I Will Always Go Beside You, You Will Always Understand: Dolores O'Riordan

Something has left my life
And I don't know where it went to
Somebody caused me strife
And it's not what I was seeking.
Didn't you see me, didn't you hear me
Didn't you see me standing there
Why did you turn out the lights
Did you know that I was sleeping
Say a prayer for me
Help me to feel the strength I did
My identity has been taken
Is my heart breaking on me
All my plans fell though my hands
They fell
Though my hands on me
All my dreams, it suddenly seems
Empty

 

Like many, there is utter shock at the news of Dolores O'Riordan's sudden passing at such a young age. While grunge was on heavy rotation, the voice of an Irish muse began to infiltrate the airwaves.  The Cranberries Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We gave us so many classic Cranberry songs like Linger and Dreams.  Her voice, poetic and versatile, gave us Ireland in the mainstream again. With their second album, No Need to Argue, her hair pixie short and blonde, we got a heavier dose of her potency. 

Zombie, one of their few political songs, painted perfectly the political feel  at the time, the endless cycle of violence in The Troubles. It's pure emotion. It's the frustration, the denial, and the sadness.

It's the same old theme
Since nineteen-sixteen
In your head, in your head, they're still fighting
With their tanks, and their bombs
And their bombs, and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are dying

PCarlson 2001 Belfast

 And while they may not have stayed in the mainstream, their fan base continued to follow them until their break in 2003. However, it was Dolores that inspired me to shave my hair and buy they Doc Martens. She was a tiny powerhouse and she was my muse. Ireland has a special place in my heart and, to me, she was the continuation of a long tradition of Irish bards and poets who painted their history and religion in beautiful words. 

As a final note, Dolores had a deep regard for her religion and for Pope John Paul II and was able to play the Vatican Christmas concert several times by Pope Benedict. The church " influenced a lot of her development as an artist, as a musician." 

Chuid eile i síocháin  Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan

September 6th 1971 - January 15th 2018

        Rain on Rahoon falls softly, softly falling,
 Where my dark lover lies.
 Sad is his voice that calls me, sadly calling,
 At grey moonrise.

 Love, hear thou
 How soft, how sad his voice is ever calling,
 Ever unanswered, and the dark rain falling,
 Then as now.

 Dark too our hearts, O love, shall lie and cold
 As his sad heart has lain
 Under the moongrey nettles, the black mould
 And muttering rain.

~James Joyce 

 

Feels Just Like Starting Over ... Goodbye 2017

And here we are again at the crossroads of another year. And what a strange, crazy, year we have had. It's been full of those really awesomely great moments, but also a lot of really sad, tragic, and questioning moments. So how do we move on from 2017 - in a time of turmoil and uncertainty.

I am going to  proselytize here for a bit, but I'm not looking for you to convert. You will also not hear U2's New Year's Day as that is a song about Polish Solidarity. (See, I always ruin songs for you.) I think that with even with all of the suck that was 2017, we are more alive than ever. We're involved, be it through social media, but people give a damn. We're passionately standing up for our causes and concerns. But please, I beg you, check your facts. Pretend whatever you post is going to that teacher in high school you feared. Also, remember that we are all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. Both may not be wrong or right. Kind of like how I can't stand Rush. I am neither right nor wrong.

But most of all, can we just be kind to one another? You don't know what that guy with a scowl on his face sitting across from you on the subway has gone through today - maybe he lost his job, his boyfriend, girlfriend, or can't shake those bombs from Fallujah anymore.  I even have to remind myself not to check the morons walking up the subway stairs slower than Belt Parkway Traffic on a Sunday, their smart phones in their hands, that glow on their face. Maybe they are waiting for important news - or just have a Pinterest obsession. Give everyone at least one chance.

Also, don't waste energy over something you cannot change. However , exhaust yourself to the limit over something that you can! 2018 is a chance to start over and feel relieved that some things are left behind. There are many things in my brain that I am tossing out with the Prosecco bottles Sunday morning, leaving room for the good moments to grow and make some space for new memories.

