a guest series, courtesy of a very friendly lawyer
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
One of the great things about this here blog is how international it is. Folks from all over the world turn up in the comments or as guest contributors, always with an angle from their unique perspectives. In honor of the widespread community here’s a collection of top songs in multiple languages.
In 2010 we house-traded with a family in Madrid. In the car they lent us was a box set of Spanish rock songs. It was a truly awful collection, except for this absolute banger. So, we listened to it on repeat maybe 100 times. From their third album, Viva! Tequila! released back in 1980.
This pretty song translates to ‘Exception’ and the band name translates to ‘Your Eyes.’ I don’t know anything more about this newish Stockholm outfit, so maybe our Swedish friends can enlighten us.
By contrast, there’s a lot to know about Italian-French singer, model, and former First Lady of France Mme. Bruni-Sarkozy. But her travails with the dubious politician are boring so let’s just listen to this beautiful number from her debut album, Quelqu’un m’a dit.
There’s a great concert series in Los Angeles called First Fridays, held in the Natural History Museum downtown. Bands set up right in the middle of the North American Mammal Hall, amidst dioramas of bison and caribou and the like. I used to go with my kids, and we saw great acts like Warpaint, Tune-Yards, The Bird and the Bee, and Atlas Sound. Sam and I also saw BLK JKS, who performed this number which means “spliff” in South African slang.
Among the Beatles’ many innovations was the introduction of Indian instrumentation into pop music. George encountered a sitar on the set of Help! and played it on this track from Rubber Soul. This version by the Leicester outfit is pretty true to the original, with the lyrics sung in Punjabi by band leader Tjinder Singh.
From the Furries’ 2000 all-Welsh album, Mwng, which means ‘Mane.’ The title translates to ‘Sunny Intervals’ and for some reason sounds like a Welsh out take from The Who Sell Out.
‘A Dip in the Sea’ from 2024’s Onda (Wave). Young Sam, who can speak French, Spanish, Japanese, some German and Portuguese and a little Turkish, once told me that Portuguese is the perfect language, economical and beautiful. I agree—it sounds like each word is kissed as it’s enunciated.
All of the songs on the Krautrock legends’ The Man-Machine were recorded in both English and German. The English version was a number one single in the UK back in 1978.
A recommendation by Sam’s bandmate and multi-instrumentalist Ken Arimura. This quartet formed in Tokyo in the late 80’s and have had the same line-up ever since. The title translates to ‘Beautiful Fin.’ It’s from their most recent release, ひみつスタジオ (‘Secret Studio’). No idea why the group picked a name which means ‘pointed’ or ‘sharp’ in German.
Today’s set is named after Speaking in Tongues, the Heads’ best-selling album and their only one to produce a top ten hit (‘Burning Down the House’). Legend has it that the phrase came about from David Byrne’s habit of singing nonsense words as placeholders while working on lyrics and arrangements. That gibberish was never released, but the band did put this tune out as a single from their third album, Fear of Music. The lyrics are taken from a poem called Gadji beri bimba, written by German Dadaist Hugo Ball over 100 years ago. The words are totally fictional and don’t mean anything—Ball was just experimenting with the sounds of the syllables. At least he got a writing credit on the LP.
Hello folks. I’ve been a bit quiet of late because I’m busy writing my second book (if you thought the last one was niche… wait until you don’t buy this one). I’m also writing a new Fringe show and working on quite a large essay about Echo and The Bunnymen (not the Bunnymen you like though, but the period between 1988 and 1993 without Mac).
The Mac-less Bunnymen research led me to this little rant that I put on my Facebook page a while ago. Frankly, I don’t think I got enough attention for it, so I’m rejigging it and posting it here.
Here’s my take on The Free Market Versus Art.
In 1987 the film The Lost Boys was released. It was a vampire flick mainly aimed at teenage girls (it starred two of the Coreys, a Kiefer plus a smouldering Michael Patrick).
(Lost Boys film advert from The Miami Herald Aug 5, 1987)
It also had an iconic 80s soundtrack which included the lead single by INXS and Jimmy Barnes covering the old Easybeats‘ tune ‘Good Times’.
Good Times is the ideal INXS song for people who never loved INXS and the ideal Jimmy Barnes song because he only sings on half of it. Watch the promo video to see Jimmy with his arm around Michael Hutchence‘s neck like a pissed up uncle singing Bad Moon Rising at a wedding karaoke.
The next single to be release from the soundtrack was Echo and the Bunnymen’s take on the classic Doors tune, People Are Strange. At the time The Bunnymen were just about to fall apart, the song was pretty much the last thing they recorded before Ian McCulloch left. Strangely, it had already been released as a double-A side single on the 12″ version of Lips Like Sugar.
The song was produced by original Doors member, Ray Manzarek. He had also contributed to a re-worked version of Bedbugs and Ballyhoo, a song first recorded in 1985. The new version was released as a single that preceded People Are Strange.
Still, People Are Strange made the top 30 when released to support the movie, even though it was panned in the press and given a massive shoulder shrug by the fans. The press reaction was basically ‘Why release this Since it adds nothing to the Doors original’. Melody Maker notoriously called it a ‘rancid effort’. The fan reaction was one of confusion with most agreeing that an original Echo song, like Killing Moon, would have suited the film just as well and might have been a good bit of extra exposure for the group. Even the B-sides of the record had previously been released on another single.
In the interest of balance, I should point out that not everyone agreed that the song was pointless. West End Records in Clydebank called it Single Of The Week.
(Clydebank Post 19th Feb 1988)
I once went to a house party in an area of Clydebank called Faifley. At the party a guy told me the story of how he lost his ‘best’ finger to drugs. Good times.
(JC interjects with a pointless piece of trivia. Deacon Blue once recorded a song called Faifley as a b-side to one of their singles)
The choice of INXS and the Bunnymen made perfect sense though. The movie was about well-fit vampires and both Ian McCulloch and Michael Hutchence looked like well-fit vampires. Jimmy Barnes not so much, but when they remake Frankenstein for the 1980s teen market, he’s gonna clean up. (On a side note, why was there never an 80s film called Frankens’teen? John Hughes and Judd Nelson missed a fucking trick there. The thing writes itself).
The rest of the film soundtrack is a bit of an 80s classic… and by that, I mean it’s not as good as you remember. There’s a song called Lost in the Shadows, by Lou Gramm (he’s from either Foreigner or Survivor, I can’t remember which and I’m not looking that up. What if I get picked up by the police and they check my search history? How would I tell my mum?)
Roger Daltery covers Elton John‘s ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’ and it’s crap like all versions of that song are crap. It’s a crap song and Daltery makes Jimmy Barnes sound like Sinatra. Speaking of whom, there’s a second Barnes and INXS effort that’s completely forgettable.
