I don’t think I’ve really written much about classic Siouxsie and the Banshees albums before, so thought it was time to rectify that. Juju is one of my favourites from my teens. I came to It late, probably the late eighties, as it had already been released in 1981, and I was too young toContinue reading “Lost In Music: Siouxsie and the Banshees- Juju”
Tag Archives: Classic albums
Overlooked Classics: The Kills- Keep On Your Mean Side (2003)
Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, aka The Kills, arrived at a strange time for grunge/blues rock like lizards wriggling in a tin.. Indie sleaze, or whatever the tastemakers deemed it that week, was becoming passe, and genres were starting to blur, so a duo who came on like Royal Trux playing Beefheart were of courseContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Kills- Keep On Your Mean Side (2003)”
Mercury Prize 2023
What does everyone reckon to this year’s Mercury Prize nominations then? I’m pleased at the diversity this year, as I like a wide range of music. It’d be excellent to see Shygirl win for Nymph , as she bends beats into interesting shapes, and Sega Bodega are superb producers.Lankum are great, but I can’t imagineContinue reading “Mercury Prize 2023”
Overlooked Classics: Pulp- This Is Hardcore
Perhaps “overlooked” is a stretch- it was a huge critical and commercial success – but I reckon that Pulp’s sixth album is often forgotten in lieu of previous album ‘Different Class’. I prefer ‘This Is Hardcore’. Released in 1998, it wasn’t an album fans expected to hear. A sombre affair, it was the sound ofContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Pulp- This Is Hardcore”
Overlooked Classics: Santogold
Artists who change their names mid-career often confuse me, but I can make exceptions. Santi White, whose eponymous debut solo album came out in 2008 under the name Santogold, is a bit of a musical genius, I think.She’s now better known as Santigold. What a debut it is. She’d been part of the millennial neo-Continue reading “Overlooked Classics: Santogold”
Lost In Music: PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love
Recently, Ezra Furman said in a podcast that her ideal bar would have PJ Harvey ‘s To Bring You My Love on the jukebox. That sounds like perfection to me. Harvey’s third album, released in February 1995, was a startling departure from her previous brittle albums, Dry and Rid Of Me . A more febrileContinue reading “Lost In Music: PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love”
‘Modern Life Is Rubbish ‘ is 30!
“We’ve done it”, proclaimed Damon Albarn on one of his many Select magazine covers in 1991. “We’ve killed baggy!” He’d always been a little too drunk on his own chutzpah, that lad. Still, he had a point. While jeans just got bigger and flappier, and a nation of saucer -eyed kids were getting “mad ferContinue reading “‘Modern Life Is Rubbish ‘ is 30!”
Overlooked Classics: Ezra Furman- Day Of The Dog (2013)
What a doozie. Ezra Furman ‘s second studio album after her work with The Harpoons is absolutely sublime. Inspired as much by punk rock as gospel, doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll, the song writing was kicked up several notches into something really special. Fusing her spiritual side with And Maybe God Is A Train, withContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Ezra Furman- Day Of The Dog (2013)”
Why ‘Surfer Rosa’ is still the tits!
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!”
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”