Posts tagged Alternative Rock
Rock Star Birthday Blurbs – Adam Yauch
Aug 5th
Where The Bea-Stie-Boys (as in aww mom you’re just jealous) rank in the history of Hip Hop is another man’s quest, but I loved them in about two notes flat. I was never much of a Hip Hop aficionado in the 80′s and while I own some music today by relatively well known Rap artists like Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Snoop Doggy Dogg (yeah I’ll be calling him that until the day I die), Dr Dre, Ice Cube, NWA, Run DMC, Eminem and LL Cool J, nobody (definitely not The Hip Hop lovin’ Giant Panther) would confuse me with being a hardcore Rap fan. I like my lyrics discernible and I like some melody. I’m not from the school of I hate all (C)Rap though…not even close. Some could argue that The Beastie Boys weren’t exactly Rap either with all the sampling they did. It was definitely different. Their sound was nearly Rap Rock and their first big single, “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” was a scintillating career starter. Two notes in and “KIck It!” and I was sold. That song still gets me going to this day. I know it’s completely juvenile and no “true” Beastie Boy fan even likes that song, but I could care less.
I remember being a bar in Central Square, a once grungy section of Cambridge, MA between haughty Back Bay in Boston and crunchy Harvard Square, called Man Ray sometime around 1987. Man Ray was a Goth Bar that catered to all kinds of folks who liked to Walk On The Wild Side. The More anti-mainstream you were the more you fit in. I stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn’t really my scene, but chicks liked the place because they could dance so every once in a blue moon I’d get dragged into the place. It was just down the street from a rock club called T.T. The Bears. T.T. The Bear was and is an old school rock club. I don’t get to the place near as much as I’d like, but I remember seeing a band called Bettie Seveert there many years back and having a blast. You really got to be on top of the National and Local scenes to score there though. It’s a small venue that holds (and I’m totally guessing) maybe 200 people as the Fire Marshall flies. You could find National acts on the way up, bands that are just hanging on for a gig, local bands fighting on the way up and reunion gigs there. It’s a venue that gets overlooked as far as Boston’s Rock scene goes. Between T.T.s, the now defunct Man Ray Club and the timeless Cantab Lounge you pretty much had Central Square covered in the 80′s & 90′s.
The reason I mention Man Ray is because it was one of those clubs in the 80′s that played videos along with it’s music. They had these huge screens and basically played videos in between whatever other entertainment they might have going on. This is the place where I first heard “Fight For Your Right” at the proverbial “11″ on the volume scale. I had never scene the video and I was loving a relatively rocking tune in between all the Cabaret Voltaire and Cure tracks. No offense to either of those acts intended because I love both of them. The Beastie video hit me at just right time during my evening of cocktails and consequently hooked me in as a Beastie Boy legionnaire forevermore. I promptly went out and bought myself a copy of 1986′s License To Ill.
I’ve already stated that I love Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath and sick humor in my Rock. If I can laugh while I’m rocking I’m all over it. Where The Beastie Boys are concerned either you get the joke or you don’t. I got it right away. I just recently watched their DVD “Awesome, I F*#kin’ Shot That!” and had a ball watching it. I have never made time to see The Beastie Boys live, but hopefully I’ll get another crack at them. The last time they came through Boston I was worried they weren’t going to play their normal set and the timing wasn’t quite right in my world so I passed. Bad Move I heard. Oh well. I’ve been on quite a roll lately so I’ve got to chill out on the concert going. I saw The Black Keys last Saturday, which was a blast and I’ve got Interpol and Gov’t Mule lined up for this week. Yeah, I’m cuttin’ back (not)…
Today is MCA’s birthday. Beastie Boy Adam Yauch will be 45 years of age as of August 5, 2010. Young Adam has been dealing with a cancerous parotid gland, which I gather is member of the salivary gland family, this past year. So far as we can tell the prognosis is good and his voice will not be affected. The Beastie Boys plan to drop another CD tentatively called “Hot Sauce Committee Part I” this September. We, at The Giant Panther, wish Adam and The Beastie Boys well. To celebrate Adam’s 45th I’m going to post a couple of my favorite Beastie Boys tracks. I only get three choices so bear with me…
The Beastie Boys – She’s Crafty.mp3
The Beastie Boys – High Plains Drifter.mp3
The Beastie Boys – The Negotiation Limerick File.mp3
Buy or Download The Sounds of Science from Amazon here.