There are only really two other stand out songs, one is Cry Little Sister by Gerard McMann which could easily be a Sisters of Mercy song if Gerard was a shitter singer.
The other decent song is Tim Capello‘s cover of The Calls‘ I Still Believe. I get that there’s an irony movement attached to it these days thanks to the internet and the saxophone guy meme, but fuck that. It’s an absolute banger and should have been the lead single instead of Hutchence and that Daffy Duck sounding plank.
The Lost Boys was a hit but not quite the runaway success the studio had hoped. There’s a bit of a Mandela Effect with how big of a smash the movie was. In fact, the real fandom for the film grew a few years later (It did $30m at the box office which isn’t bad returns from an $8m budget but for context; The Karate Kid Part II did $125m from $12m). Also, reviews were mixed but it should be noted that the press of the time had trouble taking films aimed at teens seriously as an art form.
It would be a couple of years before The Lost Boys started to become something of a cult classic. You see, the film was given an R rating in the US and 15 in the UK that meant people under 17 (US) or 15 (UK) couldn’t watch it at the cinema. The rating alienated most of the 13 – 18 target audience.
The reviews were reasonable but without the teenage fanbase it wasn’t long before The Lost Boys was consigned to the Midnight Movie and Drive-in Circuit.
Midnight showings was a proven way that a film could build a cult fan base. Films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Harder They Come and Eraserhead had all found their audience in the graveyard slot. However, by the late 1980s the phenomenon was dying out, or at least it was making way for another route to cultdom.
By 1988 at least 60% of homes in both the US and UK owned a VCR. In spite of an underwhelming return from the cinema, The Lost Boys was a rental smash, becoming the quote-along movie of sleep overs and teenage parties.
In the late 1980s, a new movie had a slower release schedule than today. It would play for a few months at the cinema, then it would come back to the theatres a few months later. Around six-to-eight months after it had been released.
After the cinema it would be released as a rental video, a year after that would see it available to buy and then between three or four years later it would appear on network TV.
Once video rentals and direct sales started to kick in, the soundtrack also started selling well, becoming one of the iconic 1980s film soundtrack albums (like Pretty Woman, Pretty In Pink, Flashdance etc… you know the ones that were constantly on promotional points in Virgin Records for about 15 years….)
Fast forward to 1991. the Lost Boys made its UK TV debut on January 1st (around six months after the US). A whole new generation of 13, 14 and 15 year olds discover the film and the original audience gave it a nostalgia watch. A passing of a torch perhaps (the video was so popular that it was released in 1988 and then re-released in 1989, 1992 and 1994.)
(See what I mean about the press and 80s teen films. Fuck off South Wales Evening Post)
In the early 1990s, I very briefly worked in Woolies and my pal worked in a video rental shop. We both noticed that when a certain kind of film was on TV there would be a spike in VHS rentals and purchases, as people would want to watch the film again. This was especially true in the UK since most households only had four channels, there was no chance it would be back on the box within a year.
When the marketing department at Atlantic Records saw that the film was having a revival in rental and sales, they rushed to put out the two main singles and had a big push on the soundtrack again.
INXS and Old-man Barnes hit the top 20 this time around (it didn’t make during the first release) and then the Echo release went back into the top 30, doing pretty much the same business as the last time.
The really strange thing is that the single was an almost exact clone of the previous issue, same B-sides with only slightly different packaging.
Once again, the song finds itself getting a mixed reception in reviews. Not so much because the hardcore Echo fans gave a shit anymore, since they had all left Uni by now and were working as management interns, but because The Doors were on a new wave of cool, with the upcoming Doors / Morrison film starring Val Kilmer (who looked like a well-fit vampire).
The few Echo fans that were left were scratching their heads and wondering why they were expected to buy this song for a third time.
Which brings us to the point of the blog. The song was released as a single three times in four years. Once on a 12″ that Echo fans wanted, then as a single from a soundtrack that Echo fans didn’t want but bought out of loyalty. Finally, it was released a third time because a load of kids watched a film on the telly and kids and their pocket money are easily parted.
There’s all that guff about the ‘marketplace of ideas’ that can only exist through competition, supply and demand. Disaster capitalists will tell you that the free market will regulate itself and if there’s a need for something then the market will provide it.
But in actuality, when it comes to art, the free market can provide a bag of dicks. In fact, the free market fails miserably. What the free market provides is,
Not a new Echo and the Bunnymen single.
Not the greatest Echo and the Bunnymen single.
But the worst Echo and the Bunnymen single…. Three times.
Thanks capitalism, you shitwank.
Ian McCulloch left the Bunnymen around the 1988 release of this song. Their drummer Pete tragically died in a motorbike accident. After limping on with a different singer (and releasing a fucking great album that you probably don’t like… more on that soon), they ended in 1993. Within a couple of years, they were working together again as Electrafixtion who then rebranded as Echo and The Bunnymen in 1997.
I was going to end on their big reunion song ‘Nothing Ever Lasts Forever’ but that’s really part of a different story. So, we’ll have Stina Nordenstam‘s haunting cover of People Are Strange which is a great lesson on how to reinvent a tune and has never been panned in the press…
I did this mixtape because one of my 15-year-old twins liked things goth. Respect!
Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi’s Dead Siouxsie & the Banshees – Spellbound 12″ single The Cure – Primary 7″ version Soft Cell – Martin Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the moon (live) Led Zeppelin – Ramble on John Carpenter – Halloween (Main theme) Dance With The Dead – Andromeda DJ Moule – Superstitious Bond (mash up)(Propellerheads – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service theme vs Stevie Wonder – Superstition) Tangerine Dream – Love on a real train Joy Division – Disorder John Murphy – In the house, in a heartbeat (from 28 Days Later soundtrack) Ennio Morricone – Humanity (pt.2) (from The Thing soundtrack)
a guest series, courtesy of a very friendly lawyer
Beckoning
When I moved to L.A. in 1991 there was a lot of buzz around this skinny kid, Beck, who was some kind of lo-fi folk punk instigator. He’d show up at local haunts like the Alligator Lounge and Jabberjaw with an acoustic guitar and a gas-powered leaf blower. He was quirky and funny, and part of a homegrown scene. Mom and pop record stores carried his vinyl releases, which sometimes included little paintings and drawings he made with his friends.
Then ‘Loser’ came out, and you know the rest.
Since that landmark single was released in 1993, Beck’s made all kinds of great music. It would be surprising that no one’s come up with an ICA for him, but there are so many stellar songs to choose from it would take ages to narrow down a list of 10. Thankfully, he’s been equally prolific collaborating with other musicians, making the selection process for those efforts a bit easier. Here’s a look at some killer tracks featuring Beck on other people’s records. No matter the genre you always know it’s him.
