Day After Day #327: Counting Backwards

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Counting Backwards (1991)

Living not too far from Boston in the '80s and '90s was pretty great for its proximity to interesting music. There was a lot going on with the alternative scene in New England, not just in Boston but also in nearby Rhode Island. 

Throwing Muses were formed in Newport, Rhode Island, by high schoolers Kristin Hersh and her stepsister Tanya Donelly. Originally known as Kristin Hersh and the Muses, the band included bassist Elaine Adamedes and drummer Becca Blumen; the rhythm section was later replaced by Leslie Langston on bass and David Narcizo on drums. Narcizo had played marching and concert drums, but had never played a drum kit before joining the band; he borrowed a kit that didn't have cymbals so he learned to play that way initially.

Hersh wrote and sang the majority of the songs, with Donelly contributing songs and lead vocals on occasion. The band's sound was a moving target, switching between jangly folk, post punk and harder rock, with complex rhythms and lyrics.

Throwing Muses self-released a self-titled EP in 1984 and a collection of demos in 1985, the latter of which featured "Sinkhole," which became a hit on college radio. The band then moved to Boston and recorded a self-titled debut album, which in 1986 became the first American album released by British label 4AD. The Pixies opened for the Muses when they toured the UK for the first time. 

They released two EPs in 1987 and then the 1988 album House Tornado, which was released on Sire/Reprise in the U.S. The Muses released Hunkpapa in 1989. In the Boston area, the band got airplay on stations like WFNX and WBCN. Langston left the band in 1990 and was replaced by Fred Abong; the new lineup recorded The Real Ramona, which had a more commercial sound. Around the same time, Donelly also teamed up with Kim Deal of Pixies on a side project called the Breeders, which released the album Pod in 1990; it was very much a Deal deal, and Donelly was only on that album.

"Counting Backwards" was propelled by Narcizo's powerful drumming and the chiming vocals and guitars of Hersh and Donelly.

"Counting backwards I count you in/I don't remember him/I don't remember/Counting backwards, I count you in/I don't remember him/I don't remember/In time I rope you in again/I try and burn you back through him/I built a tower in my bones/I spill the mortar through my home."

The song has a psych-rock feel that swirls throughout along with Hersh's and Donelly's vocals.

"Don't let your heartbeat keep you safe/No telling what keeps me awake/One hundred fingerprints I hear/A hundred linger in my ear/Counting backwards, I count you in/I don't remember him/I don't remember."

The song got airplay on alternative and college radio, as well as on MTV's 120 Minutes. The Real Ramona hit #26 on the U.K. Albums Chart.

After the tour for The Real Ramona, Donelly and Abong left the Muses to form Belly, which went on to have some mainstream success for a few years in the '90s. Throwing Muses continued on as a trio, with Bernard Georges replacing Abong. They released the 1992 album Red Heaven, which included Bob Mould singing a duet with Hersh on the song "Dio." Hersh released her first solo album, the acoustic Hips and Makers, in 1994, featuring "Ghost," a terrific duet with Michael Stipe. The Muses had recorded their next album, University, in 1993 but the release was delayed until 1995; the album scored a minor hit with "Bright Yellow Gun." 

The following year, the band released their seventh album, Limbo; they toured for the album (I saw them downstairs at the Middle East in Cambridge on this tour) and then Hersh ended the band to work on solo projects. Hersh continued releasing solo albums and was one of the first artists to offer a download-subscription service. 

In 2003, Throwing Muses returned with a new album, also called Throwing Muses. It featured Donelly on backing vocals, Georges on bass and Narcizo on drums, and was released at the same time as Hersh's solo album The Grotto. Hersh also formed 50FootWave, which played louder, heavier songs. Throwing Muses released Purgatory/Paradise in 2013 and toured in 2014 with Donelly opening the East Coast shows. The band's latest album was 2020's Sun Racket. Since then, Hersh has continued to record music and tour as a solo artist.

Day After Day #324: Pretty in Pink

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Pretty in Pink (1981)

Song lyrics often get misinterpreted, especially if a song is tied to a particular thing it wasn't written about, like a movie. The Psychedelic Furs released "Pretty in Pink" in 1981 from their second album Talk Talk Talk, but it got a new life and interpretation five years when it was re-recorded for the soundtrack of the John Hughes film of the same name.

The Furs were formed in London in 1977 by brothers Richard and Tim Butler (lead vocals and bass, respectively), Duncan Kilburn (sax), Paul Wilson (drums) and Roger Morris (guitar). The band was part of the British post-punk scene, although they were soon lumped in with the burgeoning new wave movement. In 1979, Wilson was replaced by Vince Ely and John Ashton joined as an additional guitarist. The band released its self-titled debut album in 1980, produced by Steve Lillywhite. The album did well in Europe, hitting #18 on the U.K. Albums Chart.

The band's next album, Talk Talk Talk, broke on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching #89. The album was a little poppier, highlighted by "Pretty in Pink." The song was a minor hit in the U.K., getting to #43 on the singles chart there, but didn't make much of an impression on the U.S. charts. According to Richard Butler, Molly Ringwald was a big fan of the Furs and a few years later played the song for Hughes and said he should make a movie about it.

Butler said the song is "about a girl who sleeps around a lot and feels like she benefits from it, whereas in reality people are talking and laughing about her behind her back." That, of course, is very different from the high school drama that the movie portrayed.

