posted by Mike on January 4, 2008 2:36 PM in Music
Historically, I’ve always been more of a Beatles guy than a Stones guy. That said, ever since appreciating “Gimmie Shelter” through Rock Band, I’ve been delving into (and enjoying) the Rolling Stones’ catalog during the 60s – you know, before Keith Richards became an animated corpse, before Charlie Watts needed to be propped up on the stage Weekend at Bernie’s style, and before Mick Jagger’s bluesy howl became an indeterminable bark.
Here’s a video of the ass-whooping “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, coming out of a decade when people were generally too lost in their psychedelic drug trips to flat-out rock.
posted by Mike on August 21, 2007 8:56 AM in Music
iTunes is, as we all know, an instant gratification service. We pay them $10 and, faster than we can blink, we’re the proud owners of the latest album by pretty much whoever we want. Yet there’s been one gaping hole in the smile of iTunes’ catalogue – The Beatles. For 6 years (since the inception of iTunes) arguably the most influential and iconic band in the last half-century has been inexcusably absent from their download lineup. There’s been mixed reports as to when we will finally be able to access the Fab Four’s dynamic cannon in .m4a format. So the benevolent folks at Apple plugged a Chiclet in for their missing front tooth: John Lennon’s solo albums are now available.
posted by Mike on November 24, 2006 5:07 PM in Music
Sorry for the one day delay here, but we’re back to the good ol’ 80s series after a brief thanksgiving holiday. So pull your collective belts tighter and get ready to stuff some yummy music in after all that turkey and stuffin’
Our second classic nineteen hundred and eighties album is a record by who I like to refer to as “The Beatles of the 80s.” Smart pop rock with innovative hooks, evocative lyrical lines, and superb orchestration. The genius of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding (XTC’s founders) clashed in a hard, tumultuous rumble with the lush, glossy production style of 70s Prog-Freak Todd Rundgren on Skylarking.
The result was one of absolute discontent for XTC. Rundgren and Partridge grappled radically over the sounds on the record and the overall concept of the finished product. But this struggle is ultimately what made XTC’s brilliance more immediate and apparent to the listener. English Settlement and Black Sea only hinted at accomplished sounds on Skylarking.
How the songs blend so seamlessly on this one is just incredible. The opening medley of “Summer’s Cauldron/Grass” automatically earns your trust and from then on, it’s like the second coming of Abbey Road. “Earn enough for us” and “Another Satellite” are two more gems just familiar enough and just experimental enough to work.
The record ends with the most controversial song- a song that was one of the first outright Atheist anthems. The Christian community lashed out at the single “Dear God,” but to any educated person, the song comes off more as an ultimatum to the people that fight over religion and make the world a horrible place for everyone. Given the right-wing power in the U.S. currently and the radical Islamic terrorism in various places, the song is very resonant 20 years after its release.
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