From their seventh studio LP, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. A collection of videos and singles the 2D band recorded with the likes of Peter Hook, Elton John, St. Vincent, and many others.
Wiki tells me that M83 is a pinwheel galaxy. I thought it might be a bus route! Not sure what the French electropopsters’ particular astronomical interests are, but it’s a sweet little number.
10,000 Hz Legend was the band’s second album, released in 2001. In addition to Beck singing and playing harmonica on a couple of songs, the album features a crowd of interesting folks. Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Roger Manning were both in Beck’s band at the time. Dr. Rigberg‘s buddy Jason Falkner shows up on a few numbers, too. The legendary Corky Hale plays harp on one track. She’s had a very long musical career in jazz, ran an eponymous boutique on Sunset Boulevard, was a teacher at Planned Parenthood, and founded Angel Harvest, a charity that distributes restaurant food to the needy. And she’s married to Mike Stoller of the Lieber-Stoller songwriting duo, who wrote a fair number of Elvis Presley‘s hits.
From Social Cues, the band’s fifth album. Here the Kentucky outfit branched out musically, adding complex orchestrations. Beck’s dad, David Campbell, is an accomplished conductor and composer, and he did the string arrangements. (He also did the arrangements on the Charlotte Gainsbourg album featured earlier in the set.)
Andy Samberg was a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live for seven years. If you’re a successful comedian you get to marry Joanna Newsom and make goofy records with other celebrities. In addition to Beck, Turtleneck & Chain featured famous folks like Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, cult filmmaker John Waters and…Michael Bolton?
This is from For That Beautiful Feeling, released in 2023. It’s cool that more than 30 years after he hit the scene all kinds of musicians are still interested in collaborating with Beck. In fact, most of today’s songs were released after the pandemic.
The Akron, Ohio duo are a couple of the only artists as prolific as Beck. They’ve released 14 albums since their 2002 debut, not to mention solo records, all kinds of guest appearances, and the producing that singer/guitarist Dan Auerback gets up to. This is from 2024’s Ohio Players.
TVV stalwart Chaval recently observed “Everyone Scottish likes The Proclaimers. it’s the law.” Not all New Yorkers are as devoted to JSBX, but they ought to be (even though they didn’t have a bass player). The band were like NYC in a way–an exciting mix of a lot of different things: blues, funk, punk, garage rock, urban raunch, and rockabilly, with Spencer waving a theremin wand around. Beck literally phoned in his rap for the tune. You can hear him asking, “was that good?”to which Spencer replies, “You got the flava!” Beck also shows up in the video for the song, along with Mike D. from the Beastie Boys.
Nothing Can Stop Us – Saint Etienne
Sit Still – Life Model
Just Like Heaven – Dinosaur Jr.
Talulah Gosh (Janice Long Session) – Talulah Gosh
Birthday – Sugarcubes
Insects – Altered Images
Everything Hurtz – The Fall
Nothing To Be Done – The Pastels
State Of Art – Friends Again
I Need Two Heads – Go-Betweens
Running Away – The Raincoats
T&A – Blondshell
World Leader Pretend – R.E.M.
Magic 8 – Annie Booth
Abandon Ship – April Showers
Coast – Kim Deal
Number 1 – Poster Paints
Hidden track to take it to exactly 1 hour
“Bam chicka bam chicka boom boom boom!” It’s the Toronto quartet with a banger. Metric have been at it with the same line up for about 25 years and they’ve got a new album coming out in April. A great live act if you get a chance to see them.
In which Los Angeles oddball E pays homage to his unnamed monster, who protects him from “the awful sting that comes from living in a world that’s so damn mean,” which we can all use a little bit.
Title track from what was arguably the last great Bowie album. The subsequent Let’s Dance catapulted him to megastardom, but it sorta felt like we lost him to the masses at that point and never really got him back. Guitar pyrotechnics courtesy of Robert Fripp.
When the Bowery legends returned to the studio in 2017 they had so many collaborators that they named their album Pollinator to reflect all the guest contributions. Musos like Joan Jett, Sia, Dev Hynes, Nick Valensi, Charlie XCX and many others got involved. This track was written by Johnny Marr, who plays guitar on it.
I was super-stoked to include the track ‘Down By The Water’ in the Warm & Fuzzy collection that was FF#9, a set of songs with fuzzed out bass lines. Then I did a little research and discovered that there’s no bass on that song at all. Bummer. So, here’s PJ with another moody gem from the same album.
Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse from the duo’s 2006 debut, St. Elsewhere. The track samples “Ku Klux Klan Sequence” written and performed by Italian film composers Armando Trovaioli and Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, making it legitimately monstrous.
One LA oddball isn’t quite enough, so here are the Mael brothers from 1982’s Angst In My Pants. Like all of their records, lots of folks loved it and no one bought it. You guys know that Sparks never got any radio play in the US, right?
It’s a crime that singer/songwriters as talented as Josh Ritter aren’t household names. A lovely song from his fourth LP, The Animal Years. He released another 9 albums after that one, to very little acclaim, if any.
The astute TVV crowd will have noticed that this set doesn’t have any songs simply titled ‘Monster’. That’s because there are hundreds of them and too many to choose from. But we deserve at least one, especially if it’s by a legend like the B-52’s frontman. Schneider was the only member to release a solo album during the band’s heyday. The record was produced by Bernie Worrell, fresh off his stint on keys for Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense tour. Background vocals by Bess Dial-Up wannabe Kate Pierson.
‘GIGS FROM YESTERYEAR, WHEN I WAS YOUNG + PRETTY AS A PICTURE’
# 04: Potsdam Ska Festival, Potsdam, GDR, 1990
El Bosso & Die Ping Pongs
Braces
Lindenpark, Potsdam
Hello friends,
a very nice choice by Little Loser, this – a gig I had nearly forgotten about, but memories came back quickly for a change: this is just another concert which I attended on behalf of my mate Alfred: as mentioned before, he is the one who – rather unsuccessfully – tried to establish himself as a manager for all sorts of independent bands, starting with The Braces from Krefeld, one of the many third-wave ska outfits of the late 80s/early 90s.
Ska at the time was a difficult issue, it must be said. The few gigs that did take place in a halfway near distance were attended by strange folk indeed: mainly by people who came in for the music and for drink and dance. But also by people whose idea of a good time was to disturb others, fights started by them were a common sight. Now, those of you even older than me might have witnessed concerts by, for example, The Specials in 1979 – Jerry and Terry’s message was crystal clear, I always thought: ‘unite (in music), don’t fight!’. Apparently this plea hadn’t yet reached German ears 11 years later: it was still a constant clash between fascist skins, S.H.A.R.P people and the few visitors with suits, shirts and ties.
