Ziggy Played Guitar
If good looks was a minute/ You know that you could've been an hour- Smokey Robinson, 'The Way You Do The Things You Do'
The school year is around the corner. Hundreds of thousands of kids wil begin high school over the next two weeks. They will walk gingerly through the giant hallways, hands on bookbag straps, eyes like saucers. A more frightened and awkward group of humans you will rarely see. I’d love to give all these freshmen a copy of Ziggy Stardust when they enter school. Bowie never gets much credit for being much of an open-hearted romantic, but Ziggy was always a very good friend. The story of an alien on earth rings true to aliens in their own bodies.
God, I’m so glad I never have to be a teenager again.
You try it. You like it. You buy it. 
A Live One- The Cure Cleveland Music Hall ‘85
This look may not be fit now, but just wait twenty years.
Cleveland Music Hall 85 by The Cure in 320 mp3s
The Cure embarked on The Head on the Door tour in 1985 with a No. 7 album in the UK and a No. 59 one here in the States. They first came to America a year before, and meant to conquer the American market with this tour. ‘In Between Days’ broke the Top 100 here barely, hitting 99. The No. 1 single in America the week ending on October 19, 1985 was a-Ha’s ‘Take On Me’, which just bumped Dire Strait’s ‘Money for Nothing’ from its four week perch. There is nothing in the rest of the Top 10 which would leave anyone to believe the Cure would have any more success than they had the year before. Sphere: Related Content
Crystal Stilts ‘Love Is A Wave’
Red- it's the color of the season.
Love Is A Wave by Crystal Stilts
The guitar is an amazing elastic instrument. The amount of color and shape you can create from guitar chords never ceases to amaze me. In ‘Love Is A Wave’, the guitar comes in as a scanner, picking its way across the rhythm. Finally, it settles into a groove with the ferocity of a Duane Eddy riff. The lead singer comes in with a great, imperial vocal. A synth haunts the background, reminding us that not everything is joy and wonder. This track is a gift to those of us deeply in love with psychedelia. Short, sweet, complete.
7″ out 3/31.
Snap Judgement- Metric’s ‘Fantasies’
Metric’s new album Fantasies comes out 4/14. You can listen to the album at MBV. You can download a track as well. I saw Metric at Double Door a couple of years ago, back when the hot lead singer was a brunette. I dug the show but lost track of them afterward. I smiled when I saw the stream. Let’s get at it. ‘Help I’m Alive’ is the free mp3. I give them credit that they progress through different sounding sections, but the whole does very little for me. They are going for a Breeders’ sound without the Breeders’ brains. Veruca Salt, anyone? ‘Sick Muse’ continues the game. Oh, wait. They’re reaching for their inner ABBA/Cardigans. And they grabbed it! Now, they’re onto something. ‘Sick Muse’ is a sick, slick pop song- nothing else you can say. ‘Satellite Mind’ rocks! So far, I really like this album. Bust of a first track, but the rest is solid. What I love about it is how it sets its own mood. Metric knows what they are- and that’s huge for band. ‘Twilight Galaxy’ doesn’t do anything. ‘Gold Guns Girls’ is what I’m talking about. If Metric wants to do a sexed-up Cardigans, I’m all in. ‘Gimme Sympathy’ sucks. This band is wildly inconsistent. ‘Collect Call’ sucks as well. I don’t want drippy tween beat, people! Give me some meat. ‘Front Row’ comes out swinging. I can’t help but be reminded of the hair-band albums of my youth. A few smokers wrapped in a brick of Velveeta cheese. ‘Blindness’ sucks. Metric gets an A- for misplaced earnestness. I dig ‘Stadium Love’. Metric needs to go big or go home. Leave the melodrama for Pink. Maybe brunettes have more fun, after all. Fantasies is a burn.
