Rolling Stone 500: (495) New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü [1985]

So I tend not to like hardcore punk because what I know about it is contemporary. But "New Day Rising" is really, really good! The guitars are fuzzed out. The singing is, well, actual singing. I mean, I like 70's punk, but contemporary hardcore punk sounds pretty stupid usually. This sounds like sped up garage rock and I love garage rock...and speed (or not). The vocals sound a bit pop-y, but not whinny like contemporary bands. Another plus.

Rolling Stone 500: (496) Destroyer by Kiss [1976]

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Destroyer  is a certifiably terrible album. Really, it sounds like a parody of Kiss. Everything is hard rock cliche. The high production value really amplifies how bad the band, especially the singing, is.

Rolling Stone 500: (497) Yo! Bum Rush the Show by Public Enemy [1987]

Wow. The first Public Enemy record sounds different from their songs I know from a few years later. The beats and rhyming are really old school. The good thing about even average hip-hop is it will almost always have a good beat. But the lesser songs on "Yo! Bum Rush the Show" do drag this record down.

Rolling Stone 500: (498) Tres Hombres by ZZ Top [1973]

I grew up listening to classic rock. My dad listened to this stuff all the time. For a reference point, watch That 70's Show. It pretty much is his generation in sitcom format. So, I know ZZ Top and I've heard their songs on the radio, but I usually change the station when they come up. The 70's-era blues-influenced classic hard rock style turns me off usually. It's okay, just not my tatse.

Rolling Stone 500: (499) Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King [1967]

Now this, this I can get behind. As I listened to Albert King play of course his amazing guitar playing stood out, but even more impressive, the backing band. Who could be that good. Well, freakin' Booker T. & the MGs that's who! Shoot, Issac Hayes plays piano on the record! The Memphis Horns! Steve Cropper! Alright, let me calm down for a second. Needless to say, though I still shall, I really dig that old Stax Records sound.

Rolling Stone 500: Touch by Eurythmics [1983]

Making lists is hard. So when Rolling Stone made a list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was never going to please everyone. Now, I'm going to listen to each one and write about it. The end. Or beginning.

The first album on Rolling Stone's list is the Eurythmics' "Touch." Now, it came out in the early 80's and certainly sounds like the time. With that in mind, I have to say about half the songs have aged poorly. But the ones that are good are really, really good.

The Dead Weather Release Hilarious Interview Video...and a Record

Image by aurélien. via Flickr

The concept of the "supergroup" has been around since probably the Dirty Mac in the late sixties (John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mitch Mitchell). Although they only played one show, we have gotten pretty used to supergroups touring and, frankly, sucking. Usually there is a burst of creativity and then egos get in the way and the band fades away, leaving behind so much Potential.

But there is one thing that can make a supergroup great: chemistry. And the Dead Weather, consisting of Jack White (White Stripes), Alison Mosshart (The Kills), Jack Lawrence (Greenhornes) and Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age), certainly have that. They recently released a video of an interview with the band that proves as much.

The organ pretty much makes this amazing.



Corn over flour tortillas? Blasphemy! Nevertheless, I want to see these guys live. I saw the Kills once and was pretty close to the stage and I completely fell in love with Alison Mosshart.

The End.

Hang You from the Heavens by The Dead Weather
Offend in Every Way by The White Stripes
Love Is a Deserter by The Kills
Pattern Skies by The Greenhornes

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• Jack White Unveils Dead Weather Supergroup (stereogum.com)

Track of the Week: "Can't Stand Losing You" by The Police

Lots of people love the Police (except N.W.A., but that's something completely different), but I have always had a problem with how over-produced their stuff sounds. The songs are good, the playing good; I just do not particularly dig the production on most of their records. However, "Can't Stand Losing You" is so stripped down and to the point that I can't get enough of it.

The 1978-79 single also appeared on Outlandos d'Amour, the Police's debut album. Essentially, the song is an eerie story about a bad break-up. The narrative follows a man who can not accept the break-up. Okay, so far a basic rock 'n' roll (or, shoot, even blues) story. Generally there would be a positive resolution with finding another girl or just getting over the relationship. This is where "Can't Stand Losing You" goes from a good song with a catchy beat to a great song. The depressed narrator begins to see life as worthless and finally snaps after the second chorus of the song.

At about the 1:32 mark, all of a sudden the narrator just stops and the song gets strangely calm. Then he snaps and decides suicide is the only option. Only killing himself will get her attention and at the same time make her see how much she hurt him and make her feel guilty. Pretty angst-y for a time when Donna Summer's "I Will Survive" was getting heavy play. Ew, disco...

Still, I have a problem with the way the Police play the song live. The first video is from around the time the song came out. They expand the breakdown part of the song. It begins to get on my nerves a bit about halfway through the expanded part though. Even then the song sounds raw and, therefore, good.



Now look at this video from 2007. The production is better because of the larger stadium. But the expanded part just seems indulgent and unnecessarily long to me. The original recording is perfect. Why mess with perfection? It just takes away from the effect of a guy going through such a drastic breakdown. When I heard them perform this during Live Earth, I just could not believe Sting was doing some terrible scat singing thing. Anyway, whatever.



Lyrics
I've called you so many times today
And I guess it's all true what your girlfriends say
That you don't ever want to see me again
And your brothers going to kill me and he's six feet ten
I guess youd call it cowardice
But I'm not prepared to go on like this

I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you

I see you've sent my letters back
And my lp records and they're all scratched
I can't see the point in another day
When nobody listens to a word I say
You can call it lack of confidence
But to carry on living doesn't make no sense

I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing

I guess this is our last goodbye
And you don't care, so I won't cry
But you'll be sorry when I'm dead
And all this guilt will be on your head
I guess you'd call it suicide
But I'm too full to swallow my pride

I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing

I Can't Stand Losing You by The Police