"Caroline laughs and it's raining all day/She loves to be one of the girls/She lives in the place in the side of our lives/Where nothing is ever put straight/She turns herself round and she smiles and she says/'This is it, that's the end of the joke'/And loses herself in her dreaming and sleep/And her lovers walk through in their coaches/Pretty in pink, isn't she?/Pretty in pink, isn't she?"

The re-recorded version was a lot cleaner and tighter, but the band and a lot of fans prefer the original, which is rougher and more inspired. But the 1986 version was a bigger hit, going to #18 in the U.K. and #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video, interspersed with scenes from the movie starring Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer, was also a hit on MTV. The Pretty in Pink movie soundtrack went platinum.

"All of her lovers all talk of her notes/And the flowers that they never sent/And wasn't she easy?/Isn't she pretty in pink?/The one who insists he was first in the line/Is the last to remember her name/He's walking around in this dress that she wore/She is gone, but the joke's the same/Pretty in pink, isn't she?/Pretty in pink, isn't she?/Caroline talks to you softly, sometimes/She says, 'I love you' and 'Too much'/She doesn't have anything you want to steal/Well, nothing you can touch/She waves, she buttons your shirt/The traffic is waiting outside/She hands you this coat/She gives you her clothes/These cars collide."

The Furs didn't necessarily need the re-released version to blow up because they were already doing well after Talk Talk Talk. In 1982, reduced to a quartet, the band recorded Forever Now with producer Todd Rundgren and scored their first U.S. hit with "Love My Way." Two years later, Mirror Moves produced two more hits with "The Ghost in You" and "Heaven." 

After the success of the Pretty in Pink movie, the band quickly was pushed into the studio to record 1987's Midnight to Midnight, which was their biggest success to date and produced "Heartbreak Beat," a top 40 hit in the U.S. But Butler later called the album "hollow, vapid and weak." The Furs released a compilation and two more albums from 1988 to 1991, scoring three #1 hits on the new Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

The Furs went on a long hiatus in the early '90s and the Butler brothers formed the band Love Spit Love with Richard Fortus and Frank Ferrer, who both later joined Guns N' Roses. In 2000, the Butlers and Ashton reformed the Furs, with the touring lineup also including Fortus and Ferrer. 

The band has continued to tour periodically since then, releasing a strong new album in 2020, Made of Rain. I saw them play at the Cabot Theater in Beverly in November 2021; they had cancelled a few shows before ours and promptly cancelled the rest of the tour afterwards because one of the band members had COVID. Despite all that, the show we saw was pretty good.

Day After Day #322: Helicopter

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Helicopter (2004)

Writing about Arcade Fire yesterday got me thinking about the some of the other breakout indie rock acts of the same time period, what I like to call the MP3 Blog Era of 2003-2007 or so. Another great band that caught my attention at the time was Bloc Party, a post-punk band that emerged in 2004.

Formed in London in 1999 by lead singer/guitarist Kele Okereke and lead guitarist Russell Lissack, the group added bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong. They went through multiple names including Union, The Angel Range and Diet before landing on Bloc Party in the fall of 2003. The band's sound was danceable post-punk, inspired by acts like the Pixies and the Cure as well as contemporaries Franz Ferdinand.

Bloc Party released a few singles on indie labels before signing with Dim Mak, which then teamed with Vice Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. The band released two EPs in 2004, Bloc Party EP and Little Thoughts EP (released in Japan). 

"Helicopter" was released as a single in October 2004 and included on the Little Thoughts EP and later on the band's 2005 debut album Silent Alarm. The song is an absolute ripper, driven as much by the fills of powerhouse drummer Tong as the jagged guitar lines of Lissack and Okereke. The riff was inspired by the Jam's "Set the House Ablaze" from their Sound Affects album.

"North to South, empty/Running on bravado/As if to say, as if to say/As if to say he doesn't like chocolate/He's born a liar, he'll die a liar/Some things will never be different/Stop being/So American/There's a time and there's a place/So James Dean/So blue jeans/He's gonna save the world, he's gonna/Are you hoping for a miracle?"

The band races through the song at 171 bpm. Although Okereke denied the song was making any political commentary, it's easy to surmise it was taking a jab at U.S. President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, which the U.S. had jumped into a year earlier.

"Three out of five, three out of five (it's not enough)/Six out of ten, better luck next time/Just like his dad, just like his dad, just like his dad (same mistakes)/Some things will never be different/Hungry and dumb, hungry and dumb (so wait in line)/Queuing up for some more junk food/It's not my fault, it's not my fault (just this once)/They're getting so much younger/Why can't you be/More European?/Bastard child of guilt and shame/Bury your head/In the sand/I'm thinking six, six, six/I'm thinking six/Are you hoping for a miracle?"

The song was a hit in the U.K., getting to #26 on the Singles Chart; it didn't chart in the U.S. When Silent Alarm was released in '05, it was an immediate hit in Europe, but in the U.S., Vice pushed it more at the blog nerds instead of radio and was rewarded with the best-selling album in their history. It only hit #114 on the Billboard 200 (as opposed to #3 on the U.K. Albums Chart), but it sold 123,000 copies in the U.S. after just four months. Silent Alarm sold more than 350,000 copies in North American and over 1 million worldwide.