Rock Star Birthday Blurbs – Kate Bush
Jul 30th
Kate Bush has always been a very interesting artist. The Giant Panther and I don’t always agree on every band, but we are both big Kate Bush fans. It makes perfect sense for Ryan to be a Kate Bush fan. He likes most of the esoteric, atmospheric, electronic Indie sound. It’s not that I don’t, but I just don’t find it nearly as compelling as Ryan does. I used to do a lot more digesting of new and different sounds, but the last couple of years I have spent trying to get my catalogue digitized. If Ryan turns me onto something new, such as LCD Soundsystem or The Twilight Sad, I might listen to it a couple of times in a row, file it and move onto the next band I want to get into my database. It’s not really a good feeling for someone like me who likes to take his time with each new release and pass the word to my fellow music lovers. I’m not doing very much to promote new music these days and that kind of disappoints me. However, while I’m working through that issue I have a ton of experience with a wide range of bands that I can remind folks of in the meantime. I think Kate Bush, who turns 52 today (born July 30, 1958), is one of them.
I first started hearing about Kate Bush in the mid 80′s when I was managing a Compact Disc store. I was getting a lot of requests for her records The Kick Inside, Lionheart and Never For Ever, but I didn’t know a thing about her. We’d play her in the store from time to time, but I was a rocker. I wanted to listen to more energetic stuff. Then one day I stumbled on her 1985 CD Hounds of Love. Whoa. “Running Up That Hill” was getting a lot of airplay on WFNX, our local Alternative Rock station. I liked it. It was different. Then I started playing the CD because, well, I sort of “owned” it when working in a CD store. One day it turned up in our used CD bin and I pounced on it. I fell in love with the song “The Big Sky” and became a life long Kate Bush fan. I also grabbed a copy of The Whole Story, her greatest hits CD, and found her song “Wuthering Heights” from 1978′s The Kick Inside. I never knew anything could sound so beautiful. It’s the type of song that has you breaking into tears for no real reason. I’ve got a handful of those in my own personal repertoire. You can’t really put your finger on why either. Lulu’s “To Sir With Love” is one of those for me. I just start balling like a baby sometimes. In private of course…
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter with a faint resemblance to American Actress Mary Steenburgen. She was allegedly discovered by Pink Floyd honcho David Gilmour and signed to EMI Records as a teenager somewhere around 1975. She released her debut LP, the previously mentioned The Kick Inside, at 19. An eclectic artist with a dance background, Bush only toured once in her career in 1979. The tour lasted six weeks. It is alleged that Bush has a crippling fear of flying so if that is true I’m sure that factored into her lack of enthusiasm for touring. It has been said that her second record, 1978′s Lionheart, was a rush job which still bothers Bush to this day. Ever since that time she has lived an almost reclusive life style, comparatively speaking for a Rock star, and has maniacally maintained artistic control of her records to the point of building her own recording studio. She has been known to disappear for years at a clip before resurfacing with another release. Her latest CD, Aerial, was released in 2005 after a twelve year break. I remember being impressed at the time, but I haven’t listened to it in quite awhile.
I bought 1988′s Sensual World and 1993′s The Red Shoes sight unseen because of having fallen in love with Bush. Each has a killer single; “Love and Anger” from Sensual World and “Rubberband Girl” from The Red Shoes, but Bush’s records are not going to break any sales records outside the UK. She is a Goddess there. She’s just sexy and talented to the rest of the world. Part of her mystique I think is her reluctance to promote her music with the press. When you don’t see people for years at a clip sometimes you are even more interested in them for some reason. Kate always had a performance art type of vibe behind her music and I’ve often wondered what type of music she might have made if she went for a harder edge. She’s tremendous just as she is, but can you imagine if she vented like, oh I don’t know, Alanis Morissette once in a while? Maybe then she just wouldn’t be Kate huh? Regardless, we, at The Giant Panther, want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Kate and we look forward to her next release, whenever that might be.
Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights.mp3
Kate Bush – Love and Anger.mp3
Buy or Download The Whole Story from Amazon here.
