Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
At 12:59 AM 4/16/99 -0400, you wrote: I don't know how this thread evolved really...but why does every writer of note always tag "I Want You Back" as such a great song? Is it because it really IS a great song or is it because...what? Speaking only for myself, Tera, I never made any claims for I Want You Back being a great song. I did say I thought it was a great single, which is a different, though not unrelated, thing altogether. From the second that piano slides in at the opening, everything about the record--the RECORD--works to emotional and rhythmic perfection: the bass (often doubled, I think, by the piano), the strings, the funky guitar, the drums that explode like gunshots at the beginning of each chorus, the brothers call and response--the whole arrangement and production--plus Michael's miraculous vocal, especially his phrasing, but also the shift from Michael to Jermaine...man, it's all just incredible. And the song? You know, it's pretty darn good, too. Not great, maybe, not al by itself, but then with great singles, it's often the singer, or the overall sound, in tandem with the song that takes everything to another level. --david cantwell PS: Great list, btw, Tera, espeically all the Aretha and Living For The City PPS: Great righteous tirade, Donald!
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
Don't y'all l listen to ANY soul? One more baker's dozen of perfect singles. No rhyme, reason or order, just perfection: David Ruffin's My Whole World Ended The O'Jays' Backstabbers The Staple Singers' I'll Take You There Bill Withers' Lean On Me The J5's I Want You Back Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up Public Enemy's Fight The Power Afrika Bambaataa's Looking For the Perfect Beat Steve Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered Frederick Knight's I've Been Lonely For So Long The Four Tops' Bernadette Jerry Butler's Only The Strong Survive Wyclef Jean's Gone Till November --david cantwell
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
umm Dan Penn(ington) - Do Right Woman K [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: David Ruffin's My Whole World Ended The O'Jays' Backstabbers The Staple Singers' I'll Take You There Bill Withers' Lean On Me The J5's I Want You Back Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up Public Enemy's Fight The Power Afrika Bambaataa's Looking For the Perfect Beat Steve Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered Frederick Knight's I've Been Lonely For So Long The Four Tops' Bernadette Jerry Butler's Only The Strong Survive Wyclef Jean's Gone Till November
RE: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
Dan Penn(ington) - Do Right Woman K Oh. I'll take the version done by Maria Doyle in "The Commitments". *swoon* Chris
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
In a message dated 4/15/99 11:15:10 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Dan Penn(ington) - Do Right Woman James Bobby Purify "I'm Your Puppet" written by Mr. Penn. Slim
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
Kiss - Do You Love Me? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thursday, April 15, 1999 1:57 PM Subject: Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime) In a message dated 4/15/99 11:15:10 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Dan Penn(ington) - Do Right Woman James Bobby Purify "I'm Your Puppet" written by Mr. Penn. Slim
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
I don't know how this thread evolved really...but why does every writer of note always tag "I Want You Back" as such a great song? Is it because it really IS a great song or is it because...what? Yeah, I thought it was a good song and in terms of numbers sold, it ranks up there...but it really isn't that great and that's my humble and honest opinion. Anyway, just to be a pesky fly, here are some of my favorites soul-wise: I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye Chain Of Fools - Aretha Franklin I Never Loved A Man - Aretha If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight The Pips Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding Livin' For The City -Stevie Wonder It's A Man's Man's Man's World - James Brown Respect Yourself - Staple Singers Tobacco Road - Edgar Winter and oh yes, anything by Al Green Tera -Original Message- From: David Cantwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: passenger side [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thursday, April 15, 1999 12:47 PM Subject: Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime) Don't y'all l listen to ANY soul? One more baker's dozen of perfect singles. No rhyme, reason or order, just perfection: David Ruffin's My Whole World Ended The O'Jays' Backstabbers The Staple Singers' I'll Take You There Bill Withers' Lean On Me The J5's I Want You Back Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up Public Enemy's Fight The Power Afrika Bambaataa's Looking For the Perfect Beat Steve Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered Frederick Knight's I've Been Lonely For So Long The Four Tops' Bernadette Jerry Butler's Only The Strong Survive Wyclef Jean's Gone Till November --david cantwell
Re: Weller's Prime
