Category Archive

Also known as “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”, it was first released in 1935 but it’s still as powerful as ever. This intensely sad folky, gospel song about the death and funeral of a mother, sung by her child, is best represented when left sparse and solemn. It needs no fancy embellishments; it simply is stunning. It’s been covered by numerous bands and artists, but my favorite is this beautiful rendition sung by June Carter Cash. Her almost crackly voice, accompanied by a single guitar, unveils the heartache and a sweet vulnerability that is very hard to feign.

   Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash - Will The Circle Be Unbroken

It’s hard to believe that “Venus In Furs” was recorded as early as 1967, it feels like it should be at least a decade later than that. It’s hardly an original opinion, but The Velvet Underground were so far ahead of their time, it’s like they were from a different world. In fact, “Venus In Furs” kind of sounds like it was recorded in some time separate from ours altogether. Dark, brooding and sinister, “Venus In Furs” sounds like beginning of the end and is the perfect soundtrack for a spooky, windy day like today.

   The Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs

Based on its commercial success, the public cuddled up to it. Which, as we know, probably means critics would hate it. And they did. Say what you want, Electric Mud, the great Muddy Waters’ foray into blues-slash-pyschodelic rock is a classic album - even if Waters, by his own admission, didn’t play much guitar on it.

While Electric Mud is certainly not a reflection of Chicago Blues, by virtue of its ability to bring the genre to a mass audience (it reached a respectable #127 on the Billboard Charts) and its attempt to ride the zeitgiest of the late-1960s, the album has an ability, for me at least, to continue to remain interesting and entertaining. As a product of the experimental soup of the era, how could so many have lambasted it for being, essentially, good for nothing?

Give the classic “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” a listen. Then, tell me if it somehow doesn’t work as an ugly step-child of blues and psychedelic rock.

   Muddy Waters - I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man

“Just” is definitely one of my favorite 90s songs - I can’t say I’m a massive Radiohead fan or anything, but I can’t get enough of this song, even 13 years after its release. It rocks hard, it’s great to sing along with, and I love the last 45 seconds - when it all quiets for a second and the drums are funky and the guitar screeches and then it all becomes the most glorious cacophony of sound.

   Radiohead - Just

Plus, it’s got one of the best videos the 90s had to offer - I’m still wondering what was going on with this poor guy (but it would ruin the whole thing if we knew, don’t you think?):

Editor’s Note: Tamboosh has been incredibly busy with a new money-making venture the past week and the Bean has been experiencing Internet service troubles (again and again, over and over). So, I’ve been holding down the fort as best I can. No complaining.

It was 13 years ago, but when I spin Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill I realize just how classic an album it really is. A classic album can be identified when its sound really defines a time in our lives. Whether or you liked Jagged Little Pill or not, there’s no denying it provided the soundtrack to 1995, 1996 and some of 1997 and beyond based on its big singles alone.

It was positively monumental in its success. Only Thriller and Falling Into You (that’s Celine Dion) managed to stay in our fickle imaginations long enough to keep an album in the Billboard Top 10 for more than a year. A year. Think about all the great songs and albums that burned brightly for weeks or even months and then faded away as quickly as the rose. Jagged Little Pill was a Top 10 album for longer than it takes to conceive and give birth to a child. According to the Wikipedia (citing Media Traffic), the album is the tenth best-selling album of all time and through 2005 has gone 30x platinum (that’s U.S. platinum, or one million units sold). This album swept across the world like a virus before the Internets.

There are many noteworthy tracks on the album. Let’s bring the memories back with “All I Really Want,” one of my favorite.

   Alanis Morissette - All I Really Want

“Spanish Bombs” from their third iconic album London Calling, is not my favorite by The Clash, but it is the one that lingers in my head after listening to it. Not just because the chorus is so catchy, but I always think, ‘I should learn about the Spanish Civil War …’, ’cause I have no idea what they’re talking about. It’s written by Joe Strummer after he had a discussion about the ETA (the Basque nationalist seperatist organisation), who had their bloodiest, most deadly period between 1978 and 1980 - around the time the song was written.

The lyrics reveal details like different cities that were bombed and communist and anarchist symbolism. He crams so much information in the song that it almost feels a bit too full, especially for such a seemingly upbeat punk single. There’s a story that frames the historical data as well; the protagonist is on a plane to Spain with his lover. On his way to the holiday destination he recalls the tragic events of the Civil War in 1939, on top of that he relates it to the ETA and IRA bombings at the time. I’m not here to give you a history lesson, but the little I picked up getting ready for this post about the detail steeped in every line, made me admire the band even more for putting so much depth in three minutes of punky goodness.