Rock Star Birthday Blurbs – Chris Cornell
Jul 20th
OK, so July 20th is the legendary Carlos Santana’s birthday too. I’ve written about both of these artists in different capacities in the past so I chose Christopher John Boyle, better known as Chris Cornell, for today’s post. I’ll get back to Carlos a year from now. 1964 was the year. “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was the number one song that year, but for perspective sake, here’s a couple of other chart toppers to jog your memory; “Baby Love” by Diana Ross & The Supremes, “Leader of The Pack” by The Shangri-Las, “House of The Rising Sun” by The Animals, “Oh! Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” by Manfred Mann, “Rag Doll” by The Four Seasons, “Chapel of Love” by The Dixie Cups, “My Guy” by Mary Wells, “Everybody Loves Somebody” by Dean Martin, “A World Without Love” by Peter & Gordon, “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys, “Hello, Dolly!” by Louis Armstrong, and half a dozen other tracks by both The Beatles and The Supremes. I love that kind of stuff. Oh, and Chris Cornell was born in Seattle, Washington.
According to our friends at Wikipedia, Cornell was a Sous Chef and a seafood wholesaler prior to hitting the big time. They say he was a loner. A loner is a tough tag to shake. I would venture to guess that most people become “loners” in their teens. I don’t think of myself as a loner per se, but I sure don’t mind my own company when things break down. We all have these friends that can’t seem to function if they are not in a relationship right? I’m not one of those people for better or for worse. I just need my Rock music and my baseball team. It’s not very complicated actually, but it does get you into some bad habits. For instance, the economy is terrible, but I’m out there seeing more concerts than ever. I took in Crowded House last weekend, but I would probably much rather take in a reincarnated Soundgarden. Why did they break up again anyway? Weren’t they on top of the world? I hate when that happens.
Let’s be honest, Chris Cornell’s solo career hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. That doesn’t make it bad, it just is what it is. The guy has one of the best voices in Rock and he’s been in at least two wildly successful Rock bands. I don’t think he’s hurting for coin. Soundgarden, the band which catapulted him to fame (or vice versa depending on your point of view I guess), came together around 1984 initially. They were working with Sub Pop, the cool underground label that came to be in 1986 and became famous for housing Nirvana for a time, but didn’t have a major label release until 1990. Apparently Cornell was the band’s original drummer. Things I didn’t know until today for $500 Jack. The Seattle Grunge sound was just about to take off with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden spearheading the charge. In 1991, just after the release of Bad Motorfinger, I can remember sitting in a great bar called Hunter’s 885 on Boylston Street in Boston (today it’s an awful place called Whiskey’s) around then and having this Soundgarden fan tell me if I didn’t go see them at Avalon (or Citi Club, whatever the space that houses The House of Blues was called back then) now (they were coming in about a month as I recall) I’d never be able to see them in such an intimate space again. He was right.
Bad Motorfinger featured three stellar tracks called “Outshined, Holy Water and Rusty Cage.” After that it was all over. Even MTV was taking Metal seriously by then. Their next album, 1994′s Superunknown, is a Grunge masterpiece. Look, I’m a big Nirvana fan, but I think this record is right there with Nevemind. Pearl Jam, who have legions of folks who consider them the best of the genre, is a helluva band too. Personally, I like Vs. better than Ten, but we are talking about probably the best three Grunge records ever released in my humble opinion. Alice in Chains, another spectacular band, was on fire until Layne Staley decided heroin was the only way to deal with grief. AIC were something else. They were as hot as anyone between 1990 and 1996. If you liked your Rock and your Alternative music mixing, this was a glorious time.
In 1996 Soundgarden made an attempt to follow up Superunknown and did a very credible job with the release of Down On The Upside. It featured the singles “Pretty Noose, Blow Up The Outside World and Burden in My Hand.” I just loved that stuff. Unfortunately, that was all she wrote for Soundgarden. Fast forward to 2010, it looks like we may yet see Soundgarden release new material. I’ll believe it when I hear it, but I’m psyched about the possibility.
I don’t have time to discuss the merits of Audioslave today, but they rocked my world as well. I’m a big fan and own all of their CDs. I also bought 1991′s Temple of The Dog, which was also the name of the band too. It was a tribute to Mother Love Bone’s lead singer Andrew Wood, who was a friend to all of the musicians on the Seattle circuit. Its seems Wood unfortunately tangled with heroin and lost as well the prior year so members of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Mother Love Bone put together a one off record which sold more than a million copies. It featured the singles “Say Hello 2 Heaven” and “Hunger Strike.” I’m posting one song from each band for fun and games today. Happy birthday Chris Cornell and get cracking on that new Soundgarden record. I’ve got $20 just burning a hole in my pocket for it as we speak.
