Number 634 - David Bowie

Number 634

David Bowie

“China Girl”

(1983)

Genre: Alt Pop

Mr David Bowie who has now turned 60 this year has done it all, Number 1 Hits, Movies, Cartoons, a fashionaire, whatever, you name it…. Bowie has done it and with satisfaction one hopes.

David Bowie started in 1967 with the horrific ! song called “The laughing Gnome” (who our resident guest writer known as “Gazza Shackleton” affectionately loves this song … Go Figure) and lots of other cheesy songs, Bowie, to the man who became one of the most revered Glam/Shock/Sci Fi performers of the 20th century including a modest (he would say) acting career.

After summing up his maverick tendencies on Scary Monsters, David Bowie aimed for the mainstream with Let’s Dance. Hiring Chic bassist Nile Rodgers as a co-producer, Bowie created a stylish, synthesized post-disco dance music that was equally informed by classic soul and the emerging new romantic subgenre of new wave, which was ironically heavily inspired by Bowie himself. Let’s Dance comes tearing out of the date, propulsed by the skittering “Modern Love,” the seductively menacing “China Girl,” and the brittle funk of the title track. All three songs became international hits, and for good reason — they’re catchy, accessible pop songs that have just enough of an alien edge to make them distinctive. However, that careful balance is quickly thrown off by a succession of pleasant but unremarkable plastic soul workouts. “Cat People” and a cover of Metro’s “Criminal World” are relatively strong songs, but the remainder of the album indicates that Bowie was entering a songwriting slump. However, the three hits were enough to make the album a massive hit, and their power hasn’t diminished over the years, even if the rest of the record sounds like an artifact. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Proof of Bowie’s influence in culture…………..

Bowie is also the subject of a Phish song bearing his name, found on the Junta album.

Strong Sad dresses as Bowie, specifically referencing the Aladdin Sane album cover, in the 2004 Homestar Runner Halloween Special.

