Split Enz - Message To My Girl Reaction

[@jemxs]

One of my favourite Split Enz songs!! It's beautiful!

[@ian8241]

It was a massive hit in New Zealand and Australia, one of my favourite songs:)

[@qtredhead]

I absolutely LOVE this… it was actually written by Neil Finn to his wife when they got married

[@Billythekiddnz]

Oh wow mmm. Thanks.

[@brettpeacock9116]

And Neil and his wife are STILL married, after 40-odd years

[@sean---the-other-one]

Oh, yeah. I’m totally here for this one. One of Split Enz’ best songs.

[@Billythekiddnz]

Hell yes

[@peterhughes7868]

Can’t believe your response it’s one of their best songs

[@noheamike5036]

Actually the chords are not that simple to this song, just presented in a very smooth manner...

[@deborahcurtis1385]

I agree I think they totally underestimate the quiet charm of this song, which slowly and deeply reaches into the psyche.

[@jvvoid]

It's a beautiful song. Just a beautiful song.

[@williamwoods7374]

"I Hope I Never" is another great ballad from Split Enz that you should react to!

[@jeremykothe2847]

The ultimate break up song

[@michaelmolloy365]

They did a version with the new Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Have a listen and you'll realise that it's anything but a simple song...😁

[@sgtscheetje]

"It's pleasant, cute, simple..." It's one of the most beautiful melodies I've ever heard. I have to cry every time I hear it.

[@biekanez1]

Simplicity is the secret and strength of great songs.😎🙏

[@numynumevs]

One of my favourite songs , so beautiful

[@NickJewlachow-of3yh]

This is where Neil Finn took flight as a songwriter. The bass and keyboards are top class too.

[@OnceWasRStrathfield]

I don't know if it's still the case but this song was a bit of a radio staple for many years. It's one of my favourites by Enz, and I see it as their swan song. They called it a day in '84, and I believe this was their last real hit. I think Eddie Rayner really makes this song with his keyboard flurishes and keyboard playing.

[@mightyV444]

Also one of _my_ favourite Split Enz songs, if not even _the_ favourite one 😃 Yep, Eddie's keyboards create a beautiful atmosphere here 😊

[@OnceWasRStrathfield]

@@mightyV444 Totally agree.

[@mightyV444]

@@OnceWasRStrathfield - 😊👍

[@user-kj3ch3ke8m]

To each their own, but I'm surprised by your reaction to this gorgeous, masterfully arranged song. Stupid video distracts a little perhaps, but as always the harmonies provided by Tim and Neill (towards the end), and the wonderful keyboard part by Eddie Rayner, create a unique aesthetic. Lost in cultural translation perhaps. "Cute" and "pleasant" are perplexingly dismissive...this song is adored in Australasia, where this comment comes from!

[@Nimbleatthat]

I agree. Terrible review

[@hanierfamily]

We love Split Enz. And this song is really nice. We just didn't feel it like you guys did. Perhaps it's not appealing to us culturally. We don't know.

[@jennifermason9557]

Agree. The interpretation of the lyrics was odd. It's more about a man 'stepping up to the plate' in his relationship... and many have argued it is also a call to dumb he-men to grow up, do better and be real men in their relationships... because that can lead to a depth of happiness. Something that 40 years ago wasn't written about much and jokes about the 'missus' were still rife in putdowns. Seriously, who writes a line like 'no more empty self possession' outside of Beatles and the Finn Brothers? And of course, the Finn Brothers were hugely influenced by the Beatles and you can hear that influence here. I agree with you that it's a masterfully arranged song that has both complexity and depth within the lushness of those strings. Rayner again shines.

[@paulapeake8687]

It’s a simple, beautiful love song

[@TZ61]

Yeah, you do have a lot of catching up to do. Their fifth album, "True Colours", 1980 had their first minor hit in the states. By the time of this, their second last album the make-up was gone and the morphing into Crowded House was under way. Great songwriting by the Finn Brothers, often indvidually, had become mostly Neil's band and Tim would leave after this one.

