Sinead O'Connor - "War"

We found out today that Sinead O'Connor died.  Probably best known for her cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U", if you weren't there, it's hard to convey just how big she was in the early 1990s -- right up until she became famous for her other cover: Bob Marley and the Wailers's "War".

I'm 95% certain I watched this live in 1992 on SNL, though it's possible that I watched later coverage of it and the mists of time have caused me to conflate source.  The reaction was nearly universal revulsion, and it's safe to say this greatly curtailed a promising career.  I wasn't offended, but I was surprised at her boldness and conviction.  

And with the benefit of time, it should be clear to all her detractors from 31 years ago that she was 100% right.  I don't recall child abuse in the Catholic Church being well-known at the time, but that started to change after her performance.  There are innumerable villains in the story, but when you're the pope, the papal buck stops with you.  

What I didn't know until today is that Bob Marley's original song, from the 1976 LP "Rastaman Vibration", is based on a 1963 speech to the UN by Ethiopia's Haile Selassie:

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; That until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained; And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will; Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven; Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil. 

Bob Marley adapted that speech into a song, and Sinead O'Connor adapted the song to be about child abuse.  She repeated the song (sans picture) at the 1992 Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert.  

Her SNL version starts off a little shaky and unsure, likely because she knows she's on the precipice of an act she can't undo, before it builds to its powerful conclusion.  The best definition of bravery I've seen says it's not about "not being afraid", but rather "being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway."  Sinead was brave, and she was right.  

Sinead O'Connor -- War (1992 SNL; 1992 30th Bob Dylan Anniversary Concert)

Bob Marley & The Wailers -- War (1976 LP version, live 1979)

N.B. It's also a nice reminder that if all you have is "Legends", which admittedly was standard issue when I was in college, you're missing out on Marley's overtly political canon.  

Julee Cruise - "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears"

It's been almost a year since her death, but somehow I failed to mark the passing of Julee Cruise.  I indirectly referenced it when I wrote of the death of Angelo Badalamenti, but somehow I mistook sending a flurry of texts to my friends last year for actually writing about it.  

Having covered Julee extensively in the past (Twin Peaks, Industrial Symphony #1, Floating into the Night), I'm not sure I have anything new to say.  I have a fair amount of her later collaborations (i.e., those not with Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch), but instead I want to draw your attention to a cover of an Elvis song she did for the "Until the End of the World" soundtrack, "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears".  

I'm guessing it was recorded during the sessions for either "Floating into the Night" or maybe even "The Voice of Love".  To the best of my knowledge, it never appeared on a Julee Cruise LP and the soundtrack is the only place to get it.  

As I've mentioned before, Cruise was a titan in the dream pop genre and her discography is just too short.  Unless there are some unreleased tracks sitting in a vault somewhere, this is it, so enjoy this excellent Elvis cover -- and bonus points for a cover of an obscure B-side too. 

Julee Cruise - "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears"

Elvis - "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears"

Depeche Mode - "Death's Door" (forgotten song)

Andy Fletcher, a founding member of Depeche Mode, unexpectedly died earlier this week.  As part of the founding trio of Depeche Mode, Fletcher received no songwriting credits and his role in the band was that of business manager, spokesperson, and tie-breaker for creative disputes.  As I've gotten older, I can better appreciate the role of someone like Andy in a creative endeavor.  

As a member of Generation X, it's impossible to not like Depeche Mode -- it was a constant soundtrack in high school, college, and beyond.  While not to diminish the influence of their early work in their ongoing discography, for my money, it's hard to beat their three LP run of "Music for the Masses" (1987), "Violator" (1990), and "Songs of Faith and Devotion" (1993), all of which I plan to review here some day (tm).  

There are dozens of songs with which we could recognize Andy Fletcher's passing, but I will take overlooked "Death's Door", from the excellent 1992 Wim Wenders soundtrack "Until the End of the World".  Most of the soundtrack was original music, with some of the artists releasing the songs on later LPs.  I don't think Depeche Mode ever released "Death's Door" on a regular studio LP, so other than B-sides and a single with remixes, I think the soundtrack is the only place you can hear it. 

Depeche Mode - "Death's Door"

False Sacrament - "That One" (forgotten song)

For reasons I can't quite remember earlier this week I started thinking about False Sacrament, a local band from the late 80s -- early 90s.  Perhaps it was because my previous review was about jazz fusionist Allan Holdsworth giving a slight nod to metal, and you could say that False Sacrament was a metal band giving a hat tip to jazz.  There's not a lot of information about them online, but after texting with Gregg, Scott, Terry and others, plus some Internet sleuthing, I was able to piece together a little bit of history about this band.

