Friday, March 28, 2008

The Worst New Wave Cover Song... Ever

I would like to nominate the immortal Jack Jones, who stole Bill Murray's bad lounge act parody and parlayed it into a career of impressive crapsuckiness, for his version of "Every Breath You Take".




"I'm here all week, tell your friends".

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Return Of The Killer Bs



The B-52's latest release, "Funplex", is their first studio album in 16 years. The album picks up pretty much where the Bs left off, with "Love Shack" type tempos and party attitudes in many of the songs.

"Juliet Of The Spirits" stands out. It's no coincidence that Fred Schneider is absent on this cut. Throughout the rest of the album, Fred Schneider's voice is a distracting irritant rather than a highlight.

Walking the line between campy and cool is a difficult challenge that Fred and The B-52s have done so often I have come to expect it. But that spirited nuance is missing in Schneider's voice on this record. Too bad. "Deviant Ingredient" sounds great until Fred chimes in. Almost sounds as if he is reading off a cue card at times.

A couple of live versions round out the album. "Private Idaho" and "Planet Claire", both recorded during a show at the Roxy, prove that the B-52s can still kick it live!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Two Cougars and Five Daves Inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Madonna, John Mellencamp and The Dave Clark Five take top honors at the March 10 ceremony.

With more than 200 million albums sold, Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the very first year of her eligibility.

The induction of 60's "British Invasion" rockers, The Dave Clark Five, came less than two weeks after losing lead singer Mike Smith to pneumonia at age 64.

"Heartland rocker" John "Cougar" Mellencamp was also inducted along with "rock and roll poet" Leonard Cohen and the 1960s surf band band The Ventures. Mellencamp took the stage to sing his 1984 single "Authority Song."

Iggy Pop and The Stooges performed at The Material Girl's request at the ceremony- the Godfather of Punk saluting the ultimate 80s commercial icon.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Lampooning Duran Duran

Those god awful videos from the 80s finally get their due in these hilarious parodies!


New Moon on Monday



Wild Boys



Union of the Snake

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Elvis Is Alive!



The rerelease of Elvis Costello & The Attraction's "This Year's Model" (Deluxe Edition) is a revelation. The newly remastered 1978 album features bonus tracks that rival or surpass the studio versions. Included are liner notes from Elvis, complete lyrics and archival photos.

Among the jewels here are "The Beat" (Live), "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" (Live) and "Watching the Detectives" (Live). Each of these versions capture an immediacy and energy not found on the album versions. The keyboards are more prominent and sound more improvised, playing off of a darker lead guitar. Elvis sounds indignant and snotty, as you would expect but with a bit more sneer in his voice.

There are 40 tracks in all on this revamped classic.