Hunter addressed the ridiculousness of television (actually the name of an American show) for a second time but Captain Void n' The Video Jets is in a fanciful and comical mood. This is a bit of an odd tune but the space visitors concept will be revisited and improved on Stranded In Reality. The song is chock full of studio effects and fits in with the remainder of the LP because as a whole the release is a mixed bag.
"Captain to Candida" starts the song so it's the captain speaking to yeasts I suppose because they spread as fungal infections worldwide. They are machines looking through the glass to hypnotize people. Finally, Hunter states:
"We don't hit lovers - we leave them alone
We just hit children who rot in their homes."The import of the lyrics is the power TV has over people but here described as an off-the-wall fantasy. The aliens take over through TVs. Hunter speculates he must have been playing a video game and losing when he wrote this.
To end with "Mr. Jones" the name must stand as an everyman, common name since Mick Jones did not participate in the effort as he had on Short Back 'n' Sides.
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Candida is a genus of yeasts and is the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide.[1] In fact, it is the largest genus of medically important yeasts.
Candide, ou l'Optimisme (/kɒnˈdiːd/ kon-DEED,[5] French: [kɑ̃did] (
listen)) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment,[6] first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist(1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947).[7] It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss.[8]The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes Candide with, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds".
Captain Void 'n' The Video Jets
(Ian Hunter)
Captain to Candida - we just hit earth
Everyone's strange here - don't know what they're worth
Got this idea - we're gonna be machines
We'll play a part in their imaginary dreams
Say hi - hi - hi
Have you ever stopped to figure out why
We're Captain Void 'n' the Video Jets
Go go get - go go get
Your Captain Void 'n' the Video Jets
We're the original space cadets
Captain to Candida - we're spreading fast
They're watchin' us - watching them through the glass
We got them hypnotized - under our control
We're nearly ready to put the world on hold
Say hi - hi - hi
Have you ever stopped to figure out why
We're Captain Void 'n' the Video Jets
Place your bets - place your bets
On Captain Void 'n' the Video Jets
We hide inside your T.V. set
We don't hit lovers - we leave them alone
We just hit children who rot in their homes
Something is happening
Now Mr. Jones just touch me (c'mon)
Turn me on!
Ian Hunter LP/CD: "All Of The Good Ones Are Taken"
Sleeve and track listing
Sony/Columbia 474780 2.
Review
Ian recorded this album at the end of 1982, and is a real mix of styles. Mick Ronson was absent, as he was seriously considering quitting the music business ("At one point I was even considering becoming a chef" - Mick). Strongest tracks are Speechless (later to be covered by Status Quo), and the title track. Every Step of the Way was also later covered by The Monkees on their Listen To The Band box set.
Side two closes with a slow version of All Of The Good Ones Are Taken, while side one opens with a fast version. The original version was "lost", but the record company persuaded Ian to re-record it ("But I couldn't get the feel back" - Ian). The fast version was released as a single, which was accompanied by a video which was shown for a while on MTV.
| Captain Void n' The Video Jets | 4:12 | Originally issued on All of the Good Ones Are Taken. |