• Bowie’s song “Ziggy Stardust” was featured in the PS2 game Guitar Hero, developed by Harmonix. A remix of “Everyone Says ‘Hi’” was also featured on the earlier game, Amplitude, by the same developers.
• Bowie recently announced that he will be a special guest on a future episode of SpongeBob SquarePants in 2007.
• Bowie was featured in the red carpet scene near the beginning of the Stewie Griffin movie.
• In the mid-1990s Rolling Stone magazine likened Argentine Rock en Español legend Gustavo Cerati, then lead singer of band Soda Stereo , to a Spanish-speaking version of David Bowie.
• Similarly, the late Katsuhiko Nakagawa, musician and father of model Shouko Nakagawa, was often referred to as “the Japanese David Bowie”.
• Bowie is featured in a song (named “Bowie”) by New Zealand based folk/comedy band, The Flight of the Conchords.
• The band The Brian Jonestown Massacre wrote a song called David Bowie I love you.
• Bowie is name-checked in the lyrics to Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express” (”From station to station/Back to Dusseldorf City/Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie”).
• Red Hot Chili Peppers mention Station to Station in their song “Californication“.
• Bowie is referenced in Nina Hagen’s song “New York, New York” (1985).
• Bowie is mentioned in The Simpsons episode, “She of Little Faith” where Homer blows up the church. The townsfolk are arguing about where to get the funds for the church reconstruction, and Marge suggests, “Why don’t we just write to David Bowie again?” and Rev. Lovejoy responds “God no, that man has done enough for this church already.”
• In Adam Sandler’s movie Mr. Deeds the main character and several people on a helicopter sing part of Bowie’s song, “Space Oddity”.
• Bowie’s song “Let’s Dance” was featured in Elite Beat Agents for the Nintendo DS and the PS2 game Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA.
• The band They Might Be Giants make reference to David Bowie in the opening verse of their song “Au Contraire” from the album The Spine.
• The character Zachary in the 2005 French Quebec film C.R.A.Z.Y. lip-synched to Bowie’s “Space Oddity” while made up as Aladdin Sane.
• In an episode of Friends Joey sings some of the lyrics from “Space Oddity” to Phoebe whilst driving back from Las Vegas. On another occasion, it is sung by Chandler in front of a camera.
• Bowie makes a guest appearance in the film Zoolander in which he judges an impromptu runway competition.
• Singer Tori Amos released a song entitled, “Not David Bowie”, on her 2006 boxset.
• The 2006 British TV series Life On Mars takes its title from the Bowie song of the same name. The song features in the first episode, playing over the scene in which main character Sam Tyler discovers he has been transported back in time to 1973. Another character, Gene Hunt, refers to himself as “the Gene Genie”, a reference to Bowie’s “The Jean Genie“, which appears in the soundtrack of another episode.The spin-off Ashes to Ashes is another take on a David Bowie song of the name song, starring Gene Hunt set in London in 1981.
• In Douglas Adams‘ novel The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, he appears the following description:
  “If you took one David Bowie, and attached another David Bowie onto the shoulders of the other David Bowie, and another two to the arms of the first David Bowie, you would have something that didn’t exactly look like John Watson, but those who knew him would find him hauntingly familiar.”
• In an episode of The L Word, Angus sings “Changes” to Kit, played by Pam Grier.
• Chicago-based rock band Veruca Salt have a song entitled “With David Bowie” which alludes to a form of teenage obsession with Bowie and his music.
• Carlton, the main character in Eric Idle’s novel The Road to Mars is a Bowie robot, modelled after the rock star of the late 20th Century.
• Metal Gear Solid 3 makes reference to David Bowie. Snake’s commanding officer in the Virtuous Mission speaks with a British accent, uses the codename “Major Tom”. Snake also iniates communication with Major Tom upon contact with his landing point with the line “Can you hear me Major Tom?”
• The Parliament-Funkadelic song, “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)” references Bowie (”Then I was down south and I heard some funk with some main ingredients like Doobie Brothers, Blue Magic, David Bowie. It was cool.”)
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode #57 (”The Freshman”) featured the Space Oddity song “Memory of a Free Festival“, used as background music for a scene in Giles’s home.
• In Adam Sandler’s movie The Wedding Singer, Drew Barrymore’s character states that David Bowie is the coolest as the song “China Girl” plays in the background. Drew’s company including Adam are glowing with affirmation.
• Indie rock band, Built to Spill, references David Bowie in their song “Distopian Dream Girl”, “My stephfather looks just like David Bowie, but he hates David Bowie. I think Bowie’s cool, I think ‘Lodger’ rules, and my stepdad’s a fool.”
• In the television series, Freaks and Geeks, an episode titled, “The Little Things,” Ken Miller listens to the song “Fashion.”
• In the TV show NUMB3RS, when Larry takes off in the rocket, “Moonage Daydream” is playing in the background.
• He has also had a guest appearance in the comedy Extras.
• Two clips of Bowie appear in U2’s video for their song “Window in the Skies“, from the 2006 compilation album U218 Singles.
• The Clap Your Hands Say Yeah song, “Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)” references Bowie (”You look like David Bowie, But you’ve nothing new to show me”)
• In a Family Guy episode, Stewie Griffin watches Carrot Scalp perform standup using a bow (as in a bow and arrow). One of the “jokes” he attempts with it is singing a note and then saying “Look, I’m David Bow-ie”.
• The song “Suffragette City” was featured on the game Driver Parallel Lines.
• In the UK sci-fi Comedy Red Dwarf, the four main characters are attempting to escape a ship in a stolen space craft. An operator at Ground Control asks for the pilots’ identification. The pilot (being the Cat) replies “Ground control, this is…er…” to which Dave Lister suggests “…Major Tom”. The Operator then continues, “Ground Control to Major Tom”, the opening lyric to Bowie’s first hit song “Space Oddity”.
• The band The Blood Brothers made a cover of the song “Under Pressure” in 2006.
• My Chemical Romance and The Used covered the song “Under Pressure” for the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster.

