the Smiths

When I got to college in 1985, college radio opened up a new realm of musical sounds to me. Some of the major strands were: R.E.M. and other jangle pop from the Southeast, synth/dance pop from UK/Europe (best exemplified by New Order), various strains of heavier music from the U.S. (Dinosaur Jr., Husker Du, Sonic Youth, the Pixies, the beginnings of grunge), but another unique sound that stood out by itself was the Smiths. This was a blend of three crucial elements: Johnny Marr’s guitar sound (like Peter Buck of R.E.M., he stripped rock down to the basic instrument and built up something completely new), Morrissey’s lilting voice, and Morrissey’s sophisticated, literary lyrics. The band (especially Morrissey) has taken a lot of crap over the years for being too trendy or too melodramatic, but musically no band has ever really sounded like them before or since. There’s a sad sweetness and beauty that they own.

Here’s the first Smiths song that I ever heard, “Cemetry Gates”, which contains all the crucial elements (I couldn’t find the original video, but the sound on this one is good. You can ignore the two dorks who made the film, or not; they are kind of endearing actually.)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrissey

I Ain't Ever Satisfied - Steve Earle

I just picked this up yesterday at the Best Buy (a compilation album, not the one pictured), using a gift card my brother gave me for Christmas. The whole compilation disc is really good, but this tune in particular is sweet. Earle writes and plays crisp, poignant roots/country rock. Very simple structures. Pure and authentic.

Sorry I couldn't embed the song (disabled). Click here for the link.

Creative Hybridization II

And speaking of hybrids involving Led Zeppelin, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the great Dread Zeppelin. Catch them live if you can; they're really good.

Creative Hybridization

Speaking of Zeppelin, here's a very clever (and quite good) hybridization of Zeppelin and the Beatles that made the rounds on college radio a decade or so ago and has made it to Youtube (although not a video - but the sound is pretty good). Enjoy.

The Rain Song - Led Zeppelin

Houses of the Holy is my favorite Led Zeppelin album because it's the most varied and mature. There are a lot of great ideas there that go far beyond hard rock, and they are brilliantly executed. Since it's rainy today here, I thought I'd post this flash animation that someone did for "The Rain Song".

Dig for Fire - Pixies

In the late 80s and early 90s, the Pixies owned college radio, inspired a generation of bands that would come along a few years later, disappeared for a little while, then came back last year with a huge tour during which the entire rock music world rightfully lauded them as the most influential band of their time. Meanwhile, I was listening to their stuff the entire time (thanks to my friend Dave K in Durham who originally turned me onto them and gave me tapes of all their albums). The bands I have been in have also reflected the Pixies influence, although more in the instrumental sound than in the songwriting. I wish I could write like them. Anyway, here is my favorite Pixies song, "Dig for Fire"

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Sister Havana - Urge Overkill

This is the only UO song that I've run across that I really like. But it's an awesome one. I don't really get the cheesy Cuban political theme, but that doesn't matter. It's a perfectly constructed, guitar riff driven rock song with great breaks. Come around to my way of thinking...

Warrior - Public Image Limited

John Lydon's post Sex Pistols outfit Public Image Limited produced some of the best dance tracks of the late 80s/early 90s. One of the best is "Warrior". The sound on the embedded clip isn't the greatest (there are much better mixes of this song; e.g. on PiL's greatest hits compilation) but you can still catch the things I really like about this song: complex machine-like underlying rhythm track with plenty of interesting auxiliary percussion, great long slow synth washes enhancing the narrative content, Lydon's urgent vocals. The drum breaks are great, emphasizing the multilayered texture when the various tracks come back in. This song has the three things that make a song great: rhythm, atmosphere, and good-sounding chord changes. It gets me there.

Singapore Rice Noodles of the Month

From Chong Sar in Rocky Point, NY. Excellent mix. The meat is very fresh and the angelhair pasta is nicely snipped into more mouthful-manageable portions. A little on the salty side, but I'm more sensitive to that these days. This SCMF is highly recommended.

Everything But the Girl

Been busy and a little tired lately. I've been wanting to blog about Everything But the Girl for a while. This band has a lot going for it: great songwriting, Tracey Thorn's strong and engaging vocals, excellent range across several pop subgenres. I really like their house tracks. I find them to be very atmospheric and sophisticated. This is music I want in the soundtrack of my life.

Here's "The Future of the Future":