So when the very first Potsdam Ska Festival took place in the summer of 1990 in – you’ll already have guessed that – Potsdam (a town in the southwest of Berlin right at the opposite end of Germany), the organizers, Brand Rudy (a small West German company), knew that serious trouble might well be expected. The venue, the Lindenpark, was an old GDR youth club, not that big really – so it’s not that hard to tell in retrospect why the venue and Brand Rudy decided to engage top notch security companies: West Berlin’s Teddy Semke (nine of them for 2.500,- Deutschmarks) for the Friday and another Berlin company for the Saturday (six guys then for 21,- Deutschmarks each/hour). Plus the Brand Rudy and the Lindenpark entourage (one of the two bosses worked for the German border police for eight years), which meant per night there were about 50 bouncers around! Not too shabby for certainly not more than 1000 guests, right? Also, two East German police vehicles constantly patrolled around the Lindenpark in circles, whether their plastic Trabant cars added something to a secure feeling remains questionable though … I thought it was more an amusing sight than anything else.
Either way, all this manpower turned out to be the right decision: two great days and nights were had, as well security-wise (only one head-injured skin, hit by a bottle, two bleeding noses) as financially: the event grew to be Europe’s biggest Ska Festival for years to come, bands from all over the world played there until they called it a day in, as far as I know, 2010.
In 1990 though you could feel the tension everywhere: the wall fell just half a year before, but it would take another six months before Germany was to be fully united again, which means in early July 1990 Potsdam was clearly GDR! There were a few East German bands, Bull Frogs, Michele Baresi, Messer Banzani but mainly the acts came from West Germany. To be frank, the East German combos weren’t pretty good in comparison, probably that’s why they were used as openers.
Now, as you might imagine it wasn’t all awe and admiration with the GDR folk when the western bands and fans arrived at the venue, quite the opposite in fact (mind you, we haven’t fully outlived this discrepancy now, some 36 years later: sometimes it’s still decadent Westerners against unsatisfied Ex-Commies!). So all in all the beginning of the festival was a bit, let’s say, ‘tenacious’, but it evolved pretty quickly into an utter chaos of fun, dance and drink. So much so in fact that the guests drained the entire goddamn awful GDR draught beer by early Saturday evening. No problem for the bands and us who had backstage access: there were incredible amounts of West German canned beer to keep us going, of course it was generously smuggled outside by us when the Eastern brew was empty.
I have seen the main bands so often in the late 80s/early 90s, memory is rather blurred when it comes to specific gigs. I’m sure though all of them (the usual suspects really, if you’d rather – the scene was pretty small it must be said) were brilliant, as they always were. And the main reason is that there were no big headed egos within those bands, you see. They all were kind of ‘big bands’, with easily seven, eight, nine people on stage, so hiding your ego certainly was not an easy task, mind you! You have the lead singer, you have the rhythm section, you have the horn section etc. – and as long as all of them think they have the most important part, things are bound to go wrong.
In hindsight this may be the reason why I always thought The Braces were the best of the lot, they hardly fought about such things, as far as I can tell. Also, they were more melodic than their contenders, something which I always loved. They even used a violin and an electric piano on stage, something the other bands would not dream of. Close second came El Bosso & Die Ping Pongs, very nice people indeed, and their trombonist, Professor Richie, later found worldwide fame as Dr. Ring-Ding!
When the third Ska wave finally hit the beach a few years later, it was all over soon: many combos disbanded, so did The Braces. After that I occasionally met the trumpeter in Aachen whilst he studied there (not so his stunning younger sister alas, whom I had an absolute crush on), he is now a top urologist / head physician somewhere in the south of Germany.
Here’s the line-up for the two days of the festival: Bull Frogs, No Sports, Michele Baresi, The Busters, Heinz 57 (Blue Chateau), El Bosso & Die Ping Pongs, Messer Banzani, The Braces, Skaos.
a guest series, courtesy of a very friendly lawyer
Twinset
I honestly can’t imagine being a twin. Just one of me is more than enough for most people. But of course there are twins in the music biz and, as it turns out, some pairs make exceptional music together.
I’m On My Way. Proclaimers. I thought I’d start off with the popular Scottish duo in honor of our good host, but it occurs to me now that JC might not even like them. Oh well. I do, and this is my favorite song of theirs. From their second LP, Sunshine on Leith.
Safari. The Breeders. Recorded while Pixies were between albums and Tanya Donelly hadn’t formed Belly yet. The Safari EP was the band’s first release to feature Kim’s twin Kelley Deal (and the only one to include both Tanya and Kelley).
Walking with a Ghost. Tegan and Sara. I don’t know too much about T&S, if I’m honest, apart from the facts that they’re Canadian and are vocal LGBTQ+ activists. I did sell a bass to their music director once, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy.
The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Third single from the self-titled debut album, when the band included twins Lee and Tyler Sargent. The band chose its name after seeing it spray-painted on a wall in their adopted hometown of Brooklyn.
Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces). The National. Here are frontman/lyricist Matt Berninger and two pairs of brothers. Only Aaron and Bryce Dessner are twins, though. It’s awesome that twenty years into their recording career the National are still producing great tunes like this one. An album side from 2023’s Laugh Track. I don’t know who Paul is but I hope he’s okay.
23. Blonde Redhead. Title track from the NYC dreampop trio’s 2007 album. The band features Milanese twins Amadeo and Simone Pace and are named after a song by the o.g. No Wave group DNA.
God Only Knows. MonaLisa Twins. Mona and Lisa Wagner might be the first group I discovered on YouTube. From Vienna and based in Liverpool, they made a name for themselves by posting videos of their acoustic versions of Beatles songs. Those are great, but their harmonies on this Beach Boys classic are just gorgeous.
Windstorm. School of Seven Bells. From the band’s second album, Disconnect from Desire, before singer Alejandra de la Deheza‘s twin Claudia left the band. SVIIB are purportedly named after a South American school for pickpockets.
Black and White Town. Doves. Twins Jez and Andy Williams met high school buddy Jimi Goodwin in 1985. They released a few records under other names, but have been going as Doves since 1998. From 2005’s Some Cities album.
Hey Scenesters!. The Cribs. The band are twins Gary and Ryan Jarman joined by their little bro Ross on drums. This is the lead single from their second album, The New Fellas, produced by TnVV champ Edwyn Collins. The Jarman brothers are still active as a trio, although the band included none other than Johnny Marr for a few years.