For Chic see Number 902

For Iggy Pop see Number 980

For U2 see Number 661

For more U2 visit Mellow Mix Vol 1 Number 129

For Red Hot Chili Peppers see Number 521

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Well, you see its like this…) and the Album ranked at (its just the 80’s, it was really that bad)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71.1 out of 108

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Tags:David Bowie, 1983, Alt Pop, Chic, Metro, Phish, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Nina Hagen, Tori Amos, Parliament, Built to Spill, U2, My Chemical Romance, The Used, Adam Sandler, Douglas Adams, YouTube, Music Video, Rolling Stone Magazine, Crowbarred, New Zealand, Crowbarred Unleashed, The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time, Mellow Mix Volume 1
Manukau
And a big THANKS to Rock Gems!!

Oh and you can download there too, all the classics!

Number 635 - Carly Simon

Number 635

Carly Simon

“Your So Vain”

(1972) Onehunga

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Genre: Singer Songwriter

With this song there is so much myth about its origin that to this day we still don’t know if its Warren Beatty or who? I can tell you however it was not me, but if it was, hey, i would tell you. All in all it was a big song of the time in ‘72 and it gave this certain girl… Carly Simon…. a break into the big world. It is a classic and it is still to this day, whether it be Mr Beatty or Mr B Pitt or even me Mr C Barred is still a wonderful song. So Miss Simon, was the song about Warren or Robert? I see, can nether confirm or deny huh?

Carly Simon’s best album, No Secrets was also her commercial breakthrough, topping the charts and going gold, along with its leadoff single, “You’re So Vain.” That song set the album’s saucy tone, with its air of sexually frank autobiography (”You had me several years ago/When I was still quite naïve”) and its reflections on the jet-set lifestyle. But Simon’s honesty meant that her lyrical knife was double-edged; now that she felt she had found true love (”The Right Thing to Do,” another Top Ten hit, was her celebration of her relationship with James Taylor), she was as willing to acknowledge her own mistakes and regrets as she was to point fingers. But it wasn’t only Simon’s forthrightness that made the album work; it was also Richard Perry’s simple, elegant pop/rock production, which gave Simon’s music a buoyancy it previously lacked. And Perry paid particular attention to Simon’s vocals in a way that made her more engaging (or at least less grating) to listen to. ~ William Ruhlmann

For James Taylor see Number 820

Did you know……..

• Warren Beatty elder sister of three years is the actress and writer Shirley MacLaine born Shirley MacLean Beaty?
• Simon provided the voice of “Marie” in a 1995 episode of Frasier entitled “Roz in the Doghouse“.
• Preferrs to perform barefoot, saying she is more comfortable that way
• In an effort to make Simon more comfortable while performing, an entire 1988 episode of Late Night With David Letterman was broadcast from a hotel room at the Milford Plaza in New York
• During the 1990s the New York press reported on a supposed incident between Simon and the Pretenders‘ lead singer, Chrissie Hynde, at a Joni Mitchell concert at New York’s Fez Club. The verbal confrontation between the two led to Simon’s exit from the concert after a noisy Hynde insulted Simon. Some reports have Hynde grabbing Simon around the neck and punching her although a publicist for Hynde has said that Hynde was just hugging Simon
• Did you fight with Chrissie Hynde?
  One of the downsides of the Internet is that misinformation stays up there forever. Whenever I do a search on “Carly Simon”, I inevitably get a link to a story about you and Chrissie Hynde getting into a fight at a concert. So I’m wondering what really happened between you & Chrissie Hynde at the Fez several years ago when Joni Mitchell played there?
  Markly - Shoreline, Washington
  Well, Chrissie was a bit intoxicated and was yelling out during Joni’s performance which needless to say, everybody wanted to hear. Chrissie was sitting right next to me and I asked her to be a little quieter. No one else would have dared say that to her, but me, stupid me, didn’t know it was Chrissie.
  She started choking me in a loving way, saying: “you’re great too Carly, get up there, you need to do this too”. Very nice, the only problem being that it was right in the middle of Joni’s song and people were looking at US. So I moved seats. That’s all it was about. I must say that her choking me in ‘fun intoxication’ looked to a lot of the audience like a fight. It was not. I just couldn’t believe that no one was interceding and saying anything to her. I love her music and respect her as an artist. It was just one of those things. Go figure.
  Love Carly Simon - 4/10/02”

What does Rolling Stone think about Carly Simon
Carly Simon’s third album comes handsomely dressed by super-producer Richard Perry and boasts many illustrious helpers. In the degree of its intelligence and forthrightness it is the equal of its predecessors. Regardless of the quality of her songs—they range from fair to excellent—everything Carly does is likable for her radiant vocal personality. She has the whitest of white voices and uses it well, singing full throat with faultless enunciation. Her almost literal note-for-note phrasing of songs is uniquely ingenuous.

