>> Return to Real Cool Time News Index
I have to admit I owned a T-Shit before I'd ever heard of the band, I can't remember how and to my great shame they played locally a couple of times and I missed them. It was a few months after that my fellow musical contributor told me to check them out and being the sort that loves a tip, I did. I've not looked back since, and it seems in all that time their status and reputation has grown. Band's such as Explosions In The Sky claim they were a major influence for starters, and there are great expectations around the lead singer and writer Josh T Pearson's solo work. The whole legacy of the band is heightened by an air of mystery and purposeful solitude.
If you've never heard the band, their music evokes all sorts of heavenly imagery and hell-fire preaching. The lyricism and words can be a bit cloying at times in their apocalyptic joy, like the rapture being played out to a wall of feed back and post rock noise. But that's the strength of it as well. I'm a complete non-believer in belief, but the power of the band's one record is so strong there are times it almost makes you want to believe. Not surprising really, much is made of Josh T. Pearson's being the son of an alcoholic Texan preacher, but for me, the noise and songs they make are their true testament. I doubt we'll ever see them as a band again, but here's a video of one of the highlight tracks from their only LP - The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads, These Are The Days.
I have to admit I've not picked up the new Stooges album, or made any plans to see the reformed band live. Part of me would dearly love to, and the other part of me is the part that's glad I didn't see the Velvet's during their reunion, or the Pixies. Why, well, I don't know - to be honest. Maybe I'm a bit worried it won't be any good. I know every band's entitled to their odd bad album and that, so that's not the problem. And nothing could tarnish my love of their music - it's to important to my life for that. Other than the sheer genius of the music, what made those bands great to me in the past was that then no-one I knew was listening to them other than a select couple of friends. They all inspired me into forming my onw band and to this day I've built up such a personal relationship to the music, it feels like the past is enough - I want them to be a fond memory rather than a new big deal.
Another thing about bands like The Stooges and The Velvets were that they were true outsiders and I kind of love that about them. In their day they stood out like sore thumbs, the legend surrounding them much more appealing and lasting. When bands of this importance return in this modern media age, they just become one more channel in a raft of choices and the magic is lost. I'm sure I'll relent, but in the meantime, there's a nice little promo documentary feature on the new LP that features lots of tantalising shots of the old band playing and Iggy giving his take on things - its about 10 minutes long and well worth a look - unfortunately it's not embeddable, so you'll have to visit the site linked below to see it.
The Nephs were one of those bands that the music press loved to pillory and take the mick out of at every given opportunity. It even got the point where there was a weekly Ned's Corner in Melody Maker that followed the hilarious adventures of the band's daft drummer and the many misunderstandings he caused with the bands arcanely mystical singer Carl McCoy. Often dismissed as over serious Goths festooned in talcum powder, the image was a big stumbling point for many who went on to dismiss the band's music as well.
Well, not around these parts - The Fields Of The Nephilim were firm favourites back in the late 80s, and still get an outing from time to time. The band's first album was a raw and punk salute to both spaghetti westerns and cheap video nasties - the mysticism was held in check in favour of floored pedal Gothic rock. Following albums became more sculptured and dense, but still managed to keep moments of raw rock that are still satisfying to this day. Selected here for your pleasure is the video for the single Moonchild (from their second LP), a superb track that would often have us all up moshing in the local dancing parlour fondly remembered as Radcliffe's Square Club. Great memories, and a superb band - who I believe are still at it to this day (though I've missed out on all that.)
Dio Bach is a music fan who loves sharing his opinions on his favourite music and videos. Subscribe for regular nuggets.
Please Note: This site requires Flash Player 7 to view embedded video players.
Home
Playlist
Music Reviews
About Real Cool Time
Links
Contact
More Videos & MP3s
Check out the monthly archive pages for a whole load more music videos and MP3s.
Disclaimer: All videos and content on the site are supplied and hosted by publicly available third party suppliers. No files are stored on this server unless they are given with the permission of the copyright holder.
Also, as we are using other services to provide the content, we can't in any way, shape or form guarantee availability or compatibility of material hosted elsewhere.
