dum dum dum / da di daa – it’s a fantastic rhythm.
When they perform it these days, the final verse gets dropped. A shame, because it also contains great lyrics, including “The house is glass, furniture’s chrome”, conjuring up cool minimalism. Which is exactly what the song is! It’s cool minimalism.
And sexy. So, ssooo sexy. Those earlier lines in the lyrics I mentioned…Jim delivers them in such a way, my ovaries explode! Lol.
I’m not always going to be the most articulate with these “why I love…” posts, as you can see, but I will try and explain it beyond a “just because” reasoning.
This video is what REALLY sold Celebrate to me though. Jim is just so, so, f***ing sexy in it – my ovaries don’t just explode but die, shatter into a billion pieces, reform and THEN explode! Lol. The leathers (sadly, might actually be leather still at this point – not sure he was quite vegie yet), the tambourine, the snake-hipped dancing, the slick back hair…beyond cool, beyond delicious.
Charlie’s guitar solo with the “wang bar” action – ooh, hello Mrs – adding even more sex to it. Derek’s bass is actually quite subtle…but LOW…making one’s ovaries rumble before exploding.
Anyway…I love the regimented pace of the song. A great groove. Subtle, deep bass. Killer synths. Killer guitar. Fab, succinct, sparse lyrics and quite possibly one of the sexiest songs Simple Minds have ever produced.
And that is why I love Celebrate.
