For most of you, this was your first and only meeting with The Breeders. Which is all well and good. It was a great song - still is. It is a modern rock classic, with a great double guitar, a very distinctive bassline by the under-appreciated Josephine Wiggs, and a catchy vocal by Kim Deal.
For me, it was a letdown. I knew what they had been less than a year prior.
The Breeders were a modern rock supergroup, featuring the aforementioned Kim Deal (of The Pixies), Jo Wiggs (of The Perfect Disaster), and the woefully under-appreciated guitarist Tanya Donelly (at this point, of Throwing Muses). Their first album, Pod, was a very dark, sparsely-produced (by Steve Albini) classic. After that album, Kim's twin sister, Kelley, joined on guitar. And, for one EP - Safari - they all stayed together. And they rocked and rocked hard.
After the Safari EP, Tanya left to form Belly. And her absence was noted by people who were in the know. I mean, don't get me wrong - The Breeders were still really good. They just weren't the same band. The band even went on to re-record one of the Safari songs for the Last Splash album - "Do You Love Me Now?" - and it was good..... but a little bit of a letdown.
30 April 2013
30 April 2013 - Devo - Girl U Want
When the Wicked Guilty Pleasures mind goes blank, there's only one true way to snap out of it -- look to the 80s. So here's wacky Akron new wavers Devo with a video from their Freedom of Choice album from 1980. Of course the big hit from that album was Whip It, but Girl U Want is way cooler. See for yourself.
29 April 2013
29 April 2013 - The Juliana Hatfield Three - Spin The Bottle
I remember the last time I saw Juliana Hatfield.
September 15, 1995. Water Street Music Hall. Rochester, NY.
Why do I so clearly remember a date in a random club on a random Friday night nearly 18 years ago? Well, that, my friends, is an interesting story. I was married on September 16, 1995. This show was the closest thing I ever had to a bachelor party. My friend Jim was there, as was my friend Mike. (As it turns out, someone I met 16 1/2 years later was also there, but that's another story I'm not telling today).
Jim was fond of telling everyone that I was getting married the next day. There was one young lady - who I think was taking a shining to me - who was quite adamant that I was far too young to be getting married.
The show itself was pretty good. I wish she would have done more early stuff - she did one Blake Babies song ("Nirvana", which also appeared on her first solo album in a different form) - but it was pretty good. After the show, Jim grabbed one of the setlists off the stage and was hell-bent on meeting Juliana and having her sign it. I, having met Juliana in the past and not finding her all that congenial, wasn't so keen on that, but we did it anyway.
And Jim told her I was getting married the next day.
Her reply. "Aren't you a little young to be getting married?"
Sigh.
She wasn't wrong, sadly.
This song is a cute little diddy from the Reality Bites soundtrack, with a lot of guest stars in the video. The subject matter - playing Spin The Bottle with a semi-famous person - is a little strange, but it makes for a cute song. With a guitar hook that builds as the song builds momentum..... the whole tune just oozes excitement. So, get excited!
September 15, 1995. Water Street Music Hall. Rochester, NY.
Why do I so clearly remember a date in a random club on a random Friday night nearly 18 years ago? Well, that, my friends, is an interesting story. I was married on September 16, 1995. This show was the closest thing I ever had to a bachelor party. My friend Jim was there, as was my friend Mike. (As it turns out, someone I met 16 1/2 years later was also there, but that's another story I'm not telling today).
Jim was fond of telling everyone that I was getting married the next day. There was one young lady - who I think was taking a shining to me - who was quite adamant that I was far too young to be getting married.
The show itself was pretty good. I wish she would have done more early stuff - she did one Blake Babies song ("Nirvana", which also appeared on her first solo album in a different form) - but it was pretty good. After the show, Jim grabbed one of the setlists off the stage and was hell-bent on meeting Juliana and having her sign it. I, having met Juliana in the past and not finding her all that congenial, wasn't so keen on that, but we did it anyway.
And Jim told her I was getting married the next day.
Her reply. "Aren't you a little young to be getting married?"
Sigh.
She wasn't wrong, sadly.
This song is a cute little diddy from the Reality Bites soundtrack, with a lot of guest stars in the video. The subject matter - playing Spin The Bottle with a semi-famous person - is a little strange, but it makes for a cute song. With a guitar hook that builds as the song builds momentum..... the whole tune just oozes excitement. So, get excited!