The band toured heavily behind the album and released their second album, A Weekend in the City, in 2007. It was another strong release, with "The Prayer," "I Still Remember" and "Hunting for Witches" all performing well. I saw them play in the summer of 2006 at the then-Bank of America Pavilion in Boston (no idea what the corporate name is now) and the show was great, mainly focused on the first album because the second hadn't been released yet.

Bloc Party's third album, 2008's Intimacy, went in more of an electronic dance direction and I don't remember hearing a lot from it. It still sold well (#18 in the U.S., #8 in the U.K.). The band released a single in 2009 and then went on a hiatus. They released Four in 2012, which again did well in the U.K. (#3) and less so in the U.S. (#36). I didn't pay any attention to it for whatever reason; much like with Arcade Fire, I had just moved on. Tong left the band in 2013 and Moakes in 2015, leaving Okereke and Lissack to soldier on. The band has released two albums since then, the most recent one in 2022. 

Bloc Party is still a going concern, but I prefer to go back to those first two albums.

Day After Day #289: Dead Souls

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Dead Souls (1980)

It's All Hallows Eve Eve and today's selection isn't your typical song about ghosts or spooky stuff, but it's pretty scary nonetheless. With Joy Division's "Dead Souls," the song details the inner torment of lead singer Ian Curtis and it was released only a few months before he committed suicide.

As detailed previously, the post-punk act had released an EP in '78 and debut album Unknown Pleasures in '79. Curtis provided moody lyrics and a deep baritone while fronting a killer band: Bernard Sumner on guitar and keyboards, Peter Hook on bass and Stephen Morris on drums. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was a hit and the band in March 1980 recorded their second album, Closer.

Also that month, Joy Division released the "Licht und Blindheit" (Light and Blindness) single, with "Atmosphere" on the A-side and "Dead Souls" as the B-side. The song was named after a 1842 Nikolai Gogol novel. The first two minutes are instrumental, powered by a circular Hook bassline; the band would use the long intro to size up the audience as Curtis did an odd dance behind the mic. Finally, at 2:12, Curtis begins to sing in a haunted tone.

"Someone take these dreams away/That point me to another day/A duel of personalities/That stretch all true realities/That keep calling me/They keep calling me/Keep on calling me/They keep calling me."

Sumner plays a Stooges-like riff behind him as Curtis maintains the creepy mood.

"When figures from the past stand tall/And mocking voices ring the hall/Imperialistic house of prayer/Conquistadors who took their share/That keep calling me/They keep calling me/Keep on calling me/They keep calling me."

Curtis' anguished vocals have been analyzed endlessly after the fact: Was he referring to his own personal demons or singing about dreams of historical figures? Whatever the case, it's both compelling and intense.

By this point, Curtis was struggling with epilepsy, exacerbated by a lack of sleep and long hours; he was having seizures more often, sometimes while performing on stage. In April 1980, he attempted suicide by overdosing on his anti-seizure medication. The band ended up cancelling a few gigs as Curtis recovered. 

Joy Division was about to begin their first North American tour in May 1980, which Curtis had been enthusiastic about. But he was also feeling the strain of his marriage crumbling. The night before the band was to leave for the U.S., Curtis went home to talk to his wife Deborah, asking her to drop her plans to divorce him. He asked her to leave him alone in the house before he left the next morning to go on tour. After watching a Werner Herzog movie and listening to Iggy Pop's album The Idiot, Curtis hung himself in the kitchen. Deborah discovered him in the morning. 

The remaining members ended Joy Division and formed New Order, which went on to become a success and is still going.

"Dead Souls" found some renewed popularity in 1994 when Nine Inch Nails recorded a faithful cover for the soundtrack of The Crow. The creep factor of the NIN version was boosted by the fact the band recorded it at the house where Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson family; in addition, during the filming of The Crow, star Brandon Lee died after being shot by a prop gun during filming.

Day After Day #279: Cities in Dust

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Cities in Dust (1985)

Before she became one of the most influential figures in post punk, Siouxsie Sioux (aka Susan Ballion) was known for being one of the first fans to follow the Sex Pistols around when they were initially playing in London. Siouxsie, Steven Severin and several others became known as the Bromley Contingent (because most were from the Bromley area of London). When one of the bands dropped out of the 100 Club Punk Festival in September 1976, Siouxsie suggested she and bassist Severin fill in, despite not having a band name or other members. With the help of Marco Pirroni on guitar and Sid Vicious on drums, the two played a 20-minute improvisation based on "The Lord's Prayer."

After the festival, the band was asked to play other gigs. Eventually, Siouxsie and Severin added drummer Kenny Morris and guitarist Peter Fenton and played some shows in early 1977; Fenton was replaced by John McKay. By 1978, Siouxsie and the Banshees were selling out shows and signed a contract with Polydor, releasing their debut album The Scream in November of that year. A second album, Join Hands, came out in 1979, getting good reviews. A few days into the tour, McKay and Morris left an in-store appearance after an argument and quit the band. Budgie (Peter Clarke), formerly of the Slits, joined as the new drummer, but the search for a new guitarist took longer. A new band called the Cure was opening for them on tour and its guitarist, Robert Smith, offered to fill in on guitar if they couldn't find anyone and the band finally accepted. After the tour ended, Smith returned to the Cure.