A Live One- The Jam 5.26.1980 @ Pinkpop
The Jam at Pinkpop 05.26.1980 in 320 mp3
Paul Weller is my favorite British rock star. True. Not only am I head over heels with his music with the Jam and solo (eh, not so much Style Council), but I also love his taste in music. The compilation he made for Mojo last year provided K and I with our first dance song. I love the fact that his dad still manages him, even after all these years. His politics are dead-on working-class and sensible. Whenever you hear him interviewed he flashes the kind of sense of humor which would only get better after a few pints (even though Paul himself abstains). And last, but certainly not least, there is his sense of style. Sure, everyone wants to be a rock star, but Paul is the only one I want to dress like. I have to admit it. I have a man crush on Paul Weller. I’m OK with that.
Sphere: Related ContentThe Last Call 3/4/09
What d'ya mean some Jeff Lynne bloke will have us exiting a spacecraft?
Dont Make My Baby Blue by The Move
Whenever you think you’ve unearthed everything from the Golden Age of rock, there is always one more buried treasure lying blow. So much great music, such few outlets at the time. Many of these buried treasures had hits in England, yet never made a dent here in the States. A stellar example of these overlooked artists formed in 1966 with five veterans from various Birmingham rock bands. They were guitarist and principal songwriter Roy Wood, drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Chris “Ace” Kefford, singer Carl Wayne, and guitarist Trevor Burton. Calling themselves the Move, they signed with flamboyant manager Tony Secunda. Tony booked them as the replacement for the Who at the Marquee Club. The Move quickly made a name for themselves through an over-the-top live set with flash pots and Wayne smashing televisions. Dressed up in gangster suits, they should have been more flash than substance. Fortunately, Roy Wood loved American pop music and his songwriting fused this with the in vogue prog rock of the time.
Sphere: Related ContentYour February Shambollocks! Mix
For those about to rock, we salute you!
The Shambollocks! February Mix
1) Come Saturday- The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
2) Politicians In My Eyes- Death
3) Into The Public Bath- Cattle Decapitation
4) Punks In The Beerlight- Silver Jews
5) My Brain Is Working Overtime- Rivers Cuomo
6) Butterfly Kisses- The Depreciation Guild
7) Pump It Up (Live)- Elvis Costello and the Attractions
8 ) Nobunny Loves You- Nobunny
9) My Maudlin Career- Camera Obscura
10) Danger Bird- Neil Young & Crazy Horse
11) Pine On- Obits
12) So Human- Lady Sovereign
13) Most Likely You Go Your Way (Live)- Bob Dylan
14) Cradle- The Joy Formidable
15) Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Come Marching In)- Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
Numbers for the month after the jump.
Sphere: Related ContentThe Joy Formidable “Cradle”
The Joy Formidable hail from Wales. You can download their debut album for free here. Mix the Pixies and Weezer together, bake, and voila, you have their song “Cradle”. The driving rhythms will snap you wide awake.
A Live One- Bob Dylan 5.27.1989 @ Christinehofs Slottspark
I don't know Sven- Dylan or Golden Earring?
Bob Dylan Sweden 05.27.1989 in 320 mp3
Bob Dylan Sweden 05.27.1989 in FLAC
You can’t ignore Bob Dylan if you follow pop music. His work makes up a primary genetic strand in pop, recombining with other music to create entirely new pop genres. I fell in love with Bob at an early age, stopping whatever I was doing when ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ or ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ came on the radio. His music didn’t court you, like his peers the Beatles. No, it stood its own ground, aware that it sounded completely different than anything else of its time. Dylan’s music waits for everyone, and when you finally embrace it your world becomes all the richer. He is our modern Shakespeare- a poet of popular art whose work reveals universal truths which enlighten humanity. Like Shakespeare, he will always be out of time, sure to be heard and studied anew long after his last performance. His influence here can be seen at the top of every page. Bob Dylan will be with us forever.
Sphere: Related ContentDoves’ “Kingdom Of Rust”
A great pairing of song with images. You will want to place this song on your next road trip mix just for this video. Sure, like a lot of Doves’ music, this owes a certain debt to U2. Who cares? The song is the title track from Doves’ new album, which comes out April 6.
O'Hare Arpt., IL