   The Clash - Spanish Bombs

This song - the Pretenders’ third single from their debut album (pictured) - doesn’t really need any justification for being called a Classic. It’s simply lovely. It’s a little bit sexy, but in an incredibly sweet way. It proves that love songs don’t have to be slow and gooey and full of pain to be effective.

Also, did you know that, even though it wasn’t especially new at the time (released in 1979), it was the 7th video to be played on MTV’s first night in 1981? ‘Cause they used to have good taste back then.

   Pretenders - Brass In Pocket

Notoriously outspoken, political Hip Hop ensemble The Coup has never gotten more attention then when they were planning to release their fourth album in 2001 - of all years - with the cover featuring … wait for it … Pam the Funkstress and Boots Riley blowing up the World Trade Center, yep the whooole thing! Of course it was designed before the actual attacks happened and it was hastily altered, but the damage was done. Talk about bad timing.

It’s a shame it took a controversial cover to put them in the spotlight. Though I don’t get why they’re not raking in the prizes, Oprah-billions, and hushed reverence from the general public in the first place. Not that they seem to care much about that sorta stuff, but what is that about? They’re contagiously funky, critically acclaimed, their lyrics are meaningful and engaging, but they always make me want to shake my groove thang as well … Erm, to put it less ridiculously, they’re also crazy fun and danceable. In 1994 their third, most popular full-length release Steal This Album did give them a bigger audience, thanks to great singles like the amazingly titled “Me & Jesus The Pimp in a ‘79 Granada Last Night”.

I love their music to pieces and their oeuvre is more than worth the praise, but what I really want to talk about is a specific song that became an instant classic from the moment I heard it: “My Favorite Mutiny” featuring Talib Kweli and Black Thought from their 2006 album Pick A Bigger Weapon. “Cars and Shoes” used to be my favorite, but this song changed everything. If the boombastic music doesn’t sweep you off your feet, the lyrics will. It’s powerfull, passionate and makes me want to protest random stuff. If, in some alternate universe, I ever become a boxer, I’d want this song to be blaring from the speakers.

   The Coup ft. Black Thought & Talib Kweli - My Favorite Mutiny

If you want to hear more hop on over to The Coupspace, for some reason they’re giving it away for free! Bless ‘em.

You know how people say that you’re either a Beatles person or a Rolling Stones person? Well, maybe I’m just imagining a divide, but I think you’re also either a Stone Roses person or a Happy Mondays person. I’m a Stone Roses gal all the way. I’ve never been able to get down with the Happy Mondays at all, and I’m not even sure I understand what it is that people love about them. But I could listen to The Stone Roses every day and it would never get old.

“Waterfall” is my personal Stone Roses classic. I know some people will disagree because it doesn’t fit the typical definition, but I consider it an anthem. It’s not loud or in your face, it doesn’t incite riots - it doesn’t even really make you want to get up and dance. I’m not entirely sure what I think it means - have a look at its entry on SongMeanings and you’ll see that some people think it’s about a woman who manages to keep going through hard times, while others think “she” is Britain herself. Both make sense, though I’m not British so I lean more towards a story about personal strength. Either way, it has the same effect: it makes you feel like everything’s going to be ok and, to me, that’s what an anthem should do.

   The Stone Roses - Waterfall

I’m having a rather grumpy day today. No music was really suiting my mood until I came across Raw Power in my iTunes library. Definitely in my list of the greatest albums of all time, Raw Power drips with the kind of attitude that just dares people to mess with you.

Obviously, I consider Raw Power a Classic in itself, but today’s mood was all about “Search and Destroy”. Listening to it, I imagine someone strutting down a busy street in a leather jacket, scowling at the world. This is the song to listen to when you’re sick and tired of, well, everything. It’s the song you need when you’re ready to stand up for yourself. It’s the song you hear in your head when you’ve decided that nothing will stand in your way. In fact, the very first line says everything you need to know about this song: “I’m a streetwalkin’ cheetah with a heart full of napalm”. Listen to it and that’s exactly how you’ll feel.