The band later added John McGeoch of Magazine as their new guitarist and made Kaleidoscope, their third album. After two more albums, McGeoch was fired after having issue with alcohol abuse and Robert Smith rejoined the Banshees in 1982. In 1983, Siouxsie and Budgie, who were now a couple, worked on an album for their side project the Creatures, while Severin and Smith were recording as the Glove. Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a cover of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence," which hit #3 on the U.K. Singles chart, released a live album and finished their sixth album, Hyaena. Smith left again just before the album came out in May 1984.

Although the band was big in the U.K., it hadn't made much of a dent in the U.S. to this point. That changed with "Cities in Dust," the lead single from their album Tinderbox, which featured new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers. The single was released in October 1985, a dark dance-rock song about the volcanic eruption in 79 AD that wiped out the entire city of Pompeii.

"Water was running, children were running/You were running out of time/Under the mountain, a golden fountain/Were you praying at the Lares shrine?/But, oh oh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend/Oh oh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend/We found you hiding, we found you lying/Choking on the dirt and sand/Your former glories, and all the stories/Dragged and washed with eager hands/But oh oh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend/Oh oh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend."

Siouxsie's commanding presence carries the song, but there's a lot going on musically: majestic guitars, toy piano, thundering drums, electronic effects. 

"Hot and burning in your nostrils/Pouring down your gaping mouth/Your molten bodies, blankets of cinders/Caught in the throes, and/Whoa oh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend/Oh oh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend."

The song hit #1 on the U.K. Singles chart and #17 on the U.S. Dance Clubs Songs chart. The song got some play on alternative rock radio; in the Boston area, it could be heard regularly on WBCN and WFNX.

Siouxsie and the Banshees performed the song in a club scene in the 1986 Anthony Michael Hall movie Out of Bounds. The song was also featured in the movies Grosse Pointe Blank and Atomic Blonde, as well as the TV shows 13 Reasons Why, Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Siouxsie was already a goth style icon years earlier, but as the band's videos got more play on MTV, that image only became amplified. Songs like "Peek-a-Boo" (which went to #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart) and "Kiss Them for Me" (which was #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and all over commercial rock radio) got plenty of play on MTV. 

The timing of "Kiss Them for Me" was perfect, as it was a big hit in the summer of 1991 as the band was playing on the first Lollapalooza tour, in the second-to-last spot right before headliners Jane's Addiction. The Banshees only released one more album, 1995's The Rapture, before disbanding in April 1996. Siouxsie and Budget continued playing as the Creatures).

In 2002, Siouxsie, Severin, Budgie and guitarist Knox Chandler reunited for the Seven Year Itch tour, which beame a live album and DVD the following year. McGeoch died in his sleep after an epileptic seizure in March 2004 at the age of 48.  The last 20 years have seen a number of reissues and compilations, but the band itself has remained inactive.

 

Day After Day #277: The Bottom Line

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

The Bottom Line (1985)

After the Clash fired lead guitarist and co-lead singer Mick Jones in 1983, things really got weird. The band's appearance at the 1983 US Festival was Jones' last show with the Clash. Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon fired Jones that fall, replacing him with Nick Sheppard and Vince White. That Clash lineup released the album Cut the Crap in November 1985 and other than the single "This is England," it was an abysmal failure. 

Meanwhile, after he left the Clash, Jones played briefly with General Public before forming the band Top Risk Action Company (T.R.A.C.) with former Clash drummer Topper Headon; after Jones fire Headon for being hooked on heroin and Lennard either left or was fired, the band split up. Jones and bassist Leo Williams from T.R.A.C. teamed with film director Don Letts, drummer Greg Roberts and keyboardist Dan Donovan to form Big Audio Dynamite in 1984. 

The band released This Is Big Audio Dynamite in November 1985, introducing a post-punk sound that incorporated tons of movie samples (mostly from spaghetti Westerns) and sound effects, beatbox rhythms and Jones' unmistakable lead vocals. The single was 4:35, but the 12-inch version of the song, which clocks in at 8:45, is considered the definitive version.

"The horses are on the track/There's a new dance that's going around/When the hits start flying you gotta get down/All the young people dance round the square/That old time groove is really nowhere/When you reach the bottom line/The only thing to do is climb/Pick yourself up off the floor/Don't know what you're waiting for."

B.A.D. was definitely focused on the dance floor, far from the Clash's weighty role as spokespunks for a generation. But Jones would sneak some political commentary in between the beats and samples.

"A dance to the tune of economic decline/Is when you do the bottom line/Nagging questions always remain/Why did it happen and who was to blame?/When you reach the bottom line/The only thing to do is climb/Pick yourself up off the floor/Don't know what you're waiting for."

The song is catchy and anthemic, although it didn't really hit with the public. It only reached #97 on the U.K. Singles Chart (as opposed to "This is England," which hit #24), although it hit #33 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the U.S. But it got plenty of play on WBCN in Boston, where I first heard it; similarly, the album's other singles "E=MC2" and "Medicine Show" also got some play. Strummer and Simonon actually appeared in the "Medicine Show" video as police officers.

Strummer, who had disbanded the Clash by this point, helped Jones out on 1986's No. 10, Upping Street, co-producing the album and co-writing five songs. B.A.D. had a good rest of the '80s, releasing two more well-received albums, including 1989's Megatop Phoenix. But in 1990, Jones debuted a new version of the band called B.A.D. II in which he was the only remaining member from the original lineup. After releasing a U.K.-only album Kool Aid in 1990, B.A.D. II released The Globe in 1991 and scoring the hit "Rush," which hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In the U.K., the song was released as a double A-side single with the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go," which went to #1; the accolade was given to the Clash. The title track from the album was also a rock radio hit in the U.S. 