The obvious highlight of No Secrets is the hit single, “You’re So Vain,” an affectionately high-spirited putdown of a male chauvinist glamour boy: “Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won/Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia/To see the total eclipse of the sun/You’re where you should be all the time and when you’re not/You’re with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend….” A medium-paced rocker with a good tune, it climaxes with a sardonic chorus, which has Mick Jagger singing unison backup: “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you.” Though the idea of Carly and Mick singing together sounds incongruous, the combination turns out to be inspired alchemy, especially bracing if heard through headphones.

Just as direct and personal is Carly’s childhood fantasy of her father, “Embrace Me, You Child”: “At night in bed I heard God whisper lullabies/While Daddy next door whistled whiskey tunes/And sometimes when I wanted they would harmonize/There was nothing that those two couldn’t do.” Two songs with lyrics by Jacob Brackman—”The Carter Family” and “It Was So Easy”—also look back nostalgically toward youthful innocence. With the exception of “You’re So Vain,” Carly’s lyrics are stronger than her tunes. But what finally makes No Secrets so refreshing is her singing, which conveys the finest spirit of patrician generosity. (RS 125)
STEPHEN HOLDEN

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (No way!) and the Album ranked at (We dont want to end up in one of her songs. Scandal)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71 out of 108

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Tags:Carly Simon, 1972, Singer Songwriter, Warren Beatty, James Taylor, The Pretenders, Music, Chrissie Hynde, YouTube, Music Video, Rolling Stone Magazine, Crowbarred, New Zealand, Crowbarred Unleashed, The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time, Mellow Mix Volume 1

Onehunga

Number 636 - Jeff Beck

Number 636

Jeff Beck

“Cause We Ended as Lovers”

(1975)
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Genre:Guitar

Mr Beck, no not that Beck …. sheesh, ended up with Rolling Stone Magazine in their “OMG, I AM A ROLLING STONE TOP 100 GUITARISTS.. GTFO!” (yank pwnn tugg) @ Number 14, oddly enough Kurt Cobain was 2 possies higher @ Number 12 (Did he play guitar? Really?) Oh c’mom you peeps dont know the top 20? sigh, ok here is the list for the ones who dont know ….

1 Jimi Hendrix

2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band

3 B.B. King

4 Eric Clapton

5 Robert Johnson

6 Chuck Berry

7 Stevie Ray Vaughan

8 Ry Cooder

9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin

10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones

11Kirk Hammett of Metallica

12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana

13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead

14 Jeff Beck

15 Carlos Santana

16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones

17 Jack White of the White Stripes

18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

19 Richard Thompson

20 James Burton

Interesting list huh? Dont agree with it huh? well nor do i, anyhow, about Jeff Beck (No, not that Beck! Give it a rest will ya?)

Blow by Blow typifies Jeff Beck’s wonderfully unpredictable career. Released in 1975, Beck’s fifth effort as a leader and first instrumental album was a marked departure from its more rock-based predecessors. Only composer/keyboardist Max Middleton returned from Beck’s previous lineups. To Beck’s credit, Blow by Blow features a tremendous supporting cast. Middleton’s tasteful use of the Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and analog synthesizers leaves a soulful imprint. Drummer Richard Bailey is in equal measure supportive and propulsive as he deftly combines elements of jazz and funk with contemporary mixed meters. Much of the album’s success is also attributable to the excellent material, which includes Middleton’s two originals and two collaborations with Beck, a clever arrangement of Lennon and McCartney’s “She’s a Woman,” and two originals by Stevie Wonder. George Martin’s ingenious production and string arrangements rival his greatest work. Beck’s versatile soloing and diverse tones are clearly the album’s focus, and he proves to be an adept rhythm player. Blow by Blow is balanced by open-ended jamming and crisp ensemble interaction as it sidesteps the bombast that sank much of the jazz-rock fusion of the period.

