Valerian

Gary Anthony Webb
Called himself Valerian
Then became Numan

Superunknown by Soundgarden

I never really understood grunge back in the 90s. To me, it just sounds like 1970s hard rock with baggy jumpers and greasy hair, and certainly not a worrying youth trend that warranted a moral panic about cob nobblers and lame stains. I remember playing Black Hole Sun on Rock Band and enjoying it, but there’s nothing really new here.

The only difference really is that the lyrics tend to be somewhat more introspective and depressing than their 1970s counterparts, which is I guess the root of their appeal. Sadly lead singer Chris Cornell was another victim of the rock lifestyle who struggled and didn’t get the help that he was crying out for judging by his songs.

Fall Colours

Dear daily haiku
It is only just August
No fall colours yet

Heroes by David Bowie

Picking a favourite Bowie album is a little bit like being asked to name your most loved child. For me, the Berlin trilogy is like a set of triplets - they all have their quirks and individual personalities but they also have a unique bond between them. If Lodger is the cheeky outsider and Low the introspective, arty one, then Heroes is the confident middle child that gets the balance right.

This was the only album of the trilogy that was entirely recorded in the famous Hansa studios in Berlin and this was the point that Bowie pulled all of the threads together of the artistic process that drove Low. We have Brian Eno’s electronica (and oblique strategies), Carlos Alomar is joined on guitar and boosted by Robert Fripp’s unique sounds, and not forgetting producer Tony Visconti, doing more on this record than most people think.

Whilst I probably wouldn’t pick this as my all time favourite Bowie album (please don’t make me choose) this does have my favourite single song in the title track that always, without fail, sends a shiver down my spine no matter how many times I hear it. There’s just something about the way his voice starts to crack that evokes so many emotions.

Soaked

Walking in sunshine
Shirt soaked with sweat, eyes stinging
Longing for sweet rain

Spy vs Spy by John Zorn

Some albums are not easy to listen to, not for the subject matter, but simply because the form of the music is so far outside of your regular comfort zone. Extreme forms of thrash metal or avant garde experimental pieces are the usual examples, but in this case it’s a John Zorn with a blast of free jazz riffing off pieces by Ornette Colman as seen though the lens of thrashcore punk.

These are all short tracks and the first impression is of a relentless sonic assault, but this definitely repays giving it your full attention so that you can make sense of what is happening. Listening on headphones is a must, not least because you will probably get some funny looks from anyone else who hears this, but also because there are two alto saxophones at work here on opposite sides of the sound stage - Tim Berne on the left channel and John Zorn on the right.

The effect is a little bit like the classic duelling banjos piece, where they lay down challenges and try to top each other (or sometimes just see who can honk the loudest).

Nice!

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