The new John Mayer album, Paradise Valley,
vinyl LP has been pushed back to the 19th of November.
White Laces have a new cassette single up for order over at
Treetop Sorbet Records. There are only 100 copies so if you want one do it now
or it may be too late.
Sea Wolf met the Kickstarter goal and then some. I am very
excited for that. Thank you to all that helped out!
Hoping to get the new Yuck album for next week. The Justin Timberlake albums may be up for next week though.
Here we go...
This is the fifth album from Joe Jackson. It was released in
June of 1982. This is probably the first and only album that I will get from
Joe Jackson simply because I don’t know any of his work except the hit single
from this album. I am happy that I have this album because there are some
really great songs on the album aside from the hit on the album. Wikipedia says
that the album reflects a transition to more sophisticated level of
songwriting. I wouldn’t know this since this album is the only exposure that I
have of his work. Wiki also says that the album pays tribute to the wit and
style of Cole Porter. I am not a Porter fan so I would not know this either.
There were three singles released from this album. The first
and the big hit from the album is called Steppin’ Out. The album has gotten
labeled new wave and synth pop because of this track when this single is really
the exception to the album. This is the only track that uses anything synth and
that is mainly in the bass line. The song is about the anticipation of a fun
night on the town. It is a song that I remember hearing on the radio as a kid.
My parents were never big music buyers. It was such a good song that it stuck
in my head all these years. I found it again while going through my recorded
cassettes a few years ago. A while back I went to my local record store and
found a copy. I found that it is a really great album but not the new wave
album I thought it would be. That being said it is a really great album.
Real Men was the second single released from the album. The
song was pretty daring at the time considering that the song is about gay men
and the lives that they lead including when they party and the fact that it is
taboo to even be gay at that time (in the 80s). Since then it has become a bit
more acceptable. The track did not even chart except in Holland.
Breaking Us In Two is the last single that was released from
the album. It did not chart well either. I do remember hearing it once in a
while on the radio though. Now that I think about it it seems strange that it
would have been played on the radio considering how jazzy it feels. I like the
song though and am happy that I can remember it at all.
On a side note, the song Cancer is funny to me now that it
is 30 years old. It still seems true. It helps that the song has a salsa beat
and they are singing about, “Every thing gives you cancer, there’s no cure,
there’s no answer.” It is very tongue in cheek.
This is their first EP. It is not their first release but
rather the first released EP. It was released in December of 1985. There was a
mini album and a live single that was also released this year. There are four
tracks on this release. All of the songs have a sound that resembles that of
the 60s rock era.
The first song from the EP is called No Place To Go. The
song is the stand out track on the EP but lead guitarist/vocalist Kevin Shields
considers it a complete failure and unrepresentative of what the group wanted
to do. When this EP was released David Conway was the lyricist. The vocals on
the tracks are tonally deep and sound nothing like what is recorded on any of
the three future albums.
Moonlight is the second track and although there is a certain
amount of noise on the track it is very rough. The lyrics on the other hand are
very sweet and talk of moonlight and romance. These two concepts have always
fit well together. He even calls it a midnight sun at one point in the track.
The third track is called Love Machine. The distortion on
the guitar sounds so cool. This is really what reminds me of the 60s sound. It
is very buzzy and comes off almost tinny at times. The song is obviously about
a girl that a guy has fallen for. For me it is classic 60s love lyrics.
The last song is called The Sandman Never Sleeps. This track
deviates from the previous three tracks in that it starts off with vocals and a
simple clean sounding guitar. It is not until the open is over that the fuzzy,
buzzy guitar comes in. This song is kind of strange to because the vocals seem
to be out of tune but it is right.
This EP kind of reminds me of what The Ar-Kaics are doing
right now. That is probably what I like about The Ar-Kaics.
This is a digital only single. It was released in October of
2011. The song itself was a taste of what was to come from the groups next
album. I pulled this snippet from the Slumberland Records web page about the
song, “Black Saturday is a great example of where the band is heading.
The guitars are more subdued now, sharing sonic space with a gorgeously melodic
bassline and subtle synths.” It is a fun dark shadowy pop song pulling from the
mid 80s dark pop. You can still get it at your favorite digital shop.
That is all I have for now...
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