One of the album’s unique qualities is the sense of fun that permeates the performances. On the opening “You Know What I Mean,” Beck’s stinging, blues-based soloing is full of imaginative shapes and daring leaps. On “Air Blower,” elaborate layers of rhythm, duel lead, and solo guitars find their place in the mix. Propelled by the galvanic rhythm section, Beck slashes his way into “Scatterbrain,” where a dizzying keyboard and guitar line leads to more energetic soloing from Beck and Middleton. In Stevie Wonder’s ballad “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” Beck variously coaxes and unleashes sighs and screams from his guitar in an aching dedication to Roy Buchanan. Middleton’s aptly titled “Freeway Jam” best exemplifies the album’s loose and fun-loving qualities, with Beck again riding high atop the rhythm section’s wave. As with “Scatterbrain,” Martin’s impeccable string arrangements enhance the subtle harmonic shades of the closing “Diamond Dust.” Blow by Blow signaled a new creative peak for Beck, and it proved to be a difficult act to follow. It is a testament to the power of effective collaboration and, given the circumstances, Beck clearly rose to the occasion. In addition to being a personal milestone, Blow by Blow ranks as one of the premiere recordings in the canon of instrumental rock music. ~ Mark Kirschenmann

What Does Rolling Stone think about Beck (Jeff! Not Beck. GOD!!!)
Jeff Beck seems finally to have figured out that he is not going to replace the great Sixties group which bore his name and featured Mickey Waller, Rod Stewart, Nicky Hopkins and Ron Wood. After some trying moments with a couple of abortive bands whose principal purpose was to give him someone to play with, this all-instrumental album points a newer, healthier direction for the man whose playing is more emblematic of the Yardbirds than either Jimmy Page, who followed him, or Eric Clapton, whom he succeeded.
Beck’s music here is new only for him. It is closely connected to Stevie Wonder’s, Herbie Hancock’s and perhaps most of all, to that of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, his current touring partner. The only axe Beck has to grind is his Gibson; there are no statements here, only his usual flurry of notes. His affection for Max Middleton’s keyboard playing seems more sensible than it did with the group that made Rough and Ready. Middleton is derivative of Chick Corea and Hancock, but it hardly matters. His principal function is to complement Beck and he does that well. Richard Bailey’s percussion is a little freer than it needs to be, often as not, but then, this is not rock & roll.
Aside from “She’s a Woman,” where Beck’s guitar literally sings a verse, there is little here to distinguish one song from another. But the tunes blend together pleasantly and the second side, particularly, contains some hints that Beck may finally have found a mode in which he is once more comfortable. His exhibitionism can find full play within the ensemble instrumental complex, as it never could when it had to worry about being upstaged by a vocalist. And in places, he is even lyrical.
George Martin produced, but without orchestral charts to arrange, he seems to have had very little to do, other than balance the mixes. Chances are that Beck will make better records, if he chooses to continue to work within the framework established here. The important thing about Blow by Blow, however, is that Beck seems finally to have found something to do with his talent other than waste it.
Dave Marsh is the music critic for ‘Newsday.’ (RS 18

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Whats this? A Clapton benficiary week?) and the Album ranked at (Hey he is only the 14th best guitarist in the world yanno)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71 out of 108

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Tags:Jeff Beck, 1975, Guitarist, Kurt Cobain, Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Music, Allman Brothers, BB King, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Page, Rolling Stones, YouTube, Music Video, Rolling Stone Magazine, Crowbarred, New Zealand, Crowbarred Unleashed, The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time, Mellow Mix Volume 1

Onehunga

Number 637 - John Mellencamp

Number 637

John Mellencamp

“R.o.c.k In The USA”

(1985)

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Genre:Rock

Last time i wrote about “The Cougar” i complained why wasn’t he regarded as an American Icon like Springsteen or Dylan? Well suffice to say that question never got answered by no sausage, of any authority. But it has given me time to reflect over the question now for 198 songs. I have concluded with much wisdom of thought and decided …………. i am still right.