Soundgarden – Blow up The Outside World.mp3
Audioslave – Show Me How To Live.mp3
Temple of The Dog – Hunger Strike.mp3
Buy or download Superunkown from Amazon here.
One Track Mind – The Golden Palominos
Jul 18th
The Golden Palominos were a fairly eclectic act that came together in 1981. I remember we played a song called “Boy (Go)” at The Rock of Boston WBCN (R.I.P.) from their Visions of Excess LP back in 1985. I took an instant liking to the song, probably because R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe was singing on it. I didn’t go out and buy the record right away, but when it turned up in the used CD bin at The CD Store (R.I.P.) where I worked about a year later I grabbed it right away. I used to love that used CD bin. Number one, people are generally clueless and toss all kinds of rare and out of print gems in there. I still see, even at very respectable used CD stores scattered all around Boston, CDs that have no business being in the cut out or 99 cents bins. In fairness to retail outlets there is something to be being overstocked, but if you know your music you don’t let some kid slap a $1.99 sticker on Japanese pressing of Abbey Road. Speaking of which, I used to see a ton of those rare Japanese pressings before the entire catalogue of every band who ever lived was digitized for evermore. I think I still have Japanese pressings of Bob Seger’s Live Bullet and Paul McCartney’s Venus & Mars to name just a couple. You have to file ‘em upside down and backwards so you can read the binding in your library. Back then, the CD was generally only available as a Japanese pressing. I’m sure the outrageous price tags for those have come down faster than my 401K. I just got my quarterly statement and it’s depressing.
I don’t shop for used CDs the way I once did. My library is too big as it is, but if I’m feeling flush and it’s convenient I’ll kill an hour on a Saturday rummaging through a comfortable store (i.e. the CDs or covers aren’t mashed together like sardines, the few customers there are in the store absolutely need to look through the “C’s” at the same time I am and their is good music at a decent volume). Usually you come away with some lost import, a greatest hit package you never knew existed or some holy grail of a CD you’ve been looking for (obviously not hard enough) for years. That’s my idea of a good time. How sad huh? Getting back to the Palominos, it’s not surprising not too many people know about them. There was never a big promotion at the radio station for them back in the 80′s. I know I have mentioned the “B” bin at WBCN in the past. It was always chock full of hidden treasures. Our fearless leader Oedipus (Program Director) was always trying to stretch the boundaries of what WBCN could play for their audience and that is where the action was. New music, local music and generally anything that would fit under the category of novelty was sent there. I found some of my all time favorite sleeper bands there.
The Golden Palominos were “B” bin material. They had no real commercial radio track record to speak of, but they had a cool sound. They were led by a drummer named Anton Fier. They were kind of a side project for like minded musicians. Only Fier, bassist Bill Laswell and guitarist Nicky Skopelitis played on every record. They actually stuck around for 19 years or so and released 11 LPs and EPs. The music ranged from No Wave, Funk, Jazz, Improv, Rock, Alt-Country and everything in between. Every record sounded different because they always had different musicians. It was pretty forward thinking for that time. Nobody seemed to care if the records sold it seemed. And “Boy (Go)” seemed to be the only song ever played on a commercial Rock station that I’m aware of. I’m sure college radio fooled around with subsequent efforts, but I never heard anything on the air myself. I’m sure there is more quality in their catalogue. I just downloaded one of their greatest hits packages to find out.
You may or may not recognize some of the names that floated through the elastic Golden Palominos project, but we can list Richard Thompson, Michael Stipe, Jack Bruce, Syd Straw, Jody Harris, John Lydon, Matthew Sweet, Peter Holsapple, Don Dixon, T-Bone Burnett, Bob Mould, Lori Carson, Arto Lindsay, John Zorn, Amanda Kramer, Raymond Watts and Mark Walk as all collaborating with the GPs in some, way shape or form during their lifespan. Before I get slaughtered for referring to them as a one hit wonder I fully acknowledge that I did not follow this band’s career to the letter. I just came across “Boy (Go)” on my Sony iPod like device at the gym the other day and thought I’d share it with you. Listen in good health.
The Golden Palominos – Boy (Go).mp3
Buy or download Visions of Excess from Amazon here.