Once again Jerry is wrong! This is too easy. Like shooting MPBs on the fluff list. Scritti Politti is another fine, fine band from Leeds. They were formed in the British punk rock movement of the late 70s, but moved into a much more poppier, soulful sound in the 80s. And I really think it worked for them. Cupid Psyche 85 is one of my more favorite lps from that time. I still love to listen to *Perfect Way* and *Pray Like Arethea Franklin*. I'm again late in joining this...but what the hey? Marie, couldn't agree more... Loved that album! "Perfect Way" was a darned close to perfect single... It was a lush, very well produced and well written body of songs... And I believe that this isn't the first time that Scritti Politti has come up on this list. Interesting. g morgan
Re: Weller's Prime
Once again Jerry is wrong! This is too easy. Like shooting MPBs on the fluff list. Scritti Politti is another fine, fine band from Leeds. They were formed in the British punk rock movement of the late 70s, And they had a small part to play in the growing amount of music being produced at the time. Many bands were forming in the late 70's who were unable to get record deals from cautious major labels. Bands such as Desperate Bicycles, Television Personalities started to produced their own singles on their own labels. Scritti Politti's first single took this one stage further. _Skank Bloc Bologna_ had a detailed breakdown of all the production costs involved in producing the record on a photocopied outer sleeve, showing how easy the whole process could be. Of course small independent labels, such as Rough Trade, Small Wonder, Zoo, Pop Aural and Postcard were also instumental in encouraging the explosion of bands in the wake of the whole punk thing. Andy Andy Benham Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel.No. 0121 414 4126
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
Andy picked: Since you brought it up here are a few alternative suggestion for the perfect single. Pogues Kirsty MacColl - Fairy tale of New York Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love Only Ones - Another girl, another planet Joy Division - Atmosphere All damned good singles. Partial to the first two and most partial to the Buzzcocks! Now that's a single! Caught them, hmm, 89 maybe? in Boston. Great show! They still had it without a doubt! Morgan
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
I'll chime in...cause I should be finishing this darn thesis: Marshall Crenshaw / Cynical Girl Kate. Since you brought it up here are a few alternative suggestion for the perfect single. Pogues Kirsty MacColl - Fairy tale of New York Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love Only Ones - Another girl, another planet Joy Division - Atmosphere
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
On Wed, 14 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'll chime in...cause I should be finishing this darn thesis: Marshall Crenshaw / Cynical Girl Kate. Amen. I LOVE that damn song. 'September Gurls' by Big Star is nearly as irresistable. -jim
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
In a message dated 4/14/1999 12:55:41 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Is this still available? Or available elsewhere? On cd? I loved that song in college. Hi Chris, Sorry, don't know, I'm playing the original vinyl versions purchased when they were released! There were only a few LPs that I replaced with CDs and this wasn't one of them (Astral Weeks and Something/Anything were exceptions). Try doing a search at one of music sites, I'm sure that if they are available, you'll be able to find them. Good luck, Kate (and I'll also throw in the dB's / "Bad Reputation" for good measure)
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: "You're My Favorite Waste Of Time" is on Marshall Crenshaw's CD "The Nine Volt Years", which is a pretty good collection of outtakes and rarities from the '80's. It's not a crucial buy but it's fun for fans of the man. It's also on MCA's promo-only best-of collection that they released to promote his one-and-only MCA release a few years back. A really nice piece of work, actually, including songs from his various WB releases, "...Waste of Time," his Buddy Holly number from "LaBamba," and a couple of songs from the MCA album. About the only glaring omission is "Maryanne," which was a minor radio hit (around here, anyway) when it came out. It's comparatively rare, though not so rare that I don't see it turn up at least once or twice a year somewhere. --Jon Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wollaston, Massachusetts
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
"You're My Favorite Waste Of Time" is on Marshall Crenshaw's CD "The Nine Volt Years", its also on his live abum - "my truck is my home" -JF ___ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
"Go Back" - Crabby Appleton
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
Reply to: Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime) That was a great record. They had another awesome song called "Lucy." Then Michael Fennelly, the guitar player and singer, went and put out a pretty lame solo album. Any idea what happened to him? JKellySC1 wrote: "Go Back" - Crabby Appleton
Re: The perfect single (was Re: Weller's Prime)