The band opened for U2 on the Zoo TV tour and then headlined an MTV 120 Minutes tour with Public Image Ltd., Live and Blind Melon. The rest of the '90s was a struggle for Jones and the band, however. In 1994, going as Big Audio, the band released Higher Power, which didn't do much; 1995's F-Punk did even less and the band's last album, Entering a New Ride, wasn't even released by the group's label, Radioactive Records. B.A.D. started releasing songs from the album online, but by 2001, the band split up.

Jones teamed with Tony James (Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik) to form Carbon/Silicon in 2002. The group has been pretty prolific, releasing a ton of music (much of it for free online) but remaining fairly low profile. In 2011, the original lineup of B.A.D. reunited for a short tour; I saw them at Avalon in Boston and they were great.  But that's the last we've heard from the group. Jones has also worked as a producer and has collaborated with Gorillaz, the Wallflowers, the Flaming Lips and the Avalanches.

Day After Day #269: Another Morning Stoner

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Another Morning Stoner (2002)

With some artists, the hype that precedes them can be too much. They get so built up that you're bound to be disappointed when you actually hear the music in question. This was not the case with ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, the Austin post-punk act with the unwieldly name. I didn't know much about them in early 2002 when my friend and former co-worker Dave Brigham raved about seeing the band at TT the Bears in Cambridge opening for Explosions in the Sky and blowing the roof off the place. And once I finally checked Trail of Dead out, I got it.

The band was formed in 1994 by childhood friends Conrad Keely (vocals, guitars) and Jason Reece (drums, vocals), who each formed bands in Olympia, Washington, where Kelly was attending Evergreen State College. Keely and Reece later moved to Austin and started playing as a duo called You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. They added guitarist Kevin Allen and bassist Neil Busch and then lengthened their name to ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, which may or may not have been taken from an ancient Mayan ritual chant.

Trail of Dead released a self-titled album in 1998 on Trance Syndicate, and later signed to Merge after Trance Syndicate folded. They released Madonna in 1999 and opened for Superchunk on tour. In 2001, they signed to major label Interscope Records, releasing an EP called Relative Ways in 2001 and their major-label debut album, Source Tags & Codes in 2002. A big part of the hype machine was generated by a Pitchfork review, which gave the album a 10.0 score. At the time Pitchfork reviews were very influential and it gave the band a huge boost, although maybe too much of one; Keely called the rating "preposterous."

Whatever the case, between that and Briggy's enthusiasm about the band's performance (which reportedly included the band throwing their guitars into the club's low ceiling), I was interested. After hearing "Another Morning Stoner," I was hooked. 

The song is melodic but verging on the edge of exploding, building up in intensity with Reece's explosive drumming and outbursts of guitar. 

"Are you asleep, are you in a dream/The copper shades of morning/Distant lights beckon and fade/Unwritten songs of another day/I fear that you would never be/Every song in the world for me/I took your hand, led you astray/You cursed the worlds I longed to save/Is heaven to you a perfect place/The look of sorrow on a sufferer's face/A field of lives to sow, are you in a dream?/And to reap/That some of us will never see?"

Trail of Dead's energy mirrors that of its Texas counterparts At the Drive-In, albeit with a different sound. "Another Morning Stoner" builds majestically with a string section as Keely pushes his voice to its limits.

"Why is it I don't feel the same?/Are my longings to be blamed?/For not seeing heaven like you would see/Why is a song the world for me?/What is forgiveness?/It's just a dream/What is forgiveness?/It's everything."

Not everyone felt the same way about Source Tags & Codes. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau gave it a "dud" rating, but that fucking guy hates everything. Seriously, in researching the 269 songs I've written about for this feature, so many of them were trashed by Christgau, which honestly made me like them more. 

The entire album is a masterpiece, with classics like "It Was There That I Saw You," "Relative Ways" and "Homage" among the standout tracks. The problem with making a classic album so early in your career is the pressure to top it, and Trail of Dead have never been able to. That's not a criticism. Everything came together for them on Source Tags & Codes. In the 22 years since, they've released eight more albums that have all been good to very good, but none have reached the transcendent level that Source Tags did. It's nothing to be ashamed of; many bands never reach those heights at all. 

Trail of Dead's most recent album was 2022's XI:  Bleed Here Now, which was released with quadraphonic mixing. The band had posted on its Instagram page "Trail closed," which led people to think the band may have broken up. But the band recently announced that it's opening a November date in Austin for Interpol, the first Trail of Dead performance in two years. So that's something.

Day After Day #267: Baby's on Fire

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Baby's on Fire (1974)

When you think about Brian Eno, you may think of the incredible production work he's done with the likes of David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2 and others. Or you might think of his role as a member of Roxy Music and the crazy-ass glam costumes he used to wear. But you probably don't think of three-minute mind-blowing guitar solos, but that's exactly what you'll find on his classic song "Baby's on Fire."

A self-described "non-musician," Eno was a founding member of Roxy Music in 1971 after meeting saxophonist Andy Mackay at a train station. On the band's first two albums, Eno played synths and provided tape effects, backing vocals and production work. At first, he didn't play on stage with the band, instead operating the mixing board and singing backups from there. He eventually joined them on stage to play the synth and was known for his wildly flamboyant costumes and makeup. Eno left the band in 1973 after clashing with lead singer Bryan Ferry.

