American Punk Rock icon Johnny Thunders rose to fame with the New York Dolls. It’s a shame that his major project after that, The Heartbreakers,…
Rock
10/01/2021: “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” by The Byrds
Bob Dylan actually wrote this in 1967. But he didn’t get around to releasing his (stereotypically Bob Dylan, with harmonica and country guitar) until 1971….
31/12/2020: “An Idea For A Movie” by The Vandals
A lot of pop-punk is fairly vacuous stuff. The Vandals, mostly, don’t buck the trend. Still, I prefer them to wishy washy 00s stuff for…
30/12/2020: “Marquee Moon” by Television
In the 70s, the golden age of classic rock, you could do a 10 minute song and not raise too many eyebrows. If the Arctic…
27/12/2020: “Country Air” by The Beach Boys
Wild Honey, the 1967 album which “Country Air” appears, was initially panned by music critics, which tells you all you need to know about the sheer…
24/12/2020: “Santa Doesn’t Cop Out On Dope” by Sonic Youth
When Geffen Records released Just Say Noel in 1996, they probably didn’t have the Christmas number one in mind. Not with a track like this on, at…
22/12/2020: “Wild Dog” by Stanley Clarke and George Duke
A collaboration between Stanley Clarke and George Duke was always going be obscenely funky. With Clarke on guitar and Duke on keys, this track blisters…
24/11/2020: “Here Comes Your Man” by The Pixies
Released in 1989, on Doolittle, this track was actually written quite a few years later, when frontman Black Francis was 14. It’s a very sweet,…
22/11/2020: “Surfin’ Dead” by The Cramps
The Cramps are one of the craziest bands ever. Their pioneering status in punk marks them out as legends regardless of their other attibutes. But,…
20/11/2020: “Black Magic Woman” by Santana
Latin-influenced Jazzy Rock is a bigger niche than you might think. But there’s one name which inevitably floats to the top of this swirling, warm…