Hey there, Tom... Matthew Sweet: "Girlfriend" Material Issue:"What Girls Want" Oh, that sweet, sweet early-90s alterapop... Oh, great tunes, I'll toss in some obvious ones, crank the radio, dance at the stop light singles... Urge Overkill - Positive Bleeding (it was a single in Chicago anyway) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (the year punk broke) Rick Springfield - Jesse's Girl (this is not a joke) Me and Julio - Paul Simon (played rarely enough to make radio listening a pleasure) Mercury Poisoning - Graham Parker now that I think about it... everything Stiff Records ever put out, ever Later... CK ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Re: Weller's Prime
On Tue, 13 Apr 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ha, that's funny I had a similar on-going conversation with my eldest brother about the Jam and the Clash, although this debate was over which band was better. I sided with the Jam, although I eventually saw the error of my ways. You know, I said this at Nashville Extravaganza to the absolute horror of Bill Silvers and Chris Knaus. Also, in an attempt to remove any last shred of respectibility and credibility, I'll repeat it publically. The Clash did absolutely nothing for me. I NEVER understood the critic's fascination with this group and I absolutely never understood my cohort's slavish devotion to them either. They always sounded like a second-rate bar band to me. Always liked that they wore their politics on their sleeve but I found their relative degree of "punkness" to be rather tame. So, they failed me as a pop band and from the other side, as a punk band. Not musical enough and too safe staid, at the same time. I won't even mention the vocal quality...ugh! I still hear "Rock the Casbah" in my nightmares. Oh well, I did like some Big Audio Dynamite material though. Perhaps, that might help things. Just thought I'd confess up. Let the flaming begin. g This could even get me in more hot water than the Portland comments. jerry
Re: Weller's Prime
Ha, that's funny I had a similar on-going conversation with my eldest brother about the Jam and the Clash, although this debate was over which band was better. I sided with the Jam, although I eventually saw the error of my ways. Hey, at least you can now admit to it...g I once thought that Prefab Sprout would become an important band... Wha? But, I've got to gush here... Joe Strummer!!! Need I say more? Morgan
Re: Weller's Prime
On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Morgan Keating wrote: Oh you might like this Jerry... Was just listening to WFNX's Flashback Lunch and heard Erasure's "Chains of Love", leading back to the ol' Communards thread (can't remember if it was this list though???)... It was this list..but be quiet, Morgan. Bringing up the Communards can get you killed around here. NP: Wondermints 2nd time around at this point. Hey, how are they? Know nothing about 'em 'cept by name? Very very nice. Extremely layered and lush pop. Sometimes extremely reminiscent of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys. Occasionally veering into Raspberries territory. Not crunchy at all. Heavily produced, just as I like it. Done for the dayunless my Clash comments get me skewered. Jerry
Re: Weller's Prime
My brother and I had the same ongoing debate when we were kids over Quisp vs. Quake. --Jon Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wollaston, Massachusetts Quisp of course... Second only Pink Panther cereal. morgan
RE: Weller's Prime
--junior PS. Cap'n Crunch over Quisp or Quake anyday, baby... Amen. Worth the shredded mouth for that sugary taste. Crunchberries - even better. A friend mentioned that she saw an ALL Cap'n Crunchberries cereal - and we both thought that took all the fun out of it. Using all my fluff and somebody else's, too. Chris np: The Beta Band, _The Three E.P.'s_
RE: Weller's Prime
The Jam would say outragous things just to piss the Clash off... -Original Message- From: Jon Weisberger [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 2:49 PM To: passenger side Subject: RE: Weller's Prime Joonyah says: Weren't there political (or "pop-political" to be more accurate) distinctions to be made between the Clash and the Jam back in the day? Dunno where the Clash fit in - not my cup of tea, you might say - but Weller was pretty heavily involved with the Labor Party-related Red Wedge, at least during his Style Council days. Or so my not-always-reliable memory tells me, anyhow. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: Weller's Prime
I still do. Paddy McAloon and Paul Buchanan (of the Blue Nile) are two favorite pop songwriters. In an alternate universe, the Sprouts are as big as the Beatles ever were. Dear lord!!! So, I'm not the only only one who loves 'em? Without a doubt, damn shame that they had little to no support... (And people have cone-shaped heads - but that's another Point.) :) Still perplexed and p.o.'d that _Andromeda Heights_ hasn't come out in the U.S. Gawd only knows??? morgan
Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime
Don Yates wrote:
On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Jerry Curry wrote:
The Clash did absolutely nothing for me. I NEVER understood the critic's
fascination with this group and I absolutely never understood my cohort's
slavish devotion to them either.
