Time for some three-months-overdue housekeeping. Return with me now to the long-ago Year of Our Lord 2016, and thanks as always for sending me money*:
Goodbyes
Bands
David + David, Wall of Voodoo, The Nails
Birthday musings, including The Rolling Stones
Animals
Junior, my father-in-law’s last pet
All the rest
More crap from Dad, part 2: Flashlight of the Month Club
More crap from Dad, part 3: The house it all came from
The white feather boa finds a new Bearer
Things I have lived long enough to see, part 1
Things I have lived long enough to see, part 2: Hillary Clinton explained
I have one job on this lousy ship
The unrelenting awfulness of Star Trek: Beyond
Random Pick of the Day
The Secret Sisters, Put Your Needle Down (2014)
The sweet, tight harmonies of Laura and Lydia Rogers, the not-exactly-a-secret sisters, will immediately make you think of The Everly Brothers. Like Phil and Don, Laura and Lydia have a country background and cross-over appeal. The girls venture farther into honky-tonk; the boys go deeper into gospel. Are there any songs on Put Your Needle Down that could chart as high “Bye-Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” or “Cathy’s Clown”? Yes, there are several candidates – if this album had been released in 1960. The musical world is too fragmented today for the Rogers or the Everlys to dominate the pop charts.
The Sisters’ lyrics are far more literate than any pop star could’ve pulled off in the 1950s (or been allowed to pull off). I like this album, their second, a lot. Their first, Secret Sisters (2010), is too country for me.
Random Pan of the Day
Iggy Pop, Blah Blah Blah (1986)
On this album, Iggy sings like David Bowie and looks like Buster Keaton. Bowie co-wrote and co-produced; Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols plays guitar.
This is a very ’80s album, by which I mean there are deep sedimentary layers of synthesizers and drum machines. At several points it could slide into songs or at least moods by The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen, and even Erasure.
“Real Wild Child” was on the radio a lot that year. It still holds up. “Winners and Losers,” for all the overproduction, is a serious rocker, though it goes on a long time for Iggy (6 minutes). “Hideaway” is also good, plus the guitar sounds like mid-’80s Springsteen.
This is an interesting combination of musicians that makes you wish the parts added up to something better.
* You do know you’re supposed to do that, don’t you? Everyone else does!
Run-DMSteve 