2000 Great Songs #1234: Nine Lives To Rigel Five
"Nine Lives To Rigel Five," the opening track on Game Theory 's second LP, 1984's Dead Center , is... I dunno? Some kind of sci-fi tale based on an obscure Star Trek reference? Hard to say; as usual, Scott Miller's lyrics tend to feel a couple steps ahead of the rest of us, yet endlessly evocative and clever. Musically, we find the band mining the odd middle-ground between synth-based new wave and jangly indie pop, a little askew yet gelling on the sort of chorus I still find myself humming all the freakin' time some 40 years after first hearing it. Live 1983: Sweet little cover by Gaze:
