The Strike - Shots Heard Round The World

Sometimes you get the urge to hear an LP you haven't heard in years. The feel jumps out of nowhere into your brain: I got to hear this again. Tonight had one such instance.

Shots Heard Round The World's the 2nd album from this Minneapolis band. If it weren't for seeing a review of the LP in Ride, the BMX magazine over 10 years ago, I may never have known about them. The review mentioned 1977 and leftist lyrics, plus the cover looked like a Soviet propaganda poster. I ordered the LP and proceeded to play the hell out of it in the ensuing days and years. When I got my first car, I made of tape with this LP on one side and the UK edition of the first Clash album on the other side. It got heavy play in that old Ford Tempo.

To this day, it's one of my all-time favorites. I'm in love with the slashing open chords, tight rhythms, and upbeat leftist/populist lyrics. While some bands were content to trash the system and scream about its injustices, The Strike sang about the positive instead. To them, it was the bright new days ahead, not the dark times of the present that were worth trumpeting. And trumpet they did.

"Shots Heard Round The World"

Uncle Lou

New York (1989)

One of my best bargain bin purchases. Of all the Lou I've heard, I come back to this one the most because of sharp, cynical lyrics and driving guitars. The lyrics rank among the best of his career--if not the best.

Lou and Mike Rathke deliver the goods on the guitars.

Coney Island Baby [1975]

1. "Crazy Feeling" – 2:56
2. "Charley's Girl" – 2:36
3. "She's My Best Friend" – 6:00
4. "Kicks" – 6:06
5. "A Gift" – 3:47
6. "Ooohhh Baby" – 3:45
7. "Nobody's Business" – 3:41
8. "Coney Island Baby" – 6:36

[edit]30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

1. "Nowhere at All" – 3:17 recorded November 18 & 21, 1975 at Mediasound Studios, NYC
2. "Downtown Dirt" – 4:18 recorded January 3 & 4, 1975 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC
3. "Leave Me Alone" – 5:35 recorded October 19 & 20, 1975 at Mediasound Studios, NYC
4. "Crazy Feeling" – 2:39 recorded January 3 & 4, 1975 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC
5. "She's My Best Friend" – 4:08 recorded January 4, 1975 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC
6. "Coney Island Baby" – 5:41 recorded January 6, 1975 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC

[Source: Wikipedia]

From Rock N Roll Animal (1975)

Transformer (1972) 

Gain's "Bloom" vs Miss A's "I Don't Need A Man"

[Cross-posted with Musings of Random Plebeians because of its connection with relationships and sex]

I find it quite interesting that these two songs came out at around the same time because it seems like Miss A wants to pick up where Destiny's Child left with their "independent women"/"we don't need a man" tropes. The group sings about how they can earn their earn money and take care of themselves.

And then there's Gain's "Bloom," a high flying ode to how much her lover (presumably a man) rocked her sexual world. (Note: Gain is pronounced Ga-in) The song oozes sex from its disco beat to its ecstatic chorus. Clearly, she's smitten with her lover.

Upon hearing these two tunes, I couldn't help but think about the following things:

--Gain rocks that disco beat.

--Sex with the one you love can be a really, really, enlightening and moving experience...but female singers can somehow make it sound even more enlightening.

--A friend once said "Love is sacred. Sex is biology." The Velvet Underground said that "Love makes you feel ten feet tall." Love makes the sex good, and love makes her feel like a flower in bloom.

--A woman making her own money and taking care of herself isn't so much about being an "independent woman" as it is about being a productive adult. Taking care of yourself comes with adult life. It's nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering.

--Miss A may sing about how they're independent and free now, but they'll change their tune if they have some good sex or some appealing man comes along.

--Miss A's song is more about how they don't want to be beholden to anyone...but supposing a man they liked came along, they'd change their tune. "Boy, don't play," they say, and of course they mean it. Women don't want "boys" or immature men supplicating them or even bothering to say hello.

