Crash Into June

Crash Into June is a lost classic by Game Theory, a Californian band from the 80s who mined the same rich seam of Big Star-style power pop as early REM only with added Paisley Underground psychedelic flourishes. You’ll most likely be hooked after one listen and won’t be surprised to learn that Mitch Easter produced it.

It’s a song about nostalgia and missed opportunities. I’ve got a sneaking feeling that the June of the title might in fact be a girl. Many of Game Theory songwriter Scott Miller’s lyrics were about girls:

I'm always conscious of trying to sound like something else, mostly something pretty old. The time when I started having record deals was unfortunately the time I thought the whole music business was finally going right down the eye of the toilet. I was really naive enough to think that groups like the dBs were going to rise triumphantly and define the 1980s, whereas of course it was, you know, Madonna. I remember feeling it was essential to hold on to this mid-sixties way of talking about a particular girl with a particular mysterious complexity the way Bob Dylan would, or something.

The last attempt at a reappraisal of Game Theory’s fine legacy came with the CD reissues about 15 years ago. Not much excitement was generated, and their albums are long-deleted. They’re just one of those bands who weren’t seen as cool enough - despite much of their music being fantastic – and are now an almost-forgotten footnote in pop history.