‘..Silence Is Sexy brings nicely polished postpunk-songs. Very contemporary… Read Full Bio ↴‘..Silence Is Sexy brings nicely polished postpunk-songs. Very contemporary, with references to Editors and The Bravery.' (Gijsbert Kamer, Volkskrant 24-12-2005)

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Utrecht, The Netherlands 2003 / 2004 – Hendrik-Jan de Wolff (vocals, guitar), Pim van de Werken (guitar), Barry Spooren (bass) and Bart Reinders (drums) form Silence is Sexy (named after the Einstürzende Neubauten record). From a broad pallet of musical preferences, the band develops its sound that is compared to divergent bands like Joy Division, Sonic Youth, Placebo, Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine and Interpol. Attempts by the written press to interpret this style results in some of the following descriptions:

* Darkwave / Pop
* A unique infectious mixture of Noise-Punk, New Wave and shoegazer
* Nice Pop songs combined with a sharp guitar-sound

2005 – The word spreads quickly when the first EP 'Silence is Sexy' is released in the Netherlands. Various national radio stations play the song 'Reptiles'. Based on the EP, music magazine LiveXS declares the band 'local hero' and they hit the stage of Amsterdam's rock-temple Paradiso. In the meantime 'Reptiles' hits the Outlaw 41 charts of the alternative radio station KinkFM. The band plays shows at various festivals and clubs. In the summer Silence is Sexy plays the two most prestigious free festivals of the Netherlands: Parkpop and Metropolis. A Dutch club-tour follows in fall, leading them to venues like De Effenaar, Nighttown, Patronaat and W2.

The band has also been dubbed 'the next big thing' by digital music magazine Kindamuzik. The concert year is closed in a packed Paradiso, where the band wins the Grolsch grand prix, the oldest and most renowned Dutch rock-prize.

2006 – The début album ‘Everything you should know’ is recorded during the first months of the year. After a business conflict with an investor, the release is postponed and re-recorded in the summer with producer Martijn Groeneveld (Solo, This Beautiful Mess, Face Tomorrow). In July the unanimously well-received single 'This is our start?' is released as a forerunner for the coming album. This results in airplay and live performances on numerous radio shows on national station 3FM (Leuk is anders, 3voor12FM, Bring it on!, MoveYour Ass) and KinkFM. Silence is Sexy is called on by Dutch festivals like Metropolis, Appelpop, De Valkhof-affaire, Huntenpop and De Beschaving, and they open club shows for Kashmir, the Dears and the Gathering. In December the band has played a hundred gigs.

2007 – Silence is Sexy is nominated by KinkFM and LiveXS for a NightLiveXS Award in the 'Best live act National' category and performs during the award show. The debut album 'Everything you should know' is released in the Benelux in March by My First Sonny Weissmuller Recordings, a label run by distributor Konkurrent.

'..It will only take a small step for these guys to become huge..' (Julien Cottineau, Musiqualite.net)

In June 2012 the new double CD album Modern Antiques is released.

1984
Silence is Sexy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The details are coming back
Painting over black
They wake me and make me smile
On Saturday mornings
I was walking on the chairs
If I could I’d meet you there

Pictures made in ’84

I can’t see them any more
I remember everything

The sound of the neighbours phone
Our broken doorbell’s drone
I still hear it loud and clear
When the war was still cold
The stories we were told
They took place so far from here

Sit still and wait
I’m sailing a stormy lake

Picures made in ’84
I can’t see them any more
I remember everything
In a dream and on tv
All the memories come to me
I just want them to remain

The details are coming back
Painting over black
They wake me and make me smile

Picures made in ’84
I can’t see them any more
I remember everything
In a dream and on TV

All the memories come to me
I just want them to remain

Overall Meaning

The song 1984 by Silence is Sexy is a nostalgic tune with wistful and melancholic lyrics. The song is about the memories and moments of the past that the singer wants to hold onto, but they are slowly fading away. The first stanza references the details of the past that are coming back and painting over black - this is likely a metaphor for the memories and moments that are resurfacing, but are being overlaid with time and fading away.

The next stanza mentions pictures made in '84, and how the singer can't see them anymore. This is a poignant moment - the singer can remember everything, but the physical objects that once held so many memories are no longer around. The sound of the neighbors' phone and the broken doorbell's drone are moments that are etched in the singer's memory, despite the passage of time.

The chorus of the song revolves around the idea of memories resurfacing through dreams and on TV. The singer wants these memories to remain and hold onto them, but knows that they are slowly slipping away. The final stanza repeats the first two, with the details coming back and painting over black. The final line, "they wake me and make me smile", is a bittersweet moment - even though the memories are slowly fading, they can still bring a smile to the singer's face.

Line by Line Meaning

The details are coming back
Memories of the past are resurfacing.

Painting over black
Revisiting past memories and adding new perspectives to them.

They wake me and make me smile
The memories bring joy to the singer.

On Saturday mornings
The memories are associated with a specific time.

I was walking on the chairs
The singer is recalling a specific action.

If I could I’d meet you there
The singer wishes they could recreate the past.

Pictures made in ’84
The memories are specifically from 1984.

I can’t see them any more
The singer has difficulty picturing the memories.

I remember everything
The singer has a strong recollection of the past.

The sound of the neighbours phone
The singer remembers a specific sound.

Our broken doorbell’s drone
Another specific sound is being remembered.