Uh-Huh found John Mellencamp coming into his own, but he perfected his heartland rock with Scarecrow. A loose concept album about lost innocence and the crumbling of small-town America, Scarecrow says as much with its tough rock and gentle folk-rock as it does with its lyrics, which remain a weak point for Mellencamp. Nevertheless, his writing has never been more powerful: “Rain on the Scarecrow” and “Small Town” capture the hopes and fears of Middle America, while “Lonely Ol’ Night” and “Rumbleseat” effortlessly convey the desperate loneliness of being stuck in a dead-end life. Those four songs form the core of the album, and while the rest of the album isn’t quite as strong, that’s only a relative term, since it’s filled with lean hooks and powerful, economical playing that make Scarecrow one of the definitive blue-collar rock albums of the mid-’80s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

For John Mellencamp also see Number 828

For Bruce Springsteen see Number 817

For Bob Dylan see Number 841 & Number 929

Personel life ….Mellencamp lives in Bloomington, Indiana and has been married to former supermodel Elaine Irwin since September 5, 1992. Mellencamp has five children from his three marriages: Michelle (born 1970) from his first marriage; daughters Teddi Jo (1981) and Justice (1985) from his second wife; and sons Hud (1994) and Speck (1995) from his current marriage. He is known to be a rabid Indiana University basketball fan (he often attends games), and has been a staunch supporter of the university itself for a number of years, having contributed a significant amount of money to the University’s cultural and educational programs. In 2000, he gave the IU commencement address, in which he advised graduates to “play it like you feel it!” and that “you’ll be all right.” Following the delivery of his address, Indiana University bestowed upon him an honorary doctorate of Musical Arts. A popular fixture in and around Bloomington, Mellencamp is often seen dining out in any of several of his favorite local restaurants, shopping at local farmer’s markets and co-ops, and attending musical/artistic events in town. Despite his constant presence, however, Mellencamp is known among citizens for his desire for privacy and “a normal life,” often expressing dismay at being approached for autographs or greetings while shopping, dining out, or relaxing with his family (though he is noted to be very cordial and appreciative to those fans who approach him at “appropriate” times.) Accordingly, “Mellencamp sightings” among Bloomington residents and IU students are a common, though usually anticlimactic, occurrence.

What does Rolling Stone think about John Mellencamp?

john Cougar was something of a joke. On the five albums he recorded between 1976 and 1980, he offered pleasant radio music, but nothing worth pondering once the next song started blasting out of the car-radio speakers. Then he got serious with “Jack and Diane,” which took a dull, poorly conveyed romance and used it as a springboard for and equally unfocused ideology. The song was culled from American Fool, an LP that deserved its title.

The multiplatinum Uh-Huh, in ‘83, changed that. “Pink Houses,” the album’s standout, irrevocably upped Mellencamp’s artistic ante. (And reverting to his real surname won him back some personal respect.) Simultaneously an affirmation of traditional American values and a damnation of what they have become, “Pink Houses” melded Mellencamp’s populist politics with an anthemic backing that made it a natural hit. He couldn’t maintain that high level for the length of the LP, but such songs as the Stonesy “Crumblin’ Down” and the Bobby Fuller Four homage “Authority Song” raised expectations that Mellencamp was going to become a major voice.

Recorded at Mellencamp’s own Belmont Mall studio, the sound is intentionally low tech, built around Kenny Aronoff’s enormous snare-drum beat. The sinewy mix is all drums and guitar, with Toby Myers’ bass and John Cascella’s keyboards emphasized sparingly and strategically. One big exception is “Justice and Independence ‘85″ (dry funk similar to R.E.M.’s “Can’t Get There from Here”), in which the propulsive rhythms, complemented by tight horns, make Mellencamp’s stillborn poetic devices less annoying.
Scarecrow is a transitional album. Mellencamp has yet to completely shed the dopey bad-boy image that infected his early work – “You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin’” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock)” glorify false rebellion. But “Minutes to Memories,” “Rain on the Scarecrow” and “Between a Laugh and a Tear” suggest a formidable talent just beginning to emerge.
Mellencamp is no longer a product labeled Johnny Cougar. He has grown up, but his passion shows no sign of diminishing. He sees an American dream dying around him, but he intends to go down fighting. Even if authority always wins. (RS 457) JIMMY GUTERMAN