   Iggy and The Stooges - Search and Destroy

I’ve said it before, but one of my greatest music related regrets was not buying the beautiful signed Brakes CD at Rough Trade on a trip to London three years ago. It was signed in gold! Sigh. The reason why it still hurts to even think about it, is because Brighton-based Brakes is one of those bands that I hold in especially high regard. Though I have a hard time explaining why this particular band turns me into a squealing fangirl. The individual songs on Give Blood from 2005 are amazing, but as a true classic album, to really appreciate them you have to hear the record as a whole. Even though the topics might differ, it feels like the songs tell a story, it may not be a coherent story, but to me there’s a direct link between “Pick Up the Phone” and “You’re So Pretty” right after it. They have a punk mentality to conventional song structures and aren’t boxed in by genres. I love that they follow up “Jackson”, a classic country cover, with the raucous dance sounds of “All Night Disco Party”. Some songs are all chorus and some are barely longer than the pause in between tracks, which excites and tickles me every time I listen to Give Blood.

Alright, this is where I have to stop myself. I could go on and on, about how some of their lyrics have become part of the Bean’s and my vocabulary, and covering what’s great about every single song. Instead, I’ll spare you the details and offer some ear candy, inlcuding the brief political ballad “Cheney” - which isn’t even their shortest song.

   Brakes - NY Pie
   Brakes - What’s In It For Me?
   Brakes - Cheney

Is it sad that I love this song just because of the line: “They got a lot of great desks and chairs at the government center”? I guess not, since a lot of The Modern Lover’s appeal comes from their slightly absurd lyrics combined with Jonathan Richman’s wonderfully droll singing style. The idea of rocking at the government center - and cheering up those secretaries - puts an enormous smile on my face, but we all know it would just be stupid if someone sang about it seriously. Plus, the song kind of does rock - it’s all peppy chorus and handclaps and makes you want to do the twist on some of those great desks and chairs.

In truth, the whole The Modern Lovers album is a classic, but “Government Center” wasn’t actually on the original release in 1976 (which kind of wasn’t even an album at all - you can read more about the winding road to its release on the wikipedia). Fortunately for us, it was included on the re-releases and it’s definitely my favorite from a classic album.

   The Modern Lovers - Government Center

In the mid-nineties there were so many Grunge bands, my high school had little pockets of people that claimed they supported THE band that was ‘all that and a bag of chips’. On a side note, I’m trying to stay with the nineties feel so forgive the cheesy slang. Everybody agreed that Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam were the most slamminest, but the music pond was overgrown with bands that were soft-loud-softly yelling for attention. I was a bit of a band hopper, every time a great new single came out I didn’t care who it was from, I’d be ‘all over it like white on rice’. But to me, Belgian band K’s Choice hovered very closely to those Grunge greats from the release of “Not An Addict” off their 1996 album Paradise In Me. I still love listening to it, and I still feel like I’m onto something beautiful when I hear it. The hypnotizing intro, Sarah Bettens’ gorgeous raspy voice that monotonously builds up the tension, the dark lyrics that tell the story of a lying junkie, it’s grungy perfection - oh I mean, it’s da bomb!

   K’s Choice - Not An Addict

If you’re like me, you picked up the latest Kills’ release, Midnight Boom the day it came out. And if you’re like me, you love it. Definitely a better album than No Wow (although it had some great songs on it, No Wow didn’t quite live up to what I’d hoped for from their second full-length effort), Midnight Boom strips their minimalist sound down even further than before and adds an industrial element that suits them way better than I could’ve imagined.

But as much as I love the new album, I still think The Kills’ first album will always be their best. I always say that if I were to compile a list of the greatest albums of all time - albums taken as a whole, single piece of art - The Kills’ Keep On Your Mean Side would be one of the first things I’d put on there. Keep On Your Mean Side is just about perfect when considered as a whole - there’s not a single song that feels like it should’ve been left off, there’s no boring middle dip, every single track has enough power to make your heart pound. Sure, The Kills don’t often veer away from their sound and explore new realms the way that some artists do. But they do explore their own sound fully, exposing the guts of what they themselves set out to do. And guts are a big part of why I call this album a Classic. There’s no better album to listen to on Monday morning when you’re pissed off at the world, letting it scream at you as you silently curse everyone in sight. It’ll help you get through a task you loathe or work through heartbreak. It directly connects to your anger, sadness, pain, fear, worries - whichever apply to you at any given moment. This is music that you hear in your heart, not your head. It sounds good on headphones, in a car, from a crappy stereo or the best money can buy - but it should always be loud enough to make you want to sing, shout, and scream along.

