Just shufflin’ my way through Friday with IckMusic’s Friday Five.
Crunchy - “Jerk Store” (All Day Sucker, 2001)
Fun power pop from the debut album of Monty Colvin’s first post-Galactic Cowboys project. Low, distorted bass, catchy chorus, great harmony vocals, and it’s based on a George Costanza joke. Nice.Rush - “The Weapon” (Signals, 1982)
Well it looks like Rush is here to stay for my Friday Fives, and you know what? I’m OK with that. I’ve really grown to love Signals over the years despite it being instrumental in ushering in Rush’s more-synths-less-guitar period. “The Weapon” is one of the high points on the album.I Mother Earth - “Hello Dave!”/”Like a Girl” (Scenery and Fish, 1996)
I’m cheating again. “Hello Dave!” is the 48-second nonsensical album opener from I Mother Earth’s second release, so I included the track that follows it as well. I Mother Earth can be an acquired taste at times, and “Like a Girl” is no exception. It continues the heavily percussion-based funky grooves found on their excellent debut Dig, but they dropped some of the Latin flair and jam-band attitude and added a more post-grunge alternative feel. Unfortunately, vocalist Edwin left the group after this album, and I Mother Earth seemed to continue to struggle to find its sound, changing styles from album to album. Their releases can sometimes be fairly hard to come by at a good price in decent condition, making it difficult to check this band out if you’ve never heard them before.Galactic Cowboys - “The Buzz (coughing)” (The Horse That Bud Bought, 1997)
“The Buzz” contains none of the progressive leanings or quirky sense of humor present in other Galactic Cowboys tunes. Short and sweet (clocking in at only 1:26), this is straight-ahead, heavy, aggressive metal.Geoff Tate - “Every Move We Make” (Geoff Tate, 2002)
What’s the deal with iTunes shuffle?! How does it repeatedly decide to pick songs from the same albums week after week? Anyway, here’s a low-key, laid-back, soft-groove tune from the Queensrÿche frontman’s solo disc, although I think it’s a better song than last week’s pick by iTunes.
STOP THE PRESSES! ALL HANDS ON DECK! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
Bassist extraordinaire Monty Colvin of The Awful Truth, Galactic Cowboys, and Crunchy fame has shaved his beard! Again, Monty Colvin has shaved his beard. I know, I know. It’s hard to believe, but you can witness the atrocity here. But we must warn you, what you are about to see contains content of a graphic nature, so you may want to make sure there are no children in the room.
We now return to your regularly scheduled program already in progress.
I wanted Tweety Pie crucified
I’m rooting for the bad guy
I wanted Thunderbirds Kentucky-fried
I’m rooting for the bad guy
Today’s video feature is a version of “Rooting for the Bad Guy,” the opening track off The Wildhearts’ self-titled 2007 release, that comes from a 2009 DVD called The Wildhearts: Live in the Studio - A Film by Tim Smith. It is—as the title suggests—footage of the band performing the aforementioned eponymous album in its entirety, captured live in the studio by songwriter, musician, producer, video director, and Cardiacs founder, Tim Smith. I have seen other clips from this DVD, and all of them share the dark, strange, dreamy feel of this video with odd camera angles, harsh lighting, and shallow depth of field.
I think my favorite part of the song is the slow, spacey breakdown at about the 6:50 mark, which interestingly enough reminds me of the outro section of “Missile Silo” by former Galactic Cowboys bassist—and Dee Dee Ramone’s cousin—Monty Colvin. What? Yes, I said 6:50. Oh, you were distracted by the Dee Dee Ramone comment, huh? Understandable. Yeah, you’ll need a spare 10 minutes to watch this clip all the way through to the end. But I promise, it’s worth it.
Also note that “the camera’s in the way of the words” are not the original lyrics. Ginger, you’re so funny.
Purchase The Wildhearts at iTunes or Amazon.com.
Purchase The Wildhearts Live in the Studio: A Film by Time Smith at Amazon.com.