Eno wasted no time starting a solo career, collaborating King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp on the 1973 album No Pussyfooting. The album was groundbreaking in its use of tape loop and delay systems, which later was dubbed Frippertronics. Fripp also played guitar on several songs from Eno's 1974 solo debut Here Come the Warm Jets, including the aforementioned "Baby's on Fire."

"Baby's on Fire" is a sinister-sounding track, pulsing with menace as Eno snarls out the lyrics about a burning woman.

"Baby's on fire/Better throw her in the water/Look at her laughing/Like a heifer to the slaughter/Baby's on fire/And all the laughing boys are bitching/Waiting for photos/Oh, the plot is so bewitching/Rescuers row row/Do your best to change the subject/Blow the wind blow blow/Lend some assistance to the object/Photographers snip snap/Take your time she's only burning/This kind of experience/Is necessary for her learning/If you'll be my flotsam/I could be half the man I used to/They said you were hot stuff/And that's what baby's been reduced to."

At this point, Fripp launches into an extended, angry, twisted and amazing guitar solo, taking Eno's bizarre premise and pummeling it in the best way possible. Fripp has played incredible solos before and since, but this may be his greatest. There's some online conjecture that Paul Rudolph may also contribute to some of the solo section. But whatever the case, it's goddamn incredible.

Eno jumps back in on vocals after the solo ends to close out the song.

"Juanita and Juan/Very clever with maracas/Making their fortunes/Selling secondhand tobaccos/Juan dances at Chico's/And when the client are evicted/He empties the ashtrays/And pockets all that he's collected/But baby's on fire/And all the instruments agree that/Her temperature's riding/But any idiot would know that."

The song (and album) was so ahead of the game, it was post-punk before punk even emerged. It was unlike anything that had come before. And Eno would make one more rock album (Taking Tiger Mountain) before switching gears and getting into ambient music, which he has primarily stuck with for nearly 50 years. But again, he's better known for his production work, which is legendary. Still, "Baby's on Fire" doesn't get nearly enough love as one of the best guitar songs ever.

Day After Day #244: Eighties

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Eighties (1984)

When you hear a song with a similar riff as another one, is it plagiarism or homage? Nirvana was slammed in 1992 when "Come as You Are" bore a strong resemblance to Killing Joke's "Eighties," which came out seven years earlier. And indeed, Killing Joke considered filing a copyright infringement lawsuit, but it's unclear whether a suit was filed or if it was abandoned after Kurt Cobain's suicide.

And no doubt, the two songs have similar riffs. But then, one doesn't have to go back too far to find similar riffs to "Eighties": Garden of Delight's "22 Faces" (1984), the Damned's "Life Goes On" (1982) and Bauhaus' "Hollow Hills" (1981). And you could even say that 1968's "Baby Come Back" by the Equals (featuring a very young Eddy Grant) is also in the ballpark. I'd argue that while they're all similar, they all stand on their own as original and interesting songs. 

For now, let's focus on Killing Joke's song, which provided a stinging critique of a decade that wasn't even half over. Guitarist Geordie Walker shimmering guitar work drives the song along as singer Jaz Coleman spits out the repetitive but effective lyrics.

"Ah, Eighties/I'm living in the eighties/Eighties/I have to push, I have to struggle/Eighties/Get out of my way, I'm not for sale no more/Eighties/Let's kamikaze til we get there/And we sang/You do it this way."

The song's video features Coleman as a fascistic speaker at a podium while footage of world leaders like Reagan, Brezhnev, Thatcher, Anwar Sadat and Ayatollah Khomeini is intercut. 

"Eighties/By day we run, by night we dance, we do/Eighties/I'm in love with the coming race, oh/Eighties/I've got the best, I'll take all I can get/Eighties/I'm living for the eighties."

Coleman sings of the excess of the decade, but also the struggle of common people to keep up with everything going on in pop culture and global politics. 

"Eighties/I'm living, oh/Eighties/I'm living in the eighties, oh oh oh/Eighties/I'm living in the eighties, I push/Eighties/Push, push, struggle."

Killing Joke had been around since 1979 and quickly became one of the premier post-punk acts, balancing electronic and synth pop elements with heavier, guitar-oriented rock. In addition to Nirvana, the band was a big influence on other major acts to come including Nine Inch Nails, Metallica and Soundgarden. 

"Eighties" was released as a single in April 1984 (premiering it on The Tube in December 1983, see below), but later included on the 1985 album Night Time, which became the band's biggest album, getting to #11 on the U.K. Albums Chart. Killing Joke's next album was remixed by the label against the band's wishes to make it more commercial, but in the end it was a flop. In 1987, Coleman and Walker began working on a new album, but bassist Paul Raven and drummer Paul Ferguson ended up quitting the band after session players were brought in. The finished album, Outside the Gate, was controversial because of its extensive use of synths and diminished use of guitar. It was panned by critics, wasn't supported by any touring and was not released in the U.S.

Coleman and Walker put together a new lineup in 1988 with Martin Atkins (PiL) on drums and Dave Ball on bass (after trying out ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and firing him after three days). After a tour, Ball left and Raven returned; a heavier album was released in 1990 and the band toured Europe and North America before splitting up again in 1991. The band has been on and off over the last three decades, releasing seven albums and touring. Raven died in 2007, and the original lineup of Coleman, Walker, Ferguson and Youth reunited. The band's most recent album was 2015's Pylon. Walker died last November at age 64 after suffering a stroke.