With apologies to Cocteau Twins, Thompson Twins, Nova Twins, the Glitter Twins, and the Gutter Twins, who aren’t twins, and without apologies to Good Charlotte, who do include a pair of twins but are truly awful.
How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? – Pet Shop Boys
Psychokiller (live) – Talking Heads
I Love A Man In A Uniform (remix) – Gang of Four
Kick – The Dare
Cowbella – Bar Italia
Tit School – Panic Shack
Kwenchy Kups – Dry Cleaning
Hair on Coffee – Cousines Like Shit
Better Way To Live – Kneecap
Shout To The Top (HiFi Sean Mix) – Fire Island feat. Loleatta Holloway
Birdhouse In Your Soul – They Might Be Giants
I Can’t Imagine The World Without Me – Echobelly
Ten Little Girls – Curve
Chaplins – HighSchool
Wouldn’t Be Me – Brontes
Last Orders
The point I’m trying to make is: it is a considerable amount, and certainly it has been one back in 1997, a time when I was always skint, because by and large I lived my life in the many fine pubs and clubs in my hometown, Aachen, although already being 29 years of age. So what on earth might have driven me to invest this money back then is a total mystery to me this morning – I swear to God I have no memories at all of having attended this festival, so I had to look up the line-up:
Op maandag 19 mei 1997 staat Beck dan ook op het Zuidpodium van Pinkpop, waar die dag ook Fountains Of Wayne, Silverchair, The Gathering, Kula Shaker, Osdorp Posse en Live.
Op het Noordpodium: Bush (Headliner), dEUS, Counting Crows, Tracy Bonham, Supergrass, Eels en Nada Surf.
In addition to those apparently Descendents, Dodgy, Atari Teenage Riot and Morphine were there, I can’t figure out which stage they played though.
Perhaps I went there out of curiosity, because Pinkpop is the oldest festival worldwide in terms of continuousness. Reading is even older (they started in 1961), but there were no shows in ’84 and ’85. So Landgraaf’s Pinkpop ran from 1970 to today, only interrupted by Covid recently. Basically all the great bands played there, Peel compered it for some time in the late 70s, and they are still going strong today (this year’s headliners for example: The Cure), so looking back I can’t quite understand why it took me so long to attend this festival. I mean, you can go from Aachen to Landgraaf by bike, so travel would not have been an obstruction.
To be honest, I first cursed Little Loser for drawing just another ticket I have forgotten all about, but the more I read about the event, I imagine it must have been rather a great day with an impressive line-up. There are many great videos of this day on yt, and I spent quite some time watching them, trying desperately to recognise my younger self somewhere in the crowd – to no avail, of course! But the bands were great to watch (again), that’s for sure!
In hindsight, if I had to go again there tomorrow, I’d go for Morphine really – they are just outstandingly brilliant, I reckon. Second and third would be Eels and dEUS. The ‘big’ names, well, today I’d say you can take them or leave them, but apparently I have witnessed the three combos mentioned above. And let’s be honest: if it weren’t for this series, my memory of this would probably never have come back, right?
Either way, let’s have some music, shall we? Again, even if there is one band or one song which one of you has never heard and said band or song meets with your approval, my mission is accomplished. I mean, I know it’s boring old crap for the bulk of you, but there you are … it has never been my claim to settle your demand for new stuff, you see …
a guest series, courtesy of a very friendly lawyer
Making Videos with Björk
Vince Landay is best known as my and JC’s pub trivia team captain. He’s also a producer guy who makes films and music videos. Here’s what he had to say when I asked him about making one with Björk:
She is exactly what you’d hope for: a generous collaborator and a singular artist.
The first music video I produced for her was “It’s Oh So Quiet,” directed by Spike Jonze. Spike’s idea was to borrow from the tradition of classic movie musicals – bold choreography, emotional excess, clean visual storytelling – and drop it into the least glamorous setting possible: an unremarkable street in the San Fernando Valley, where the exuberance of the song collides with everyday life.
The structure of the music naturally breaks into chapters, and Spike designed distinct sequences for each one, allowing the choreography to build as the song escalates. One of the more interesting challenges was figuring out how to subtly adjust tempo within a single take, so certain moments could feel suspended, almost dreamlike, while remaining musically precise.
Then there were the small realities of production. At one point, when we suddenly needed another dancer, Spike looked at me. I said yes before fully processing what that meant, which is how most bad dancing decisions are made. If you happen to notice one person slightly out of step in the tire shop, that’s me.
What I remember most, though, is Björk’s steadiness. The 102-degree heat asked a lot of everyone involved, and she never let any of it show. She was playful, focused, and entirely present, take after take.
The video went on to receive a Grammy nomination and 6 MTV Video Music Award nominations, winning for Best Choreography. Accolades aside, it remains one of those rare projects where ambition, craft, and joy genuinely aligned.
Kolbeinn Einarsson is lead guitarist in my band, Hypermiler. I asked him to write something about making a video with Björk, since I know he and his wife have a history with her and that his cousin Fridrik was in the Sugarcubes (there are only 10,000 people in Iceland and 9,800 of them are musicians). Here’s what he had to say:
“I am going to pass on this – don’t feel comfortable sharing.”
Alrighty then. At least there’s this video by Megas in which a 16-year-old Kolbeinn appears, looking bored, in a black suit jacket. Björk and one of her sisters show up a little later to sing the chorus, which I think translates to “Reykjavik nights,” or perhaps “Reykjavik at night.” I don’t know if they were all on the same sound stage at the same time, or anything else about the video. Kolbeinn did say, before he elected to keep shtum, that Megas was kind of a big deal at the time.
Balfua is a digital artist currently living in Berlin. I’ve known him for a long time because he’s my son. Here’s what he had to say when I asked him about making a video with Björk:
I’m friendly with a talented artist called James T Merry. He asked if I wanted to work on an upcoming project and revealed that it was for Björk after I expressed interest. She then reached out to me on Instagram, and we had a few video calls discussing what she had in mind.
She’d been making field recordings of various endangered species around the world with the help of a few biologists and had written a ‘Nature Manifesto’; a poetic call to action for the future of our relationship with the environment. She was interested in the AI experiments I was working on at the time — realistic videos of magical shapeshifting creatures in natural environments that I call Slollas.
We decided to make a number of short videos using 3D and AI models where Björk transformed into Slollas for a sound installation of her ‘Nature Manifesto’ at the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
The videos were paired with a voiceover of Björk reading the Manifesto, her voice digitally altered and infused with the sounds of endangered birds, orcas, etc. They were used as promotional material to announce the installation, and were on display at the gallery opening. I met her in Paris for the opening and she was lovely, very open and interested.
