I wasn't sure how to handle this song. It's damn near one of my favorite songs of all time.
So I thought I'd handle it in chronological order.
Lush released an EP called Mad Love in early 1990. It was never released in the US, although this song was released to US radio, and its UK video was released and shown on MTV. Note that it is a very low-fi affair, and that's just charming.
Fast forward to late 1990, which is the difference between high school Tony and college Tony. 4AD Records got smart, compiled all those British EPs by Lush into a full album, and released them to the US and Japan. Called Gala, it wasn't a huge hit, but was well-received.
And with it came a re-release of De-Luxe and a much higher fidelity video. Because, let's face it, you get a much better look at Miki Berenyi in this video, and US labels sell the pretty girl a lot more. Still, it's a visually interesting video.
16 March 2017
03 March 2017
3 March 2017 - Lorde - Green Light
Finally!
Lorde releases a new song!
Sorry. I get a little excited about things like this. I've literally been waiting for four years! But with such a thoughtful artist, who has also been hanging out with Taylor Swift (which, to be honest, shows in this video), doing music for the Hunger Games movies, and collaborating with many artists, it stands to reason that we'd be waiting.
And it's a thoughtful, emotional song - perhaps the most complex one of hers to date - co-written by her and Jack Antonoff (of fun.). I'm not going to put any more glowing words around this. Just listen and enjoy it.
Lorde releases a new song!
Sorry. I get a little excited about things like this. I've literally been waiting for four years! But with such a thoughtful artist, who has also been hanging out with Taylor Swift (which, to be honest, shows in this video), doing music for the Hunger Games movies, and collaborating with many artists, it stands to reason that we'd be waiting.
And it's a thoughtful, emotional song - perhaps the most complex one of hers to date - co-written by her and Jack Antonoff (of fun.). I'm not going to put any more glowing words around this. Just listen and enjoy it.
23 December 2016
23 December 2016 - The Chainsmokers ft. ROZES - Roses
2016 was The Chainsmokers' year. This was the first big hit of 2016 for this DJ duo. It only seemed fitting that we'd feature them for our last post before Christmas.
Written by Elizabeth Roze Mencel, she also provided vocals to the song. Yes, ROZES is actually a person. She's also a pretty solid songwriter, and the pride of Mongomeryville, PA. Enjoy!
Written by Elizabeth Roze Mencel, she also provided vocals to the song. Yes, ROZES is actually a person. She's also a pretty solid songwriter, and the pride of Mongomeryville, PA. Enjoy!
21 December 2016
21 December 2016 - The Amps - Pacer
This was supposed to be The Breeders.
But Kim Deal decided to do things a little differently. She put The Breeders on hiatus for a year - mostly because her sister Kelley was in rehab and Jo Wiggs was off doing other things - and called herself Tammy Ampersand.
And made a brilliant album.
And then got tired of waiting and reformed the Breeders without her mates... or rather, renamed the Amps to the Breeders.
But we still have that one Amps album.
But Kim Deal decided to do things a little differently. She put The Breeders on hiatus for a year - mostly because her sister Kelley was in rehab and Jo Wiggs was off doing other things - and called herself Tammy Ampersand.
And made a brilliant album.
And then got tired of waiting and reformed the Breeders without her mates... or rather, renamed the Amps to the Breeders.
But we still have that one Amps album.
07 December 2016
7 December 2016 - Liz Phair - Stratford-on-Guy & Stratford-on-Guy (Girlysound)
I've been on a bit of a Liz Phair binge lately. But when I binge, I BINGE. I listen to everything, end to end. Every live performance, every pretentious interview. And there are a LOT of them.
30 November 2016
30 November 2016 - Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams
It actually hurts a little to post Taylor Swift songs. I'm not exactly her #1 fan. That was - still is - Scott Colvin.
But damn. This song is epic. Even I can't deny its genius and expert execution.
(update: 26 December 2021)
We added Taylor's Version here. It's better anyway. They all are.
21 November 2016
21 November 2016 - Mazzy Star - Halah
Some songs and sounds stick with you forever, and you never get sick of them. This, for me, is one of those songs.
Mazzy Star were (still are, in fact) a duo - Hope Sandoval and David Roback (ex-Rain Parade) - who started off together in a band called Opal, with Kendra Smith (ex-Dream Syndicate) as lead vocalist. When Smith left, abruptly - like, slammed her guitar on the ground during a gig and left - Sandoval took over lead vocals to finish the tour.
After that tour ended, the two of them formed Mazzy Star. Mazzy Star had a minor hit song in 1993 - "Fade Into You". This is not that song. This song is from their influential and tone-setting 1990 debut album, She Hangs Brightly. Kurt Cobain called the album one of his favorites of all time.
Hope Sandoval is notoriously shy during live shows - she performs only under dim lighting and interacts little with the crowd. You can kind of hear it in this song. That's the best description I can give for this haunting song, one I list among my favorite songs of all time.
The band is actually still together. They released their fourth album in 2013, and had reformed for a couple of tours before that. Here's a performance from 2012, where you can see the dim lighting.
Mazzy Star were (still are, in fact) a duo - Hope Sandoval and David Roback (ex-Rain Parade) - who started off together in a band called Opal, with Kendra Smith (ex-Dream Syndicate) as lead vocalist. When Smith left, abruptly - like, slammed her guitar on the ground during a gig and left - Sandoval took over lead vocals to finish the tour.
After that tour ended, the two of them formed Mazzy Star. Mazzy Star had a minor hit song in 1993 - "Fade Into You". This is not that song. This song is from their influential and tone-setting 1990 debut album, She Hangs Brightly. Kurt Cobain called the album one of his favorites of all time.
Hope Sandoval is notoriously shy during live shows - she performs only under dim lighting and interacts little with the crowd. You can kind of hear it in this song. That's the best description I can give for this haunting song, one I list among my favorite songs of all time.
The band is actually still together. They released their fourth album in 2013, and had reformed for a couple of tours before that. Here's a performance from 2012, where you can see the dim lighting.
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