Veteran character actor Harry Dean Stanton delivered what was perhaps the best performance of his career as the burned-out, but principled automobile repo man Bud in Alex Cox’s nihilistic punk comedy masterpiece “Repo Man.”
Key line: “Ordinary f–king people … I hate ’em.”
Other key line (not in this clip): “What are you, a f–kin’ Commie? Huh? … I don’t want no Commies in my car. No Christians either.”
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.
One of my favorite psychedelic hard-rock soul songs from the 1960s, here’s the Chambers Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today.” One of the most brilliant uses of rock music in film was when Hal Ashby used this song to underscore a long and intense scene in his 1978 Vietnam drama “Coming Home,” the one where Bruce Dern confronts Jon Voight over Voight’s affair with Dern’s wife, played by Jane Fonda.
As a bonus, I’ve also included the Ramones’ kick-ass punk-metal cover from 1983’s “Subterranean Jungle”:
Awesome! Someone finally posted this beyond smokin’, show-stopping cover of “Bo Diddley’s a Gunslinger” by Warren Zevon from his classic 1980 live album “Stand in the Fire,” recorded during some legendary concerts at the Roxy in Los Angeles that same year. Way heavier than most music that calls itself heavy metal. Some very sick electric guitar. This album was dedicated to fellow survivor Martin Scorsese. What are you waiting for? Play extremely f–king loud!!!!!
I realize discussing this song is like discussing “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan. It’s a song that so epitomizes the artist, yet has become so commonplace that there’s nothing more that can be said about it that hasn’t already been said better.
All I will add is that no matter how many times it turns up on compilations, films, and classic “alternative” mixes, I still can’t turn this song off. It’s a song that completely epitomizes the Smiths, yet is so much better than most of their catalog.
From the 1990 album “Goo,” this is Sonic Youth’s non-ironic tribute to Karen Carpenter. I can’t say for sure whether this was inspired by Todd Haynes’ legendary underground short “Superstar,” but the spirit is the same. Both “Superstar” and “Tunic” may seem snarky considering that the artists involved came from the underground, but the sentiment is anything but. Which is why the song still packs a punch nearly 25 years later.
Dave's Strange World 