26 April 2013
26 April 2013 - The Monkees - Valleri & Mary Mary
Despite the fact that The Monkees were a manufactured group, built specifically for a television show, these four gentlemen were serious, solid musicians. A lot of people slag on them for being the Pre-Fab Four - a play on the nickname given to The Beatles - but they all had some chops.
Take this song. Davy Jones takes the lead vocal on the song. The verses are short, jangle-pop, but the chorus is 60's-level bombastic. The performance is full of emotion from all four members.
On this song, Mickey Dolenz takes the lead vocal, but I want you to pay attention to the serious guitar chops brought by Michael Nesmith. That gentleman was - IS - a fantastic guitarist, and few songs highlight his skills better than this song. Pay attention to that and the harmonies provided by bassist Peter Tork.
Take this song. Davy Jones takes the lead vocal on the song. The verses are short, jangle-pop, but the chorus is 60's-level bombastic. The performance is full of emotion from all four members.
On this song, Mickey Dolenz takes the lead vocal, but I want you to pay attention to the serious guitar chops brought by Michael Nesmith. That gentleman was - IS - a fantastic guitarist, and few songs highlight his skills better than this song. Pay attention to that and the harmonies provided by bassist Peter Tork.
25 April 2013
25 April 2013 - Aimee Mann - That's Just What You Are
I'm really excited to be seeing Aimee Mann perform again tonight (it's either my 5th or 6th show . . . I've lost count over the years). I still get a chuckle when I think that the first time I heard her as a solo artist was this song off of the Melrose Place Soundtrack (it later appeared on her I'm With Stupid album). I Never really thought of Melrose Place to be a musical taste-maker (unlike Beverly Hills 90210), but just taking a quick glance at the soundtrack I see some pretty cool 90s bands on there (Dinosaur Jr., Paul Westerburg, James, Letters to Cleo and Urge Overkill).
24 April 2013
24 April 2013 - Veruca Salt - Number One Blind, Seether, All Hail Me, Seether, & Spiderman '79
Veruca Salt are the worst band I have ever seen live. They were drunk... or high.... or something. They were out of tune and bored.
For example, this song, a hard-driving catchy slow jam.... full of energy and feeling in the video.... all sorts of angst..... completely emotionless live.
And still, this song, a straight-ahead rock song that got pigeonholed as "alternative" in the mid-90's, didn't suck. Even a terrible live band, or at least one having an off day, could not screw up the high energy and excitement of this song.
Disappointingly, they also failed me on this song, which was flat. Pity - the song is a throwback to the light metal of the 80's, and is just as full of energy as their biggest hit.
Ultimately, I think it was just that show. Here, they were really really good live. They reinterpreted "Seether" but it still kept the emotion and energy.
And here is my favorite song of theirs, again live. And again, good here. Just not when I saw them.
For example, this song, a hard-driving catchy slow jam.... full of energy and feeling in the video.... all sorts of angst..... completely emotionless live.
And still, this song, a straight-ahead rock song that got pigeonholed as "alternative" in the mid-90's, didn't suck. Even a terrible live band, or at least one having an off day, could not screw up the high energy and excitement of this song.
Disappointingly, they also failed me on this song, which was flat. Pity - the song is a throwback to the light metal of the 80's, and is just as full of energy as their biggest hit.
Ultimately, I think it was just that show. Here, they were really really good live. They reinterpreted "Seether" but it still kept the emotion and energy.
And here is my favorite song of theirs, again live. And again, good here. Just not when I saw them.
23 April 2013
23 April 2013 - Beck - Sexx Laws
I wasn't sure what to think about Beck's Midnight Vultures album when it came out. Sure, there were some fun songs like Nicotine & Gravy, Milk & Honey, Mixed Bizness and of course today's song Sexx Laws, but there were also some real stinkers that ruined it for me like the too-kitschy for even Beck R&B send-up Debra (I don't even want to get into the ridiculous live performance of that song where he descends from the rafters on a heart-shaped bed). Over time I grew to appreciate Midnight Vultures. Sure, it's not as good as Mellow Gold, Odelay and his classic break-up album Sea Change (which was certainly an unexpected follow-up to the party that was Midnight Vultures), but it wasn't nearly as bad I had initially thought.
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