“Is it wrong to wish on space hardware?”

mental_floss recently examined the evolution of Billy Bragg’s “A New England.” It’s one of the few songs that, even if looped for hours, would never wear thin.

Bragg’s original rendition had him singing solo, backed only by an electric guitar — a pretty unusual arrangement in any era, but decidedly odd in the musical climate of the early 80’s. The studio version was dripping with reverb, sounding a bit like Bragg was performing in a bathroom.
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In a 2007 show (at age 49) in Berlin, Bragg performed the song as a jokey sing-along, frequently stopping and chatting with the audience.