Beatlesque, pensive and impressively beautiful. Heck, who could imagine that such a hippie-inspired tune could be this good?
Extra track (and a tacky badge!) — Classic, timeless tunes that really do matter.
NOUVELLE VAGUE, “Too Drunk To Fuck”, from their 2004 album Nouvelle Vague.
This is an outstanding rendering of Dead Kennedys’ classic Too Drunk To Fuck by Nouvelle Vague.
And some people say beauty is dead.
In the same class as any of the great post-punk bands - but not as lucky to become popular enough - The Cowboys International made a haunting pop-experimental sound worth recognition and praise. Their first album ‘The Original Sin’ is a sterling classic, inexcusably overlooked.
I discovered Die Antwoord — a bat-shit crazy, rap-rave South African duo — just a couple of months ago and was instantly hooked. Of course their music is not my cup of tea, but their attitude is definitely in the right place. I just couldn’t overlook their blisteringly funny in-your-face lyrics, uncompromised antics, and surreal approach to art.
Oh, and it’s guaranteed they’ll get you laughing so hard you’ll shit yourself.
Extra track (and a tacky badge!) — Classic, timeless tunes that really do matter.
THE LYRES, “Help You Ann”, from their 1981 album AHS: 1005.
Extra track (and a tacky badge!) — Classic, timeless tunes that really do matter.
HALF JAPANESE, “Zombie Eye”, from their 1997 album Bone Head.
Hear This!⇔ Half Japanese, “Put Some Sugar On It”
Lo-fi yet exhilarating, this track is the closest anyone can get to Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers without passing as just another one of their many sorry-ass imitators.
Half Japanese — with their primitive minimalism — took the DIY ethics beyond the limits imagined by the punk subculture and expanded it ad infinitum.
And you thought you knew avant-garde rock before you stumbled on this, huh? Well, think again, Sonny.
Hear This!⇔ The Replacements, “Johnny’s Gonna Die”
I’ve always thought The Replacements needed more credit for their rightful contribution to the American alternative scene. And only a handful of bands can claim to have had a strong musical influence over new generations of musicians like they can.
Here is a live version of their superb song “Johnny’s Gonna Die”, recorded in 1981 when they were at their prime.
Hear This!⇔ Scott Walker, “The Old Man Is Back Again”
A powerful balladeer and one of my favorite crooners in the pop cosmos: Scott Walker - is another forgotten musical genius (I know this is a tired old cliché, but it still true). If you are not familiar with his body of work then you must unfalteringly check the above link for a great performance of his song “The Old Man’s Back Again”.
(Source: whywrite)
