Label: Miriam Collection Released: June 17, 2008 This documentary was clearly released in tandem with Control and, while that was surely a good move commercially, it makes it difficult to get as involved in this versus Anton Corbijn’s brilliant dramatization. Of course, the two aren’t quite the same, Control being the story of Ian Curtis and Joy Division the story… Read more »
Controlled Bleeding, one of the earliest American acts to pioneer industrial music, is celebrating its 30 year anniversary with a free download of “Wall of China Love Letters,” the second track on Before the Quiet, just released by MVD Audio. Oddly, although the song was recorded in 1978, the abrasive, bouncing, instrumental could be a musical blueprint for the bands… Read more »
This is a great one from the oft-forgotten Minutemen. Rock n roll wouldn’t be the same without them.
Label: Exigent Records (available through CDBaby.com) Released: July 15, 2008 Microtia clearly loves the Mars Volta, but the Mars Volta they are not. Of course, that’s not the worst knock in the world. Trying to play TMV’s game and not fully succeeding is kind of like being a guitarist that isn’t as good as Hendrix or a sax player that… Read more »
Song: Movement of FearArtist: TweakerAlbum: 2 a.m. Wakeup Call Chris Vrenna’s cover of Tones on Tails’ “Movement of Fear” starts off like fairly typical darker-than-thou swill, but cooks into a densely orchestrated stew of sound by the end of the song. This one’s a fine treat.
Label: eMusic Released: June 17, 2008 DIY is a term often associated with punk rock, not soul, but soul artist Mingering Mike embodies that ethic as well if not better than the most serious punk purist. Super Gold Greatest Hits is a homemade album of Mike’s soul songs recorded with only vocals and percussion (which amounts to whatever was around… Read more »
Label: Astralwerks Released: August 19, 2008 From the opening seconds of Strawberry Weed, Caesars make it clear that they’re not afraid to make noise. Committed to the mod tradition of the Who, they are loud, abrasive and willing to run wild, yet they never lose their raw pop sense. They tap into that point in rock history when bands realized… Read more »
Label: A&M Released: 1988 In the liner notes of this album, Joe Jackson writes perhaps the best case for this album’s greatness: “I’ve always had two stubborn rules about playing live. Firstly, no matter how small the audience, how bad the acoustics, how smelly the dressing room, etc, every show is important. It’s possible to play to about a dozen… Read more »
Song: Black Magic WomanArtist: Fleetwood MacAlbum: The Pious Bird of Good Omen I never knew this was a Fleetwood Mac song before it was a Santana song. The Mac’s version is dark and bluesy, kind of like “House of the Rising Sun.” It’s different than Santana’s version, but it’s equally as good.
Song: I Lost (My Mind)Artist: Angry SamoansAlbum: STP Not LSD The Angry Samoans are best remembered for the silly manic punk tirades of their first couple of albums, but they released an EP and an LP of cool, fun psych/garage/punk albums in the mid-to-late 80s that often get overlooked. This one comes from 1988’s STP Not LSD which, for all… Read more »