We've all lost something or someone this year be it a family member, friend, idol, or stranger. It's never too late to get up and start again. While pain or memories may linger, you've got to live for you and those who love you. We come into and leave this world on our own - and those are two pretty big damn things to do by yourself. So getting in shape, setting a goal, or trying something crazy is pretty doable when you look at it that way.

And don't give up on music. It is still out there very alive. More importantly, go see your favorite bands. Go see new artists. Most artists today are making their money through touring...thanks internet. Create memories through music. 

Speaking of music ...who should you be listening to in 2018??

Greta Van Fleet

Caroline Rose

Mt Joy

 

You should continue to listen to: 

Nicole Atkins

Houndmouth

And maybe you should check out some wearable rock and roll while you're at it courtesy of  Dana Distortion.

https://www.distortionunplugged.com

Finally, I want to thank you for reading this blog. Your support means the world. It was just an idea and you've helped to foster it into something greater than I ever imagined. 
 
Please continue to send your ideas, new bands, and comments. Happy New Year to you all! Now, let's go chase those dreams, shall we?

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars~ Oscar Wilde

Sometimes You Kick: INXS Kick at 30

I think what makes the Kick album so dynamic is that we weren’t so much interested in what everybody else was doing as we on what we wanted to do," says Farriss. "It’s really that simple. Michael and I were extremely focused as songwriters, and the band was very intent on making a series of recordings that we could be passionate about. ~ Andrew Farriss

INXS's sixth album

Released October 19, 1987

Mercury Records

Top Hits:

New Sensation

Need You Tonight / Mediate

Devil Inside

Never Tear Us Apart

Copies sold to date: Almost 20 million

Personal Trivia:

• Kick was one of my first two CDs (the other was The Joshua Tree). 
• I would play Devil Inside at Pizza Hut in Ebensburg and my mom would shoot me a look every time the line it's hard to believe we need a place called hell would come on, as I was not allowed to sing that part.
• I used to draw the Kick and INXS logo on all my paper bag covered school books. 

Kick was INXS's sixth studio album but, for many in the US, it was the first they had heard (and seen MTV generation) of the band. Their previous album and title song, Listen Like Thieves, was a gateway into what was coming next for the band, The sound is what will be coined as classic INXS:  Tim Farriss's infamous chords, Jon Farriss's tight drumming, Andrew Farriss's romantic keyboards, Garry Garry Beers amalgamizing bass,   Kirk Pengilly's sexy saxophone, and Michael Hutchence's soulful voice (among other things). This album fused the sound of their previous studio recordings. You can catch influences on each song, yet also see the steps forward towards creating a sound they would continue to hone on their seventh album, X.

As stated above, it was also the MTV generation. So when you think of Devil Inside, you don't necessarily think of the driving guitar, the speaker alternating percussion, or the bass that carries each moment of the song. No, you think of a caramelized Michael Hutchence in a gray suit and 80's white turtleneck. and perfectly tousled hair and a woman in a black dress walking on a bar.

Kick gave us many songs of our youth. New Sensation, Need You Tonight/Mediate, Mystify, Devil Inside, and of course, Never Tear Us Apart. The videos offered up a new way for us to enjoy this band from the land down under. Their sound successfully blended funk, soul, rock, and a new wave 80's sound that made them unique and not cliche. They didn't try to mimic U2, but did politicize on a few songs. Their dance-able tracks, sexy love songs, strong song writing, and colorful videos remain a hallmark of INXS. Thirty years after it's release, Kick remains one of the top albums of the 80's.