Ya know, a few years ago I would've given Curry a good thrashing for the
above remarks, but I have to admit their music has not aged well. Yeah,
their politics were generally admirable, but smart politics don't
necessary equate to good songs -- most of Strummer's lyrics now sound
unbearably awkward and painfully obvious to these ears, and later Clash
albums like Sandinista and Combat Rock are unlistenable.
There's good, even great tunes on SANDINISTA, ("Police On My Back", "Somebody
Got Murdered", "Hitsville, U.K.", "Charlie Don't Surf" to start) but you have
to work to find 'em. (Reminds me of BEING THERE that wayg)COMBAT ROCK is two
essentially novelty songs, granted.
Of all the early British
punk bands, I think the Pistols have aged the best.--don
Matter of taste, but this seems like in a sense you're penalizing the Clash for
standing for something (and that message aging) while rewarding the Sex Pistols
for basically standing for nothing, nothing but themselves anyway. "The only
band that matters"? Well, maybe not, and the message was articulated better
earlier in their career, but I don't think it aged so badly as that some of it
was awkward to start with. And wasn't the tension between Strummer/message and
Jones/music a contributor to the late bloat and eventual split-up anyhow?
b.s.
n.p. THE SEBADOH (here Friday)
b.s.
RE: Weller's Prime
A precursor to the Blur vs. Oasis battle??? g That shit made headlines in the UK no doubt... Yikes! OK, got to end this thread now... morgan At 03:03 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote: The Jam would say outragous things just to piss the Clash off... -Original Message- From:Jon Weisberger [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent:Tuesday, April 13, 1999 2:49 PM To: passenger side Subject: RE: Weller's Prime Joonyah says: Weren't there political (or "pop-political" to be more accurate) distinctions to be made between the Clash and the Jam back in the day? Dunno where the Clash fit in - not my cup of tea, you might say - but Weller was pretty heavily involved with the Labor Party-related Red Wedge, at least during his Style Council days. Or so my not-always-reliable memory tells me, anyhow. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: Weller's Prime
Morgan Keating teased: A precursor to the Blur vs. Oasis battle??? g That shit made headlines in the UK no doubt... Yikes! OK, got to end this thread now... Blur and Oasis combined (and I own the first Oasis record, and 4 1/2 Blur records) don't equal the qualitative output of either the Jam or the Clash separately. As far as that's concerned, Supergrass and Radiohead beat the much more hyped duo you mention. (Though I'm keeping an eye on Radiohead that way...) And yeah, I know you were teasing, but I wonder sometimes at the overheated British press. Anybody ever hear that 3rd Sleeper record that never got released here...um, never mind. g b.s. who can't believe he's confessing to britpop here...g
Re: Weller's Prime
Bill sez: And yeah, I know you were teasing, but I wonder sometimes at the overheated British press. I reply: They really do seem to have the KNACK (do I dare??? must resist the era of skinny ties) for creating some artificially charged situations. I guess that goes for anywhere in the world for that matter. However, I've heard alot of British artists complain of this problem... b.s. who can't believe he's confessing to britpop here...g morgan "don't you feel better though?" g
Re: Weller's Prime
At 03:39 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote: n.p. The Jam SOUND AFFECTS/ALL MOD CONS Ah, Mr, Weller in his prime! I always liked Setting Sons just a bit better than All Mod Cons, but you really can't go wrong with any of the first five albums. I respect the hell out of Weller for pulling the plug on that band when he did, but the Style Council was a sorry substitute. My sentiments exactly... It was such a letdown... True, it was time for them to split most likely, but sheesh... Sophie and I had a major Weller experience in Fletcher's in Baltimore last week. Seems we wandered in there at noon, shot pool for two hours and had the place to ourselves so we loaded up the jukebox on Jam songs and the bartender turned up the volume. "Funeral Pyre" never sounded cooler than thru a bigass set o' speakers with a Sierra Nevada Porter or three. :) Now, that sounds like a splendid way to spend the afternoon! Morgan "wish I could be like David Watts"
Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime
On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Carl Abraham Zimring wrote: Speaking of Murvin, I only know of one of his albums, the 1976 LP which "Police Thieves" came from. Does he have anything else out, and is it any good? He's released a number of albums, but since I'm not a Murvin expert, I wouldn't know which one(s) to recommend.--don
Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime
On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, BARNARD wrote: I'm not so hard on Sandanista as Don (even though, as a rule, I do generally do prefer alcohol records to reefer records...g). I think it had to be something stronger than reefer that convinced Strummer that he could rap. He could very well be the least funky white guy to ever attempt to perform contemporary black music -- he makes Pat Boone look like Soul Brother Number One in comparison. I heard one of my DJs play "The Magnificent Seven" the other day, and I was horrified. I thought I knew that stuff hadn't aged well, but I had no idea. Not only were the lyrics awkward as hell, but Strummer's clueless rapping was an embarassment. I doubt a more inept rap song was ever perpetrated by anyone, black or white or whatever. Listening to that lame shit could almost make one appreciate Vanilla Ice.g And sure a number of their reggae experiments were better, but I don't think they were nearly as good as some folks will tell you. Junior Murvin kicked their ass on "Police and Thieves." I definitely prefer the early stuff, but even their best albums (the first one and London Calling) are occasionally marred by Strummer's lyrical clumsiness. I think all of their albums have dated to one degree or another -- the earlier ones less so (since they at least more or less stuck to music they could convincingly play), but still too much for me to get much use out of 'em in 1999.--don n.p. King Tubby on KCMU
SV: Weller's Prime
Hey, at least you can now admit to it...g I once thought that Prefab Sprout would become an important band... Wha? Morgan Chrisopher wrote: I still do. Paddy McAloon and Paul Buchanan (of the Blue Nile) are two favorite pop songwriters. In an alternate universe, the Sprouts are as big as the Beatles ever were. (And people have cone-shaped heads - but that's another Point.) Still perplexed and p.o.'d that _Andromeda Heights_ hasn't come out in the U.S. It became a habit for me and a couple of friends to take a couple of yearly expeditions to London all through the eightees. To drink mostly and to explore the clubs and record stores. As we dived into the nightclubs, all charachterized by no sign outside, we got the strong feeling thath there was a diversions between the Damned/Ramones fans and those who liked the "newer" stuff. They all sat on diffrent tables. What they all said, at no matter what time, was nothing is happening here now. That seemed to be the refrain. I felt more than mildly schizofrenic in all this. Liking them all, the Damned,Jam, Pistols and the Clash. Then there was Style Council (the beer always cost more in the clubs that played them) and Prefab Sprout. I went bananaz about them when "Steve Mcqueen" came out, and oh Blue Nile,. and I admit that I was a big the Smiths fan from the beginning. I believe it was the same year that Steve Mcqueen came out that Darden Smith gave out his first, Native Soils on RediMix, and the same year I spent a week with Timbuk 3 in London, telling me about Townes. Okay so it must have been in the mid eightees that I converted. Don't want to be any more specific, those days were all to hazy. Geir Oslo np: Townes. LATOQ
Re: Weller's Prime