For REM see Number 712

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (C’mon He was a Joke!) and the Album ranked at Number (Ok…. Phuck… put down the gun OK!)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71 out of 108

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Tags:John Mellencamp, 1985, Rock, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Music, YouTube, Music Video, Rolling Stone Magazine, Crowbarred, New Zealand, Crowbarred Unleashed, The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time, Mellow Mix Volume 1

Onehunga

Number 638 - Jesus Jones

Number 638

Jesus Jones

“Right Here”

(1990)

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Genre:Alt Pop

Jesus Jones‘ murky mix of samples, pop, dance tracks, and techno resulted in one huge international hit single, “Right Here, Right Now” (taken from their second album, Doubt), that pretty much sums up all of the band’s virtues — a strong melody and hook, with a flair for making the dance club overtones mesh with the rock guitar. For their flaws, turn to their first album, which suffers from muddy beats, shapeless melodies, and intrusive samples, all of which plagued sections of Doubt. But when Doubt

worked, as it did on “Right Here, Right Now,” “International Bright Young Thing,” and “Real, Real, Real,” it showed that sample-driven dance club music could comfortably fit into pop music.

Based on the platinum success of Doubt, Jesus Jones‘ leader guitarist/vocalist Mike Edwards decided it was his mission to make techno palatable for the pop masses and recorded their follow-up album, 1993’s Perverse, almost entirely on computer. The result was neither good pop music nor good techno; Jesus Jones‘ subsequent fall from the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts was as fast as their rise to the top. After a long layoff, they returned in the summer of 1997 with Already. Initially, the album was only released in the U.K.; it was released in the U.S. during the spring of 1998. Three years later, Jesus Jones returned to form. With new members Alan Doughty (bass) and Tony Arthy (drums), Jesus Jones inked a deal with Koch and issued London in fall 2001. ~ Stephen Thomas

Rolling Stone was to busy that year to know Jesus Jones existed, however they did realise Madonna was indeed a woman and Kurt Cobain didn’t own guns, nothing gets past these guys, they are on the case.

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Is that the guy who had a hit in 0 BC?) and the Album ranked at Number (We are pretty sure the band was called Jesus and The Apostles? Aye?)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71 out of 108

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Tags:Jesus Jones, 1990, Alt Pop, Music, YouTube, Music Video, Rolling Stone Magazine, Crowbarred, New Zealand, Crowbarred Unleashed, The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time, Mellow Mix Volume 1

Onehunga

Number 639 - John Lennon

Number 639

John Lennon

“I Found Out”

(1970)

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Genre:Rock

I had two heroes of Humanity that i looked up to when i was a young child/adult. Humans always have heroes that they can aspire to, emulate or even mimic. Its just natural human progression, that is, unless you thought Charles Manson was something Christ like. The heroes that i admired from a young age were Alan Alda of M*A*S*H, he, who taught me humour and how to be empathetic and the other was John Lennon he, who taught me to acquire wisdom and intellect also with a bucket full of rebellion (coincidentally both were feminists).

With this, as only a man could do, was name one of his children Johnathon and the other son, well, his middle name is Alan. I won’t mention that my dog’s name was Lennon or my nickname in teenage years as Trapper. (Go figure). There are strong parallels with these two men that are still with me today. I miss J Lennon’s voice and i regret never writing to Alan Alda to tell him how great as an influence he was, but hey, they are still with me regardless.

9.10.40 to 8.12.80

Out of all the Beatles, John Lennon had the most interesting — and frustrating — solo career. Lennon was capable of inspired, brutally honest confessional songwriting and melodic songcraft; he also had a tendency to rest on his laurels, churning out straight-ahead rock & roll without much care. But the extremes, both in his music and his life, were what made him fascinating. Where Paul McCartney was content to be a rock star, Lennon dabbled in everything from revolutionary politics to the television talk-show circuit during the early ’70s. After releasing a pair of acclaimed albums, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, in the early ’70s, Lennon sunk into an infamous “lost weekend” where his musical output was decidedly uneven and his public behavior was often embarrassing. Halfway through the decade, he sobered up and retired from performing to become a house-husband and father. In 1980, he launched a comeback with his wife Yoko Ono, releasing the duet album Double Fantasy that fall. Just as his career was on an upswing, Lennon was tragically assassinated outside of his New York apartment building in December of 1980. He left behind an enormous legacy, not only as a musician, but as a writer, actor and activist.