   The Kills - Cat Claw
   The Kills - Wait

Willie Nelson may look like your friendly, neighborhood, hippie troubadour, but he is and always will be a badass outlaw to me. He claims to have been smoking weed since he was ten, and that he even did it in the White House while visiting Jimmy Carter. Now, who else has the balls to do that? Before I get angry comments from concerned parents: All you kids out there, drugs are bad and all that but, come on, that is pretty badass … Besides a true outlaw is not meant to be a role model, so don’t do as Willie does. Though, he may be a law breaking, pigtail sporting, pot smoker, he’s also an environmentally conscious, anti-war, animal loving, philanthropist, and a talented artist to boot. You know what, angry comments be damned. If the rest of the world was more like Willie Nelson, it’d be a better place. Or ar least a very laid-back, chilled out place.

“Sad Songs And Waltzes” from his 1973 album Shotgun Willie is one of my favorite songs. It makes me laugh, because the lyrics are self-depricating, clever and vindictive, but at the same time it’s a beautiful, sad country song as well. All the country essentials are represented, it has a healthy dose of self-pity, heartache and even disappointment in the record industry, but he also manages to take a jibe at his lover turned nemesis. The Ryan Adams produced Songbird, which came out in 2006 has a reworking of the song. The older version highlights the heartache and sadness whereas, the latest seems to be sung with a wink and a smile and relishes in the bitterness of lyrics like: ‘I’ll tell all about how you cheated, I’d like for the whole world to hear’. Here’s the Songbird version, simply because my old Shotgun Willie CD doesn’t sound that good anymore and we’re all about quality, folks.

   Willie Nelson - Sad Songs And Waltzes

And as a bonus, check out this really great cover by CAKE from their 1996 album Fashion Nugget. In this version the lonely trumpet compliments the gloom beautifully.

   CAKE - Sad Songs And Waltzes

Last night, aDawgg and I were talking about how The Von Bondies have kind of disappeared since Jack White busted in Jason Stollsteimer’s face. Maybe if he’d just been quiet about it, things might be different for The Von Bondies now. (I’m not saying it’s good idea to be bashing people’s faces up, but Stollsteimer showing off his wounds to the press didn’t really get him anywhere, did it?)

Anyway, for this post, none of that is really relevant anyway. It looks like The Von Bondies will finally have some sort of new release coming up in a couple of weeks, as well as an album sometime later, and I’ll be curious to hear what they sound like with the gals replaced by several new members. But no matter what happens in their future, Lack Of Communication, their debut album, will always be their masterpiece to me. It perfectly captures that sound that I found so exciting in the early 00s and made me look at music in a new way. It took all kinds of old bluesy influences and made them rough and raw and dripping with attitude, but still kept a sense of timelessness. There’s just no denying that this whole album is a classic snapshot of an exciting time and place - and since most of us couldn’t just pop along to Detroit to hear it all for ourselves, it let us experience that feeling in our own bedrooms.

   The Von Bondies - Cass And Henry

Every so often I listen to Led Zeppelin and realize just how good these they actually were. Seriously, whatever music you enjoy, they have something for you. If you’re old enough to remember them, then get reacquainted. If you’re too young to have listened to them, you need to give them a whirl. “Immigrant Song” is one of the many Led Zeppelin songs I like to bust into mouth-jams with and sometimes sing along to. And Jimmy Page is wickedly relentless on this track.

If you’re wondering what mouth-jams are. Well, you try to combine the sounds of as many instruments as possible coming out of your own mouth. We all know more than one isn’t possible. The art is in making it seems like more than one. If you’re advanced you can add some knee-slapping and stomping for the percussion section. This works very well with television theme songs, as well, and the Bean and I are currently employing effectively for Flight Of The Conchords and 30 Rock.

And, yeah, it sort of looks as dumb as it sounds.

   
Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I climbed my Everest, I harpooned my big white whale, I Avada Kadavra-ed my Voldemort! I passed a class that I was so sure was going to be the death of me. To wind down from all the exam stress I’ve been watching Harry Potter, but it’s time to really celebrate and everybody knows nobody brings the house down like The Carpenters. Harry Potter and The Carpenters … man, do I walk on the wild side. Booyeah!

