Legendary skate punk band JFA record the legendary surf instrumental by the Astronauts. There’s a thin line between a skater and a surfer and that line is usually known as a driver’s license. Still, this one of the standout tracks from their “Valley of the Yakes” album.
Seriously, please turn your irony detectors to “stun.” I’m not about to point out every point of strangeness about this cover. Everything you could begin to say about this has already been thought of by yours truly. And I would say you’re absolutely right, but I can’t quite hear you, because this cover is so damn awesome. Recorded during Little Richard’s severely underrated late 1960s-early 1970s Reprise Records period.
One of the best concerts I’ve ever seen was Fishbone back around 1990 or 1991 in Charlottesville, VA. The venue probably had way more people than what was legally allowed and the concert began with the lead singer being carried from the back of the venue to the stage while he sang. Once on stage, the lights were blinding and the music, extremely loud. Everyone was either drunk or stoned and dancing their asses off in every way imaginable. A really fun and energetic experience. I remember the wood walls of the venue sweating. “Boneyard” was the song I remember being really bringing down the house and was so loud, I thought the roof was going to tear off. A great band that doesn’t get the credit they deserve.
Yes, this song is more than a little creepy these days given what we all now know of Ike & Tina’s personal relationship. But sweet lord, is this a great song! If anyone wants to say the best Ike & Tina song is “Proud Mary,” “Nutbush City Limits,” “A Fool in Love,” or “River Deep Mountain High,” I would not give that person any crap. But this, in my opinion, was their greatest track.
Another case of “it’s singer, not the song.” The original version of “Temptation” by New Order is really good, but what’s hard to discern behind the upbeat techno rhythms is a rather despairing song about the helplessness of addiction. I believe Moby sensed this and in his version, slowed the song down considerably, condensed the lyrics, and took the pathos of the song VERY seriously. The subdued nature of the vocals by Laura Dawn only magnifies the horror of the lyrics. Reminds me a lot of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.”
Maria McKee was lead singer of an 80s band called Lone Justice that everyone expected to break big and never quite did, despite a couple of minor hits. She had a few hits in Europe, but her greatest success was writing “A Good Heart” for former Undertones lead singer Feargal Sharkey. Sharkey’s version was a #1 smash in England in 1985. McKee would cover the song occasionally in concert, but didn’t record her own version until 2007. It was a very smart move. McKee has always had a great voice, but it’s gotten way better as she’s gotten older. As a result, this song has way more resonance. (If you buy me a beer, I’ll recite the above in a Casey Kasem voice with lots of dramatic pauses).
Girl group harmonies … fuzzy guitar … heavy bass/drums … farfisa organ … muddy Nick Lowe-style wall-of-sound production … sounds like heaven to me. The video has nothing to do with the lyrics, by the way.
Nostalgia can be a tricky thing. On the surface, “Summer of ’89″ seems like a typical fist-pumping nostalgia rock anthem like “Glory Days” or (ahem) “Summer of ’69.” But then the lyrics get darker and the fates of his friends get grimmer (in a non-funny and non-ironic way). And then about three minutes in, the song takes a kind of odd Violent Femmes style turn which ends with Walker desperately screaming “When do I become?!?” before segueing back into the fist pumping chorus. On the one hand, you can enjoy the perverse twists and turns of this deceptively simple and brilliantly written song. Or you can ignore what I say and just pump your fist in the air like you just don’t care (which the song is good for as well). Enjoy this before Budweiser puts it in a commercial.
On a personal note, there’s nothing in this song that even remotely resembles my summer of ’89, unless I missed a lyric about working at Pizza Hut or mowing lawns.
Recorded in 1988, this is Lou Reed’s diatribe against the bloated bulls–t of the 1980s. Sad to say, this song is more relevant than ever nowadays.
Guns N’ Roses’ killer cover of Peter Laughner’s / The Dead Boys’ sad, nihilistic classic “Ain’t It Fun.” Recorded for their punk cover album “The Spaghetti Incident,” this is the best version of this song I’ve heard. There have been some good versions (Dead Boys, Rollins Band) over the years, but the Guns N’ Roses version is probably the best, in my opinion. It’s probably no coincidence that this ended up on their greatest hits CD. If any song sums up composer Laughner’s life, it’s this song. If you have any interest in what you’ve just read, please read Lester Bangs’ legendary obituary of Laughner “Peter Laughner is Dead” for context (located in the Bangs’ compilation “Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung”).
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