Now here’s a concept I can behind … old-school soul done garage punk style. From the now classic punk soul album “Ultraglide in Black,” Detroit’s Dirtbombs do a killer cover of my all-time favorite Stevie Wonder’ song, “Living for the City.” Very, very cool indeed.
Here is one of the best … and admittedly, most bizarre … couplings of the mainstream and the underground. This is the lovely ballad composed for Rob Reiner’s classic 1987 film “The Princess Bride,” written and soulfully sung by punk legend Willy DeVille of the band Mink DeVille. The song was later nominated for an Oscar and seeing Willy on stage crooning this in front of a billion plus viewers during the Academy Awards in 1988 was a very cool kick in the head indeed.
OK, ready to have your mind blown? Ever hear about a Detroit band called Death? Death was a band from the early-mid 1970s that was kicking out high energy punk rock long before the Sex Pistols were and long before punk was even called punk. Here’s the kicker, though … all the members of Death were African-American. Yes, I realize in a better world that shouldn’t be shocking, but it still kind of is. Here was a band in the midst of Motown taking their cues from Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and the MC5 and putting their own balls-to-the-wall spin on things.
While you may think “Keep on Knocking” is a really great song, it may not seem particularly significant … except when you consider that this was recorded in 1974 … not 1982 … and was faster and more aggressive than almost anything out at the time. Death attracted the interest of Clive Davis, who wanted to sign the band to Columbia Records … if they’d only change their name. The guitarist and leader, David Hackney, refused to compromise, the band lost their potential deal, and they faded into obscurity … until …
Death’s incredible story is now being told in the terrific documentary “A Band Called Death” (just released on DVD and Blu-Ray) which I’m going to talk about at length at a later date. But in the meantime, here’s a sample of what this completely kick-ass band sounds like and why discovering new music (even when it’s nearly 40 years old) can still bring a huge idiotic grin to your face.
More wonderfully nasty early 1970s punk rock … this time from England. Like the Stooges and the MC5 in America during the same era, the Pink Fairies were laying waste to the “good vibes” of other counterculture bands of the era and defining what would eventually be called punk rock many years later. “The Snake” sounds like Jim Morrison fronting the Stooges … but it’s actually so much better than that if you can believe it.
Before Brian Johnson took over as lead vocalist for AC/DC for “Back in Black” onward, he was lead singer of this 1970s hard pop group called Geordie. Incredibly crunchy, but also as hooky as any Top 40 hit … that is, when the Top 40 still had a place for hard rock. If you’re a fan of AC/DC, this is worth checking out, not only because it’s a great song, but because it’s interesting to hear Johnson when he had vocal chords … sort of. Even on this pre-AC/DC song, you don’t know whether to continue listening or send Johnson some lozenges stat.
Believe it or not, I’m actually in a good mood this evening. But I can’t talk about maudlin 60s AM-pop music without mentioning this baroque masterpiece by the Left Banke … the classic “Walk Away Renee.” The song just impels you to remember someone who broke your heart at some point (even if it was that little heartbreaker from your pre-school class who liked the boy who could build a bigger block castle than you were able to build … not that I’m bitter or anything), which prompts you to let out a heavy sigh. Yes, this is simpering adolescent angst at its most embarrassingly emotional. But it conveys simpering adolescent angst probably better than most other songs of its ilk.
With the exception of PJ Harvey’s “Oh My Lover,” never has an overt sexual overture seemed so sad and tortured. It may even be more so, because Harvey’s song is art-rock and Rush’s song is supposed to be an AM-radio friendly pop song.
Key lyrics:
“Just call me angel of the morning, Angel … Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby … Just call me angel of the morning, Angel … Then slowly turn away from me”
Um … thanks … but I’ve got to catch up on “Murder, She Wrote” before turning in early. Because … at best, the offer to turn away from you is either going to lead to the kind of guilt you down shots to recover from … at worst, it’s going to lead to a scenario out of the Ben Folds Five song “Brick” (another terrific downer masterpiece) or lead to a boiled bunny when I’m returning home some night.
All kidding aside, a beautiful pop masterpiece and one of my all-time favorites.
Here’s punk-disco from hell. The pounding bass feels like consistent punches to the head /gut and the discordant lead guitars feel like razor blades against your skin. Somewhere, Flea from the Chili Peppers is taking notes. Sure, you can dance to it. Though you’ll probably be bleeding to death by the end.
Key lyrics:
“Down on the disco floor … They make their profit … From the things they sell … To help you cover … All the rubbers you hide … In your top left pocket”
Consume and die.
There’s a consistent theme running through the first three albums by Wire. It’s a sense that you’re in a situation that’s fundamentally f–ked-up and you’re suddenly realizing that there’s no escape … that you’re being sucked into some inevitable horrific conclusion. The terror isn’t always explicitly spelled out, but it sounds like the worst “Oh s-t!” moment of your life.
This particular song is the lead-off track from their third album, 1979’s “154,” the least heralded of their first three albums, but one that has grown on me tremendously over the years. As much as I revere “Chairs Missing” (the second one), “154” feels colder, more despairing. My favorite post-punk band, even besting Public Image Ltd. and Joy Division.
Here’s one of those cool oddities that occasionally can only find success in the Top 40 because it doesn’t fit into any format of its day. This example is a beyond metallic cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” from 1968 by the band Blue Cheer. Even nowadays, this is way heavier than anything that calls itself heavy metal and probably was shunned from rock radio because it was too harsh. So … it became a Top 20 hit on the Billboard charts. From the album “Vincebus Eruptum” … I have no idea what that title means, but it’s freakin’ cool.
Another similar example: Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock n’ Roll” which was too punk for rock stations and too rock for punk/new wave stations. It went to the Top 40 instead and was a #1 hit on the Billboard charts for 7 weeks in 1982.
The accompanying video for “Summertime Blues” (filmed for the German pop music show “Beat Club”) was an early staple of the “Closet Classic” segment of MTV back in the day. I love the fact you can barely see any of the band member’s faces because their hair is so long and thick. Just like the beyond muddy guitar sound.
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