The Breeders do a subdued, but beautiful cover of the song that’s arguably the emotional centerpiece of the musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Recorded for the Hedwig tribute album “Wig in a Box.”
“Wicked Little Town” – The Breeders
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Yearly Archives: 2012
“Homicide” – 999
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Another rare punk music video from the late 1970s. Yes, the pastel suits are a bit much, but they disguise how terrifically nasty and ferocious this really is. Very reminiscent of Alice Cooper at his best, with a distinct late 1970s punk feel. This was a Top 40 hit in England back in the day.
“Promises” – The Buzzcocks
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Here’s a rarity: a music video from the late 1970s promoting a Buzzcocks single. And a damn good one. If you like what you hear, be sure to pick up “Singles Going Steady” one of the best greatest hits albums of all time.
“I Need You (For Someone)” – The Jam
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A terrific power pop song in the same vein as the Who’s “So Sad About Us.” While the Jam were hugely popular in Britain, they only made a small ripple in the States. If ever there was a band that needs rediscovering on this side of the Atlantic, the Jam is an ideal candidate.
“So Sad About Us” – The Who
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The fact that this Who song is not in heavy rotation on classic rock and oldies stations is a major crime. A beautiful 60s era pop song that blows the doors off most hits from the era.
“Miss X” – MC5
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Arguably, the first “power ballad,” from 1971. The Motor City Five (MC5) stop the “dope, guns, and f–king in the streets” for a few minutes and get “sensitive” with this love song about sliding and slipping “from hip to lip.” Alllrighty then!!! I’m not exactly a man of sensitivity and taste, but something tells me there’s a cooler way to talk to the ladies. In any case, this is still a great song.
“Candy Says” – Lou Reed and Antony
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A wonderful and lovely cover of the Velvet Underground’s song about Warhol superstar Candy Darling. From the Julian Schnabel-directed film “Lou Reed’s Berlin,” in my opinion, the DEFINITIVE version of this song. Dedicated to the Westboro Baptist Church, who have made two appearances in my area (one near my house, the other near my workplace) in the past few months.
“Roxy Roller” – Nick Gilder
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When this song was recorded by Gilder’s band Sweeney Todd in 1975, it was a #1 hit in Canada. When Gilder left the group, a young Canadian named Bryan Adams took over as lead vocalist. While it didn’t make many inroads in America, it was an influential glitter rock track. Suzi Quatro recorded a cover. And the version on this clip wound up on the soundtrack for 2010’s “The Runaways” during the infamous opening scene (and if you’ve seen it, you know what scene I’m talking about). Gilder later went on to have a US #1 hit in 1978 with “Hot Child in the City” and later wrote Scandal’s 1984 hit “The Warrior.”
“Gone Dead Train” – Randy Newman
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A rare track recorded by, but not written by, Randy Newman for the 1968 Donald Cammell / Nicholas Roeg film “Performance.” Some really great blues vocals by Newman and some wonderful nasty slide guitar by Ry Cooder.
“Harmonic Generator” – The Datsuns
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Lest anyone get me wrong, I love my children very much. However, one of the side effects of becoming a father of young children is that your knowledge of what’s hip and happening becomes null and void, either because you don’t have the time or are too tired to care. Which is why I never heard this awesome song from 2002 (the year my oldest was born), a song that would have likely been in my Top 5 for that year (or any year, for that matter). Better late than never I always say and thanks to Sirius’s Underground Garage, I have been able to play catch up on a lot of great stuff I’ve missed.
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