At 02:33 PM 4/13/99 -0400, you wrote: Ha, that's funny I had a similar on-going conversation with my eldest brother about the Jam and the Clash, although this debate was over which band was better. I sided with the Jam, although I eventually saw the error of my ways. Hey, at least you can now admit to it...g I once thought that Prefab Sprout would become an important band... Wha? But, I've got to gush here... Joe Strummer!!! Need I say more? I'll grudgingly admit a warm affection for Prefab Sprout. The guy who managed the record store I worked at -- same guy who proclaimed that Roddy Frame had written more great songs than Lennon and McCartney after the first Aztec Camera album came out -- popped on Steve Mc I was taken by the hooks and the warmth of Paddy McLoon's voice. He also turned me on to Scritti Politti and the Blueberries (?) who did Cath. Jeff Miles of Music mail order http://www.milesofmusic.com FREE printed Catalog: (818) 883-9975 fax: (818) 992-8302, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt-Country, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, power pop and tons more.
Re: Weller's Prime
On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, Jeff Weiss wrote: I'll grudgingly admit a warm affection for Prefab Sprout. The guy who managed the record store I worked at -- same guy who proclaimed that Roddy Frame had written more great songs than Lennon and McCartney after the first Aztec Camera album came out -- popped on Steve Mc I was taken by the hooks and the warmth of Paddy McLoon's voice. He also turned me on to Scritti Politti and the Blueberries (?) who did Cath. This paragraph Weissexclusively prohibits you from EVER making fun of my music tastes. Scritti Politti, indeed. Barely stifling a snicker.g Jerry
Re: Curry and the Clash (was Re: Weller's Prime
At 01:44 PM 4/13/99 -0700, you wrote: On Tue, 13 Apr 1999, BARNARD wrote: I'm not so hard on Sandanista as Don (even though, as a rule, I do generally do prefer alcohol records to reefer records...g). I think it had to be something stronger than reefer that convinced Strummer that he could rap. He could very well be the least funky white guy to ever attempt to perform contemporary black music -- he makes Pat Let me offer Randy Newman as an example of a guy who shouldn't ever attempt to rap again. Lou Reed's Original Wrapper is admirable but really not very good. Jeff Miles of Music mail order http://www.milesofmusic.com FREE printed Catalog: (818) 883-9975 fax: (818) 992-8302, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt-Country, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, power pop and tons more.
Re: Weller's Prime
Don Yates writes: Listening to that lame shit could almost make one appreciate Vanilla Ice.g Who reportedly sold out the Middle East in Cambridge the other evening (no small task) with his new Rage Against the Machine ripoff schtick. It takes a lot to make me question my faith in God, but this just about does it. Oh yeah. I gave "London Calling" a listen a few weeks back for the first time in probably four or five years. Still works for me, except for a couple of tracks like "Lovers Rock." But it's hard to be objective about that record, which, like Elvis Costello's "Armed Forces" and Cheap Trick's "Heaven Tonight," is kind of an aural scrapbook of my life during that period. As infrequently as I listen to some of those records, every time I put one of them on I remember little things about that period that I'd never have otherwise thought of. There aren't many records that do that to me. --Jon Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wollaston, Massachusetts
RE: Weller's Prime
Jon says: Dunno where the Clash fit in - not my cup of tea, you might say - but Weller was pretty heavily involved with the Labor Party-related Red Wedge, at least during his Style Council days. Or so my not-always-reliable memory tells me, anyhow. Jon is correct (and I'm amazed that Jon has even heard of Style Council--pretty impressive for a guy who pays so little attention to rock that he's never heard "Stairway to Heaven") that Weller made the leftist politics of the Jam's records more overt by doing the Red Wedge tours with Style Council. But what Junior is remembering is an earlier (mis)perception on the part of many in the punk orthodoxy that the Jam were conservatives. This stemmed almost entirely from one Melody Maker interview in which Weller hinted that he was thinking of voting Tory in the next election (the one that put Maggie Thatcher in power) because he was so fed up with the Labor party's inability to do anything about