Tag: Post-Punk

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Tunes

Eighties’ best 100 redux: #87 Wall of Voodoo “Mexican radio” (1982)

<< #88    |    #86 >>

At song #87 is Wall of Voodoo’s hit “Mexican radio”, easily the most accessible track in the band’s early catalogue.

Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave band whose beginnings in film scores informed the band’s early spaghetti western-infused sound, along with original frontman, Stan Ridgway’s dark lyrics and easily recognizable droll vocals. “Mexican radio” took the band’s normal dark and unique sound further, almost to an oddball or kitschy place, and produced for Wall of Voodoo their only radio hit, boosting record sales of their second album, 1982’s “Call of the west,” to their highest charting. Ridgway left the band shortly afterwards for a solo career, was replaced by Andy Prieboy, and the band’s unique sound was lost to a more conventional New Wave sound. The group would release two more albums before disbanding for good in 1988.

I discovered/rediscovered “Mexican radio” on a retro compilation I purchased in 1999 called “Retro 80s volume 2: Rare and brilliant” and it quickly became a favourite of mine. It’s quirky and vibrant, and has inflecting lyrics that drum up images of picking up foreign language radio signals, a repeating chorus line that you really can’t help but digest and join in. I distinctly remember drunkenly dancing-slash-stumbling and shouting along to this song one Sunday retro night at Studio 69, a long-defunct downtown Toronto bar with my old housemate, Ryan. This one’s for you, buddy, wherever you might be.

Sing it with me: “I’m on a Mexican whoa-oh radio”

Original Eighties best 100 position: #95

Favourite lyric: I wish I was in Tijuana / Eating barbequed iguana” That’s some serious rhyming…

Where are they now?: The last we heard from Wall of Voodoo was in 2006 when Stan Ridgway resurrected the name, put together a band that included none of the other original members, and toured in support of Cyndi Lauper. No other real reunions have been serious discussed, especially since Marc Moreland, the other founding member died in 2002.

For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.

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Playlists

Playlist: New tunes from 2024, part one

Well, hello there. Did you miss me?

Yes? No?

It’s been a minute (or over a month) since I last posted to these pages. This hiatus wasn’t planned. Life just happened to get in the way, as it has a habit of doing.

My intention was to post this first part of my annual playlist of new tunes just over six weeks ago. The playlist was put together, vetted, and reviewed near the beginning of April, and yet, I didn’t have the words to go with them.

Indeed, 2024 has been a mixed bag so far, good times and bad. Stuff has happened, life has moved on, and yet, I’m not sure I can point to anything specific or any detail anything of note for the first three months of the year. Nevertheless, if I look back at the previous year for comparison, I gotta say things are an improvement, right?

Right.

Well, at the very least I can point to music as a constant in the pro column. There has been some brand new discoveries, as well as new stuff from old faves. The music has definitely been there. And for that, I am grateful.

This will mark the sixth year running that I’ve done this exercise of sharing the best of the new music that has caught my ear during the year in playlist format. As I have for the last few years, I’ll be doing a separate part for each quarter of the upcoming year. This first part here is made up of twenty five songs from albums released between January and March and all things being equal, you ‘should’ see twenty-five more songs from the spring months at some point in late July.

So without further ado, I’ll present the music that has helped keep me going over the first three months of 2024. Highlights include:

  • Starting at the midway point in the playlist, we have “Caesar on a TV screen”, a single by British indie buzz band The Last Dinner Party and listening to it, it’s obvious that they are worthy of all the hype heaped upon them
  • Speaking of expectations, lots have been heaped upon the new album by Liam Gallagher (Oasis) and John Squire (The Stone Roses) and in my opinion, the results have been mixed but on certain singles, like “Just another rainbow”, we have seen these expectations realized
  • The Jesus and Mary Chain are a band that are revered for very good reason and their latest fits right in with some of their best, “JAMCOD” is just a perfect example of how excellent this band still is
  • Dan Boeckner has wowed the indie music world with the various projects he has unleashed over the years, like Wolf Parade, Divine Fits, Handsome Furs, and Operators, and “Don’t worry baby” is just one of the many great tracks on his debut solo album
  • Closing things off with “Peace sign”, the first single released off “Interplay”, the latest and very excellent album released by shoegaze icons Ride

