Band: The Jam Song: The Eton Rifles Released: 25 October 1979 – 40 years ago today / B-side: See-saw Album: Setting Sons – the band’s fourth LP Note 1: The song attacked one of England‘s most famous
privileged elite schools called Eton College in Berkshire Note 2: Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron (you know, the guy,
who started the – still ongoing – Brexit drama back in 2016) loved The Jam and this particular song, despite his elitist upbringing. He said: “I don’t see why the left should be the only ones allowed to listen to protest
songs.” I agree, but he should learn something out of it… Note 3: The single peaked at #3 in the UK, their first Top Ten hit
Artist: Neil Young & Crazy Horse Album: Colorado – first collaboration with Crazy Horse since 2012 LP Psychedelic Pill
and first time since 1971 (!) that legendary guitarist Nils Lofgren worked with Young again Sound: Vintage melancholia blues à la Neil Young. Profound, emotional and heart & soul-touching. At times pitch black because of the very troubled times we live in, at times as romantic as he ever was now that he’s married to his third wife, actor Daryl Hannah NME verdict: 4/5 – review here
Band: Cigarettes After Sex Album: Cry – second LP Sound: Starry-eyed romanticism interwoven with heartbreaking affectivity.
Soul-stirring candlelight tearjerkers for twilight moments… Clash Magazine verdict: 8/10 – review here
Here’s the imperishable IGGY POP performing live for BBC Radio 6 Music a couple of days ago. One of the tracks he did was JAMES BOND, a highlight from his new albumFREE. The 72-year-old legend still knows all the tricks in the book! He still got it! Still a top performer!
Canadian artist Catherine McCandless (formerly of Montreal duo Young Galaxy)
has launched her solo project called RICHES with mesmerizing debut single SPIRIT.
McCandless describes the spirit within the song as “a kind of demon, the chaotic entity
that inhabits you when you take the leap of faith in order to create something.”
‘Spirit’ is an astounding electro stunner with an instant effect on your auditory radar.
Its trippy and spaced-out rhythms and its electronic vitality create a trance-like energy
that will trigger your body’s movements on the spot. Spectacular debut!
LADY LAZARUS is the solo project of California-based singer-songwriter Melissa Ann Sweat. A stirring and compelling artist with an alluring vox who released her first album Manticback in 2011. And now here’s her fourth LP, titled ‘IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY OF MY SOUL TONIGHT’. An intriguing and genuinely moving, cathartic work covering some of her darkest experiences and most profound emotions. All her heart-whole and soul-touching musings, mostly voice & piano, will make you silent as Lady Lazarus‘ intimate meditations have a universal, recognizable dimension most of us can relate to. Here’s the artist herself shining a light on all nine, bewitching tracks.
The music…
. The track by track guide…
1. I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
“This first track really set off the whole tone for the record and was the linchpin that started to bring all these songs together as a whole in my mind. It is the introduction to the “dark night of the soul” and is a song of empathy, holding space for, and relating to another’s deep pain. I truly feel that empathy, understanding, and compassion are going to become even more essential human currencies as we evolve, and we need these expressions of – what are essentially love – now in our world more than ever.”
2. DRIVING THE STREETS OF YOUR TOWN
“Unlike all the other songs on the record which came to me at the keyboard or piano,
this song came to me when I was waking up from a dream. The melody was right there, and all I did was stumble down to my keyboard and pluck it out. It’s a song about home, but moreso of not being able to go home again because it and you have changed so much… and you feel like a ghost driving the streets of your old town. I can’t help but
feel that way myself, though I’m sure many other wandering souls can relate.”
The wandering clip…
3. I RECALL JULY
“I wrote this song in Austin during a summer storm, and the lyrics recall a stormy relationship that reached a sudden culmination and breaking point, though the good times and the love we shared live on in memory. It’s wistful, romantic, but also grateful for experiencing this kind of love: “If I called you up / would it be enough / to accept my love?“. Haven’t we all wanted to call the one that got away and maybe say, thank you?”
4. GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF YOURSELF, BABE
“Give A Little Bit” is my sexiest song on the record, in my humble opinion, and is meant to honor my post-breakup phase of re-exploring my sexuality and letting my appetite run wild. It’s also meant to encourage intimacy in myself and others, opening up to other people in meaningful ways, and not being afraid to show your truth and who you really are.”
5. GOLDEN HEART
“Conversely, this may be the sweetest song on the album. It’s inspired by one of my past partners and our relationship in which I truly felt unconditionally loved, perhaps for the first time in my life. I’m still searching for that “golden hearted” person again, but I’m grateful to have a lot of heart and hope.”
Golden heart in motion…
6. A BLOOM IN REVERSE (YOU CAME HERE TO LOVE)
“I’m really fond of the 60s/70s British folk feel of this song, and perhaps even evoking a time before that… there’s almost a chamber music quality to it, and the composition is very odd. After I wrote it, it reminded me of Fairport Convention‘s classic, “Who Know
Where The Time Goes,” in its themes of time and how it so mysteriously passes in this life.
I, unfortunately, had several young, female friends and acquaintances pass away in the last few years before writing this song, and I feel I subconsciously wrote it in honor of them: “A rose is all that life shows / how it grows nobody knows / but when it goes, ohhh…”
7. “…AND IT IS ALL RIGHT
“All Right” is the oldest song on the album, dating back to 2014 when I wrote it. I feel it has a timeless quality, and I’d like to think Tom Waits might enjoy the melody and singing and playing it sometime. Like many of mine, the song has some dark themes of feeling lost in life, but is meant to be a comfort and a kind of existential lullaby.”
8. NOW THAT I’M ON MY OWN
“This more folky track played on upright piano contains my first swear word ever in
one of my songs… f*ck yeah! My grandfather was not so keen on it after I warned him,
but I personally felt very proud to see that explicit label on the album. This is a song about being fed up with emotional abuse, going out on your own, and embracing your new path, still with love and courage in your heart – and sometimes you just need to curse about all that.”
9. ALL I WANTED TO BE IS FREE
“The final song on the album is my version of what a soul sounds like after many lifetimes of reincarnation on this earth having finally broken the karmic bonds and liberated herself to freedom. Soul freedom. Kind of like what a rainbow would sound like bursting through the cosmic dark. The incredible sax played by my friend Tony Devincentis is the embodiment of that emancipated spirit, and it has brought me to tears of joy and relief upon many listens.”
Thank you Melissa Ann for guiding us through your
new album. May the road rise with Lady Lazarus!
‘IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY OF MY SOUL TONIGHT’
is available on Bandcamp and iTunes
You can stream it also on Spotify
Who: A five-piece unit out of Leeds, formed in 2017, with a noble independence and fierce DIY ethic, weaving together elements of Alternative Rock, Americana, 80s post-punk and beyond
Pick: ‘WILL MY DREAMS BE ELECTRIC TONIGHT?’ – new single – frontman Declan Newcombe says that the song “was inspired by a dream I had in which someone was sleeping with my partner. I was actually there, in the room, I couldn’t see what was happening but I knew it
was going on.”
Score: This is high-quality songwriting. The combination of captivating melodiousness, riveting orchestration and appealing sentiments all come together perfectly well, bringing moody crooners The National to mind. Oh yes, what you get here is an engrossing song that impacts your imagination and satisfies your aural pleasure. Enthralling achievement!
Canadian band DESTROYER, led by singer/songwriter and poetic storyteller Dan Bejar
will launch their 12th album, called HAVE WE MET in January 2020. Here’s the lead single, titled CRIMSON TIDE. A characteristic, surreal tale by Bejar. The accompanying clip is as mysterious as the song itself.
Here’s, probably the one and only cow that ever topped the UK Albums Chart. This Holstein Friesian cow was on the front cover of PINK FLOYD‘s fifth album called ATOM HEART MOTHER , the band’s first No 1 LP in the UK hitting the top spot on 24 October 1970, 49 years ago today. I actually wonder what her name was…
