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The Long Blondes with Drug Rug and Bamboo Shoots – Johnny Brenda’s (Philadelphia, PA) – Thursday, May 15, 2008
On the first night of their lengthy American tour, The Long Blondes withstood an iffy sound mix and a half-packed audience and played their hearts out. Both the new songs and the old songs sounded great and KATE JACKSON is so alluring and sexy that it’s almost impossible to take your eyes off of her!
The Long Blondes – “Couples” (Rough Trade)
This one has grown on me quite a bit recently. In particular, I’m smitten with the songs “Guilt,” “Here Comes the Serious Bit,” “I Liked the Boys” and “Erin O’Connor”. For the most part, these are the songs that are reminscent of their debut Someone to Drive You Home. I like the rest of the material on here as well, in any case. Sure it’s a difficult second album and not as immediately appealing as their debut, but give this one some time and it’ll reward you.
Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
I’ve been obsessed with this show lately. Yes I’m a bit late to the party, but I don’t have HBO and thus had to wait to see it on DVD. In any case, it’s funny as hell and songs like “Inner City Pressure,” “Boom” and “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room (Part-Time Model)” will get lodged into your skull for days if you let me and thus cause all kinds of spontaneous laughter.
Black Flag – My War (SST)
I put their 1985 live album Who’s Got the 10 1/2? on last week’s list. Well when I was a teenager, one of my favorite songs on the album was “My War”. I even ended up doing a fanzine with that name during my first year of college. In any case, I eventually got this album and initially, I was disappointed that the studio version of the title track didn’t have the incredible energy of the live version. Also, while I liked side 1, side 2’s slow, painful dirges (reminiscent of “Damaged II” on side 2 of their hardcore punk classic Damaged) were off-putting at first. After a while, though, I grew to like this album, albeit not as much as their previous material. I still feel like this way, but in hindsight this album was not only a huge influence on the grunge movement, but on much ‘90s and ‘00s stoner metal as well. Not only that, but it set the template for the rest of Black Flag’s career and that of HENRY ROLLINS in ROLLINS BAND as well.
Wire – 154 (Harvest/EMI/Restless/Pink Flag)
When asked what their favorite Wire album is, most fans would say Pink Flag. While I love that album, my favorite is definitely 154. Its virtues have been written about many times in this magazine (and elsewhere) over the years, but I’ll just add by saying that this is Wire at their absolute best. While they would never really return to this sound (except on their most recent EP Read and Burn 03), it sure did influence many bands, didn’t it? Bands as diverse THE CURE and BIG BLACK are just a few of the many who probably took a lot of cues from this album.
Spiritualized – iTunes Live: London Sessions (iTunes)
Black Kids with Does It Offend You, Yeah? – World Cafe Live (Philadelphia, PA) – Friday, May 16, 2008
The first band of this indie-rock double bill for WXPN’s Free at Noon series, Does It Offend You, Yeah, came off like a less tuneful and interesting KLAXONS, though I did start to enjoy their set a bit more towards the end. Overall, though, they didn’t do much for me.
Black Kids, however, are fun in a retro, ‘80s kind of way. Like many other similar bands, they borrow liberally from THE CURE. In particular, they really like The Head on the Door and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (it’s no coincidence that “The Snakepit”, from that album, was playing before they went on). However, at times they also remind me of a modern indie band trying to play a fusion of that era of The Cure along with BILLY IDOL’s Rebel Yell. I know it may not sound all that appealing, but it works. Their best song, by far, is “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You”. I haven’t heard anything else by them that comes close to this, though their forthcoming album may change that.
The Individuals – Fields/Aquamarine (Bar None)
This is a part of Hoboken musical history that I was unfamiliar with before this long-awaited reissue. Previously, I’d only heard of this band, but now their entire catalog has been remastered by GENE HOLDER of THE dB’S and reissued on Bar/None. I’ll spare you all the history lesson except to say that they were movers and shakers on the scene back in the early ‘80s and that if you like the dB’s, MARSHALL CRENSHAW and especially THE BONGOS, you owe it to yourself to check this out. I should note that while this sort of stuff is right up my alley and while it’s really enjoyable, only a few songs come close to the best work of the aforementioned bands. Nevertheless, this won’t prevent me from enjoying it and spinning it regularly as I’m sure it’ll grow on me.
Brendan Mullen – Live at the Masque: Nightmare from Punk Alley (Gingko Press, 2007)
An absolute must for fans of the original Los Angeles punk scene of the late ‘70s, these amazing photos will either take you back to the Masque or in my case, wish that I was old enough to have seen these bands in their heyday. Brendan Mullen’s writing is memorable as well and there’s a nice list of 100 great LA punk songs at the end as well.
Saint Etienne – Good Humor (Creation)
Not only is this my favorite Saint Etienne record and their absolute best, but it’s also my favorite release ever on Creation. Now I know what you’re thinking. How can I overlook more praised releases by THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, THE HOUSE OF LOVE, PRIMAL SCREAM, MY BLOODY VALENTINE and many others? The truth is that I like many of those records a lot, but this album just hits the spot for me. Everything about it is perfect, from SARAH CRACKNELL’s sweet vocals, to the obscenely hook-filled melodies, melancholic lyrics (often contrasting the upbeat, ‘60s styled nature of most of the album) and effortless combination of their earlier indie-dance elements (though much less prevalent of their previous albums) with ace ‘60s pop elements as well. With that said, this album featured a full band on a horn section on certain songs. At times, it’s reminiscent of the best work of THE CARDIGANS, as they used their producer TORE JOHANSSON and it shows. It’s almost perfect for a rainy, dreary day as I put it on a few days ago during one such day and it automatically lifted my spirits!