I used to be a little bit embarrassed about my deep deep love for some of The Carpenters’ hits because their songs are on the cheesy side, but their version of “Superstar” especially is almost impossible not to love. It was originally a soul song by Delaney, Bonnie & Friends (featuring Eric Clapton) who called it “Groupie (Superstar)”. The original is actually really wonderful too, but I first heard and fell in love with it performed by The Carpenters. As usual, Karen’s voice is so sweet, deep and crisp, but I always get the feeling she’s straining to keep her emotions under the surface, which is heightened by the knowledge of the tragic way her life ended. The song is about a groupie who has to love her idol from afar, now that he’s moved on to bigger, better things, but not before he whispered sweet nothings into her gullible, vulnerable little ear. The lyrics express such excrutiating loneliness and longing, I can’t help but get swept away by the agony of it all. It’s pure lyrical beauty and I don’t care who knows it.

   The Carpenters - Superstar

And here’s an amazing feedbacky version by Sonic Youth:

   Sonic Youth - Superstar

Remember when you were little and you only just heard tell of those dirty dirty words that had the power to shock adults more than eating bugs ever did? Now that profanity has lost much of its magic, there isn’t a lot people can say that’s truly shocking, but when I first heard “Hot Nuts Pt.1″, I felt just like when I first found out that the F-word was like a secret password to my mom’s nerves.

Doug Clark And The Hot Nuts were popular in the fifties for playing fraternity parties six years before their first record Nuts To You came out in 1961. They are known for their double entendres, their supposed lack of clothing at their legendary concerts, and risque lyrics. Their single “Hot Nuts” is actually pretty demure compared to some of their later songs, but it starts with the line ‘Now in the garden of Eden sat Eve and Adam, had his hands in the loins of his madam’. Which is around the time I hurt my jaw when it hit the floor. I had never heard about them or their reputation, so I did not expect that from a fifties band. When I heard the rest of the song I learned they were just getting started. In between the seemingly innocent chorus, they describe all kinds of stuff involving the twisted ways men have injured their nuts and a particularly silly but funny line about what girls are ready for straight out of high school.

Their naughty lyrics make sure you don’t confuse them with any of their fellow catchy Rhythm & Blues playing contemporaries. Though they’re mostly known as a novelty frat band, I think these pioneers of raunchy deserve to be lauded for the sheer balls (or nuts) they had to not give a hoot and sing like they only played in men’s locker rooms at a time when uptight was a way of life. However, in spite of the witty sex talk, the most Rock ‘n Roll thing about this band is that their albums were one of the first to have an adult content warning, and a special branch of the Jubilee label, the Gross Label, had to be set up especially for them, to cloak Jubilee’s associations with the band. This gave them the freedom to do and say whatever they wanted, and their album cover, on which Doug Clark flips the bird to the audience, is just a little intro to what’s to be expected of the inside. They’re un-PC, kooky, dirty, the PMRC’s worst nightmare, and totally amazing!

   Doug Clark & The Hot Nuts - Hot Nuts Pt.1

“Jack & Diane” is a relatively simple song - the lyrics are straightforward and not especially poetic, the music itself is almost stereotypically 80s and doesn’t have any special bells and whistles (except for those awesome handclaps). But it had to be that way.

The everyman story of Jack and his girl Diane, and the everyman way it’s told, is what makes this song a classic. They’re the most relatable teenage couple ever put to music. I’d be really surprised if there’s anyone who doesn’t hear at least a little bit of their teenage self in “Jack & Diane”. You may not have had a Tasty Freeze in your town, but I’m sure you had a similar hangout. You had all your hopes and dreams paving the roads ahead and I bet you had someone you shared them with, someone you thought would travel those roads with you. No matter where in the world you were, you probably wished you were somewhere else - somewhere bigger and better - and you were all set to go out and discover it.

I read that John Cougar (now Mellencamp) brought back Jack and Diane in his 1998 song “Eden Is Burning”, singing “How could I have been so wrong about you?” From just reading the lyrics, it’s hard to say if that line refers to them - he does mention them in the first line, but then switches to first person narration. I hope it’s not, I don’t want to think Jack and Diane ended up that way. I don’t think they stayed together forever, that wouldn’t fit the realism of the song. In my version of their ending, they eventually broke up but not for any dramatic reason. Perhaps Diane went to the city, like she wanted, and she and Jack tried to make it work for a while. But he never did want to leave their hometown and they just drifted too far apart. The song says it all: “Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone”. Back in 1982, Jack and Diane still felt that thrill. Now, even though life goes on, they can still think back on each other and remember how it felt to have everything ahead of them, together.

