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The bit that you skip #206: New Order – Regret
By 1994, I only knew two things about New Order: frente!’s cover of bizarre love triangle was perfect and regret sounded weird. Not in a weird huh kinda way, just weird. It was a polished song that had an edge. It was pop with teeth. Nothing like New Order was on the radio, and eventually…
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The bit that you skip #205: Gorillaz – Tomorrow comes today
Ask any survivor of the great britpop rivalry who hated Blur the most and the common answer will be either Gallagher brother. I suspect no one hates Blur as much as Damon Albarn. Even back when Blur were mega, Albarn worked on side projects, usually soundtrack work. Did an instrumental for Trainspotting, then worked on…
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The bit that you skip #204: Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
A song that has had many lives, The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen truly is a song no one else but them could make. Brooding but still uplifting, solemn but with an infectious hook. Ian McCulloch’s beautiful voice floats on a psychedelic goth atmosphere. A hit single in 1984, it’s easily their most…
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The bit that you skip #203: Violent Femmes – Blister in the sun
Inside my head there are two Violent Femmes. The first one I heard thanks to the soundtrack for The Crow. Dark, moody, gothy. Perfect for my teenage years! Years later, I caught John Cusack’s classic Grosse Pointe Blank for two reasons: I loved John Cusack and Minnie Driver was a massive crush. I didn’t expect…
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The bit that you skip #202: Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
I always associate Arcade Fire with The Shining. Hear me out. Remember that scene where Torrance is speaking to Delbert Grady? “You’ve always been the caretaker”, in tone and severity resonated in me when a former friend told me I had to like Arcade Fire because “it’s the music that suits you”. Well, here we…
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The bit that you skip #201: Modern Lovers – Pablo Picasso
“Are you a taxi driver?” -asked the security lady after taking my details. “No, why?”- I ask, genuinely befuddled. “Every time you drive by this gate you’re listening to ‘taxi driver music’.” She remarks. I teach English at a company in a remote industrial park in what used to be the outskirts of Mexico City,…
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The bit that you skip #200: Peaches & Herb – Reunited
“…and it feels so good”. I think this track and R.E.M.’s “LEONARD BERSTEIN!” are two songs that I need to sing along to in a single, particular part. I might not know the rest of the song but that part exerts a Pavlovian response. Starting as a duet with soft soul ballads, Peaches & Herb…
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The bit that you skip #199: Bad Religion – Leaders and Followers
Can’t claim any greater knowledge about punk besides the usual. Mohawks, three chords, leather jackets with pins, big ass boots, and interesting hair colours. Granted, most of my punk exposure pre 1994 came from documentaries, movies like Dudes (1987) and that dude that got Spocked in The Voyage Home. Oh, and The Young Ones. So…
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The bit that you skip #198: a-ha – The Sun always shines on TV
The cruelest lesson of life is that of achieving a goal, and then having it taken away from you right away. All that effort, pain, and sacrifice, gone in a snap. It’s not uncommon for this to happen to relationships and it’s understandable: we might overlook red flags because of several factors which might be…
