the history book on the shelf is always repeating itself

This penultimate installment of the "Twilight of the New Wave" features Doctor and the Medics, a colorful, over-the-top London band who crested and crashed on the strength of their gimmickry.

Remember when I said how the music press panned these later new wave acts for relying on style over substance? That might have been an unfair assesment of the other bands, but it's spot-on in regards to Doctor and the Medics. Take away the novelty of their visual component, and there's nothing really there. (And I like the band.)

So instead of trying to come up with something interesting to say about them, how about we just cut to a video that pretty much sums up their appeal. It's for their 1986 cover of Abba's "Waterloo":




See? Fun, but as substantial as a cobweb cassarole.