Gain - Bloom

Miss A - I Don't Need A Man

Enjoy

For my money, "Bloom" is the better song. It's easier to dance to, for one, and I can't help but love that chorus and the snappy guitar lick in it. Clearly, her and her producers were listening to the Bee Gees when they recorded this song. "I Don't Need A Man" sounds boring by contrast. Hip-hop pop with fake attitude. Yay.

Neil Young live

Bob Marley - Burnin'

One of the two other purchases from Purple Record: the remastered CD of Burnin'. The video above's the Deluxe Edition of the album, which I haven't heard yet.

Rochelle had bought me the vinyl LP of Legend to celebrate our 100 days together and it sparked an interest in this big musical figure. I've always known about Marley and his songs, but hadn't spent much time listening to him until now. He's good stuff. Reggae's still largely unknown to me, but I like the laidback grooves and the uplifting songs. Burnin' is full of quality songs. Favorite tracks:

• Get Up, Stand Up
• I Shot The Sheriff
• Small Axe
• Burnin' and Lootin'
• One Foundation

Extra info dept: The book Kill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Reconsiders The Classics tore about Marley's famous Exodus album. The book isn't here in Korea, so I can't say anymore about that right now. The memory's fuzzy.

Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame + Birds of Fire

Two CD of the four CDs I bought at Purple Record in Hongdae, Seoul, this weekend:

Mahavishnu Orchestra's first LP, The Inner Mounting Flame, from 1971.

Their second LP, Birds of Fire, from 1972.

Two things spurred these purchases:

1. I had a beyond cool class called American Popular Music during my freshman year of college. Dr. Martin Jack Rosenblum taught the class and he'd played these guys during a lecture on jazz and its influence on rock music. The song he played: The Inner Mounting Flame's "Meeting Of The Spirits," a veritable explosion of sound and melody. The song came to mind a few days ago, so I looked it up on YouTube, played it, and listened to it anew after 7 years.

2. Henry Rollins mentioned Birds of Fire's title track in his book Fanatic! He writes:
This is John McLaughlin's monster band....if you like what you hear, the record is cool and so is The Inner Mounting Flame. I think [Black Flag's guitarist] Greg Ginn really got a lot from McLaughlin and this record. 

[Fanatic!: Songs Lists and Notes from the Harmony In My Head Radio Show. Rollins, Henry. Las Angeles: 2.13.61, 2006]

Dr. Feelgood

The Down By The Jetty LP. An excellent first album. I picked up the double disc Collector's Edition of it on iTunes and it's been in heavy rotation for a month now. Tracklist below. My favorites are in italics:

1. "She Does It Right"
2. "Boom Boom" (John Lee Hooker)
3. "The More I Give"
4. "Roxette"
5. "One Weekend"
6. "That Ain't No Way To Behave"
7. "I Don't Mind"
8. "Twenty Yards Behind"
9. "Keep It Out Of Sight"
10. "All Through The City"
11. "Cheque Book" (Mickey Jupp)
12. "Oyeh!" (Mick Green)
13. "Bonie Maronie" / "Tequila" (Larry Williams) / (Danny Flores) - live recording

(thanks to Wikipedia for the tracklist)

"All Through the City"

"Stupidity" (live from Stupidity LP)

The Stupidity live LP. The group in their element, laying down the dirty r&b.

Tracklist:

1. "Talking About You" (Chuck Berry)
2. "20 Yards Behind"
3. "Stupidity" (Solomon Burke)
4. "All Through The City"
5. "I'm a Man" (Bo Diddley)
6. "Walking The Dog" (Rufus Thomas)
7. "She Does It Right"
8. "Going Back Home" (Mick Green, Johnson)
9. "I Don't Mind"
10. "Back in the Night"
11. "I'm a Hog for You Baby" (Leiber, Stoller)
12. "Checking Up on My Baby" (Sonny Boy Williamson)
13. "Roxette"
14. "Riot in Cell Block No. 9" (Leiber, Stoller)
15. "Johnny B. Goode" (Chuck Berry)

"Back in the Night" from their second LP, Malpractice. Turn it up!

Hibernation blues

There'll be stuff coming soon. These 9 months in Korea have brought about a slew of new tunes.