Guns in the Sky

New Senstation

Devil Inside

Need You Tonight

Mediate

The Loved One

Wildlife

Never Tear Us Apart

Mystify

Kick 

Calling All Nations

Tiny Daggers

To Be In You Eyes: The Verve Urban Hymns

 ..."an album of unparalleled beauty so intent on grabbing at the strands of music's multi-hued history." Melody Maker


It is safe to say that, for most people here in the US, The Verve will only be remembered for their Rolling Stone's Long Time sampled song, Bittersweet Symphony. Urban Hymns was British band The Verve's best selling album to date in 1997, with two other before it failing to make their mark on radio listeners ears (at least in the US). The album's sound is lucid, at time melancholy, and layered in rich sounds that allowed for a slight comparison to Oasis. Urban Hymns would be their last real glimmer of radio stardom. Infighting brought the band to disband, reunite briefly, only to call it quits again. 

What could have been we will never know, but thankfully we do have this one gem that brings back the memories of the 90's.

Goodnight Rhonda Lee and Hello Nicole Atkins

I first heard this Jersey native sing at Bonnaroo in 2008. After a long, hot Tennessee day of setting up our tent, I sat outside either This tent or That tent under a sky full of stars and heard her soulful voice. Her journey from Neptune City to Goodnight Rhonda Lee has been a busy one. It's also been a journey of taking music making into her own hands and also a journey of discovery. 

PMCarlson 2017

  ...because my records are old friends. I have trusted in them many times before. ~Darkness Falls So Quiet

You can pinpoint moments of inspiration in this diary-like album that sounds as if it was recorded in the golden-era of Muscle Shoals. Chris Isaak, Roy Orbison, Glenn Campbell, Spector's Wall of Sound, The Grateful Dead,
and The Band can be heard in the distance, but in the end, it's all Nicole's voice, soul, and self awareness that give each song it's power. At any moment, you're waiting for Candi Stanton, Julee Cruise, or Bill Withers to start singing along with her.

The music gods blessed us all when Chris Isaak convinced Nicole to "play her strengths" on her next album. Goodnight Rhonda Lee is full of her vocal talents and exudes a timeless sound. Nicole has always dabbled in soulful sound, but with Goodnight Rhonda Lee, she has fully committed to her strengths, which is foremost her powerful voice, but also her ability to channel vintage sound so effortlessly. 

What also makes this album an instant classic is that it really is an open book. It's about struggle, loneliness, failure, acceptance, and love. Songs like Listen Up, A Night of Serious Drinking, and Sleepwalking are just so damn good because of the truth that exists in the lyrics. I Love Living Here (Even When I Don't) gives us a love song to anyone's home. The magic lies directly with Nicole's ability to hit the powerful and raw notes at the most opportune and perfect time in songs. The slow build of A Little Crazy and Brokedown Luck explode with quintessence. 

Goodnight Rhonda Lee is a perfect example of an artist that can tell their story centered around inspiration and their own unique sound. Forgoing the mainstream, this album offers up 70's soul in a world drowning in computerized sound and meaningless lyrics. Thank you, Nicole. 

A Place Both Wonderful And Strange: Twin Peaks The Return

Never has a show impacted my psyche as much as Twin Peaks. As a teen, the odd, evil, eclectic, naughty, and quirky show on ABC challenged your moral and spiritual realm. When the show was confirmed to come back for 18 episodes, there was that flashback to what was, but knowing David Lynch, we were going to a place we had really never been. For me, I was hoping it would go the route of Trainspotting 2 in that we would be fulfilled in the mission but wouldn't be getting what we would expect. David Lynch has given us a gift of mind, body, and psyche, mixed with some electricity, nuclear detonations, and black coffee.

Looking back when Twin Peaks first aired, I had just lost my father. With the return, I had just lost my mother. It was odd timing indeed. And 1992 gave us the ABC Twin Peaks. Cable allowed David Lynch to go full throttle with better effects, nudity, swearing, and just all out Lynch. I thought I had it all figured out. Bob. Laura. Leyland. The Black Lodge. But no. 

Twin Peaks the Return offered up many visions and clues that, thankfully, due to some serious time in sensory deprivation, I can try to understand the workings of Mr. Lynch's storytelling. We didn't know which characters we would see again or what these new locations meant.

