Big Black - He's A Whore

Big Black's last single features an unlikely mix of covers. The A-side is an early, obscure Cheap Trick song, the B-side is a Kraftwerk song. As you'd expect, they nail them both in their own way. I prefer these versions to the originals. "He's A Whore" is a fairly obscure Cheap Trick song. It's fantastic. Cheap Trick really had a sense of humor, and I think the obscurity and nasty bit of comedy of this song made it a perfect cover for these guys.

As always, it's impeccably recorded, (it ripped incredibly well) and the album art can't be beat, with Big Black miming the covers from the original bands' albums. They really nail Cheap Trick's (and Kraftwerk's on the B-side) look.

A: He's A Whore
B: The Model
Enjoy!

Big Black - Heartbeat

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day!" like a heart on a meathook, accompanied by some noisy music.


Earlier, I mentioned that I find Wire to be a difficult band to cover. Lots of bands do it, but few do it well. The music is simple, but the richness and fullness of their sound is not. Of course, when you have a studio engineer in the band, it's a little easier to pull off.  These guys nail it, even improving the original in their own way.

Both B-sides show Big Black in all their post-Atomizer glory. Noisy, harsh, and in the case of "Things To Do Today", disturbing.

The back cover is half red, and half blue, and in tiny print has two phrases, "No lovey-dovey shit!" (appropriate for today, right?) and "Dilute! Dilute! OK!" from the insane ramblings found on the old Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap, if you had hippie enough parents and remember that stuff. I can smell it now.

A: Heartbeat
B: Things To Do Today, I Can't Believe
Enjoy!

Lydia Lunch - Honeymoon In Red

Another pleasant LP Sunday.

Yesterday was my eleventh wedding anniversary. So, eleven years ago, I was enjoying my honeymoon on this day. It started off great as I was partying in Brazil with a whole lot of friends from home. The whole thing took a sour turn after our friends left, as Inga had a relative hanging around the family house in Brazil for an extra week who always took the last cup of coffee and wanted to tell me depressing stories of arson and insurance fraud first thing in the morning while I stood there coffee-less and in my underwear. I alternated between despair and seething rage for quite a few days over this development.

As for this album, it was a collaboration between Lydia Lunch and Nick Cave's Birthday Party, but there was some sort of falling out between everyone. Nick Cave and others appear uncredited, OK, Cave is credited as "A drunk cowboy junkie" and stuff like that, but never by name. Sounds like things got nasty. The tapes sat around for 5 years until Thurston Moore somehow got involved, added a few guitar tracks, mixed and released it.

It's a strange album. Hard to make out a lot of the vocals, but it seems to also vacillate between depsair and rage. "Done Dun" And "Dead In The Head" are the tracks with Cave, and he's a welcome relief from Roland Howard, who sounds awfully whiny. Other than Howard's vocals, it's pretty cool. Very early-80's experimental/no wave, with lots of scratchy and squawky guitar sounds flying at you from all over.

A: Come Fall, So Your Heart, Dead River, Three Kings
B: Done Dun, Still Burning, Fields Of Fire, Dead In The Head
Enjoy!

Rites Of Spring - All Through A Life

Half of this band became Fugazi (Guy Piciotto, Brendan Canty), which is why I picked this up. They were considered to be pretty influential by the early 90's too, so I figured I'd see what that was all about. Basically, they're credited as the first "emo" band, even though they themselves despise the label. This was released after they had called it quits.

I have to say, what strikes me is how jangly the guitars sound. You'd expect them to have that Gibson SG/Marshall stack sound like every other DC post-hardcore act. Interesting and truly unique stuff for the time that I appreciate a bit more now than I did then.

I ordered this straight from Dischord.

A: All Through A Life, Hidden Wheel
B: In Silence/Worlds Away, Patience
Enjoy!