For Beatles see Numbers 894, #947 & #587

About the album in 1970……….

The cliché about singer/songwriters is that they sing confessionals direct from their heart, but John Lennon exploded the myth behind that cliché, as well as many others, on his first official solo record, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Inspired by his primal scream therapy with Dr. Walter Janov, Lennon created a harrowing set of unflinchingly personal songs, laying out all of his fears and angers for everyone to hear. It was a revolutionary record — never before had a record been so explicitly introspective, and very few records made absolutely no concession to the audience’s expectations, daring the listeners to meet all the artist’s demands. Which isn’t to say that the record is unlistenable. Lennon’s songs range from tough rock & rollers to piano-based ballads and spare folk songs, and his melodies remain strong and memorable, which actually intensifies the pain and rage of the songs. Not much about Plastic Ono Band is hidden. Lennon presents everything on the surface, and the song titles — “Mother,” “I Found Out,” “Working Class Hero,” “Isolation,” “God,” “My Mummy’s Dead” — illustrate what each song is about, and charts his loss of faith in his parents, country, friends, fans, and idols. It’s an unflinching document of bare-bones despair and pain, but for all its nihilism, it is ultimately life-affirming; it is unique not only in Lennon’s catalog, but in all of popular music. Few albums are ever as harrowing, difficult, and rewarding as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

What did Rolling Stone think about John Lennon?
Both Yoko Ono, who coproduced it, and Klaus Voormann, who played bass on it, say they believe John Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band” is “timeless.” Indeed, it sounds as if it could have been released yesterday. The instrumentation - Lennon on guitar and piano, Voorman on bass, Ringo Starr on drums - is stripped to the bone. In resonantly simple language - language that deviates sharply from what Lennon dismissed at the time as the “self-conscious poetry” of songs like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” - he takes on basic issues: death, isolation, anger, class, fear. He attacks what he saw as the illusions of the Sixties, bidding goodbye to that decade with the unsentimental announcement “The dream is over.” And when he declares, “Now I’m reborn,” in “God” it couldn’t be any plainer: the Beatles are dead, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono are standing alone.

The simplicity of the arrangements on “Plastic Ono Band” only increases the power of Lennon’s emotion. The anger Lennon had stored up for years - “so much pain/I could never show it,” is how he puts it on “Plastic Ono Band’s” chilling coda, “My Mummy’s Dead” - burst forth in his sessions with Janov. This passage from Lennon’s interview with Rolling Stone shortly after the album’s release demonstrates how extreme the passions were that he was tapping at the time: “One has to completely humiliate oneself to be what the Beatles were, and that’s what I resent. I mean I did it, I didn’t know, I didn’t foresee; it just happened bit by bit, gradually, until this complete craziness is surrounding you and you’re doing exactly what you don’t want to do with people you can’t stand, the people you hated when you were ten.

“And that’s what I’m saying on this album - I remember what it’s all about now, you fuckers - fuck you! That’s what I’m saying, you don’t get me twice

This was tough, uncut stuff, and it didn’t send fans of Beatle John scurrying to the record store. “People underestimated it,” says Voormann, “and they expected something else. But John couldn’t care less.” Yoko Ono agrees. “Plastic Ono Band” is, she says, “just as important as “Sgt. Pepper,” in terms of being a milestone and in terms of the direction that John took after that. The album characterized the direction we were in together, and because of that, a lot of people resented it. Like ‘the dream is over/What can I say?’ - and they were saying, ‘Please, don’t let the dream be over. Let us keep on dreamin [edit] (RS)

For Ringo Starr see Number 901

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (We only like one song by John Lennon if we liked more, then we wouldve called ourselves “The Rolling Slugs” aye?) and the Album ranked at Number 22

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71 out of 108

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Tags:John Lennon, 1970, Rock, Alan Alda, The Beatles, Yoko Ono, M*A*S*H, Paul McCartney,Music,