"Eighties" is one of Killing Joke's signature songs. It has been used by a number of TV shows and in a party scene in the 1985 movie Weird Science. Wherever the band came up with the riff, it has certainly served them well.

Day After Day #240: Ex Lion Tamer

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Ex Lion Tamer (1977)

There are plenty of bands throughout the history of rock music that haven't received the appropriate amount of credit. Wire is one of those bands. They emerged in 1977 during the first wave of British punk, but they were already so different from all the bands around them, evolving into one of the premier post-punk acts. They influenced a lot of artists who came after them, even as they experimented and returned from multiple breaks.

Wire was formed in 1976 in London by Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert and George Gill (guitar) and Robert "Gotobed" Grey (drums). 

On their 1977 debut album Pink Flag, the band defied convention with 21 songs of varying lengths, pushing the envelope about what punk should sound like. Only six of the album's songs are longer than 2 minutes, opting for brevity and punch even as the band works in a variety of ideas and styles that would inspire post-punk, alt-rock, hardcore and many other genres.

"Ex Lion Tamer" is a raw ripper that satirizes a generation stuck inside watching action shows on TV while their lives waste away.

"There's great danger/For the loneliest ranger in town/No silver bullets/Tonto's split the scene/Next week will solve your problems/But now/Fish fingers all in a line/The milk bottles stand empty/Stay glued to your TV set."

Guilty as charged, although the irony was as much time as my generation spent watching TV as kids, it pales in comparison to the screen time (TV and otherwise) that pretty much all generations rack up nowadays. 

"There's great danger/At hand, most caped crusader of all/No cloak of justice/Robin's quit the scene/Next week will solve your problems/But now/Fish fingers all in a line/The milk bottles stand empty/Stay glued to your TV set."

Pink Flag was critically lauded at the time and has made many best album lists, even though it didn't sell much at the time. On their second album, 1978's Chairs Missing, Wire went with longer, more experimental songs, adding more synthesizers. Their third album, 1979's 154, took that sound even farther and hit #39 on the U.K. Albums Chart, but Wire's unusual promotional ideas (videos, weeklong residencies at theaters, TV ads) led to their label EMI eventually dropping the band in 1980.

Wire returned in 1985, announcing they would no longer play their old songs, instead hiring a Wire cover band called the Ex-Lion Tamers as their opening act, while Wire played newer material. They released an album each year through 1991 before splitting again (after a year of going as "Wir" after Grey left the band). The band reformed again in 1999, with Grey back in the fold and released two EPs in 2002. Wire has continued on in various formations since then, releasing seven albums. 

But those first three albums remain unimpeachable. The band influenced acts including Minor Threat, Black Flag, Boss Hog, Soundgarden, Manic Street Preachers, Husker Du, Quicksand, Mary Timony, Mission of Burma, Big Black, R.E.M. (who covered "Strange"), Low, New Bomb Turks and, of course, Elastica. The similarities between Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba" and Elastica's "Connection" famously led to an out-of-court settlement. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but sometimes too much flattery can get expensive.

Day After Day #212: Save It for Later

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4). 

Save It for Later (1982)

Sometimes all it takes to write a perfect pop song is a dirty joke and the rest of your band refusing to play on it. That all went into "Save It for Later," the classic song from the Beat (better known as the English Beat to North American fans).

The Beat were formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, by Dave Wakeling (vocals, guitar), Ranking Roger (vocals), Andy Cox (guitar), David Steele (bass), Everett Morton (drums) and Saxa (Lionel Augustus Martin, sax). The group combined new wave, ska, two-tone and post punk into a fun, upbeat sound that was an immediate success. Their debut, 1980's I Just Can't Stop It, featured hits like "Mirror in the Bathroom," "Twist and Crawl" and "Can't Get Used to Losing You" and went to the #3 on the U.K. album chart. For their second album, Wha'appen, the band toured the U.S. with the Pretenders and Talking Heads. They went by the English Beat in the U.S. and Canada because there was already a U.S. band called the Beat.

The group's third album was 1982's Special Beat Service and the first single was "Save It for Later." Wakeling had written the song before the group even formed, but it didn't appear on the first two albums because of the objections of Steele, who felt it was too old school and didn't fit the Beat's sound. The band's label, I.R.S., insisted that the song be included on Special Beat Service but Steele continued to object and refused to play on the recording, along with some other members of the band. Wakeling and drummer Morton laid down the basic track and the rest of the band eventually gave in and contributed to it. 

As for the dirty joke, Wakeling said in a 2012 interview with the AV Club that the phrase "save it for later" was actually meant to be "save it, fellator." 

"As in, 'Leave it as it is, cocksucker.' But we didn't have the term 'cocksucker' in England at the time. We didn't really learn that one until we came to America. So it wasn't really a put-down, because we really didn't use that term to put down people at the time, and I don't think do very much in England now, either. Anyways, that's the nature of the joke."

I've heard the song a zillion times and had no idea that was the history of it, but it doesn't change the song's brilliance.

"Two dozen other dirty lovers/Must be a sucker for it/Cry, cry but I don't need my mother/Just hold my hand while I come to a decision on it/Sooner or later, your legs give way, you hit the ground/Save it for later, don't run away and let me down/Sooner or later, you'll hit the deck, you'll get found out/Save it for later, don't run away and let me down, you let me down."