Here is the entire playlist as I’ve created it:

1. “Literary mind” Sprints (from the album Letter to self)

2. “Sometimes, I swear” The Vaccines (from the album Pick-up full of pink carnations)

3. “No caffeine” Marika Hackman (from the album Big sigh)

4. “How lost” The Fauns (from the album How lost)

5. “Gone” The Umbrellas (from the album Fairweather friend)

6. “Say goodbye” Future Islands (from the album People who aren’t there anymore)

7. “I got the fear” Torres (from the album What an enormous room)

8. “Change my mind” NewDad (from the album Madra)

9. “Waves” Kula Shaker (from the album Natural magic)

10. “Language” New Model Army (from the album Unbroken)

11. “Caesar on a TV screen” The Last Dinner Party (from the album Prelude to ecstasy)

12. “Hollowed out” Ducks Ltd (from the album Harm’s way)

13. “House of self-undoing” Chelsea Wolfe (from the album She reaches out to she reaches out to she)

14. “Terrible news” Middle Kids (from the album Faith crisis pt 1)

15. “I want to be with you” Lime Garden (from the album One more thing)

16. “The spark” Elephant Stone (from the album Back into the dream)

17. “Water underground” Real Estate (from the album Daniel)

18. “Bubblegum dog” MGMT (from the album Loss of life)

19. “Just another rainbow” Liam Gallagher & John Squire (from the album Liam Gallagher & John Squire)

20. “JAMCOD” The Jesus & Mary Chain (from the album Glasgow eyes)

21. “The summer of hate” The Dandy Warhols (from the album Rockmaker)

22. “Don’t worry baby” Boeckner (from the album Boeckner!)

23. “Lover’s leap” Elbow (from the album Audio vertigo)

24. “Evil spawn” Waxahatchee (from the album Tiger’s blood)

25. “Peace sign” Ride (from the album Interplay)

Apple Music fans can click here to sample the above tracks as a whole playlist.

And as always, wherever you are in the world, I hope you are safe and continue to be well. Above all, enjoy the tunes.

If you’re interested in checking out any of the other playlists I’ve created and shared on these pages, you can peruse them here.

Categories
Tunes

Best tunes of 2020: #16 Dehd “Haha”

<< #17    |    #15 >>

Dehd recently announced the upcoming release of their fifth studio album, “Poetry”, due out in May. Some very welcome news for fans of their energetic blend of surf, post-punk, and garage rock.

I only came across Dehd with the release of 2020’s “Flower of devotion”, but that was actually their third album, after forming five years earlier. They are the trio of Emily Kempf (bass guitar, vocals), Jason Balla (guitar, vocals), and Eric McGrady (drums), based in Chicago, which surprises me every time I remember this fact. Because for some completely irrational and unknown reason, to me, they sound like they should hail from the UK.

And though I’ve not heard anything prior to it, I felt completely at home with “Flower of devotion” when I first heard it upon its release in July 2020. It felt alive and raw and vibrating with nervous energy, though from all reports it’s shinier and cleaner than its predecessors. It was exactly the kind of music that we needed as we were coming into the first summer of the pandemic, very much like an invitation to go outside and play.

“How does one get here?
When did we cross the line?
When it comes to falling, yeah
I’m falling all the time“

My favourite tune on “Flower of devotion” was track three, right from the very beginning. “Haha” was never released as a single but it certainly sounds like it could’ve been one. It is just over two minutes of jangly guitars, a hopscotch bassline, tongue clucking, and he said/she said, call and response vocals. With its staccato and twitchy chorus but fun feel throughout, it all seems so simple. But sometimes simple is exactly what you need for a perfect pop gem. And yes, that title makes me laugh every time.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.