[@peterhughes7868]

One of the best song ever

[@TheMarathonomahos]

Split Enz had a huge variety. One step ahead was slow, but the chord changes in that song are effortless, and you would struggle to find any song that achieves what they do in that song

[@sean---the-other-one]

Totally agree with it being a simple song. It reminds me of Eric McCusker talking about writing Mondo Rock’s Cone Said The Boy, where he described the feel of the song being horizontal, without peaks and troughs, which gave him the feeling of the horizon at the beach that then gave him inspiration to draw upon his early relationships as a teen. In this case here that very soothing and horizontal feeling in the song gives a feeling of contentment and an absence of chaotic or contradictory thoughts. He’s at peace with his decision to finally go with his heart. There’s even elements of the music that almost feel like a lover breathing gently beside him in the bed. Split Enz definitely had more chaotic and dynamic songs, but this one always drew me in as a love song.

[@britishtechnosea9591]

they over complicated things in the mid 70's. i saw them a few times in London back in the mid 70's and they were bloody weird experience. they did the right thing to simplify things for themselves in the early 80s and this song is a jewel.

[@andysparks1973]

its wrote by one of the great modern song writers and bands .

[@SimonColey]

Said before Neil Finn legend. But notwithstanding. Listen again.the simplicity the harmonies the ditty that you find yourself singing days after. Love ❤️ it. Watch Distant Sun on Max sessions. Not just the audience but Co players Roddy aztec camera Grahame 10cc don't play although invited as they are mesmerised

[@kenrock8692]

I really like this song myself. Maybe because of its simplicity. I know I could also play the bass and drum parts on it myself so maybe that adds to why I like it.

[@BCTMarcus]

Darn, you really have great requesters, lol. Even though you thought it a bit simple (but let's agree that Stiff Little Fingers is simple too, eh?)... it's so warm. Soothing melodies, soothing instruments, with a nice slow dance-like metrum/rhythm. If I would have been that gal, I would have felt so happy to have my lover sing it for me.

[@kevinfessler6831]

This is one of Neil's signature and most enduring compositions. If you're going to a CH/Neil Finn concertshe's going to play it (so glad that he does). Not a lot of bells and whistles that many Splitz Enz songs have which these reviewers like. I was always more of a Crowded House fan than Enz fan, but I give these reviewers props for being honest in their tepid review. Some reviewers love everything. so you wonder if they really love anything.

[@donna25871]

Simple - this song is anything but simple.

[@noelroberts8199]

This is one of the best songs ever written, Neil Finn is a master of writing beautiful songs........

[@rosslumbus]

This is my favourite Splitz Enz song.

[@spencergroup]

You might have had to live through the eighties new wave era to understand this music. Split Enz were formed in the early 70s and were sort of an avant-garde art pop act. In the 80s it went the way of new wave and they had plenty of hits. Message to my Girl came out in 1983 but they had some fantastic albums before that, such as True Colors in 1980 and Time and Tide in 1982. They were certainly unique. They didn't turn into Crowded House, however. Neil Finn and Paul Hester along with Nick Seymour formed Crowded House after Enz disbanded.

[@wjl2601]

The art of leaving things out, getting to the essence of a song is not easy. Less is more I say. Brilliant track. Great singersongwriter. Neil finn.

[@DogInSpace]

my mistake was the first Split Enz song that I actually liked..

[@tonybarruk2]

There is an *amazing* version of this song on an album called ENZSO, which is Split Enz songs performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (Enz / NZSO, see what they did there?) with various vocalists, though Neil Finn sings the ENZSO version as he does here... I had it played at my wedding which is the best recommendation I can give 😍 PS it's here! (kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGWrfH2ZaJdmmas)

[@heathcornbeef]

Oh now ya done it the first time i saw these guys was with my dad at the Sweetwaters music festival in 1983 I've seen them twice since then last time at the bowl of Brooklyn in new Plymouth Aotearoa new zealand in the early nineties the stage has a reasonably large lake in front of it not deep I'll never forget when the lights went across the lake hundreds of head's pocking out of the water in front of the stage,😆 at Sweetwaters they were the headline band of the three days 53.000 TOOT'S AND THE MAYTALS The church midnight oil the screaming memes dd smash heap's of awesome band's my dad is a bloody good Man Grumpy but bloody awesome

[@heathcornbeef]

Kia ora friends hay this is probably my favorite Split enz song HELLO SANDY ALLEN from 1982 there's a live video that IS AWESOME it also shows the lyrical genius Neil Finn at a young age

[@trufflehund]

BTW thanks for the mention 🙂

[@petermizon4344]

THEIR BIGGEST IN IN UK WAS I GOT YOU , GREAT SONG TO SING, VERY CATCHY

[@hanierfamily]

Yeah. We love that song.