The song is sad, yet danceable. Wakefield, who wrote it when he was a teenager, said in another interview that it was about someone in their early 20s trying to figure out their place in the world and not getting much guidance.

"Two dozen other stupid reasons/Why we should suffer for this/Don't bother trying to explain them/Just hold my hand while I come to a decision on it/Sooner or later, your legs give way, you hit the ground/Save it for later, don't run away and let me down/Sooner or later, you'll hit the deck, you'll get found out/Save it for later, don't run away and let me down, you let me down."

After all the drama and opposition to it, "Save It for Later" has become one of the Beat's most beloved songs. Wakeling has said it accounts for about a third of the band's publishing revenue these days. The song hit #47 on the U.K. Singles Chart, but it's shown up in countless movies and TV shows, including Kingpin, Hot Tub Time Machine, Big Daddy and Funny People.

The Beat split up in 1983, with Wakeling and Ranking Roger going on to form General Public and Steele and Cox forming Fine Young Cannibals with singer Roland Gift. Both groups had success, especially FYC. The Beat, minus Steele and Cox, reunited in 2003 for a one-off show. Eventually, there were two versions of the Beat, the Wakeling-led English Beat that toured in the U.S. and a Ranking Roger-led one that toured in the U.K. In 2018, the Beat feat. Ranking Roger released a live album and Wakeling's Beat released a new album called Here We Go Love. In January 2019, Roger's band released a new album, Public Confidential, but sadly, two months later Roger died at age 56 after undergoing treatment for lung cancer. In recent years, both Saxa and Morton passed away as well.

"Save It for Later" was notably covered by Pete Townshend in 1986 on his album Deep End Live! Harvey Danger covered it for the movie 200 Cigarettes. Pearl Jam has covered it in concert and Eddie Vedder's cover of the song is featured in the latest season of The Bear. Not bad for a song that Dave Wakeling's band didn't even want to record.

 

Day After Day #208: What Color is Blood?

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4). 

What Color is Blood? (2014)

Last week, I wrote about one of my favorite current artists, Jeff Rosenstock. Another band that I've really taken to over the last decade-plus is Parquet Courts. 

Currently based in NYC, the band was started by Andrew Savage and Austin Brown, who were both students at the University of North Texas in Denton. Andrew's brother Max was a drummer and the three of them relocated to Brooklyn after college and added bassist Sean Yeaton to form Parquet Courts in 2010. 

Their debut album, 2011's American Specialties, was released as a cassette. I first heard them two years later when their 2012 album Light Up Gold was reissued on What's Your Rupture? and caught some attention, especially the songs "Stoned and Starving" and "Borrowed Time." The band's post-punk sound was familiar but fresh, combining literate lyrics with punchy hooks. I picked up the EP Tally All the Things That You Broke (released under the name Parkay Quarts) that fall and dug it as well.

They were getting a lot of Pavement comparisons, which I didn't really hear; to me, they sounded like CBGB-era Television, which I completely dug. In 2014, Parquet Courts released Sunbathing Animal in June and I saw them at TT the Bears (R.I.P.) a few weeks later, headlining a show with another hot new act, Protomartyr, opening up. PC totally ripped it up, with Andrew Savage handling lead vocals on most songs and Brown taking a few. 

On the new album, the band was very conscious to avoid making Light Up Gold 2. They tried not to wear their influences on their proverbial sleeves, exploring different sounds and tempos while still rocking out and also moving away from the stoner/slacker tag that some were putting on them. On "What Color is Blood?" Parquet Courts dug into a midtempo jam as Andrew Savage sings about looking inward, literally.

"What color is blood? Still the same that it was?/Is it still good at what it does?/'Cause I've been needing a new vein line/Going from my guts to my heart to my mind/What's sharp as a knife, followed me all my life/Waits, never rests, til it eats me alive?/Snarlin', darlin', I don't fear nothing/Gushing, I can hear myself leak/I'm roaming outside of the signal/Where it slips in and out/Charges apply, but your heart beats louder/Beyond the dominion of doubt/Excuse me as I slip on out."

The song chugs along as Savage keeps asking questions.

"How is agency built in a life unfulfilled?/Tanned slow and low in the amines of guilt/Hung, stretched, beaten and dried like skin/Smooth, new and shiny but so paper-thin/What tastes like betrayal, gazes naked and pale?/Sneaks into you like it got outta jail?/The blues creeping down you from your head to your tail/The kind that don't let you sing along/I'm listening to a different station/Frequent on a different band/Slightly harder to find but with tuning and time/You won't touch that dial again/Excuse me as I slip on out."

Brown drops a hot guitar solo down before the song wraps up.

Sunbathing Animal got mostly good reviews (it was my favorite album of 2014, for whatever that's worth) and got up to #55 on the Billboard 200 chart. Parquet Courts didn't rest on their laurels, releasing Content Nausea in the fall of 2014 (also under the name Parkay Quarts; Yeaton and Max Savage didn't play on it because of other commitments). The band has continued to release excellent music, with three more studio albums and a collaboration with Italian composer Danielle Luppi from 2016 to 2021, exploring different sounds like dance music. Andrew Savage has also released two solo albums, including last year's Several Songs About Fire.

Although they haven't released an album in three years, Andrew Savage said last year Parquet Courts is still together and will record again in the future.