I went through my Elton John (music) phase long before I heard this gem from his 1972 album, Honky Chateau. It’s a beautiful love song, dedicated to New York City. It features some of Elton’s best melody while lyricist Bernie Taupin adds some vivid, city-related imagery. Over the years, this has become my favorite Elton John song.
Listen to a song clip here.
Keane just had to scrap their US tour because singer Tom Chaplin has entered rehab. They cancelled a few recent dates citing Chaplin’s “exhaustion,” but surely they knew that LiLo has officially, um, exhausted that word as a viable excuse.
All kidding aside, I love Under the Iron Sea, and hope that Tom gets himself sorted out. Are there any rock stars left that can party without going full-bore gonzo crazy? God, imagine if someone had shown him crystal meth…
The fine folks at RememberTheEighties.com have sent out another newsletter. Here are a few news bites:
* DEPECHE MODE are to release a new single in October. The track ‘Martyr For Love’ was recorded as part of the sessions for the band’s recent ‘Playing The Angel’ album but was left off the album because it was ‘too upbeat’ for the rest of the album. The single is expected to precede yet another Depeche Mode best-of collection. (Yeah, because we really need another Depeche Mode best-of.)
* NIK KERSHAW’s forthcoming album will be called You’ve Got To Laugh. The twelve-track collection will be released independently by Kershaw and although no release date has been set it is hoped that the album will see the light of day in the next few months.
* SIMPLE MINDS’ ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ is to be immortalised in a forthcoming documentary of the same name focusing on film director John Hughes’ coming-of-age teen movies from the eighties – including “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Ferris Buller’s Day Off,” “Weird Science” and “Sixteen Candles.” Simple Minds are to be filmed for the documentary which will also feature interviews with Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Kelly Le Brock (“Weird Science”), Mia Sara and Alan Ruck (“Ferris Buller’s Day Off”) along with more interviews still to be scheduled.
And, lastly, an announcement which may lead to a duel between The Chauffeur and yours truly:
DEPECHE MODE, THE SMITHS, JAPAN and ERASURE are among artists featured on a new interactive DVD music quiz from Q Magazine. ‘The Essential Music Quiz’ will be released on November 27th after being launched at the annual Q Awards on October 30th. The quiz features audio and video snippets from over a hundred bands across the history of music and also includes material from ART OF NOISE, BRONSKI BEAT, SIMPLY RED, DEAD OR ALIVE and ADAM AND THE ANTS among many others.
The Knife * The Slits * Hot Chip * The Black Keys * Madlib * Ben Lee * Deerhoof * Blonde Redhead * The Boy Least Likely To * Blue Cheer * Joseph Arthur * Erase Errata * Green Milk from the Planet Orange * Cold War Kids * Silversun Pickups * Califone * White Whale * hellogoodbye * Anathallo * Dr. Dog * Professor Murder * Archie Bronson Outfit * Keren Ann * Jucifer * David Bazan * Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin * Oakley Hall * These Arms Are Snakes * Micah P. Hinson * Portastatic * Cloud Cult * Jason Forrest Band * Thunderbirds Are Now! * Strike Anywhere * Percee P * Mute Math * Suzanne Vega * Extra Golden * 120 Days * The Fever * Girl Talk *
I’m not totally and utterly underwhelmed by the number of big names – CMJ is all about breaking new artists, after all – but I did immediately raise my eyebrows at two of those listed: the Slits and Blue Cheer. Fans of ’70s punk and ’60s garage rock are twitching with glee…
The panelists this year, however, are the real cause for celebration, if only for their diversity. Names include Chris Stein (Blondie), Pat DiNizio (the Smithereens), Janeane Garofalo, George Clinton (Parliament Funkadelic), Roger O’Donnell (the Cure), Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big), and…wait for it…Don fucking DOKKEN, baby!
“Nigel Tufnel? Never heard of him.”
Get more details about this year’s festival here.
Believe it or not, I first heard this gem on a recent American Airlines flight, as part of their 33 1/3 onboard radio programming. I haven’t dug into much of the Who’s work, but this funky track from 1982’s It’s Hard just might change all of that.
Listen to a sound clip here.
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