   John Cougar - Jack & Diane

The Rapture was one of the first modern post-punk disco bands to have commercial success with their jumble of sounds. Though last year’s release Pieces Of The People We Love is excellent, the truly rousing anthems come from their first full-length album Echoes. It was voted album of 2003 by Pitchfork and a day didn’t pass that you didn’t hear one of the songs on the album in some way. Especially “House Of Jealous Lovers” was everywhere, so I haven’t felt the need to listen to it for a while. I’ve heard the first few beats the other day on a BBC show and it brought back the rush of knowing that I was listening to a song of my generation.

There are some bands that make you claim a certain ownership, like no other time could have produced such a sound. I imagine it’s akin to what it must have been like to hear The Stooges’ furious noise or Grandmaster Flash’s mindblowing tricks on his turntables for the first time. It was something for the new generations to call their own, because there was nothing like it at the time. That’s what “House Of Jealous Lovers” means to me. I had never heard such a danceable frenzy of angst, beats and melody. And these guys rock the frick out of a cowbell. Maybe I wasn’t running in the right circles and people had been playing music like that for years, but my ears were aflutter. Even if you think this song is totally played out, I can’t imagine you’re not boogie-stricken from the first screams of this instant classic:

   The Rapture - House Of Jealous Lovers

It’s been 33 years since the Talking Heads formed and whenever I listen to them I still think their work is fresh. Rummaging through their musical corpus it was terribly difficult to pick only a single song I thought worthy of being tapped for Classics. There are so many.

I settled on “Burning Down The House” off Speaking In Tongues (1983), a single that was not only the group’s biggest chart success but broadcast them to a much wider audience via MTV and the Stop Making Sense tour documentary by Jonathan Demme (which I went to see with my father when it was making the rounds in small film houses).

There are Talking Heads songs that can compete with it, but today it is the classic. A refined product of late-70s exploration of the new and different, years in the making by the time it hit us in 1983. Proof positive David Byrne and his partners in crime were the bomb.

   Talking Heads - Burning Down The House

And, as an added bonus you can thank the Bean for reminding me about Tom Jones and the Cardigans showing you just how fresh the song can be after many years. From the 1999 Reload cover extravaganza:

   Tom Jones - Burning Down The House (with The Cardigans)

It’s easy to think of The Cure as completely depressing, but they have made some really wonderful, heartwarming songs. “Just Like Heaven” isn’t really one of them. It fools you into thinking it is, until you hear the last verse. But even with its incredibly sad ending, play it loud so it fills the room and it feels like you’re in a grassy field on a sunny day, spinning around in circles and laughing with someone you love.

   The Cure - Just Like Heaven

One of my favorite poems is about two lovers who, after spending the night together, curse the sun in the morning, because it has the audacity to think they are affected by its time. Clearly their love is all that matters in the perfect universe contained in their room. It creates such a lovely intimate image that is rarely found in love songs, but Bob Marley manages to create the same feeling with the line ‘We’ll share the shelter of my single bed’ in “Is This Love” from his 1978 album Kaya. That one line is more romantic than all those mushy I-would-die-for-you-lovey-love-songs combined.

Most of us Generation Y-ers, who declared sarcasm the new black and who use cynicism to understand the ways of the world, have a hard time taking romantic ballads that proclaim their everlasting love and devotion seriously, but this song always gets to me. I think the thing that makes a great song a classic is its ability to create that temproray insanity that makes you believe every single word; I believe Bob when he tells me he wants to love me and treat me right.

I hardly ever listen to “Is This Love” anymore, because the danger with nearly all Bob Marley’s songs is that they get played out. Luckily, I doubt it’s catchy enough to be used in a tampon or deodorant commercial, I never listen to classic rock radio, and street musicians have collectively decided that “Redemption Song” is the money song, so for now it hasn’t been tainted by over exposure yet. So here it is, my ultimate romantic song:

   Bob Marley - Is This Love

August 16, 2007 will mark 30 years since ‘The King’ died.

Released in 1969, “In The Ghetto” was recorded in January during Presley’s first studio session since the awesome December 1968 ‘Comeback Special’ ensured he didn’t get trapped in the time capsule of past success. Written by Mac Davis - who had his own relatively successful music and acting career - the single reached #3 in the U.S. charts and is a fitting tribute from a pivotal point in the musical legacy of a legend who still looms larger than life.

“In The Ghetto” is one of my favorite Elvis tracks. And, I enjoy just about any rendition of it, which is why I’ve decided to share a range of covers.

Elvis Presley, 1935-1977.

