Scritti Politti is a British musicropolis whose principal -- and sometimes only -- citizen is Mr. Green Strohmeyer-Gartside. To date, there are four phases to the civilization covering some 13 years from 1977 to 1991:

• Phase 1/78-79: Punk & DIY, full of youthful angst & idealistic communal efforts
• Phase 2/80-82: Transition to Pop, a shift in tactic, but still essentially left-wing
• Phase 3/83-88: Flirting with Mainstream Pop Success, realization of the new tactic and also of its pitfalls
• Phase 4/89-91: Ragga meets Green Covering Old Pop History, mellowing out with age comes wisdom of knowing one's limitations and the importance of just have fun with it all.

Most people know Scritti from phase 3 with their pop genre hit LP Cupid & Psyche '85 and (shallow) critics easily dismiss them as yet another vapid 80's synthpop band. But Scritti is essentially an obtuse leftish band with a flair for good melody and intricate arrangements dressed up in honey-sweet luscious Green voice[s]. If you don't get it, then there's nothing more to be said. AoF is resigned to an imperfect world populated with different brands of Tea.

Fortunately there are still isolated pockets of civilized niches left. Scritti cults are to be found primarily among synthpop enthusiasts, mostly in their 20's, so it seems thus far. Wired maestros especially can appreciate the intricate arrangements in Scritti's repertoire. But Scritti's influence also goes beyond leisurely musical consumption. Though rare, once in a blue moon there'll be the odd Scrit scholar or two who'd be deflected onto an academic or small-p-political path by the cryptic and/or hyper-polysyllabic Derridean babble of the Mighty Ambiguous Bright Greenish One with the melliferous voice.

Perhaps what annoys critics most is the band's obssessive goody-goody earnestness coupled with syncopated, funky, and intricate music. AoF is sadden to find the widely acclaimed N(ew) M(orrison) E(xpress) -- their take, not AoF's -- viciously attacking the Scrits during the early 80's and the deteriorating memory of the music press as it slavishly white out all mentions of the Scrits in annals and whatnot.

Even in the early days, Scritti had already showed signs of unrelentless open-mindedness and the most wicked yet groovy sense in the play of beat and noise. They moved quickly from a reductionist, authoritarian leftist point of view to a perhaps over-earnest willingness to learn and change. This made it extremely difficult to pin down their position on things and hard for those who just want to get their jobs done quickly. It totally pissed off some to the right and left alike.

At the same time, their intricate arrangements and play of sound -- perhaps not always consciously intentional -- is all but lost to simplistic ears, which can only pay attention to one or at best two instruments at a time and find anything more interwovenly layered to be confusingly jarring or not noisy enough.

The name Scritti Politti came from a book Mr. Gartside was reading at the time the band was formed. The book Political Writing by Italian communist Antonio Gramsci had the title written in Italian on the inside page -- Scritti Polittici. Mr. Gartside decided to take the 'ci' off the end so it was Scritti Politti, a bit like the old song 'Tutti Frutti'. This idiosyncratic and humorous twist in the Scrits is too often overlooked.

Over the years, the band's been interrogated by many as to where went their leftist scritti polittici. The early bent on politics was clear enough to all, but the later politics seems non-existent to those who understand politics only as po-faced big-P-politics. Perhaps the later politics is to be found in the narcissitic act of holding up the mirror to one's own face and seeing warts and all. Or again it could be in the possible political merits of Rabelaisian humor.

It should also be stressed that the Left has always had problem dealing with the identity of its heroes, the masses. While there are indeed attacks on 'popular' media as tool of suppression controled by big Biz, yet their embracement by the masses makes direct attacks on them seem elitist and like an attack on those whose lives they're a part of. In other words, how best to deal with 'popular' culture was never an undisputed issue and the Scrits' appropriation of 'popular' formats doesn't necessarily mean a move to the political Right.

Now that's all muddled, let it be emphasized that Scritti Politti is in no way affiliated with AoF, nor does it and its record and management companies endorse AoF. For all you know, Scritti Politti can be the exact opposite of the views stated herein. So, be suspicious, none the least of yourself!

Perhaps the only thing that can be said with any relative certainty and impunity is the best thing about Scritti from a scholar's (financial) point of view: Because Mr. Gartside finds promoting records so painful, Scritti releases a new record only every 3 or 6 years, so there's comparatively little to spurge your fortune on.

...and therefore, onward, to...