At the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the band were honored with the Sonny Bono Visionary Award (an oxymoron if ever I hear one) all know that a vision without a promise is just a fantasy,’ said Bono. ‘We’re not interested in that.’
Tomlinson broke through as Mr. Banks in David Tomlinson, and cemented his position as the villain in “The Love Bug” and the flim flam man in “Bedknobs And Broomsticks”. The latter brought us this song for the best named UK patriot, a catchy little ode to a two way magic show – B+
Linder Sterling is a British performance artist who is way cooler than the ‘art’ hags we have here in the states. She has more style more angst and more edgy beauty than anyone in her business. Let’s not even dwell on the fact that she’s pals with Morrissey and has a really cool name
Talking Backwards – Real Estate – A consistently disappointing band who are so soft on the sides everything seems to slop over, come up with a killer melody and a tight arrangement ; it is like REM without the mushy lyrics – A
Try yourself if you don’t see your favorite album up there. In any case, enjoy this random selection, it also can also give you a pretty good idea of how I see the world without my contact lenses on.
Kickstarter is awesome! Donate some money get a prize help someone achieve something or other and be a part of it. It’s a team effort sort of things and the sense of belonging is quite nice.
This week has two icons busted for drivin’ a fool. I first must say I have never put celebrity above human. Well, Morrissey is not human but thats a whole different post. This weeks human list includes David Cassidy and Flava Flav! My favorite decades behind the wheel and gettin’ busted.
A Feather’s Not A Bird – Rosanne Cash – I am not sure the central conceit works because the metaphor is too mixed, but it is such a strong image (“a river runs through me”) on a certain level it doesn’t much matter – A-
Coachella is taunting you- like donuts to a diet. You think you can get a hit of that elsewhere? You’re wrong. Trust me. Today’s horror of living on the East Coast and missing this mondo fest will soon float away just like Cali when the San Andreas fault lets loose
Can you consider this as incest? Technically and biologically it’s not incest at all, but it still looks weird to many people: Bobbi Kristina Houston, Whitney Houston’s daughter got married to her longtime boyfriend and adoptive brother Nick Gordon.
Let’s Get Lost – Elliott Smith – Some obscure reference to the legendary Chet Baker –another guy gone before his time and another hard time druggy, and another little boy lost – A
The party may not start til Ke$ha walks in but clear the way cuz she’s headed to the bathroom to puke up her dinner. So begins the newest saga from the hoe we all forgot. Remember her Rollings Stone bit with her mom discussing blow jobs and party antics?
Ride With Me – Schooner – It turned their set around Saturday night but is till better on record where the National tenor type voice shines through and adds depth to a pretty damn good song to start with – A
I am not at all for censorship and this cannot even be regarded as censorship, since the videos are still shown, only during hours when young children aren’t usually without parental supervision. That’s interesting because France isn’t exactly a shy country regarding to sex,
Any time Aretha Franklin is in town is a must see date for all concerned, and when she is playing Radio City Music Hall as she is on this Friday, there is no reason at all not to go and spent some time for this greatest of singers and excellent on stage performer.
Bonnie Portmore – The Rails – aka Richard and Linda Thompson’s kid Kami and her husband James Walbourne singing an old Irish folk song about saving the forest or something. Their voices mesh very nicely on this oldie which dates back to 1976… so yeah even older than papa – A-
The problem is no one is getting rich on this and there is no way to turn back now. Was it a self destructive move to make streaming so simple? Yeah maybe, but remember the sobbing Napster wars?
According to Muckrock, the FBI file identifies Juggalos as a ‘violent street gang’ numbering in the thousands, whose members “sometimes paint their faces to look like wicked clowns’ and ‘continue the dress by carrying small axes’, concluding that ‘the Juggalos [are] a legitimate gang with a large following
A huge improvement, that may be the best concert first four songs Neil has ever played, and what’s better for the audience, he didn’t drop a song, indeed he also played “Birds” and the first set was 12 songs instead of 10 songs.
Pedophilia? This comparison pedophile/carnivore is not going to sit well with people! I understand the predator connection, but it sounds a bit weird, even to me! This is why vegans and vegetarians are never taken seriously, this is too extreme and people laugh at it!
Janie Jones – The Clash – On the list of greatest songs forever, the Clash looks at 1960s party girl scandal girl and wonders what it has done to do with the 9 to 5 world; political sleight of hand let’s them know – A+
Why are we shelling out big coin to hear someone else perform another persons music? I for one really love the idea of ‘covers’ especially cool bands who do covers of generic pop bands. It adds an element of fun to the mix. But schleps doing legends work? Thats a bit off putting.
I personally find the whole thing very suspicious, Lady Gaga re-recorded a new version of her song ‘Do What U Want’ with Christina Aguilera, which dropped on New Year’s Eve… her first version was of course featuring R. Kelly, and you probably remember their performance
Love Child – Diana Ross And the Supremes – A bastards story but also a Motown classic, sends me back to the back of my dad’s Jag on a Sunday afternoon driving back from Blackpool – A+
I am not the author but as I said in a previous comment, I was raped by a “rock star” when I was 16 years old and he was in his 20s. My husband suggests I may feel some empowerment by outing my rapist. It was Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes (and several other bands/side projects he fronts, bright eyes being the most popular). I hope you are right about helping the next girl but I’m waiting for the backlash.
Wow, this has aged well… actually this has improved, The Steve Stills sample is superb and PE’s target, the corrupt and corrupting world of basketball (Biggie connected it to selling crack some 20 years ago) is a dangerous target… great movie as well – A
‘What’s unique about it is the sound of my voice. There’s no one else who sings like me. They might sing better than me, but no one sings exactly like me. My voice sticks out on the radio by a mile.
