Never mind Nevermind: for me, the albums that signified that the 90s were going to be musically exciting were by Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and Pixies…amongst others. Everyone raves about Doolittle and it’s perfectly fine, but for me, Surfer Rosa is still perfection. Originally, it was to be titled Gigantic after the glorious songContinue reading “Why ‘Surfer Rosa’ is still the tits!”
Tag Archives: Classic albums
Aladdin Sane at 50
If Ziggy was Cary Grant, Aladdin Sane was Peter Fonda. Recorded between December 1972 and January 1973, this iconic album, Bowie’s sixth, still feels like a deconstruction of fame and the American Dream from an outsider’s perspective. It’s experimental, as exemplified by Mike Garson’s wayward jazz piano on the wild title track. He goes maniacallyContinue reading “Aladdin Sane at 50”
Overlooked Classics: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Your Funeral, My Trial
The fourth album from Nick and the dapper chaps, released in 1986, remains a little bit sidelined, as far as I’m concerned. It’s Cave ‘s Grand Guignol, one of his most macabre and sexually charged… And that’s going some for someone who is often criticised for the violence of his lyrics. ‘The Carny’ is aContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Your Funeral, My Trial”
Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Dragnet (1979)
The Fall were starting to implode. Martin and Karl were out, replaced by the Scanlon brothers, Craig and Steve, pals of Marc Riley. It’s this line-up that’s the secret to their brilliant, often overlooked second album, Dragnet. Dragnet is excellent, a brooding, murky record, albeit with MES’ typically esoteric lyricism. He had already proved whatContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Dragnet (1979)”
Lost In Music: AR Kane: i
I have a particular interest in bands who occupy liminal spaces, and do their own unique thing, apart from hype machines and trends. A R Kane are one such band. They were dream pop before it attained that definition, proto – shoegazing, or avant-pop way ahead of the curve. I adore their second album, ‘i’.Continue reading “Lost In Music: AR Kane: i”
Overlooked Classics: Julian Cope- ‘Fried’
There just aren’t enough albums that feature male singers with turtle shells on their backs. But then, Julian Cope, surely by now regarded as one of the UK ‘s greatest living songwriters, was always a true eccentric. ‘Fried’ is, I reckon, one of the best albums ever made. From the brittle psych meltdown of ‘ReynardContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Julian Cope- ‘Fried’”
THAT DIFFICULT THIRD ALBUM: Kate Bush – Never For Ever
Yeah,yeah, we all love Hounds Of Love and acknowledge that it’s a game changer, but I am rather partial to Kate Bush’s third album , Never For Ever. Released on September 7th in 1980, it is wilfully eccentric (Babooshka, The Wedding List, Violin) febrile and beautiful. Even the cover points to the esoteric strangeness within:Continue reading “THAT DIFFICULT THIRD ALBUM: Kate Bush – Never For Ever”
Garlands Is 40
More people seem familiar with later work from Cocteau Twins but their debut album Garlands is still beautiful. Having just turned forty, I thought this record was worth a reappraisal. Featuring the original lineup of Liz Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie, the original sound was dark, dense and as tight as a boa constrictor.Continue reading “Garlands Is 40”
OK Computer Is 25
An unexpected alarm call. To be better. To try harder. To push further. Pre- mobile phones; smart devices, stupider voices. To rail against complacency, the government and mass consumption. Do you trust your leaders? The sleeping leading the half-asleep. Choices, barcodes, receipts. A graveyard of technology, rapid fire jump cuts. A need for something simpler,Continue reading “OK Computer Is 25”
I Blame Robert Smith…
At fourteen, I was a bona fide Goth. Black of eyeliner, crimped of hair, and with a tendency towards a shyness and melancholy. Small-town life in rural Perthshire just wasn’t cutting it for me. I wanted to see bands, dance and theatre, but there was nothing within the vicinity and we were a working classContinue reading “I Blame Robert Smith…”
Hit The North 