unemployment, etc. He didn't vote Tory, probably couldn't have voted Tory unless forced to at gunpoint, but it tarnished his reputation for a while among the punk and press orthodoxy in the UK. He had to get fairly explicit in his leftism to fully live down the comment, I think, and that happened mainly in the last days of the Jam and then during the Style Council years. Before that, he was often accused by the British press of fence-sitting and being too noncommital politically, because his songs tended to be sort of slices of working class life rather than sloganeering polemics (like, say, the Clash's later work). And the perception of Weller as a conservative wasn't helped by his Mod infatuation and the tendency of the British press to sometimes cast the Clash and the Pistols in the role of the original Mods' arch enemies, the Rockers; in their pre-revival form, Mods were generally viewed as lower middle class and establishmentarian, while the rockers were viewed as working class laborites. (As Iain Noble, I think, has explained, the reality was that both groups were generally working class, but that wasn't the stereotype.) I'm not sure that the idea of the Jam as center-rightists got entirely lost in the US translation, at least at first; in NYC there were even some punk fans who wouldn't bother to go see the Jam on their first tour, dismissing them as poseurs. If the whole debate never gained much widespread attention here, it's more because the Jam themselves never got much attention here either; they were simply too parochially British to capture the attention of a lot of US fans (though the small following they had was certainly fanatical), and most US critics didn't like them much either. The Clash were the band that changed everything for me, but they lost me after London Calling. I was a huge Jam fan and remained one long after I'd given up on the Clash, and though I love to delve back into the Clash's pre-Sandinista stuff, in general I find that the Jam have worn much better than the Clash. I'll agree with Junior that Stiff Little Fingers have aged well, but I won't grant Don the Pistols; though the first record still sounds great, it's a much less fresh, more nostalgic listening experience than either the Jam or the Clash, IMHO. And if all this doesn't flush Gary Wilson out of hiding, he must have unsubscribed. --Amy
Re: Weller's Prime
Hey there, Mr. Curry... You know, I said this at Nashville Extravaganza to the absolute horror of Bill Silvers and Chris Knaus. Also, in an attempt to remove any last shred of respectibility and credibility, I'll repeat it publically. The Clash did absolutely nothing for me. I believe my reaction at the time was to scream at the top of my lungs. At this point, however, I'll be a little more controlled. Sandinista is about one LP too long, and Combat Rock gets jokey, and I even bought Are You Red-y *shudder* -- but London Calling is frigging incredible and holds up as album length punk rock (which is mighty rare) and their two CD greatest hits that came out about 10 yrs ago is mighty solid. Picking the gems from some thinner albums (see Sandinista). And one of my favorite quotes, "The Sex Pistols were a more political band. The Clash was mostly about hair cuts." Joe Strummer Later... CK whose parents wouldnt let him go see The Clash at SUNY Binghamton for the Combat Rock tour. ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Re: Weller's Prime
Marie says: Once again Jerry is wrong! This is too easy. Like shooting MPBs on the fluff list. Scritti Politti is another fine, fine band from Leeds. They were formed in the British punk rock movement of the late 70s, but moved into a much more poppier, soulful sound in the 80s. And I really think it worked for them. Cupid Psyche 85 is one of my more favorite lps from that time. I still love to listen to *Perfect Way* and *Pray Like Arethea Franklin*. And "The 'Sweetest' Girl," one of the best Marxist/poststructuralist love songs ever written. I loved that band. Oh, and I just had the name of the band Jeff Weiss called The Blueberries: It was the Bluebells. A fine Scottish band in the heyday of all those great Postcard (!) bands, though I don't think the Bluebells were on Postcard themselves. --Amy
