I'll listen to that shortly, EDE, but first, I want to post another XTC comic-book-related song, a rather apropos one considering that other thread you just started tonight:
Speaking of Andy Patridge. The reason I was listening to XTC was after I listened to someone else, following an interview he did.
I only caught the last few minutes, but he stopped a record on the programme as he he was a little to emotional to let it continue playing. It just had such an effect on on him. It was possibly the Kiss, and he said that Judee Sill was quite the influence on him. This is another one of hers...
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
This morning I listened to No Vacancy: The Best of the Motels. Wonderful 80s New Wave pop, thanks to Martha Davis's powerhouse voice and sharp lyrics. My favorite cut:
Prepare to be shocked -- I'm posting a YouTube video for a Madonna song! Everybody at Legion World knows I generally despise Madonna, and while i still dislike her as a person (I think she's a cultural vampire and a heartless, soulless poseur), I can't deny any longer that she's done some good songs over the past 30 years.
This particular one is special to me, because it was co-written with Alain Whyte. For those of you not in the know, Alain Whyte was Morrissey's principal co-writer from 1992 to 2009. Over the past few years, he has written a bunch of songs for current pop and R&B singers, and he had one song on Madonna's last album to date. I think it's good, and I hope it inspires people to investigate further into the extremely talented Alain Whyte's songwriting catalog.
I've been listening to the Breeders "Last Splash" album a lot the last few days. I've been exhuming some cd's from the 90's that I haven't listened to in ages. That one holds up very well for me, along with "Star" by Belly. They're kind of twinned in my mind since those albums came after a lineup of the Breeders that included Tanya Donnelly.
I realized that it seems like there's a lack of female fronted bands on the radio these days. We have 2 "alternative" stations in Atlanta (whatever that even means any more) and I can't remember hearing many female voices at all. Am I wrong there?
Sadly, matlock, what you say is all too true. "Alternative" or as I like to refer to it from about 1993 onwards, "Mall-ternative," has become a boy's club.
Who would have ever thought that a seemingly generic teen-bubblegum demi-star would turn out to be a fine interpretive singer? But that's exactly what Mandy Moore proved in 2003 with her wonderful all-covers album "Coverage". It's hard for me to pick just one song off it, but I decided on this sensitive reading of one of Elton John & Bernie Taupin's finest songs:
And as a bonus, here's the original plus its underrated sequel from Elton's best 80s album, "Reg Strikes Back":