August 2010
33 posts
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July 2010
69 posts
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Music with umpf
I have always dreamed of being in a band like The Gories. In fact, I have to say that they are one of my beau ideal bands through and through. Hands down.
There But for the Grace of God Go I
Lincoln Center Out of Doors Summer concerts →
Oh, how I love all these free Summer concerts in the city!
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“Fuck Rock and Roll (I’d Rather Read a Book).”
– Richard Hell
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“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making...”
– Kurt Vonnegut
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He's not miserable now: Johnny Marr's stolen... →
Had I being the one who stole it, I would’ve kept this baby forever. That’s no lie.
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SONG OF THE DAY: Aftermath by The Cowboys...
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Eamonn McCabe unearths his previously unseen... →
Historic video footage of The Rolling Stones nightmarish Altamont concert in 1969.
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“We need to make books cool again. If you go home with somebody and they don’t...”
– John Waters
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They say you can’t go home again, but maybe... →
Neil Young revisits his fictional town of Greendale, now in the form of a graphic novel and is once again ahead of the curve.
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“Lately I have been wondering where all my money went. The answer, it appears,...”
– (this post was reblogged from jonathanbogart who in turn reblogged from whatwillsuffice)
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Even the greatest stars: A timeless classic
This is a posting covering distinct versions of the amazing song “Hall of Mirrors” written by Kraftwerk and released on their highly influential album Trans-Europe Express in 1977.
Here is the original Kraftwerk’s version from the record.
And here, a rousing rendition by Siouxsie & The Banshees.
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“I’m not sure what happiness means
But I look in your eyes
And I know...”
– Morrissey
The Smiths’ underrated classic “Jean”.
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Billy Corgan collapses during concert in Tampa, FL →
One should stick only to slow acoustic songs at a certain age, don’t ya think Billy?
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So sick of you tonight: Dramarama's Cinéma Vérité
I’ve been listening to Dramarama’s surprisingly good album “Cinéma Vérité” lately. Released in 1985 (oh, my), their work on this record is an amalgam of styles, but the end result is strikingly astute and concise. Check out one of the best songs from that LP below:
Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You)
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The Cowboys International
In the same class as any of the great post-punk bands - but not as lucky to become popular enough - The Cowboys International made a haunting pop-experimental sound worth recognition and praise. Their first album ‘The Original Sin’ is a sterling classic, inexcusably overlooked.
The Cowboys International - The Original Sin, 1979
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When the mind holds the key
I do not know precisely what to make of the band Arcade Fire. They borrow massively from a lot of different artists and are not willing to curb from their influences, no matter how apparent it materializes in their body of work. Shockingly, they can also hit the bull’s-eye every now and then. I really enjoy the atmosphere on their tune “My Body is a Cage”. They really outdone...
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“Boredom is counter-revolutionary.”
– Anonymous graffiti, Paris 1968
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“Bad taste and poor education seem to be the norm these days.”
– Me
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Steven Jesse Bernstein - This Clouded Heart
Is...
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E-Books sales outnumbers sales of hardcover books →
Is the looming future I’ve always dreaded turning into reality?
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Franz Kafka and Max Brod safety deposit boxes... →
Documents which may help us understand the genius of a great writer in modern literature will finally be made available to the public.
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“Boredom and stupidity and patriotism, especially when combined, are three of the...”
– Robertson Davies - World of Wonders
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“Get in, get out. Don’t linger. Go on.”
– Raymond Carver
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Cults - Go Outside 7" Single
New York band Cults won my attention recently. Their mix of 60’s girl-group atmosphere and C86 British revival has just about the right bite for my money. I really like their 7” single ‘Go Outside’.
Go Outside (Well I know what’s good)
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All that Jazz
Here’s a special treat: A few unreleased Echo & The Bunnymen demos from an old tape. Now, who can accuse me of not being generous?
My Heart is Overflowing & others
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Like it's nineteen-ninety nine... again →
Long live the purists: Prince has quite a flair for music marketing.
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Central Park Summerstage 2010 →
Central Park Summerstage concerts this year will have Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. and The Black Keys among others. Sweet.
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In a garden in the house of love
The House of Love are one of those acts in pop music that stir endless fascination not for their hypnotic and stellar body of work, but for being in the same category with bands of great potential that never lived up to the promise of becoming big stars.
I first heard of them while I was still struggling to come to terms with the disbanding of my true heroes, The Smiths in 1987 and I thought...
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“Don’t be ‘a writer’. Be writing.”
– William Faulkner
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The Queen's English Society wants to protect the... →
Is the English language being reduced to nothing but a system of cacophonous sounds and rudimentary scrawls? Does it need to be preserved by extreme measures? Or should we continue on our path to a lexical extinction? Read on and draw your own conclusions.
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“Cause you know, if you play New Kids on the Block albums backwards, they sound...”
– Bill Hicks - Relentless
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Porno For Pyros - Pets
How more direct and precise can one be at exposing such truths via an entertainment medium and still make it enjoyable in an artistic sense? It’s talent to write a song like “Pets” that separate the men from the boys.
“Children are innocent
Teenagers fucked up in the head
Adults are even more fucked up
And elderlies are like children”
Listen here:
...
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Bryan Ferry Recruits Brian Eno, Jonny Greenwood... →
I have mixed emotions about bands reunion, but the recent news about Roxy Music getting back together with Brian Eno for touring and a possible new album really got me excited. Now, if only The Smiths would follow suit. Come on, Morrissey…
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“God save us always,” I said, “from the innocent and the good.”
– Graham Greene - The Quiet American
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Dancing Barefoot: Patti Smith's book "Just Kids" →
This is Patti Smith’s attempt at a partial autobiography. Poetic prose? Not quite, but still strong enough to hold your attention.
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From Beatles to Bowie & Beyond →
Great extension of the exhibition on pop music which was hosted by The National Portrait Gallery in London between October 2009 and January 2010. Over 150 photographs from that project now available online.
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Buddy Holly - Everyday
First nerd in Pop music to rule the world. It’s clear to me that without Buddy Holly we could never enjoy the likes of John Lennon or Morrissey as acceptable rock idols, to mention just two of the greatest dorks/geniuses of modern music. Allegedly, Stu Sutcliffe and Lennon were inspired by Holly’s band The Crickets when they named their own band The Beatles. The rest - to make use...
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“Pick up your money
And pack up your tent
You ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
– Bob Dylan, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” - The Basement Tapes
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The great American novel: still great? →
The never-ending debate over the death of fiction. Is it really dead?
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“I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking...”
– Oscar Wilde
