American bands it seems recently discovered Gang of Four and how awesome they are. Their songs are raw like exposed electric wires. They are fine three minute bits of power pop. Check out this clip from the Old Grey Whistle Test. As a matter of fact check out everything from OGWT.
Finally. Post-grunge. Who said that history never repeats. Good music is being made again, starting with Interpol and this song which was everywhere. I am so glad that every new band coming out doesn’t try to sound like Nirvana anymore.
Back when I saw Love and Rockets this little known (at the time) band from Boston opened for them. This was before Monkey Gone to Heaven. This song, Where Is My Mind?, was the last song that day and it rocked.
There are a lot of bands out there who I wonder why they are not as big as U2 in America. Not Placebo. I look around at the people I see in the supermarket and I understand. America isn’t ready for Placebo yet, even with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the video. These guys are darker than The Cure, more glam than T-rex and their frontman’s androgyny is more prevalent than Morrissey’s. Check out this awesome song from the movie Cruel Intentions.
The height of 1980s glam. I was fortunate enough to see both Love and Rockets and Bauhaus through the years, although the Love and Rockets show was much better. This is their big, fat speed song and it’s awesome if youre cruising down I-81 at like a bazillion mph.
Why aren’t these guys huge? This song and the song Fireworks are two of my favorites. The Phantom Power record is an awesome roadtrip soundtrack.
Paul Weller later went on to try American Soul but I liked him best when he was frontman for The Jam. I am really surprised he never really got huge over here. This song is a poetic ode to the urban rhythm.
Industrial at its best. E-N got their start as the ultimate noise rockers but when Industrial Music hit in about 1990 or so they added some melody a created some pretty powerful songs. Now Blixa is a Bad Seed backing up Nick Cave.
As a young kid I remember Trans Europe Express, all 14 minutes of it, played on the radio. Today I couldn’t even imagine it. I went to the 9:30 club in DC to see Kraftwerk live. Amazing, sublime even, if not understated. Nowadays any self-respecting hip hopper’s beats come from territory pionerred by Kraftwerk.
From The Neon Bible my pick for the best album of 2007. This album is much like Life’s Rich Pageant by R.E.M. From here on out, no matter what Arcade Fire does, I’ll probably buy it. Because of these guys, Springsteen’s first three albums make sense to me now.