[@LympyDownunder]

simple is how I would also describe your reaction ...

[@australianbananapie2017]

1980 was the year I began to like Split Enz. Before that, they were the band I couldn't stand. I thought they were utterly pretentious, and calculated. Their look gave me the creeps, and their music irritated me. My brother loved them because he was deep in Roxy Music, art-rock and prog. Then Neil sang ''I Got You'' and I was all in. Both Tim and Neil wrote lovely songs for the first half of the 80's and this is no exception. Simple it may be, but the beauty is that it is simple and innocent and doesn't force you to think. I am glad they came to their senses and gave up the rubbish like ''Spellbound'' and ''Stranger Than Fiction''. Becareful with those complex songs. It might make you arrogant and dismissive of more simplier music. Simple isn't always simple.

[@paulf2557]

A great song with a good video. You should check out the live performance in Sydney - sensational.

[@colrhodes377]

Rainbow, Temple of the King, is a really great song that I'm sure you will enjoy. Certainly not what you would ever expect from Dio.

[@InvidiousProductions]

It’s the first Crowded House song

[@carljan57]

Split Enz began in the 70s. Listen to: "I see Red".

[@hanierfamily]

We did that one.

[@roimerlopez1275]

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[@RossNixon]

Yes, everyone needs to hear Dimash. He has the best vocals in the world of anyone in 100+ years. Some people link to newer versions but I prefer the 2017 version(s) too.

[@trufflehund]

So simple the Beatles could have written it. Songs like Yesterday, Blackbird, Norwegian Wood and You've Got to Hide Your Love Away were very simple. Break the songs apart and the beauty of this simplicity becomes apparent. The song is a simple message to my girl :-). Split Enz broke up in 1984 but never totally disbanded and pop up regularly. Neil Finn took off to create 3 piece Crowded House, but Split Enz members are often on stage, especially Tim Finn. BTW. an artist you reacted to, Renee Geyer, covers a Crowded House song "Into Temptation" as does Natalie Imbruglia who covers "Pineapple Head". Both do very nice jobs.

[@BCTMarcus]

When I heard it in 1984, I was already a huge Beatles fan, and this song most def gave me a 'Macca feel'. To me, it's a 1980s 'Here, There And Everywhere'.

[@thecentralscrutinizer5730]

Caligulas Horse does an excellent cover of this song

[@TheMarathonomahos]

To think the singer is now in Fleetwood Mac

[@hanierfamily]

We didn't know that.

[@TheMarathonomahos]

@@hanierfamily Neil Finn.

[@TheMarathonomahos]

@@hanierfamily kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoTZYa1jfK2ckKs I wish you could review this. Unfortunately there is no way I could ever afford to pay the money. But even if you don't review it, have a look. They were once likened to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers by Rolling Stone magazine.

[@hanierfamily]

@@TheMarathonomahos Pay what money? If you want to hear it, and we don't know it, we'll put it on our list. Which we just did.

[@OnceWasRStrathfield]

Try Split Enz - my mistake nzoz1977 Split Enz - Lovey Dovey plasmatics

[@You-Deef]

You can really hear the Beatles influence

[@calmingrainsoundzzz1978]

Can I request a song for a reaction? Everythings ruined by faith no more

[@barryscott6222]

On the other hand... try singing it yourself - and then see how "simple" it is...

[@oscillatewildly6553]

I checked out when you guys said it's cute ... And un-subbed

[@aussiedadreviews]

Simple? Really? Hmm. Agree to disagree.

[@cakesboo6554]

How bout just “listen”

[@livertic]

Simple ?

[@diogenesagogo]

Although it's simple it's very odd, in that it doesn't seem to settle on a key. This is very disconcerting & means it's difficult to appreciate. Interesting but not engaging & so not one of their best.