I fell in love with this album a long time ago. I can remember first listening to the record, and being a little underwhelmed by it, but the next day I had at least 3 or 4 different songs stuck in my head. The grooves on this album are truly infectious. Simple instrumentals like "Weather Radio", or the raucous "Stop It" will be in your head for days. Pylon was the third most popular act to come out of Athens, Georgia in the 1980's (seriously what's in the water down there) and they never achieved the fame of their counterparts; REM and The B52's. They were a little more aggressive with their music than REM, and they didn't have an interesting image like the B52's, so it makes since they didn't achieve their levels of success. An album well worth listening if you like tight, funky, punky instrumentals, and badass female front ladies.
This quote from the allmusic review sums this up pretty well;
"If Raymond Chandler and Raymond Carver had somehow fused their literary sensibilities and branched out into songwriting, they might have conjured a lyrical voice something like Stan Ridgway's, a man with an uncanny knack for capturing the nooks and crannies of life among the lost and lowly in Los Angeles, telling their stories with genuine understanding but no illusions."
From a lyrical and story telling perspective, Stan Ridgway should really rank up there with other narrative weirdos like Waits. Where the album may fall flat for most people is the cheesy 80's instrumentation which has not necessarily aged well. I don't mind it, I think the slick production, synthesizers, and horns add an interesting juxtaposition to the downtrodden characters that Ridgway sings about on the album. The absolute standout to me is the track "Can't Complain" it reminds of what could possibly be a short story by a guy I really like named George Saunders who is good at capturing the mundane and the absurd concurrently.
I fell in love with this album a long time ago. I can remember first listening to the record, and being a little underwhelmed by it, but the next day I had at least 3 or 4 different songs stuck in my head. The grooves on this album are truly infectious. Simple instrumentals like "Weather Radio", or the raucous "Stop It" will be in your head for days. Pylon was the third most popular act to come out of Athens, Georgia in the 1980's (seriously what's in the water down there) and they never achieved the fame of their counterparts; REM and The B52's. They were a little more aggressive with their music than REM, and they didn't have an interesting image like the B52's, so it makes since they didn't achieve their levels of success. An album well worth listening if you like tight, funky, punky instrumentals, and badass female front ladies.
I used to have this Pylon album and it was cool. I put it in the category of those 80s dance rock bands like ESG or the B-52's. It's always fun while it's playing and you don't give it enough credit as it probably deserves afterwards. But you always remember it
I've been spinning this record constantly for the last few weeks. I remember finding one of the songs on youtube awhile back, and thinking it was pretty great, but this whole reissued album is fantastic. Pink Rhythm was a pseudonym for John Rocca and Andy Stennet of jazz-funk-electro-disco band Freeez. They only put out a couple singles under the moniker Pink Rhythm, but man they are some of the funkiest and sexiest songs from this niche genre. The synths, the slap bass, the wailing synth solos, and that blaring alto saxophone solo. They're all here, and have never sounded better. I'm not a dancing kind of person, but this makes me want to cut a rug.
Did I subconsciously put this next to the last one by color? Weird. Anyways, this album is a must listen for fans of drone, post rock, and doom metal. Beautiful layers of soaring-crunchy guitars on the longer tracks, and hard hitting rock and roll on some of the shorter ones. I prefer the LP version which adds a few more tracks.
This song has always made me want to punch stuff.'
A beautifully composed and hypnotic album. I feel like this album could be used to cure any bad mood, or stop a charging grizzly bear in its tracks. Enjoy with a cup of hot Bengal Spice tea while relaxing in your favorite comfortable recliner.
There is no doubt in my mind that Elvis was the greatest rock star who ever lived. I think history has been unkind to old Elvis. His legend has become a parody, and his legacy hyperbole. Hardcore celebrity worship that we see today with people like the Kardashians started with Elvis. That "mania" people apply to The Beatles would have went nowhere were it not for Elvis Presley. The true greatness of Elvis has been lost in an always growing army of bad impersonators, karate moves, peanut butter/ banana sandwiches, and general buffoonery. By 1968 all sorts of psychedelic rock, jazz, and intimate folk music had made anything Elvis was doing, or had done irrelevant. Elvis himself had lost touch with what had made him great; releasing increasingly boring movies and soundtracks that no one found exciting. This show revitalized his career, because it showed the world once again that he was the single greatest performer alive. The dance moves, the charisma, and that powerful voice, are all at their pinnacle on the '68 special. I won't go into much more detail about this album; instead, I'll just leave a link to the wikipedia article about it which is a...
This group gets a lot of hate for their first album, which really wasn't that bad, but they sure corrected the ship on their follow-up. This is pop music for weirdos.
2 of the members from the supremely talented 10cc decided to go out on their own and make their own music. What you get is a hybrid of Frank Zappa's musical eccentricity, mixed with the talent of Steely Dan, and the satire of 10cc. It's a bizarre combination, but I think it works.
I'm also not convinced that this album did not come out in the mid 2000's. I bet people who liked the first Yeasayer album could also end up being into this record. There's this pop sensibility through the weirdness that makes it unbelievably catchy.
It's hard to pick a stand out track, they're all really good, but here are two of the best.
The natural punk rock evolution of The Rolling Stones. I don't like the term "glam rock" when it comes to The New York Dolls, they have the punk rock attitude, which is all that's really needed for me. This album does not need an in depth look at it. The music is immediate and straight to the point.
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