Rock Star Birthday Blurbs – Beck
Jul 8th
Today is Beck Hansen’s 40th birthday. Born Bek David Campbell on July 8, 1970, Beck has turned into one of Rock’s most uncategorizable musicians. He’s technically a dance artist of sorts, but most call his music Alternative Rock. In truth he defies all labels, but I still think he’s massively talented anyway. Most folks only know Beck because of his 1994 hit “Loser” and really have no clue about how talented this guy is. i was lucky enough to see him May 24, 2003 at the then FleetBoston Pavilion. I had an eighth row seat in the center. It was the worst weather I think I have encountered at a concert since I was at Red Rocks in Colorado when U2 was trying to film for MTV and Under a Blood Red Sky. Whipping wind, nasty cold and sideways rain. Still, I look at this concert as one of my favorites of the past decade. Beck is highly entertaining, he of the two turntables and a microphone. If you ever get a chance to check out his show I’d take it in. It’s a lot of moving and grooving…and I don’t dance…much…
I was surprised to find out 1994′s Mellow Gold was Beck’s third studio album. I had never heard of him until then. I guess he had two prior CDs and an EP before he had his big breakthrough with the single ”Loser.” I can tell you that from then on I bought every one of Beck’s records. His catalogue is an eclectic mix of Hip Hop, Sampling, Country, Dance, House and Postmodern Irony. Beck’s popularity exploded in 1996 with the release of Odelay and it’s hits “Where It’s At, Devil’s Haircut, The New Pollution, Hot Wax and Jack-Ass.” I couldn’t get enough of this record back in ’96. I thought Beck was going to be the next big thing. It’s not like he isn’t, but his career didn’t take off the way I thought it had the potential to. He just refused to conform I guess.
Still, 1998′s Mutations had “Cold Brains and Bottle of Blues,” 1999′s Midnite Vultures had “Sexx Laws and Nocotine & Gravy,” 2002′s Sea Change got the vaunted Five Star rating in Rolling Stone (although I didn’t buy it for a couple of years there my myself), 2005′s Guero had “E-Pro and Girl,” 2006′s The Information had “I Think I’m in Love and Nausea,” and 2008′s Modern Guilt had “Gamma Ray and Chemtrails.” There was a hit or two on every CD and tons in between. Sea Change lacked the sampling and dance beats his fans had come to enjoy, but it had so much critical acclaim I had to go back and check it out. Beck is not an easy take. He makes you work, but once you get it you are usually coming at his new stuff with open ears. Between The Dust Brothers and Danger Mouse and all of the other producers, engineers, musicians and samples he worked with over the years it was never boring. I’m still a big fan.
Happy Birthday Mr Hansen. Don’t forget to come back and see us again in Boston soon.
Buy or Download Odelay from Amazon here.
One Track Mind – The Sheila Devine
Jul 2nd
I noticed I’ve been neglecting my One Track Mind feature for a while now. It’s probably because I’m a little gun shy about calling any band a one hit wonder. I couldn’t believe it when a guy from US3 wrote me to tell me how insulted he was. US3! One hit is better than no hits of course, but it’s all relative. I have the same reaction when you see those Time-Life alleged One Hit Wonder compilations and the songs are rolling down the down the screen. All of the sudden…there it is! Steppenwolf? The Young Rascals? The Grass Roots? Doesn’t anybody do any real research anymore? When you think of The Zombies you think of “Time of The Season, Tell Her No” and “She’s Not There” right? I’ve seen The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle included on a lot of critics lists, but in all fairness, I’m just as impressed with Rod Argent’s next band, Argent, and it’s three big hits “Hold Your Head Up, God Gave Rock & Roll To You” and “Liar.” I guess the point is, nobody likes to be labeled a One Hit Wonder and I dislike being the one to bring the news, even if it’s technically true. In The Sheila Devine’s case I really don’t think it was, but two is their max if all we have to go on is songs played on the local Alternative Rock station.
One of the very best things about music is it can pick you out and shake you up (to quote Human League of all people) and turn you into someone new. The first time I heard The Sheila Devine I wanted to know more about them. I can’t recall if that song was “Hum” or “Opportune Moment,” but I remember seeing them warm up for Morrissey (who likewise put his mighty seal of approval on this band once upon a time) and thinking they were going places. They had a great urgency, it seemed to me at the time, and they fit right in with the Alternative Rock crowd. They had a really cool sound and reminded me of my old friends Cliffs of Doneen in a lot of ways. I hope they aren’t insulted by that; I still consider COD’s “Through An Open Window” a killer track even if they never really made it out of Boston either. The Sheila Devine had a lot of momentum and I thought they had a great future. They just couldn’t get over the hump for reasons unknown to this author. I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with the name they chose for their band. I guess a “Sheila” in Australia roughly translates into “wimp.” Devine Wimp doesn’t do much for the rough and tumble Australian crowd. According to Wikipedia, there was an actual woman named Sheila Devine at Oneonta College that three of the band members apparently had occasion to meet while attending school there. She must have been one hot number if they named their fledgling band after her. I always liked the name regardless of where it came from.
