Ironically, most people probably know the punk cover of this by the Rezillos (thanks to its use in “Jackass: The Movie”) more than they know the original by Fleetwood Mac (the pre-Lindsay Buckingham/Stevie Nicks version). However, the original is wonderful psychobilly by a band that’s not known for such things. Somewhere you can hear the Cramps taking notes.
Natalie Maines’s beautiful and moving cover of Pink Floyd’s “Mother,” performed live on the Howard Stern Show earlier this month. The stellar studio version is available on the “West of Memphis” soundtrack.
It turns out the Black Keys were not the first band to pay loving homage to the joys of paracinema in a music video. Muse’s video for “Knights of Cydonia” is a fake sci-fi, kung-fu spaghetti western from Europe (circa 1979) that would probably rank high on Quentin Tarantino’s favorite movie list if it actually existed. It doesn’t hurt that the song is an ultra-cool homage to 70s prog rock either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uloC5PkhsnM
If you’ve been following Dave’s Strange World, you’ll know how much I revere Reed’s legendary/infamous live album “Take No Prisoners.” Many dismiss “Prisoners” as a stand-up comedy album because Reed takes the opportunity to occasionally p–s on his enemies in vicious verbal asides. This is not one of those moments.
This version of “Satellite of Live” is far from slick, but it’s certainly heartfelt. His backing band is stunning and the background singers are beyond awesome. The finale, which starts 4:35 into the song is absolutely incredible and should be played at maximum volume.
These are the Top 5 things you’ve all been looking at since we got under way in August 2012. I’m proud to say this may be the only place where Captain Beefheart was in a Top 5 in terms of popularity. If you haven’t perused these yet, check ’em out:
1. The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party, from SNL Sept 2012
2. “Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson” by Kevin Avery
3. “Saturday Night Live 1980″ – Nathan Rabin’s “How Bad Can it Be? Case File #23″
https://davesstrangeworld.com/2012/09/08/saturday-night-live-1980/
4. “Hard Working Man” – Captain Beefheart / Ry Cooder / Jack Nitzche, from the film “Blue Collar” (1978) dir. Paul Schrader
https://davesstrangeworld.com/2012/09/04/1276/
5. “Poetic License is Not Appreciated” a look at “American Me” (1992) dir. Edward James Olmos and “Blood In, Blood Out” (1993) dir. Taylor Hackford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjnfsk7yZ2E
Billy Batz: “Tommy, now go get your f–kin’ shinebox!”
Tommy: “Motherf-ker!!!!!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD2W1LDFuLQ
Dedicated to my wife and my children for their support during all of the overtime I’ve worked in 2012. I love you all very much!
Garbage’s best song. I love the retro John Barry-style wall of noise on this one, with the horn section rocking just hard as the guitars. Fitting, I first heard this on Kim Fowley’s Underground Garage radio show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1J-jfmQXCw
The first track from the Pretenders 1980 debut album that sounds like a furnace blast. A wild, furious rave-up that I can only imagine blew minds when it was first released. The start of a terrific career.
Back in the 1990s, irony and sarcasm came in such heavy quantities, that if you were going to go that route musically, you needed to be really clever and/or have a great band to back up your snark. Fortunately, for Cracker back in the early 1990s, they had it in spades. You may not realize this from the video, but Cracker was one of the five best bands I’ve ever seen live.
Dave's Strange World 