(the still in the preview is not from the video - weird)
Well then…
Funny I stumbled on this as I just went through a little of this over the weekend. On a whim I fired up a Spotify eclectic playlist, Devastating:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX33TfGBYPkRQ
But what keyed me on the Smiths was this forgotten track that jarred me to listen to others:
It’s awesome to have chills and flashback of where you were and what was happening as you listen to a song. It’s keyed to the memory of your life then and upon re-listening to it, brings back all of that with it.
I played that on youtube and stumbled across this a few songs later:
Yep
Normally I am of the belief that you really, really shouldn’t try to cover the Smiths, unless you’re seriously ready to bring something interesting/new/different to the mix.
And so a couple of years ago, Gavin Clark did “Please, Please, Please”, for the movie “This Is England”, and what informs this is not only the movie it was in, but also that a half-dozen years after recording this, Gavin drank himself into an early grave, tormented by depression and what he saw as a completely failed musical career.
This is…well. It’s kind of tremendous.
Just saw these guys this weekend. I had never heard of them, as I guess was the case of most of the crowd there. The lead singer, looking like a young Johnny Depp playing the role of a nerd acting like a hipster, did an awesome job winning over such an audience.
Their music worked very well live and I will keep an eye out for the next time Joywave comes around.
Very nice cover, though sad to hear of a musician like that spiraling into terminal depression. Artists can be so empathetic that sometimes they suffer through their work itself.
One thing though, he padded out the song, which was always a bit of a thing for the song itself. Many wanting it to be longer, etc. And yet, I feel like that was a point of the song. You don’t get what you want, it’s gone in an instant.
Hey I haven’t heard these guys. I like it. Their music rings of late 80s - early 90s-ish. Almost The Cure like in a way, with the exception of this new vocalist. I’ll give them a listen today at work.
Without Comment…
Edit: I lied.
‘Cause I’m a big rock star and I’m makin’ lots of money
Money, money, money, money, money, money
Ahh, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
I’m so bloody rich ha ha ha ha
I own apartment buildings and shopping centers ha ha ha ha
And I only know three chords ha ha ha ha
Watch me play!
You fools!
Olde but goodie.
My favorite Blind Faith song. But can’t listen to it, too sad. Same with “Can’t Find My Way Home”. Will make me cry if whiskey involved.
That is so awesome. Total nostalgia hit.
-xtien
“Livin’ on sleep deprivation…”
And of course:
This song has been running through my head all night. I have a volume control problem with music in my brain when I’m trying to sleep. Fortunately I love this song, but it makes it a little tough to get to sleep.
Also, that bassist. Wow.
-xtien
One of the highlights of my life has been getting to know Jay Farrar and Mike Heidorn. I was always too nervous to say much more than “Hi” to them when they graciously donated so much time to the campus radio station back in the day…but I did get to be in the same room when the original Uncle Tupelo lineup (Jay, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike, along with then-guitar tech, future Bottlerockets frontman Brian Henneman) took “requests” over the phone from listeners and tried to play 'em. It was pretty hit or miss, but then someone requested Neil Young’s “Sugar Mountain”, and the result was spine-tingling and amazing.
Years later though, when I worked at Euclid Records, Jay’s wife was working at Barnes Hospital a few blocks away. Jay would stop by the store and hit the $1 bin pretty hard, pulling some of the most amazingly eclectic records out.
Good people.
What a great story/post.
A musician friend of mine who lives in Alaska turned me on to Son Volt. I then put “Route” on one of the mixes I make for my son, and he loves the song as well. We were just singing along to it on our drive home today.
-xtien