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The first Public Image Ltd LP, First Issue has been a favourite of mine for years. The dense guitars and Lydon's angry lyrics compliment each other perfectly. I'm not a big fan of their later work, but for that one LP they managed something one song short of perfection (you know which one...)
Sparkled with flashes of darkness, inventive instrumentation and exhilarating melodies, it couldn't be any different to Lydon's previous life in the Sex Pistols. The anger in his words is about the only thing the two bands have in common. The one everyone knows from First Issue is very much the signature tune - Public Image. Sharp and danceable, it's one of those great tracks that sounds as fresh today as it did when it came out. Spotted the video over at another blog and couldn't help but post.
Bang up to date for a change - Editors have a new LP out today An End Has A Start, much anticipated around these parts after 2005's excellent The Back Room. Editors are up there with my favourite bands of the last few years. Their music harks back to some great 80s stuff infused with some smart modern streaks and production. As well as creating a strong mood with their music, they're one of those bands who's songs you'll just end up singing along too. Some might find them a bit dour, but personally, I find them pretty driving and uplifting.
The first single off the new LP is brilliantly titled Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors - and it's a winner, a real sing it loud and not get it out of your head all day winner. I was lucky enough to get the LP at the end of last week, and it's been on a fair bit since then. I'm happy to report it's good, maybe, even better than The Back Room (time will tell though) so with out further ado, and simply because it's one of the best singles I've heard this year - here's the video.
I can put a finger on when my tastes skewered away from the fairly mainstream, chart based tastes of a typical mid-teenager to a more alternative viewpoint, it was around the end of 1987 beginning of 1988. During that time, the first real indie LP I bought was the Throwing Muses' excellent mini-LP The Fat Skier. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before and paved the way for more esoteric music in coming years. It wasn't long after that everything was fair game. Over the years I've kept a love of those earliest LPs by them, but it's fair to say I sort of fell out of love with them as well. After House Tornado it got a bit too samey and lacking the earlier fire that I liked. Recently they've got another airing thanks picking up nice digital copies of music I previously owned on cassette and the music remains as quirky and enjoyable as it ever was.
One of the stand out tracks from their earliest LPs (it appeared on two LPs - The Fat Skier and their untitled debut) was Soul Soldier. At the time it struck me in its changes in pace and mood, and it got lots of late night, falling asleep plays over the years. It was the soundtrack to a great teenage youth club holiday to the western shores of Ireland and almost made me want to take up dance, just so I could choreograph a piece to it to woo one of those teenhood sweethearts (you were young once too...) The funniest thing was, I only picked up the LP as I'd seen them briefly on TV, and thought they sounded like Sinéad O'Connor - who I was well into at the time. They don't - but I'm glad I was willing to take that leap as it led me here on this path of joyous music. Here's the video for Soul Soldier.
Take one riff, play it lots, play it hard and solo over the top of it. Whilst sounding very simplistic, it's the formula that Loop used to make a couple of the essential indie LPs of the 80s - Fade Out and Heaven's End. It's hard to think of any other musical artists that have come close to what Loop did with their music, there have been echoes of it since, but there's little out there to compare with their drive and commitment to such a solid guitar groove.
If you had to pick a top ten of EPs from Indie during the 80s then the Collision EP would have to be in the top three. The title track's riff is so simple yet so effective, driving and pounding, you had no choice but to dance when it came on. The sound is both distant and crystal clear - the lead guitar spiders away like a bad night's dreaming and the vocals come from out of the same place. It's fitting that the band choose to base the video for the song on the imagery of the Hellraiser film. Here for your entertainment is one of my personal all time favourites - Collision.
Dio Bach is a music fan who loves sharing his opinions on his favourite music and videos. Subscribe for regular nuggets.
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