She bought me a salad. We talked about our many shared loves—Adventure Time, Spirited away, Chinese fantasy drama, etc. It was summer, but we drunkenly sang Christmas carols in the car on the way to the opening, to the amusement of the uber driver.
He’s Scottish. But he lives in Florida. And that’s him celebrating and holding the trophy after he had captained the team of Scottish ex-pats to victory over the English ex-pats out on the golf course.
My wee brother turns 60 years of age today. I hope he never changes. Seems appropriate to mark the occasion with 60 minutes of the stuff he most enjoys.
Young At Heart – The Bluebells
Liberator – Spear of Destiny
Waterfront – Simple Minds
Tinseltown In The Rain – The Blue Nile
New Life – Depeche Mode
Visions Of China – Japan
The Cutter – Echo & The Bunnymen
She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult
I Will Follow – U2
Locomotion – OMD
Our House – Madness
Two Tribes – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
The Honeythief – Hipsway
Perfect Skin – Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
Absolute – Scritti Politti
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
a guest series, courtesy of a very friendly lawyer
Warm & Fuzzy
I went for a bike ride on the beach this morning in the perfect Santa Monica weather. I couldn’t help but think about my son in freezing Berlin, my daughter and sister in freezing Brooklyn, Jim and Rachel in freezing Glasgow, and the rest of the TVV crowd freezing around the world. So I thought I’d put together a warm and fuzzy set to bring everyone a little comfort, the operative word being FUZZY.
To be fair, these tunes feature all different kinds of gain in the signal, but somehow ‘Warm & Overdriven’ or ‘Warm & Distorted’ don’t quite send the same message. But, I can verify that the effects you’re hearing are coming from the BASS, which we can all agree is any band’s most important instrument.
Detroit’s garage-rock standard bearers take their rhythm section seriously. Behind band leader Mick Collins are two drummers and two bassists, one playing a standard 4-string and the other playing a six-string baritone with the fuzz circuit always engaged.
From the Aussie wonderkind’s forthcoming LP, Creature of Habit. She’s got Stella from Warpaint playing drums now. I hope that’s her long-time bassist Bones Sloane playing the crunchy bottom line.
My favorite track from BF5‘s 1995 self-titled debut. I wish they were still together–that band had great songs and was a stellar live act. Despite the name, the band were a trio with Folds on vocals/piano, Darren Jesse on drums, and the great bassist Robert Sledge carrying the song’s melody.
The Beasties got all kinds of attention, very little of it for their musicianship. Sure, they sampled a lot and had tons of guest artists on their records, but it was always Mike D on drums, Ad Rock on guitar, and MCA on bass. On this track the dearly departed Mr. Yauch is playing through a Univox Superfuzz unit.
I’m not that into Muse, if I’m honest, but you can’t deny the chops on these guys. Chris Wolstenholme plays the crap out of this frenetic, relentless line. On YouTube there are loads of pedal shootouts comparing different fuzz pedals and this is often the song used to demonstrate each stompbox.
Lead track from the peerless baritone’s seventh studio album, Blues Funeral, released in 2012. Bass on this track is played by Alain Johannes, of the former L.A. supergroup Eleven.
From the incredibly prolific lo-fi rocker’s excellently titled10th studio LP, Freedom’s Goblin. Written by disco champs Hot Chocolate, most famous for ‘You Sexy Thing.’ Featuring comedian Fred Armisen on percussion!
I was saving this song for an entry in the He Said/She Said series, but couldn’t wait because I’m desperately in love with Aimee Mann. Here the solo artist/former frontperson of Til Tuesday/goddess plays a fuzzy bass alongside indie stalwart Ted Leo.
From the goof rock duo’s third record, Heart On. I love this track and sometimes play it with my cover band, The Dial-Ups. That’s Baby Duck (Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age) playing a fuzzed out bass with a slide. The ‘Alain and Natasha’ name-checked in the song are the afore-mentioned Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider from Eleven, who ran 11AD Studio where the track was recorded.
Zappa must have been mentioned here at JC’s place before, but I can’t remember if any of his songs have ever been included in a post. But this one really fits the bill. This is the title track off the maestro’s fifth solo album, with none other than the legendary Jack Bruce of Cream playing fuzz bass and session drummer/convicted murderer Jim Gordon rounding out the rhythm section.
I’ve checked the archives, and this is the ninth time that Martin has offered up a January post looking back over the previous year in Swedish music. It’s always a treat, and particularly so this time around. I’ll let him explain.
Hi Jim,
It’s the time of the year, isn’t it, to hand over my as usual incomplete summary of new Swedish music from last year. About a year ago I confessed to have dived more into electronic music and then divided the compilation into an indie side and an electronic side. Well 2025 saw me get stuck in the podcast Blå Måndag (Blue Monday), basically about new Swedish electronic music which means this year there are even more electronic releases I discovered. So this time I start with the electronic side and it kind of slips into the second side as well as there are too many tracks for just one album side (I’m imagining an old-fashioned vinyl album as you might have guessed).
Dark, swirling, synthpop verging on darkwave from this Stockholm based artistic collective. Would fair well on the dance floor of a goth club. Frankly quite excellent if you ask me.
Gothenburg based one man electronic/post-punk project, with a similar mood as The Brides Of The Black Room just slightly more post-punk. Becomes Venom draws influences from early New Order, somewhere between Movement and Brotherhood.
EMMON is officially the solo moniker of Emma Nylén, however producer, mixer, and partner Jimmy Monell (EMMON = EMma + MONell) is every bit as important for the music. While Icon many a times borders on EBM and harder electronic stuff, Shades Of Blue has Construction Time Again poured all over it. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, or all that strange either, as Emma also provides vocals for the DM tribute band Paris. Both EMMON and Paris are great live acts, as electronic as they are.
(Shout out to SWC over at the equally excellent blog No Badger Required, to pay some attention at least for the use of only capital letters.)
Lizette is a Swedish-Peruvian (queer) artist, and since their debut in 2016 have been cherished by Swedish music press and people in the know, but never really managed to break through to the mainstream audience. Which is a shame since this is really great danceable synthpop, albeit mostly with a message. Visually potentially challenging for the Smiths or the Joneses but we know better.
Stockholm based darkwave duo consisting of singer and guitarist Jenny Gabrielsson Mare and knob-tweaker Fredrik Jonasson. The title track is the most uplifting song, even though with a slightly darker message, on an album mostly painted in black and gray filled with loss and sadness. Dark, moody, at times low-key brooding, the album is not always an easy listening- but rewarding.
