Wednesday Wadio: Charles Has A Licking Problem.
I totally love the sweet beats.
Wednesday Wadio: Joy Division's 'Decades'.
Shit ... really. Leaders of Men.
The only thing worse than this hideous pop dirge would be Ian Curtis scratching his arse with the leftover paper from his curried chips as he zig zagged home from the effen Factory on the wee hours of a sunday morn.
Well not so much the wee hours as on the back end of a truck load of gear.
How could you over look decades?
Obvious to the rest of us that you wuz just tucked up in bed with yet another copy of some mis-tuned pixies cover while you put your father of his stroke as you practiced that fucking guitar one more night.
Apart from learning another song, other than Where is My Mind (in e of course), you might want to admit that you need to quickly revisit the genius of that depressed soul.
If you must pick a shite song to seem cool - at least shoot for, "I rem. Nothing". Who ever makes it to track 10 of Unknown Pleasures to listen to that 5:52 secs tomb of pish that leaders is.
Pish aside feel the genius of the man that paved the way for Cobain. They followed their okay 1979 debut (UP) with the thigh glistening delights of Closer (1980) and the double album Still (1981). Still with me?
From the tribal openings of Atrocity, over the dulcet tones of Peel, ignoring the over-covered isolation and basking in A means to an end and Heart and Soul this was the clarity before the clouds drew deep.
Let's all take a moment to remember Curtis, 23 Years Old, hanging in his kitchen 2 months short of his 24th birthday, May 18, 1980. Proof that Macclesfield is a shithole and that genius really is a short distance from insanity.
Or that Dave's arse is just an inch away from his fanny as far as Joy Division is concerned.
Colony
A cry for help, a hint of anaesthesia, The sound from broken homes, We used to always meet here. As he lays asleep, she takes him in her arms, Some things I have to do, but I don't mean you harm.
A worried parent's glance, a kiss, a last goodbye, Hands him the bag she packed, the tears she tries to hide, A cruel wind that bows down to our lunacy, And leaves him standing cold here in this colony.
I can't see why all these confrontations, I can't see why all these dislocations, No family life, this makes me feel uneasy, Stood alone here in this colony. In this colony, in this colony, in this colony, in this colony.
Dear God in his wisdom took you by the hand, God in his wisdom made you understand. God in his wisdom took you by the hand, God in his wisdom made you understand. God in his wisdom took you by the hand, God in his wisdom made you understand. God in his wisdom took you by the hand, God in his wisdom made you understand. In this colony, in this colony, in this colony, in this colony.
Wednesday Wadio: Arcade Fire's 'Keep the Car Running'
I actually think Neon Bible might be better than Funeral. 'Ocean of Noise' is by far the best cut on there...And they are about to become the 'next big thing' all over again- the coverage they are getting is ridiculous (NY Times Magazine piece, NPR.org is streaming an AF show online, etc.).I love this album...but I think it's going to get played out fast.
Clap Your Hands and Say "Who"??
Wednesday Wadio: Back To The Pogues.
Cailin, JMac, Paulie and I are going to the Sunday show. Which one are you going to?
I am going Sunday as well! Let's meet at a good downtown Irish bar beforehand.
How about the Littlest? DOWT! Tiernans? DOWT!
Wednesday Wadio: Don Lennon's Last Comic Standing.
Don wrote a feature on Radical, which includes a few songs, for the blog Indiefolkforever.
I have been laughing at this video all day. It also just so happens to have an original song as the soundtrack - so technically it can pass for Wadio this week. It's only a minute long. It's also wicked feckin' retaaarded.
I feel for Charles' owner, because Boss also has a severe licking problem. I wish I didn't taste like salt. But I don't know what Charles' deal is. His hypothalamus? At any rate, put the damn thing out of its misery. Extra points if this isn't stuck in your head all damn day.
It's amazing how when you hear an older song out of context, you see it in a completely different light or find a new appreciation for it. For example, a tune you've ignored as part of an album you usually listen to in its entirety is featured on its own in a movie or something and you suddenly think - Wow. How did I miss that? And why am I watching Arachnophobia again?
I heard my favorite Joy Division song, Leaders of Men, on random ipodiness while walking around today and was taken back to my family's house on Nashawtuc Hill where I used to sit on the hardwood floor and listen to it on cassette with enormous headphones covering my head. Because that's where your ears are, generally. I wanted to feature it on Wadio today, but short of a short live clip there is nothing on YouTube which does it justice. Which is hardly surprising seeing as how it's a lesser known song from the catalog of a band whose lead singer hung himself over 25 years ago.
I did find a good quality collage-clip of 'Decades' and was immediately reminded of an eerie story I read many moons ago, about a New Order recording session which took place a year or so after Ian Curtis cashed in his chips. You see kids, when Curtis died, JD became NO, and guitarist Bernard Sumner took over on lead vocals. After Bernard came out of the booth to twist the knobs on the vocals for one of the earliest New Order tracks, they realized it was unusable - because they could clearly hear someone whistling Decades in the otherwise empty sound booth. Whether that's true or not... alright, it probably isn't. But it's a great yarn befitting a song that is already plenty spooky enough without the ghost story.
Wednesday Wadio: Arcade Fire's 'Keep the Car Running'
I saw this live on SNL two weeks ago and found a new appreciation for Montreal's eeriest band since maybe The Box. I was obsessed for about a week two years ago when they first came on the scene, but became disillusioned when they became the next big thing. I have listened to the new album a few times through, and there's no sophomore slump to be found - so they're back in my good graces. At least until I start my yearly, late-winter Smiths phase. And self-cutting.
Apparently they played three songs after the show was over for the studio audience. Then acted out their favorite Stuart Smalley sketch while Ouija'ing John Belushi and Danitra Vance. So yeah, a little weird. It doesn't help that the lead singer looks like Young Frankenstein. These guys have more members than Wu-Tang Clan. And where is Michael Scott? I got nothing. Busy days at the moment.
A surprisingly good quality 20 minute concert clip from the year of our lord 1985. Particularly fetching is young Shane's dentistry (as always), pre-Seattle moshing and Spider smashing his head through a beer tray cymbal. But the real reason I wanted to post this is the superb version of Waltzing Matilda. I have never seen them play it live, nor have I seen a clip of it before.
Also featured are Battle of Brisbane and Murish Durkin. Anyone else going to the Orpheum show next month? I never get tired of these guys.
Wednesday Wadio: Don Lennon's Last Comic Standing.
PITF favorite Don Lennon released his latest album, Radical, recently and I just got it in the mail a few days ago. Good stuff. While nothing from the new release is online, I did find a video for a tune from his last album on the almighty YouTube.
On the surface, the song is about John Ritter - and that strange feeling you get when a celebrity dies very unexpectedly and you hunker down for an afternoon of highlight clips on E! Maybe that's just me. Do you also eat three Klondike bars, cry and then burn yourself with a curling iron while chanting "No Anna Nicole, no Anna Nicole"? Nevertheless, any song that mentions Fonzie and Carrot Top in the same verse is A-OK with me.