They featured Wendy Niles on vocals & clarinet (!), Danny Frazier on drums, Steve DiFazio on bass (who Gregg says he's still in contact with), and Thel Dominici on guitar.  Wendy, Danny, and Steve were all from Denbigh High School, class of 88 (none of whom I knew, but see my previous post on Tone Deaf and other DHS alumni), and Thel went to high school in Va Beach.  I thought I saw False Sacrament at the Denbigh Jam, but Terry assures me that never happened.  I did see them with Terry at in Norfolk, ca. 1990 or 1991, and it was probably at the (in)famous and now defunct Kings Head Inn but I'm not 100% sure about the location.  Some time around 1992 False Sacrament had moved out to San Francisco to further their career, though they toured all over.  One of the places they toured was Terry's house on Old South High at JMU (previously mentioned in my House of Freaks post), as evidenced by this cool concert flyer that I lifted from Terry's page (and his Corn Rocket video might be from the same show; Terry says Thel went to HS with the guitarist from Corn Rocket).

Why am I featuring their song "That One"?  Well, I found a video of them playing that song (or at least I'm pretty sure that's the song) at what looks to be a record store in California on 1992-07-26 (the source of the screen grab at the top).  I could only find one more concert video from them (at "Photon" in Va Beach from 90 or 91, where I'm sure I played laser tag but I don't recall seeing bands there), but the quality of that video is not great.  Audience/amateur recordings from ~30 years ago are rare (video recorders were $$$), so we're lucky to have the two we have...

Terry says he has their split 10" EP with Schlong, and Scott said he received their 1991 demo tape for his radio show at Elon.  The demo tape in particular holds up well -- heavy, intricate, challenging... and clearly not commercially viable.  Unfortunately, False Sacrament sounds nothing like the Seattle Sound that was about to steamroll the alternative music scene.  If forced to make a reference, maybe a funk-less 24-7 Spyz?  To which you say "who?" and I say "exactly." Or perhaps pre-Rollins Black Flag. 

On the two live recordings, Wendy isn't playing clarinet but you'll find it in the demo tape and other studio materials.  And since Wendy and her clarinet were a big part of their sound, I'm using this post to kick off Women's History Month, where I feature artists / bands with females in prominent roles.

That's the best I can do to reconstruct the history of False Sacrament.  Thanks to Terry, Scott, and Gregg for helping me pull this together, and if anyone else can help fill in the blanks please let me know.

False Sacrament - "That One" (live 1992-07-26), "Cosmic Enchantment" (90/91), 1991 Demo Tape, 10" Split EP,  "Paradigm" 7".  The only entry in discogs that I could not find was their 1993 self-titled LP.


Bonus link: I found the video "Baby Farm - False Sacrament Party 1991", but as far as I can tell it only features Baby Farm (another Hampton Roads band from the same time frame). 

The Smiths - "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" (the song remains the same)

Several years ago Julianne, Danette's sister, asked me what I thought was "the best cover song ever?"  I had lots of answers (including "Run On", "Stop Your Sobbing", "Blue Flower", and some others I will eventually cover here), but I'd like to retroactively put at the top of the list "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths.  Originally appearing on their 1986 LP "The Queen is Dead", it was released as a single in 1992 after The Smiths had broken up.  Like pretty much everything by The Smiths, the song is a poignant recount of teenage confusion/pathos/spirituality/sexuality.

My first experience with the song was its appearance as the closing song on the 2003 mix LP "Back to Mine" by The Orb.  This version was retitled "The Light 3000" and is by Schneider TM vs. KPT.Mich.Gan (originally on their joint 2000 EP "Binokular").  The transformation of the song is striking, from the 80s college radio sound of the original to what it would sound like if your computer had teenage angst.  But somehow -- and this is the part that makes it a truly brilliant and inspired cover -- the sterile robotic/synth treatment actually accentuates the universality and the humanity of the original version. 

The Smiths - "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"
Schneider TM vs. KPT.Mich.Gan - "The Light 3000"

And in the darkened underpass
I thought "oh God, my chance has come at last"
But then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask

Leonard Cohen - "Waiting for the Miracle" (spotlight)

Just when you thought 2016 could not get any worse...  This time 2016 claims the songwriters' songwriter, Leonard Cohen.  I've often written here about the difference between influential and popular, and few represent that difference better than Cohen (see the lineup for 1991 tribute LP "I'm Your Fan" or the 1995 tribute LP "Tower of Song").