Electronic veterans Twice A Man continues to churn out quality music. They started already in 1978 as Cosmic Overdose, in front of a short tour in the UK they were told the name wouldn’t fly and were given a list of proposals from the British arranger. They choose Twice A Man, and following good reviews in UK press after the shows they decided to stick with the name. For the most part during 1990 to 2010 they focused on music for theatres and art exhibitions, but with Icicles released in 2010 they returned to more (well) commercial music. Last year’s album is centred around nature, environment, and what we’re doing to this planet. As usual melodic tunes over a driving beat, I feel there is some kind of connection to the sea, the feeling of slow waves rolling. As they hail from Gothenburg on the west coast potentially not so strange.
The B-Side (Some Swedes are more indie than others)
Henric has a history in indie bands Yvonne and Strip Music, since 2011 solo artist turning more electronic, darker, with slices of post-punk and goth in the mix. This track’s dark electronics has somewhat of an analogue feel to it which leads us on to the more guitar based tracks.
Stockholm based dream-pop, shoegaze, outfit, delivered what I consider to be the best Swedish album of 2025. Would mid-80’s have been a perfect fit on the 4AD label. Mix some reverb with soaring angelic vocals floating over the melody, what not to love?
Hailing from Gothenburg, Beverly Kills are back with their sophomore album Wishing Well, their post-punk infused indie is very out of the Swedish west coast, just a tad more synths added and the odd mixture of almost euphoric music and rather bleak and sad lyrics. In all honesty they should have been included already last year as the first excellent single from the album, Sunset Drive, was released almost a year ahead.
B4. Honungsvägen – Ta Emot Mig (From the album Vet Du, Jag Älskar Dig. Kvar Här Med Dig, Kan Det Gå In?)
Winner of the first prize for longest album title… – and the only band on the compilation not based in Stockholm or Gothenburg, kind of sad. Umeå “supergroup” formed by Henrik Oja (also in Unroyal, and playing with Annika Norlin/Säkert!) with Christina Karlsson (also in INVSN) and Daniel Berglund (also in Isolation Years) released they eponymous debut in 2019 (easily one of the best Swedish debut albums ever) and last year finally saw a follow-up. In addition to the trio lyrics are also written with and by Annika Norlin and Mattias Alkberg, all Swedish indie royalty. Very Scandinavian melancholic, slightly folky, indie pop, sung in Swedish (sorry).
I know, this is not supposed to be allowed, two tracks from the same album. But, as it happens to be my fave Swedish album of last year, and with a track named after a part of Stockholm where as it happens a certain, very important, person who came into my life last year, lives – it’s the given album closer. This is for you, P.
And as a bonus, from the most (on my part) overlooked Swedish album released in 2024.
FFF is not only one of the most active supporters of this blog – he holds a record that will unlikely ever be surpassed, namely the number of comments he has submitted over the years – but he has, in recent years become a close and dear friend following our introduction via someone we both knew.
There was an email attached to this guest posting, one that made me feel quite sad and quite worried about my friend. He’s going through a very tough time just now, and I want to wish him well. I hope the fact I’ve been able to get this post up so quickly after it came in can be of some help to him today. Take good care, amigo…..and stay strong.
I don’t normally feature two ICAs in the same week, never mind on consecutive days, but this one, which arrived unexpectedly just a few days ago, given that the author was no doubt dealing with the after-effects of a particularly violent snowstorm, does have degree of urgency about it, given what it is covering. And with that, I hand over to our correspondent from the south-west of England.
An ICA of Top Musical Tips for 2026.
Many years ago (ok it was 2008), the parents of a friend mine rented a big old house on the edge of Exmoor for a fortnight over the Christmas period. It was a lovely place, six bedrooms spread across two floors, a huge kitchen, triple glazed fire and bomb proof windows and on the top floor (the third) was something called the ‘Party Zone’.
In that ‘Party Zone’ we partied, sort of. We played some old records from our time at university and watched some football on the massive television whilst gorging ourselves on Doritos and a delightful home-made guacamole. As we tired of that, my friend, lets called him Matthew, largely because it’s his name, asked me, what my top musical recommendation for the coming year was, and I said with barely a moment’s pause to actually think about it,
“Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong. They will be the biggest band in the land this time next year”
Which on reflection was a terrible answer (trust me if you’ve never heard Joe Lean and his sodding Jing Jang Jong, you really aren’t missing much) because Joe Lean and his sodding Jing Jang Jong faded into obscurity faster than the person who came 12th on X Factor in 2008.
Ever since that moment, I have run away as fast as possible when people ask me for my Musical Tips for the year ahead.
Welcome then, to an ICA made up of ten bands and acts that I think will probably be (some of) the biggest bands in the land this time next year. Or ten bands and acts that (some of) will be as famous as Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong are this time next year – if they become world-famous and change your lives for the good, you can credit me accordingly but if their next album or single or whatever stinks the place out then I will deny that I ever said anything.
Oh, by the way, this document is officially the most times that Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong have ever been mentioned in any document anywhere and that includes the NME written guide “A Short guide to the brilliant whizz pop world of Joe Lean and his Jing Jang Jong”.
Regular readers to my so-called music blog No Badger Required will know that I go a bit giddy when bands appear and insist on using capital letters in their name. So, I have to start side one of this ICA with MORN. MORN are from Wales and ‘Modern Man’ is so far their only release. They make a sort of punky and jagged sound that is full of massive guitar hooks and dynamic vocals and they are a very exciting prospect.
The music of Shaking Hand is mostly steeped in that post rock world, where songs slowly build before exploding like a musical firework that takes them off in different directions. Shaking Hand do this very well indeed, their bass lines are tight but grow into a many tentacled beasts, whilst their guitars chime but only when they absolutely have to.
If I was writing this in 1985, and I’d just heard Night Swimming for this first time I would have run straight down to my local turf accountants and bet the entire pension on Night Swimming being signed to 4AD Records. They make music that is a whirl of reverb, shivery vocals, tinkling cymbals and waves of gentle feedback. It’s not quite Cocteau Twins, but it would definitely dress up as one of them should the opportunity arise. File under very good.
Hot on the heels of Night Swimming (see above) come She’s In Parties. They are also named after a song but also make music that sounds like they should have been signed to 4AD Records thirty-seven years ago, and again this is no bad thing at all. Musically, She’s In Parties are all dreamy soundscapes, vocal reverb and guitars that will almost certainly sound better when accompanied by an overactive smoke machine.
There is something rather special about London’s alt country slacker rock band Vegas Water Taxi. For a start there is the way in which singer Ben Hambro croons in a way that sounds like he has gone to confession but ended up turning it into a total bitching session. Then you have Ben’s lyrics, which are self mocking, funny, occasionally filthy but nearly always warm-hearted. Set amongst all that you have the music, which lurches between post punk and alt country slacker rock that reminds me of Pavement if they were fronted by Dan Treacy from the Television Personalities.