When we began episode 31, I admittedly teared up with those first bass notes from Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks theme song. But from there, to paraphrase Agent Cooper, it's been both wonderful and strange. We had new characters to learn, a history that was seemingly started when the first nuclear test happened, a beautiful and ongoing tribute to David Bowie's character Phillip Jeffries (even as a tea pot - see photo below), and the continued partnership of Gordon Cole and Albert Rosenfield. We became attached to Agent Cooper's new family, Janey - E and Sonny Jim. And the plot thickens as to what happened to Deputy Brigg's (RIGHT? I just needed to see that written out) ... sorry, what happened to Bobby Brigg's father, Col (Judy) Garland Briggs?

And Lynch has made us work for whatever is in store for these last two episodes. The seed, tulpa, the arm, Naido, and let's not forget bloody Mary herself, Sarah Palmer. 

And while we did not see a lot of our 1992 characters, the vibe of the show is not the Invitation to Love-esque show it was. We've seen happy lives being lived, and some new but old romances being re-kindled in Twin Peaks to our squealing delight. We have the absurdities of Doctor Jacobi, Nadine, and Jerry Horne. We have the evil of the smoking man, Mr. Cooper, and the Cohen Brothers meets Tarantino mixed with Lynch inspired Chantal and Hutch love birds come assassins. And then there was this:

 Audrey has been an enigma this entire series and it got even more mysterious in the last episode. Is she trapped? Is she a tulpa? And what is the power of the Road House?

With only two episodes left, there is fleeting time to decipher so many mysteries or to meet our old friends.  

Highlights

• Diane
• Conversations between Hawk and the Log Lady
• The Convenience Store and Philip Jeffries.
• The Blue Rose explained
• Audrey's purple dance
• The Music!!

Questions that remain 

• Judy?
• Is Audrey the sound trapped in the Great Northern?
•  Will Julee Cruise close out the show (appropriately)?
• Is Naido Diane? But still WHO IS JUDY?
• Do we every find out what is in the White Room?

We are like the dreamer who dreams and lives inside the dream, but who is the dreamer?

Appetite at 30: Guns N Roses Appetite For Destruction

 Pitchfork writer Maura Johnston retrospectively reviewed it, rating it 10 out of 10, saying, The debut from Guns N' Roses was a watershed moment in '80s rock that chronicled every vice of Los Angeles led by the lye-voiced Axl Rose and a legendary, switchblade-sharp band.

1987 was a conundrum of music. We had INXS, U2, Metallica, Poison, and Motley Crue. Then out of the LA club scene came a sound that was different than anything else on the radio . The opening notes of Welcome to the Jungle, the first chords of Paradise City, and the unforgettable power of Sweet Child O' Mine ushered in a band that would scare our parents and made us all wish we could party like Guns N Roses. 

The first play through the cassette of course gave most of us youngins a surprise with its not suitable for radio songs like Mr. Brownstone, It's So Easy, and of course, Rocket Queen. It was shocking and dangerous and a perfect getaway from the safety net of pop rock and hair bands. 

Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff, and Steven represented all the debauchery that LA could offer and lived up to the rock and roll lifestyle. The album is an amalgam of each member contributing to the debut album, now ranked as one of the best albums of all time. 

But what was it that made Appetite such a memorable album? It covers a wide spectrum of music influences, from punk to rock. It pushes boundaries (still). But in the end, no offense to the rest of the band members, it was the uniqueness of Axl and Slash. Axl's unmistakable voice and side to side sway delivered a performance that could not be matched. Slash's iconic hair and top hat only caps unmatched guitar solos.

30 years on and Appetite for Destruction still remains an iconic album for a generation that had yet to see the Berlin Wall fall and communism end. It was the Reagan era and the excess wasn't ready to be tossed aside. Guns N Roses gave us sex, drugs, and rock and roll with no apologies. 

Welcome to the Jungle

It's So Easy

Nightrain

Out Ta Get Me

Mr. Brownstone

Paradise City

My Michelle 

Think About You

Sweet Child O Mine

You're Crazy

Anything Goes

Rocket Queen