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By: Peter Holmes - Sun Herald
June 2nd 2002 3:51pm

THE THE

45 RPM: THE SINGLES

OF THE THE(Sony)

Matt Johnson's The The were hailed as one of the most important bands of the early to mid-1980s. In hindsight, surrounded by the likes of Pseudo Echo, Human League and Haysi Fantayzee, how could they not be? The The's music is bittersweet, atmospheric and often intense, created with drum machines, synthesisers and traditional rock instruments. It's a sound that generally suits Johnson's limited vocal and his downbeat laments and state-of-the-nation missives. Highlights include This Is The Day, The Beat(en) Generation, and the lush, ominous Heartland, Johnson's finest moment.

VARIOUS

SPIDER-MAN: MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY

(Columbia/Sony)

With his radioactive blood, Spider-Man can do whatever a spider can. Good luck to him. Obviously he's better at spinning webs of any size than compiling film soundtracks. Danny Elfman's score is relegated to merely two appearances at the end of the album, bumped for generally dumb, grunty rock from the likes of Alien Ant Farm (Bug Bytes), Theory Of A Dead Man (Invisible Man) and Black Lab (Learn To Crawl). Elsewhere you'll find a wonky little tune from The Strokes (When It Started) and a chunky Tom Morello remix of Macy Gray's My Nutmeg Phantasy.

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