The Pill are great. Their songs are sharp, loud and swagger with the knowledge that they possess something that will smack you in the face with the power of a bull who has been mainlining amphetamines. That sharpness and swaggering brilliance has seen the band grow amidst a swirl of hype and expectations.
Manchester’s SILVERWINGKILLER (again, note the capitals folks) merge the chaos of punk rock with the precision of electronica. At the same time they fuse Chinese mythology with pure adrenaline, which gives their music an edge that hasn’t been since Richard James took a drill into his studio. ‘Hold Up (All Firearms in the United Kingdom)’ is rather splendid, if trying to reintroduce a new generation to the wonders of Gabba Techno can ever be described as splendid.
The only remotely new thing about Formal Sppeedwear (apart from perhaps the way the spell ‘Speedwear’) is the wave that they attach to their musical genre of choice. The only problem is that they exist in a world where new wave has because distinctly old wave and so those in the press have coined phrases like post post punk to describe new bands making old new wave music. If that makes sense. Regardless, Formal Sppeedwear sound like Talking Heads and A Certain Ratio at the same time and that makes them great.
‘Scenes’ the debut album from Crimewave is quite extraordinary. It’s also quite unbelievable – because it is apparently an electronica album that has been recorded using only guitars and drums, and when you listen to it for the first time (and I recommend you do that, because it’s all kinds of excellent) you’ll sit there, scratch your head and wonder how on earth it can be true and then after all that you’ll play it again and marvel at its brilliance.
Bristol’s Mumble Tide are a very lovely thing. Their music is a hazy, dreamy pop that deserves to be listened to as you walk through some woods in the early autumn as the leaves flutter to the ground. The vocals (courtesy of Gina Leonard) are lush and that fits perfectly with the gentle squall of electronic and the occasional wail of a countrified acoustic guitar.
Apparently written after an “awkward tryst” with a cab driver at her home in Tucson, Arizona. The second single from Armed Forces, when EC and the boys could only make outstanding albums.
Written by keyboardist Jimmy Destri as a parallel to Elvis’s song (they were both released in 1979). Supposedly about the mysticism former bassist Gary Valentine inspired in the band. Incongruously, featuring Judy Garland‘s daughter Lorna Luft on background vocals.
Poor Todd Snider. He died of pneumonia this past November, aged 59. He was a great storyteller, with songs full of funny lines about serious situations. (See Some Songs Are Great Short Stories, Chapter 35). From his 1996 LP Step Right Up.
If there’s a better lyricist than Stephen Merritt writing today I can’t imagine who it could be. He’s our century’s Cole Porter. This song comes from the 2004 album i, which is a collection of 14 songs beginning with the letter ‘I’ in alphabetical order. In other words, he’s as weird as I am.
The shoegaze stalwarts disbanded in 1995 and lead songwriter Neil Halstead went on to form Mojave 3. When that outfit packed it in he released all kinds of music before resurrecting the Reading quartet with a new drummer. The band’s self-titled comeback album came out in 2017–22 years after their last release.
First single from 2002’s Songs for the Deaf. Co-written with the late great Mark Lanegan who at the time was a band member. Lanegan isn’t on the single but the ferocious drums are courtesy of Dave Grohl. And the strings are performed by Ana and Paz Lechantin, before the latter joined Pixies.
Has Metric ever made an appearance here at TVV? (JC interjects – NOPE!!!) If not, it’s high time. The Canadian group, led by the wonderful Emily Haines, has been at it for almost 30 years and have released 10 solid records since 2003. This is an album track from the second one, 2005’s Live It Out, which featured a great single called ‘Monster Hospital.’ [note to JC, add that one as a bonus track at the end, if possible]
I loved Green Day when they hit the scene. They were just the right mix of energy, irreverence, pop, and punk. Then they got popular, which is always irritating. But they kept making solid records, including 2004’s American Idiot, which this track is taken from. My cover band plays the title track, which I’m ashamed to say became the theme song for our government.
The Australian combo only released three records in their day. They all went gold, including Two Hearts, which includes this track as its lead single. But the band was fracturing, and only three of the five original members appeared on it. Guitarist Ron Strykert actually bailed during the sessions. But MAW were always all about Colin Hay, anyway. He has that singular voice and wrote their best songs. Hay proved to be a nice guy that moved to my adopted hometown of Santa Monica, CA. I see him at Truetone guitar shop from time to time, and he gets involved with the music program at my kids’ high school.
You’d be right in observing that half the music I listen to was released in 1979. But that doesn’t mean I don’t keep an ear open for great new music. This single was released by the Los Angeles indie stars in March of this year, from the album The Cosmic Selector Vol. I, which came out in July.
Ballboy – Welcome To The New Year
Malcolm Middleton – Happy Medium
Pet Shop Boys – Too Many People
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – High Fidelity
Bar Italia – Eyepatch
Echo and The Bunnymen – All My Colours (Peel Session)
The Libertines – Can’t Stand Me Now
Win – Super Popoid Groove
Follytechnic Music Library – Vanished
Working Men’s Club – John Cooper Clarke
Sea Power – No Lucifer
The Walkmen – The Rat
Shop Assistants – Safety Net
Blondie – Denis
Yard Act – Dead Horse
The Specials – Friday Night, Saturday Morning
The Wedding Present – Once More
I thought I’d end this short series with a look at what I reckon could be as fine a free CD giveaway as there’s ever been. It came with the October 2012 edition of MOJO magazine.
1982: It was the year marked by UK unemployment topping three million…the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina…the sale of over 400,000 council houses under the right to buy scheme…the IRA bombings of Hyde Park and Regents Park…the collapse of Laker Airways…and the privatisation of the British National Oil Company.
Meanwhile, in Manchester, May of that year saw two major events: the launch of the Hacienda Club and the meeting of Morrissey and Johnny Marr. In the five years that followed, the pair would lead The Smiths with a sense of fierce ambition. Joined initially by Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, their uniquely British sound – a mixture of forward-looking musical dexterity and mordant lyricism – also established them as the standard-bearers for the independent music scene. This compilation brings together a number of The Smiths’ contemporaries and provides a snapshot of the scene they dominated during their brief five-year tenure.
From the glorious jangle-pop of Felt through to the post-Velvets vibes of The Weather Prophets and on to the insurrectionary spirit of Billy Bragg and Television Personalities, this collection recalls a period in indie rock when the intentions were pure and the music mattered.
We invite you to enjoy 15 tracks whose spirit remains intact. The light shines on…
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 