The Sheila Devine bounced aroud for about six years and yielded two CDs and two EPs. They had a staunch, but small following and they never did get that major label record deal. Their 1999 CD Parade was probably their best and to celebrate that I’m posting their two radio friendly singles from that CD. I’m not doing anything earth shattering this weekend so you may hear from me again, but if I don’t…Happy Fireworks Day…
The Sheila Divine – Opportune Moment.mp3
Buy or download The Sheila Devie’s Parade from Amazon here.
My Insipid Record Collection – Garbage
Jun 25th
I was driving around yesterday for about 40 minutes running errands and sometimes, like the fool that I am, I blindly reach into my collection and pull something out to play in the car. Yesterday I grabbed Garbage’s 1995 debut record. Most of you would recognize the two hits off this record in “I’m Only Happy When it Rains” and “Stupid Girl,” but this was one of those records where you were instantly smitten the second it began to play in your CD player. Unfortunately, as radio is wont to do, they beat on the two songs I mentioned, but left the rest of the disc for relative dead. Those of you who own this CD know that it is not a two hit wonder.
I saw Garbage play live at Axis in Boston on Tuesday November 14, 1995. The record had been out maybe four months at the time. WFNX here in Boston was playing it like crazy and I was all pumped up to see them in a small club like Axis. I enjoyed the heck out of that show. I remember seeing Scotland’s Shirley Manson and being mesmerized; speaking of women who rock yet again. She is an exotic looking women with big eyes that look right through you. I don’t imagine many of you watched the shaky Fox TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but I was DVRing it for a while there, mostly because I thought Summer Glau was smoking hot. I was surprised to find Shirley Manson playing the part of Catherine Weaver. As with everything she does, its was intense and fun to watch. The show, however, has been put out to pasture mercifully.
The first Garbage record came with a considerable amount of hype as I recall. I know Butch Vig, who produced 90′s legends Nirvana and their smash CD Nevermind, was playing drums, but it was more than that. Vig had produced some of my favorite early 90′s records such as Smashing Pumpkins’ 1991 CD Gish and their 1993 uber smash record Siamese Dream as well as Sonic Youth’s great 1992 CD Dirty. Those were some solid credentials. Still, there was something about this record that we all figured was going to be very good. Fortunately we were right. Nobody can deny what a great song “Only Happy When It Rains” is, no matter how many times you may have heard it, but “Stupid Girl” was kind of mediocre for my money. The rest of the record, however, was very good. I’m posting some of the forgotten tracks below.
Garbage technically hailed from Madison, Wisconsin and stuck around for four studio albums through 2005, but they were never quite as good as they were on their debut CD. It ended up selling 4 Million copies according to Wikipedia. They may have sold as many or more records on subsequent CDs, but the initial new band love affair was over. Having seen them live, I was telling all my friends about this record. I really loved it. I loved the cover too. It was colorful and off the beaten path. It also felt a little like the Grunge era had been extended. To those of us who enjoyed the Grunge era, buying this record was a no brainer.
Garbage went on to sell a ton of records and have what most would consider a wildly successful career, but my interest in the band kind of tailed off around 2000 or so. I bought all their records hoping to find another gem, but I don’t know…I just lost my mojo for them. They were never bad, but Alternative Rock stations beat on five singles until I could care less if I ever heard their music again. Songs like “#1 Crush, I’m Think I’m Paranoid, Androgyny, Breaking Up The Girl and Bleed Like Me” all had their moments, but end to end I still like the first record the best. Here are three of my favorites. I understand there may be another CD in the coming year so look for that.
Buy or download Garbage from Amazon here.
