Helen Boyd Kramer's journal on gender and stuff
Paul Weller‘s still around & doing cool stuff, but ah, The Jam — in some ways the ultimate British band. Yet it’s just a short stroll from “Beat Surrender” to Philly Soul, no?
“Going Underground” is about as close as I got to a manifesto when I was 18. Much thanks to Hillary, Melissa, Chris, Peter, and my brother Joe = all of whom played some part in making a Jam fan of me. Hear more here.
I’m starting to teach Transgender Lives today, for the third time, at Lawrence, so this seemed appropriate.
To save you the time & trouble, here are the lyrics:
A friend recently admitted, shyly, that he can’t seem to “get into” Radiohead and asked me what, exactly, I like about them. My first thought was “What’s not to like?” but then I said things about their unusual rhythms, the layers of sound, the density of the expression. Good lyrics. They are, in a nutshell, a lovely electronic tilt at a quixotic world. They’re also the first band Betty turned me onto; I returned the favor with Elvis Costello.
The first song I heard was the first one here, “High and Dry.” “No Surprises” was probably my next favorite.
“There There” is my favorite song in the world to dance to. Really. (Followed closely by “Idioteque” which seems to be one of Thom Yorke’s favorites to dance to as well.)
“Stop Whispering” is the perfect angry but exhausted song ever.
So, yeah. (There’s plenty more Radiohead I could add, but theoretically, at least, it’s one thing to double “two tunes” another to make it “Twelve Tune Tuesday.”)
Ah, David Garza: I discovered him years ago & he has been scratching my itches for a long while. His range is amazing, his love songs heart-breaking (or, happily, heart-warming) and his voice is hot hot hot. This is a decent sampler but there are a lot more styles he’s done; if you can find somewhere to hear a song called “One Drop” go do it.
Don’t groan, Sting-haters. Just go somewhere else you can be all superior.
I think these are all really pretty songs: one a Gershwin cover, & the others are by Sting, one with Cheb Mami on vocals. “Mad About You” is from that gem Soul Cages, & inspired by the story of David & Bathsheba.
Oh, how I love her. She nails that perfect mix of pop cheeriness with clever, cutting lyrics.
but when they bring me back to you
& tell you that I’m shiny new
the girl you see may not be me behind these eyes – anymore
Honestly, how can you not love a band that can work a kazoo unironically?
I found myself humming The Teardrop Explodes’ “When I Dream” out of the blue the other day, which reminded me of course of Julian Cope, who about 3 of you maybe remember, and hopefully this will scratch an itch for those of you who love 80s stuff that maybe you haven’t discovered yet.
There’s no one who hates Robert Plant as much as I do, but the stuff he recorded with Allison Kraus is too gorgeous, so here’s a track as part of a set of melodic antidotes to all the Valentine’s frippery we all love to hate. The other by the Violent Femmes, and honestly I think this is a recording that should have been on the Eraserhead soundtrack (yes, there was one) since it’s just that right kind of creepy.
& Please don’t try to talk me out of my dislike of Robert Plant or Led Zeppelin: deaf ears I’ve got on the subject.
Valentine’s Day is five days away, so consider this foreplay.
There’s a reason Joan Jett is called the original riot grrrl, after all. So what would JJ do? I think that’s pretty damn apparent, no?
We’ve all heard the Lady Gaga to death by now, no? Even if “Bad Romance” did spawn one of the best names of an FB group, it’s time for some of the other cool stuff that was nominated or won Grammys last night:
