The Housemartins have a message and they're not afraid to put it plainly. Coming from the 1980s British society that fumbled its way through massive political shifts, they house vitriol in lyricism, like the chorus of "Flag Day" - "It's a waste of time, if you know what I mean / Try shaking your box in front of the Queen / 'Cause her purse is fat and bursting at the seams / It's a waste of time if you know what I mean." But they're equally willing to poke fun at themselves, as with the frenetic and thoroughly uplifting "We're Not Deep" - even though you know they took a page from Twain's warning against symbolism in "Huck Finn".

The Housemartins remain my favorite "80s Nerd Alternative" band and will never go out of style in my house. I was reading Ayn Rand and Nietzsche while I was listening to "Get Up Off Our Knees", and the combined effect has lasted well into my adulthood.

I originally owned this on cassette, and the CD includes several bonus tracks that make it worth every penny paid - most notably, the gospel/a capella rendition of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" that never fails to bring a tear to my eye while I'm belting along with it in the car. It's on tracks like "Heavy" that P.D. Heaton and his bandmates redeem themselves for the conniving way they've driving socialism deep into your brain with their pop hooks. At their core, the Housemartins are not about politics, they're about people, and their affection for humanity must be the root of the beautiful harmonies and charming pop melodies that put this album in my top 5 of all time.

This record is a joy from start to finish. "Anxious" could have been recorded by the Dave Clark Five at their peak, and "Happy Hour" was one of the best singles of the 80s. The leftist sentiments expressed in the lyrics could be used today in this era of capitalism run malignantly amok. Like Billy Bragg, the Housemartins made polemics fun.

Oh, and for you teenyboppers out there, Fatboy Slim was their bassist.

Yes, this album is full of meaningful lyrics and clever opinions, but let's step aside from the conversation about the political interests of this band. London O Hull 4 is a guaranteed up-lift when you need some happy music. Songs like "Happy Hour" or "Get Up Off our Knees" are wonderful to listen to. The Housemartins were a band made up of great musicians with great voices, which reflects in them implementing gospel-like harmonies and even an accapella song at the end of a very well-rounded CD. I don't listen to this album every day, but I've had it since it was released and I still enjoy it a lot every time I listen to it again.

Oh how boring. Some whining brat in a cardigan preaching about the evils of capitalism. Sure, he's got a nice soft, effeminate voice and some catchy tunes, but are you prepared to hear these same tunes as the next Pol Pot kills us for wearing glasses? This is music for sheep.

This is pop. 3 minute songs. Catchy melodies and memorable refrains. BUT it is not shallow. Good pop-songs take great skill to write. The Housemartins just said more so succinctly. Their music stands in stark contrast to so much other self-absorbed music with a message. And you can party to this music. When they were a pub band in the early eighties then they had no peers. It is one of life's great regrets that I never saw them in a smoky bar in Bristol (or Hull, or London) before Happy Hour made them nationally famous. Cheerful music that makes me think and makes me smile.