Your Tour Guide – Hole
Jun 24th
Last night Courtney Love came to town. I suppose we should begin to refer to her as Courtney Michelle, but I don’t think that a name change is going to re-brand this women in any serious way do you? Look, there is no denying Courtney has her detractors. The women has been through hell and some of it was her own doing. Still, at 45 years young (for now that is, she has a birthday coming up on July 9th), she seems more able to let the criticism bounce off of her. She’s got balls and I admire her for that. I was on the fence about attending, but the truth is, as soon as I saw Hole listed as a June show at Boston’s House of Blues, I was drawn to the show. I was jokingly calling it a train wreck I just had to see, but I was wrong. Oh, she did space some words during her impromptu rendition of a recent outtake called Stand Up M*F’er, but she and her band did some solid work last night. Some idiots through some stuff up on the stage, mostly beer bottles and water bottles, but she never lost her cool, not even for a second. I was praying she wouldn’t. Why let her detractors win? A guy next to me mumbled to his girlfriend as Courtney was trying to remember the words at one point and said “this is what I came to see.” I remember nodding against my will. Thanks not really what I can to see even though I’d heard the rumors.
I don’t care what anyone says about women like Sinead O’Connor or Courtney Love. When you rock, you rock…end of story. Love does like to stop the show and almost chit chat with her audience. I don’t have any problem with that. It makes her human. Last night, for instance, we learned that her smash hit “Doll Parts” was written at somebody named Joyce’s house near Harvard Square. We learned that one of the first albums she ever owned was a Leonard Cohen record and she covered one of his songs during the show called “Take This Longing” after a nice intro. We learned that some of the lyrics to her song “Awful” were written about a then 22 year old rocker named Gavin Rossdale (of Bush fame) and that he was hot way back when. We learned that everything we do in life is all about getting laid (what’s the definition of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results again?…I better work on this). And we learned Courtney wears $800 panties…which we witnessed on the outside of her leggings. There was a 50-50 chance of a wardrobe malfunction at one point, but all this aside, Hole put on a great show as far as I’m concerned. I get a real kick out of her whole rock chick persona, but you still have to deliver the goods. She does that and then some.
After a “Dirty Water” voice warm up they dug into “Pretty On The Inside” which morphed into “Sympathy For The Devil.” Curious, but I wasn’t thinking about covers going in. Later on they covered “Play With Fire” which you may recognize as another Rolling Stones classic, but that was dedicated to all the bitches in the audience living off of Daddy’s money. An issue she clearly has had trouble with over the years. In a completely unrelated story the next song following “Sympathy” was her hit single “Skinny Little Bitch.” If you came to hear “Doll Parts, Miss World, Violet, Plump, Celebrity Skin, Malibu, Awful, Reasons To Be Beautiful” and on and on she didn’t disappoint. I would have thrown in “Softer, Softest” and “Asking For It” for good measure, but I’m not complaining. The thing is, she seemed to be having fun instead of going through the motions. One woman whined, just enough so she could hear, when she started covering “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails, but she professionally finished the song and then told her politely to go see “Panic at The Disco” or something if she didn’t like it. The crowd was more with her than against her for a change it seemed. Like I said earlier, some slugs did toss stuff at her to see if they could get under her Celebrity Skin, but she ignored them. One gigantic dude, dressed in heels and full Courtney Love regalia got her attention during one of her numbers and Courtney laughed and smiled like you rarely see her it seems. She had a nice rapport with both the audience and her band which, according to Wikipedia, consists these days of Micko Larkin on lead guitar, Shawn Dailey on bass and Stu Fisher on drums. All were excellent. Apparently, we learned in another one of Love’s chatty moments, there have been 16 members of Hole over the years.
I have to tell you, I was expecting an uneven performance and what I got was my money’s worth. Most of her new record, Nobody’s Daughter, was played and several of those tracks, such as “Pacific Coast Highway,” complete with its own intro about a relationship with a city (presumably Malibu) and or individual that has gone sour, were very well received. For me personally though, “Letter To God” with its tear your heart out lyrics, is really a step in the right direction for Love. I don’t know if she’ll ever be completely healed, but she seems relatively coherent and friendly these days. The covers of Big Star’s “Thirteen,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman” and Nine Inch Nails “Closer” were a blast. I am rooting for her to succeed. I don’t care what she’s done, who she’s done, what her politics are or what people think of her; she rocks. She’s in New Jersey tonight, but if you get a chance go and see her when she shows up in your town. Her band is tight and she’s soldiering on nicely. If you are a Hole fan you won’t be disappointed. And, as in my case, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Hole – Skinny Little Bitch.mp3
Buy or download Nobody’s Daughter from Amazon here.