I don’t know who got this idea but they were onto something,… Henry Rollins as an action figure talking like the real deal? This could work or even be a bit dangerous if you believe this video.
Iz you Down – Kid Ink, Tyga – Kid Ink is pretty good but Tyga remains a major annoyance, the two don’t rap well together and while the beats are good somebody forgot a memorable chorus – C
Francis has compared the third track ‘Greens and Blues’ to a great Pixies’ classic: ‘It was my attempt to come up with another song that would – musically, emotionally and psychologically – sit in the same place that ‘Gigantic’ has sat. Not that I could ever replace that song
Harvest Moon – Neil Young – An answer song to not “Harvest” but “Heart Of Gold” where the heart is found and has been lived with for many a long year – A-
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Aretha Franklin – I saw Franklin perform this the day after Whitney Houston died, February 17th, 2012 at Radio City Music Hall and it was superior to this take but not by much. Both are Gospel, but the pain that night is something only real grieving can match – A
The extended guitar intro is excellent, the groove points directly backwards to Young Americans even as it seems to jumpstart itself into a world of cocain addiction, fascist dream and insanity, and, hey, I am happy to hear it twice – A
Apparently, she also wants to use others’ drama in her pop songs. Her single ‘XO’ includes an audio sample from the 1986 space shuttle Challenger explosion, the one that killed the seven crew members… err that’s really bad taste, and not very well received by the NASA people and the families of the lost ones,
I Don’t Eat Animals – Melanie Safka – This is the “Brand New Key” chick all grown up, and with the same strange voice somewhere between nursery rhyme and razorblade; no wonder Moz loves her – B
New York – Angel Haze – the final release of 2013, after poet cum rapper got sick of waiting for Interscope to release , I’m considering 2014 so I can include it in my 2014 brain. This is a reggae beat ode and very very good – B+
Future Farmers Of America – Lou Reed – It sounds like it has escaped off his New York album, with a swift powerful kick and hard buzzing guitars from his final masterpiece as the millennium turned – A
Chicks, Man – The Del Lords – This might not be the best song of 2013 (I think I put it at # 3) but it is my absolute fave and it goes to the heart of what I was writing earlier about happy-sad songs, here you get a perfect pattern song that ends with death! – A+
Written by Phil Spector along with Brill Building giants Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, Bono has he work cut out for him trying to match Darlene loves heartwrenching take , that it has become a holiday staple in this version is purely because only a band with the heart and sincerity could even try to match it
My daughters are in fourth grade now and to see the BELIEF in their eyes and to hear the EXCITEMENT in their stories is priceless. I never questioned how Santa Claus came while there were still adults present but my daughters did. I lie more during the holidays than any other time of year.
It’s back and worse than ever! Yes, you remember when Helen and Mary used to write this for us but then they stopped because the dynamic duo got sick of it but since they are both enjoying their vacation and I alone am responsible for the next EIGHT DAYS!, I’m am resurrecting it. With any luck no one will read this because it sucks
I’m amazed at how much I write about KISS and Gene Simmons. I’m not a fan and I think it may be that I am really stunned at how all these years after their career peaked they have remained so much in the spotlight and oddly relevant. I also have never cut and paste an entire piece before and I aint gonna lie- I feel sorta lazy for doing so.
I would like to thank all our readers, while we are small, we have had over a million readers over the years and we have done this simply through the writing, no faking readership or viewers, and I appreciate you spending your time with us.
By now everybody must be sick of rock nyc’s obsessive writing about Morrissey. I am nearing the end of his biography and you can expect at least one more “Morrissey In Segments”. But before that I thought I’d take a sprint down the solo albums, and review and grade em.
you can tell the strength of a Costello album from the outtakes. ‘Watching The Detectives’ and ‘Radio Radio’ from My Aim Is True. The superb ‘Big Tears’ and ‘Tiny Steps’ from This Year’s Model. The weak ‘Talking In The Dark’, the awful ‘Wednesday Week’ and the touching ‘My Funny Valentine’ from Armed Forces. From the Get Happy!! sessions in Holland, a splendidly rewritten ‘Clowntime Is Over’ and a cover of Van McCoy’s ‘Getting Mighty Crowded’.
I was still waiting outside when I heard the guitars, telling me there was some action happening on stage and I decided that, if I wanted to see something, I couldn’t respect the rules anymore… After all, they were celebrating punk history and anarchy, so it was time to try something a bit unruly
EDM is so folded into popular music that it didn’t appear as a THING at all, so according to Z100, pop music 2013 is dance pop and that’s really it. Perhaps they are right, or perhaps it was just a bad year for Z100 talent promoters.
ever before has the man in the middle of the madness written so well about being in the middle of the madness; Morrissey puts you front and center as wild hordes of American teens go insane, tearing off his shirt, and another shirt and another shirt and while anyone else would revel or despair in it, Morrissey feels slighted because they are ignoring this insanity in the UK
Blythe was being treated unfairly by the mainstream media, the Czech government and even the US governmental agencies who basically left him to his own accord. It was a great lesson in justice and when all was said and done, Blythe was a free man. The financial toll on his band Lamb of God was huge.
Most of the artists have put away the heavy makeup and Aqua Net of the 80s and let their more natural selves shine through (though not all: Martha Davis, Marc Almond, Anabella Lwin, Chrissie Hynde, Peter Murphy, and Siouxie Sioux are still sporting plenty of eyeliner).
