The band that was first known as the Irish Ramones delivers a gem from their classic self-titled debut album. This may not be as well-known as “Teenage Kicks” or “Jimmy Jimmy,” but it was always one of my favorites. And it accomplishes all that it needs to in just under 2 minutes.
I just noticed that in the nearly 15 months Dave’s Strange World has been active, I’ve only posted one Buzzcocks song. Well here’s a long overdue second.
“Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have)?” is arguably the Buzzcocks best-known song. Not only was it their highest-charting hit in the U.K., but it was later covered by the Fine Young Cannibals and Pete Yorn (whose cover was prominently featured in “Shrek 2”). This is a great power pop song if there ever was one. And the mix of heavy guitars and pop harmonies are evenly matched. It’s thrashy enough for the punks and hooky enough to be a classic pop song that transcends decades.
This was the first record I ever bought with my own money … I think in early 1976. And damn … even nearly 40 years later … this music still makes me want to crash a large American car through a plate glass window, jump out of the car with my flares, leather jacket, and .38 while subduing some thug in a ski mask, and then … cut to me curling up next to two ladies in bikinis on a leather sofa while giving the camera a wink and thumbs up while holding a glass of scotch. Stay classy!
What is the Dragon Wagon? The Dragon Wagon was a lime green 1982 Chrysler station wagon that a friend of mine was given by his parents circa 1986 when he got his license. This was no mere car. It was a chariot … spiriting a group of young men and women off to find parties on Friday and Saturday nights that 50% of the time didn’t exist, 25% of the time existed but had already been busted up by police, 15% of the time existed but had no beer left … but it was that magic 10% of the time when the party was still active … and had beer or other liquid or herbal spirits … that we all sought.
The car was so magical that one night the owner decided to permanently enshrine this vehicle as the Dragon Wagon by using reflector tape on the side to label this vehicle. I don’t know if it was the booze or some other muse that caused him to spell “dragon” as “dragin”. Oh, and he also tried to put the Van Halen symbol on the car, only he got the “H” and the “V” mixed up … which meant he was worshipping “Han Valen.” Laugh all you want to, but worshipping “Han Valen” is way cooler in my book.
I don’t know when this vehicle finally bought the farm. It was either when my friend struck a cable box … or it just died the type of grisly death you hear about in Tom Waits songs … but it was truly a great car. In honor of this vehicle, I am posting songs that I remember hearing in this automobile during pivotal moments of my misspent youth.
“Swan Swan H” – REM
“Cigarette” – The Smithereens
“A Forest” – The Cure
“Beautiful Girl” – Van Halen
“Can’t Get There From Here” – REM
Folks, I had zero expectations when I heard Paul McCartney was releasing a new album. Yes, the man is a songwriting genius, but he hasn’t done much in recent years that’s impressed me … until now. “Queenie Eye” is not only the best McCartney song in several years, but one of his best period. OK, maybe not compared to the Beatles, but certainly compared to much of his solo output. What can I say? I’m sold! From his recently released album “New.”
Now this is GRUNGE, you sons of bitches! Yes, Nirvana did a great job doing the grunge thing, but “Touch Me, I’m Sick” is what defined the sound … all the way back in 1988. This is Mudhoney’s debut single on Sub Pop and it’s every bit the classic people claim it is. The fact that it’s 25 years old makes me feel very very old this evening.
OK, you can talk all you want to about how maudlin and mopey Morrissey is. But the Moz is Sammy Hagar on Viagra compared to the early Bee Gees. Holy mackeral! The early Bee Gees had lyrics that sound like they were written by a teenager in a mental ward, backed by arrangements so syrupy and overdone you can drown in ’em. And damn if I’m not a big fan of all these severely depressing ballads. No irony at all in my love. OK, I do laugh from time to time at how totally HEAVY these songs are. But I still dig ’em.
“I Started a Joke” is one of the best and roll your eyes all you want to, it takes balls of steel to pull off lyrics like “I finally died … which started the whole world living.” Seriously, I understand the temptation to be a d–k and laugh at this, but those haunting chords and despairing vocals draw me in every time. Bastards!
Brilliantly used at the end of the very odd 1989 Arthur Penn comedy “Penn and Teller Get Killed.”
A glorious downer of a ballad from Australia’s Easybeats. This was released as a single, but failed to chart in the US. Despite its commercial failure, it’s a staple on many Easybeats’ “Best Of’s.” According to the liner notes on an Easybeats compilation I had many years ago, Lou Reed allegedly used to play this song over and over again on a jukebox somewhere in NYC.
In honor of Halloween, this has to be one of the most disturbing and scary recordings ever made. This is Flipper’s “Love Canal,” their song about the notorious environmental disaster that came to light during the late 1970s. The song may not be in the best of taste … but neither is the failure of companies to properly dispose of toxic waste that they created.
You can read more about this legendary debacle here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal
Pleasant dreams!
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band that I’ve admired more than actually liked. With a few notable exceptions, most of their songs leave me cold. “Breaking the Girl” is one of those exceptions and it’s an excellent one. I love how the tension of this melancholy masterpiece builds until it crashes about 3/4 of the way through. The video, directed by Stéphane Sednaoui, is also really good and one of my favorites from probably the last era of my life when music videos actually meant something. From the gazillion selling 1991 album “Blood Sugar Sex Magik.”
Dave's Strange World 