Your Tour Guide – The Psychedelic Furs
Jun 6th
This blurry photo was taken by my Blackberry Curve at Boston’s House of Blues last night. A relatively sparsely attended She Wants Revenge and Psychedelic Furs Double Bill turned out to be a blast. As I do with most shows I held off buying a ticket until the night of the show. I wasn’t sure I was attending as I was supposed to be in two places at once, but I was able to shake free to take in this show. I’m glad I went.
The show cost a whopping $25. I wish all shows cost $25. I showed up early to catch She Wants Revenge. I think this was my third time seeing them. They ran through all their hits and played at least four new songs. They were well received. I have a feeling their next CD will be good. I loved this show from the moment I heard about it for a number of reasons. First the Boston Red Sox were out of town. That cuts down on the congestion and makes parking bearable. I waltzed into town, about an eight mile drive, in ten minutes flat. Parking was a snap for an old pro like me. Kenmore Square is never easy, but having lived nearby for over 20 years I know every space. It was a good weather weekend so many folks were out of town and the colleges are not in session this time of year. I love air conditioning. I love the outdoor big top circuit (I’ve got two or three shows coming up as we speak), but I hate those humid high 80′s nights. I can deal with the temperature dropping 10 to 15 degrees when the sun goes down, but when it doesn’t the concert is just not as much fun for this Irish boy. ‘Nuff said. The House of Blues has air conditioning and it just doesn’t sell out on weekend nights in a tough economy if the act isn’t the newest hottest thing under the sun. I’m all over that. I knew The Furs wouldn’t sell out, good supporting act or not, because the HOB does much better during the winter months. There are only so many concert dollars to go around and twenty or thirty year old acts take the hits. No problem by me. This show rocked.
I keep expecting The Psychedelic Furs to sort of peter out, but they are really very good live. I can’t really complain about their set list, though I would have made my usual substitutions. I missed “Dumb Waiters,” but I got “Sister Europe, Heartbeat, President Gas, Heartbreak Beat, Heaven, It Goes On and All of This and Nothing.” The standard fare was there too in ”Pretty in Pink, The Ghost in You and Love My Way,” but the size of the crowd lent itself to a bit of intimacy. I feel extremely fortunate when I guess right. I’m not very good at estimating crowds, but I’m guessing maybe 3000 people tops including all three floors. That’s a shame because this was a great time. If they come to your town jump on the cheap ticket. It’s well worth it if you were one of the folks who helped make The Furs famous back in the 80′s. Just a hot tip from The Giant Panther.
The Psychedelic Furs – Sister Europe.mp3
Rock Star Birthday Blurbs – David Byrne
May 14th
Scottish born David Byrne was born May 14, 1952. I guess that makes him 58 years of age today. Doesn’t seem that old to some of us anymore does it. Ryan and I have both posted about the Talking Heads so I’m not going to break the man’s career down or anything. I just wanted to see if I could find a way to post with brevity. It’s not my strong suit as you know. I think I’ll try tracking rock star birthdays for a while. I’ll miss a ton of course, but the ones that I do catch will be fun for a day. It’s nice to mark time with our heroes.
I’m not going to throw Big Dave under the bus here. I know Ryan, better known as The Giant Panther, idolizes this guy. To me he’s just an eccentric yet extremely talented rock star. I’m disinclined to throw him in with the Stings and the David Lee Roths; lead singers who torched perfectly good bands on top of the world by leaving the group, but I do wish Talking Heads had stuck together a bit longer. I can’t begin to comprehend Byrne’s musical direction since disbanding that legendary band, but I know Ryan has followed him ever since. I don’t think I even own a hard copy of one of his solo records. I’m not much for World Beat and I just never got his solo career. I’ll probably get skewered for saying as much, but it’s only my opinion. No matter, he’s happy and he still has a massive following so my two cents doesn’t mean jack. I do think we have some common ground here though. This song reminds me of more commercially viable times. I really miss those days where Byrne is concerned.
My quick story, if I haven’t told it before, is that I was in my friend’s restaurant in the Fenway about eight years ago and the bartender was playing David Byrne’s 1997 CD Feelings. A track came on called “Daddy Go Down.” I thought it was great. I’m sure, if you sifted through the nine or so solo records David Byrne has released since his Talking Heads days, you could find some other chestnuts in his catalogue, but at least I found this one right? Happy Birthday David Byrne. Here’s wishing you many more. Hope you guys like this track.
David Byrne – Daddy Go Down.mp3
Buy or Download Feelings at Amazon here.
