One of the very odd and gloriously demented singles off Ween’s 1994 masterpiece “Chocolate and Cheese.” The best way to describe “Voodoo Lady” is to imagine if Captain Beefheart fronted the Talking Heads. This is disco from hell … stripped down and lo-fi … with some very loud and unholy guitar noise. The video alone is bound to give you nightmares, especially that odd looking child giving flowers to the singers.
Bryan Ferry’s unique and eerie cover of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” I say eerie because there’s a sense of unease throughout this version that’s postively chilling.
Considering that the accompanying video from 1993 features Ferry crooning to Anna Nicole Smith, maybe he knew something that the public wouldn’t find out until years later. All kidding aside, Smith is quite beautiful here and it’s a sad reminder of what she looked like before she became a pop culture joke / tragedy.
One of Steely Dan’s bleakest and heaviest songs. Contrary to popular belief, the song is not about the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It’s actually about the Fisk/Gould scandal of 1869 where two speculators, Jay Gould and James Fisk, attempted to corner the gold market … with, some have argued, either the approval or deliberate blind eye of then-president Ulysses S. Grant. Fisk and Gould’s efforts to hoard gold caused stocks to plummet.
The song has one of the darkest opening stanzas of any song in the rock era: “When Black Friday comes / I’ll stand down by the door / And catch the grey men when they dive from the fourteenth floor.” Damn.
A fine, unsweetened live version of “Swamp” from the Talking Heads’ “Speaking in Tongues” tour in 1983. I say unsweetened, because the version included on the “Stop Making Sense” live CD released in 1984 from some concerts in Los Angeles was allegedly not quite as live as people were led to believe. This version comes from a soundboard recording at the Saratoga show. I’ve always love the dirty, creepy vibe of this song.
From the 1983 album “Subterranean Jungle,” this is the Ramones directly addressing the hardcore turn punk rock had gone by the early 1980s. As record companies abandoned punk for more radio- and video-friendly New Wave, some bands got rawer and more aggressive. The Ramones saw the ante being upped and did their own version of hardcore … fast, nasty, and intense with a tsunami of guitar noise that will drown you within the first 30 seconds.
Ironically, “Psycho Therapy” was produced by 1960s bubblegum rock legend Ritchie Cordell (who wrote the bubblegum classics “Mony Mony,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’,” and “Indian Giver”).
The accompanying video was banned by MTV for graphic violence. In other words, not safe for work.
Cock Sparrer had an interesting history back in the early days of punk. They were allegedly approached by the notorious Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren in 1976 to become one of a group of bands he was trying to sign. According to the band, the deal fell apart due to McLaren not buying them a round of beer … or because they refused to cut their hair in the style McLaren wanted … or something … I don’t know. I got this off Wikipedia, so you know it’s true …
Anyway, they had a deal with Decca Records, recorded a self-titled album that was only released in Spain, mainly because Decca had fallen apart as a label by 1977. That first album is a damn fine punk version of the Rolling Stones and eventually became available under different names like “True Grit,” “The Decca Years,” and “Rarities.” Well worth checking out.
Sparrer didn’t release another album until 1983, but what they released was worth the wait. The sound of “Shock Troops” is less bluesy than the album recorded for Decca and more in line with the punk the day. The album has a nice sense of melody and toughness. “Where Are They Now?” is the great lead-off track.
This Leonard Cohen song is almost becoming a cliche in terms of being covered by singers trying to be “serious” or “spiritual.” But it’s still a great song. Jeff Buckley’s 1997 cover is probably the most famous of all the most recent versions, but I prefer John Cale’s take. Cale’s cover was the version that was featured rather prominently in the first “Shrek” film. Hearing Cale’s inimitable Welsh voice sing this while watching a very mainstream family film was an odd, but very cool experience when I saw “Shrek” in 2001.
From the Beastie Boys’ debut “Licensed to Ill,” this is the track (even more so than “Fight for your Right”) that sucked me into the world of the Beasties back in 1986. The title is a shout-out to Motorhead’s classic “No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith” live LP. The positively sick lead guitar is by Kerry King of Slayer (which becomes prominent when the gorilla starts his solo in the video). This album is in my all-time Top 20 … and as much as I admired the avant-garde direction the Beasties went later in their career (especially 1989’s “Paul’s Boutique), this is the one I never hesitate to listen to.
The Butthole Surfers’ “unique” take on Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”. One of the greatest openings to a song ever:
“Daddy, what does regret mean?
Well son, the funny thing about regret is,
It’s better to regret something you have done,
Than to regret something you haven’t done.
And by the way, if you see your mom this weekend,
Be sure and tell her, SATAN, SATAN, SATAN!!!”
From the 1988 album “Locust Abortion Technician.”
From Bob Mould’s game-changing 1989 solo album “Workbook,” the former Husker Du frontman and punk rock God channeled his inner Richard Thompson into decepitvely quieter, but no less intense songs. The opening acoustic bridge was used for years as bumper music on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” One of my all-time favorite albums.
Dave's Strange World 