   Elivs Presley - In The Ghetto
   Dolly Parton - In The Ghetto
   Ghetto People - In The Ghetto (ft I-Viz) (Ghetto Mix)
   Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - In The Ghetto
   The Cranberries - In The Ghetto (Non LP Version)

It seems Joy Division is all the rage right now, what with the Ian Curtis biopic Control all set to wow music dorks everywhere and, as I noticed this morning while updating our Releases page, a new boxset of some kind coming out in September.

I didn’t know much about music history, especially things like post-punk, when I first heard Unknown Pleasures. It absolutely blew me away. It showed me that amazing things were hidden away in the past, musical treasures that ordinary MTV-watchers never heard about. And still now, nothing gives me goosebumps like “She’s Lost Control”. It is probably the single most haunting song ever recorded - all industrial echoes and empty pain. I didn’t know anything about Ian Curtis’ life and troubles when I first fell in love with it but even so, it felt like a kind of sadness that even Joy Division themselves couldn’t match on any of their other songs. Once you learn about the story of the song, the whole thing is unbearably tragic. Chris Ott, in his volume of the 33 1/3 series, Unknown Pleasures, writes:

["She's Lost Control"] was written about an epileptic woman who would often turn up at the Macclesfield Employment Exchange looking for work; when she stopped coming in, Curtis wrote the comparatively normal, descriptive lyrics about her, but as his own epilepsy took hold, the song grew to have awful implications, especially after he learned she’d died.

It’s true, the lyrics are basically simple and, on their own, don’t have nearly the same effect as when combined with that repetitive, slow bassline and those drums like a heartbeat, not to mention Ian Curtis’ deep drone that gives nothing away yet reveals everything. (Imagine it sung by someone with a more emotive singing style - it wouldn’t have half the power Ian Curtis gives it.) As heartbreaking as the song and its background are, it’s absolutely perfect.

   Joy Division - She’s Lost Control

This song was the Swedish band Whale’s one and only alternative hit in 1993 and it was an instant Classic to me. When I was thirteen, I was reading some teenmag and MTV alternative nation, or whatever it was called, was on in the background. That show was always one big heap of noise to me, because I mostly listened to whatever was in the charts. Ugh, this sounds like the opening sentences of Diary Of An Indie Girl: How I Broke Free From My Pop Loving Shackles, but don’t get me wrong I love pop music. Especially pop music from the early nineties! I was just not aware that there was this whole other world of weird bands outside the charts who made unusual, but no less wonderful music. Anyway, this song caught my ear thanks to that creepy little girl voice that sings the most disturbing lyrics I had ever heard, and what sounded like a rabid pack of men belting out the chorus. When I looked up from my magazine I wasn’t sure what kind of sick, freak show I was looking at - that video is trippy as frick - but I was surprised that I liked it a lot. Now, I’m still not sure what it’s about, but it is one of the most exciting songs I’ve ever heard.

   Whale - Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe

Here’s the video. If you’ve never seen it before I should probably warn you about the freaky, armpit licking and aluminum ass spanking with a lollipop that goes on in it …

The last few weeks have been pretty exciting, what with new offerings from The White Stripes, Ryan Adams, Blanche, Two Gallants - and probably a whole bunch of stuff I’ve missed without any internets. And it’ll get even better when Our Love To Admire comes out a week from today. In honor of that, here’s - in my humble opinion - Interpol’s very best song (so far, at least). So good it was an instant classic, “NYC” is a song that sounds best when you just sit still and listen. It fills me with a deep sadness that comes from nowhere but it’s calm and soothing at the same time. I can’t claim to have any idea what “subway, she is a porno” means, but I don’t really want to know. Paul Banks’ lyrics are completely bizarre and I think they’re like any art - they mean something different to each of us that love them.

So enjoy this, and join my Our Love To Admire countdown (7 days … ).

   Interpol - NYC

I’m not making a political statement one or the other about the current Irag conflict or any conflict now or in the past. However, when it comes to protest songs very few equal, for me, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 “Fortunate Son” on Willy and the Poor Boys.

A song driven by the draft, support for those with fewer options fighting a far off battle, and the apparent lack of impact the Vietnam War had on the affluent and influential, “Fortunate Son” has inspired countless covers in the decades since its original release. Ample proof of its ability to inspire righteous anger and indignation among and for those doing someone else’s dirty work.

Refresh your memory with the original. After that, try out the versions by the Dropkick Murphys and Articles of Faith frontman Vic Bondi.

   Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son (1969)
   Dropkick Murphys - Fortunate Son (2003)
   Vic Bondi - Fortunate Son (2003)

In honor of both having to wait only 14 more days for Icky Thump and my very favorite of the old-timey bluesmen, I’m here to bring you two amazing blues songs and two amazing covers.

Blind Willie McTell, like most of those blues guys, never really made any proper money and only really achieved the fame he deserved after his death. He performed under a number of different names - the best has to be Red Hot Willie Glaze - for a variety of labels, a sneaky way to get away with multiple record deals. His recording career is a labyrinth; it took me ages just to find out the dates of the two songs posted here. Thankfully, Blind Willie’s songs are available on a bunch of different collections - if you’ve never listened to him, I recommend picking one up.

Two of Blind Willie’s best songs, in my opinion, were covered by the wonderful White Stripes. I have to admit, I hadn’t really noticed exactly how violent the jealousy in “Southern Can Is Mine” really is until I read this blog post. Both Blind Willie and Jack White sing it in such a relaxed way, you don’t really hear all the stuff about beatings. “Lord, Send Me An Angel” is all about Willie’s ladies and why you shouldn’t be messing around with married womens (because their husbands will beat your ragged ass, in case you’re curious).

   Blind Willie McTell - Southern Can Is Mine (1931)
   The White Stripes - Your Southern Can Is Mine

   Blind Willie McTell - Lord, Send Me An Angel (1933)
   The White Stripes - Lord, Send Me An Angel

If you want to know more about Blind Willie McTell, visit bluesnet and read eMusic’s Spotlight article. Also, Bob Dylan scholar Michael Gray has written a book about Blind Willie, which will be out in the UK on July 2nd. Find out more about the book on the author’s blog and pre-order the book from Amazon UK.

Back in 2004, I downloaded a song called “22 Grand Job” by a band whose name I’d read somewhere or other. It immediately became my most often played mp3 and I spent a lot of time hunting down more information about these Rakes guys. It’s pretty well known around these parts that The Rakes are now one of my very favorite bands and it all started with “22 Grand Job”.

I was totally blown away by this track. At the time, there was nothing else quite like it. You could dance to it, but it talked about job salaries, for god’s sake. It had a driving beat that made your heart pound but still sounded like a day at the office. “22 Grand Job” was first conceived by Alan Donahoe after a job interview, as he told the BBC: “I thought I had the job but I didn’t. But I was walking down the street singing ‘22 Grand Job in the city that sounds nice, 22 grand job in the city that sounds nice’ over and over.”

After two full albums, The Rakes are still at their best when they are dissecting the steaming pile of blah that is everyday life, from going to work hungover and stinking to reading ridiculous tabloid headlines. But as much as I adore everything they do, they’ve not yet topped this classic.

   The Rakes - 22 Grand Job

I wanted my very first Classics post to be über special, so I chose Hank Williams “Ramblin’ Man”! I have a soft spot for Hank’s pliable voice and gritty, simple approach to early country. In 1950 - two years before he died under mysterious cicumstances at the age of 29 - he recorded fourteen songs as his alter ego Luke The Drifter. Luke The Drifter was a compassionate, wise, traveling man who had seen it all. He gave all the good advice that Hank himself seemed to ignore at the time.

I don’t know how they thought the audience could miss the obvious Hankness of his voice, but these songs were recorded under a different name because Hank Williams and his people weren’t sure his fans would accept these bluesy, preachy songs. The majority of his hits by then were sweet, fast poppy country songs to tap your feet to, like “Move It On Over” and “My Bucket’s Got Hole In It”. The Luke The Drifter songs stay with you longer. They’re the religious musings of an experienced man who has struggled with sin and came out older and wiser. Actors often say that crawling into someone else’s skin makes it easier to tap into certain emotions, which would explain why, as Luke, Hank sounds like he is really able to pour his heart and soul out into these songs.

My favorite, and probably most popular, Luke The Drifter song is “Ramblin’ Man”. It is an apology to Luke’s lover for not being able to settle down, because like a cursed man he is compelled to roam the land. A guitar and a fiddle quietly keep a rhythm going, while Hank Williams’ heartbreaking voice takes center stage. It has so much depth and feeling that I just can’t understand how country went from this to the Nashville sound. But that’s a whole other story.

   Hank Williams - Ramblin’ Man

And a few new bands that do Luke The Drifter proud:

   Drakkar Sauna - Glissade Pressee
   Two Gallants - Untitled II (Daytrotter Session)
   Poorboy Johnson & The Goddamn Rattlesnakes - Did You Ever Know Boy