Deerhunter - "Snakeskin" (2015)

Hello Friends,

Here's some newish stuff from Atlanta indie rockers, Deerhunter.

We're definitely digging the mid-70's Bowie vibe. 

Low Roar - "John Wayne Gacy Jr" (2014)

Icelandic dream pop band Low Roar taking on Sufjan Steven's ode to everyone's favorite clown/serial killer, John Wayne Gacy.

Creepy!  The perfect tune for a damp & drizzly February.

Enjoy!

Glass Houses

Billy Joel - "Glass Houses" (1980) - Columbia Records

Hello Friends,

We are left mostly unimpressed by the work of Billy Joel and 1980's Glass Houses is no exception.

To us it all sounds so vanilla, so derivative and so goddamned average.

There's hardly anything on this Grammy Award-winning LP that really gets us going.  In fact, to us, it sounds too much like an artist trying desperately to be *hip* and attempting to insert themselves into the fray of early 1980's New Wave artists.

For case in point, look no further than the (ahem) "punkish" album opener "You May Be Right" or the sneering "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" where Joel tries to be "hip" by denying how "hip" he's trying to be!

Oh and friends, do you want to hear something creepy?

Listen to Side One, track 2, "Sometimes A Fantasy" where good ol' B.J. drunk dials some girl and grovels for phone sex.  YECH!!

I didn't want to do it but I got too lonely
I had to call you up in the middle of the night
I know it's awful hard to try to make love long distance
But I really needed stimulation
Though it was only my imagination

It's just a fantasyIt's not the real thing  

Disgusting!

Actually, here's a YouTube clip of our favorite version of this song.  Enjoy!

RATING: 2 Lunatics You're Looking For out of 5 

Kadavar - "The Old Man" (2015)

TGIF Friends!

Ushering in the weekend with a little Kadavar.

Great song from the German stoner rock band's 2015 LP, Berlin.

That chorus is nothing short of face melting!

Joan Baez - "Diamonds And Rust" (1977)

Hello Friends,

If you're having trouble sleeping, this Joan Baez song might do the trick.

Actually its a pretty song which is most likely about her tumultuous affair with Bob Dylan in the 1960's, "a couple of light years ago".

Also, it makes you appreciate Judas Priest's cover version all the more.

Lighten up Joan!

Sin After Sin

Judas Priest - "Sin After Sin" (1977) - Columbia Records

Hello Friends,

We're kicking it to Judas Priest's third LP tonight.  Sin After Sin would be the band's major label debut as well as the record that helped solidify their place as one of the best hard rock bands of their era.  From the dueling, ripping guitars of Glenn Tipton & K.K. Downing to the vocal gymnastics of frontman, Rob Halford, the album is a prime example of late 70's British heavy metal.  Its rocking and bad-ass, but also complex, dark and thoughtful.

Simply put, Sin After Sin sounds like an important album.  

Look no further than their inspired cover of the Joan Baez song, "Diamonds & Rust" to see a band at the height of their prowess.

The album kicks off with one of genre's greatest lead off songs, the galloping and epic "Sinner" with lyrics like "Sinner rider, rides in with the storm / The Devil rides beside him / The Devil is his god, God help you mourn..." RIght on!

"Sinner" is followed by the aforementioned, "Diamonds & Rust" for a killer one-two punch.

Side One is rounded out the Science Fiction-y "Starbreaker" and the heartbreaking ballad, "Last Rose of Summer".

Call for the Priest, I'm Dying...

Side Two kicks off with the heavy & very Queen-influenced "Let Us Prey/Call for the Priest" followed by the sleazy & riff-filled "Raw Deal" (also Tiki T.'s pick for best song on the record!  She loves the sleaze!)  

"Here Comes the Tears" is the album's second ballad which is good, but a little weird considering that some of the tracks on this record would have been some of the heaviest, hardest and most aggressive music to 1977 audiences and to casually throw in two sincere-sounding & ornate ballads (one on each side) seems like a bit of a mind-fuck. "Tears" is almost operatic in its approach and build-up; it sounds like something that could have been found a couple of years later on Pink Floyd's The Wall.  Also, some great guitar work.

Judas Priest was one of the first bands to utilize the double-bass drum and the 16th note bass/guitar rhythms which would become a huge influence on heavy metal music as a whole.  Nowhere is this more apparent on the album's closer, "Dissident Aggressor", a fast-tempo and aggressive closer.  On this song, as well as the record as a whole, you can hear their far-reaching influence to not only fellow New Wave of British Heavy Metal rockers, Motorhead, but even to later bands as diverse and different as Slayer and Jane's Addiction (In our opinion, Perry Farrell owes his career to Rob Halford!)

Great album from start to finish.  Its not only the sound of band trying to figure out and harness their sound, but of a new movement in music trying to figure out its place and approach!

\m/

RATING: 4.5 smiles out the window of the crummy hotel over Washington Square out of 5

Dinosaur Jr - "Get Me" (1993)

Hello Friends & Happy Friday!

This song from the great record Where You Been? came out 23 years ago.

We're gettin' old, kids.

Fuck-fuck-fuckity-fuck.

Brenda's Iron Sledge

Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians - "Brenda's Iron Sledge" (1985) - Midnight Music 

Hello Friends,

We've got some vintage (and rare) Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians on the turntable tonight.

This is a 45 RPM single in LP form featuring the single, "Brenda's Iron Sledge" coupled with a live version of the Soft Boys-era rocker, "Only The Stones Remain".

Side Two is a pretty uninteresting Pink Floyd-ish psychedelic jam entitled, "The Pit Of Souls, Parts I-IV".

Eh.

RATING: 3.5 Brenda's Iron Sledge Please Don't Call Me Reg Its Not My Name out of 5

GG Allin - "Carmelita" (1991)

hello friends,

its a gg allin sort of day today.

here he is covering a warren zevon song.

enjoy!

Baroness - "Chlorine & Wine" (2015)

Hello Friends,

Here's the first single from Baroness's end of 2015 release, PURPLE.

Not too shabby.  Plus they got some great cover artwork!

Enjoy!

Bee Gees - "Run To Me" (1972)

Hello Friends,

Here's a great early Bee Gees song from 1972's To Whom It May Concern.

Featuring Barry Gibb (aka 'the hunky' one) on lead vocals.

Enjoy!