His most famous song, probably due to various popular covers, is "Hallelujah" but I'll choose to remember him with "Waiting for the Miracle", from the 1992 LP "The Future" as well as the 1994 soundtrack for "Natural Born Killers".

Leonard Cohen - "Waiting for the Miracle" (studio), live 1993, live 2013

Bonus link: Austin City Limits, 1998-10-31

GWAR - "Phallus in Wonderland" (spotlight)

Dave Brockie, aka "Oderus Urungus", a founding member of Gwar died this week in Richmond.

What can I say about Gwar?  Other than it is possibly short for "Gwaaarrrgghhlllgh".  With Gwar, you either get the joke or you don't; Gwar is equal parts band, performance art, long-running (~30 years) inside-joke, and social commentary.  It's like they combined KISS, Gallagher, This Is Spinal Tap, grindhouse, and He-Man and the Masters of The Universe and decided "that's a good start, but what would happen if we took it to 11?" 

Terry first introduced me to Gwar.  He was pretty plugged into the VA music scene during the 90s and I'm pretty sure he's visited Gwar's headquarters, The Slave Pit, in Richmond where they made their costumes, filmed their videos, held GWAR-B-Qs, etc.  I was always simultaneously proud that something as odd as Gwar would come from VA, and sad that VA is such a religiously conformist environment that it would effectively create a backlash like Gwar.

IIRC, Terry told me that Gwar was advanced a small amount of $ to make a music video but instead they made an hour long movie.  That would be 1992's "Phallus in Wonderland", which is now out of print and Terry's copy is probably worth a good bit. The plot: the "Morality Squad" steals Oderus's "Cuttlefish of Cthulu" and Gwar creates the T-Rex "Gor-Gor" to get it back.  I'd say it makes sense in context but, again, you either get the joke or you don't:



I never saw Gwar live, although we occasionally had a chance when they played at the Norva.  I hope they continue, but the future of Gwar is still up in the air.  They play in costume, but knowing that Dave Brockie isn't there would somehow lessen the experience. 

Don't have time for the full movie?  At the 21 minute mark is "Have you seen me?", their "tribute" to missing children on milk cartons.  If you can make it through that, you'll enjoy the rest of their canon.

Negativland - "Live at Lewis's, Norfolk VA, November 21, 1992" (concert)

Terry finally uploaded to Youtube one of my favorite videos of his from back in the day.  Almost exactly 21 years ago Negativland played at Lewis's in Norfolk, right outside of the Colonial Place neighborhood where I live.  Lewis's was a nondescript seafood restaurant that often featured bands in the evening.  Eventually it became Enrico's, a pretty good Greek restaurant, which eventually closed in a dispute with the landlord and in it's place came Phoenix Bar and Grill, which lasted less than a year (we never even tried it).  The building (4012 Colley Ave.) is currently inactive.   Of course, at the time neither Terry nor I were living in Norfolk, and I think Danette had just moved here. 

The point is that both Negativland and Lewis's are amenable to someone like Terry recording the entire event.  We were both big fans of Negativland, and this was right in the middle of their struggle with U2, Island, and SST (see my reviews of "Guns" and "U2" for background info).  I must have watched this video 20 or more times; but since he recorded it on S-VHS, I never got a VHS copy.  And although I've watched it enough that it seems like I was there, I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I missed this concert and attended a VT-UVa football game instead (although Terry has it marked as "October 21", I'm pretty sure this was actually November 21, 1992).  Fortunately, Terry took my copy of "Guns" and got Mark Hosler to autograph the inside fold (see above pic).  Apparently Mark did not approve of my choice of weekend entertainment either (also, it rained and VT lost -- a bad choice all around).

So I wasn't there, and most likely you weren't there either (it's not a big place), but thanks to Terry it can seem like we were there:



I don't normally embed videos, but this one deserves it.  You really should watch the whole thing, but some highlights include:

• 26:20 -- "Time Zones"
• 31:05 -- "Black Lady of Espionage", segueing into "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
• 1:04:10 -- "Christianity is Stupid"
• 1:11:20 -- Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA"
• 1:24:40 -- Terry interviews Mark Hosler (while Mark has a post-show fish sandwich)

Craig Baldwin used part of this concert footage in his film "Sonic Outlaws", earning Terry a credit in the liner notes.

Also, instead of reviewing it as a LP, I'm starting a new series simply called "concert". 

The Cure - "High" (forgotten song)

Another birthday song for Danette.  The last two have been punk songs ("Punk Rock Girl" and "Josie"), so this time we'll pull from the related goth genre.  

"High" is the first single from The Cure's 1992 LP "Wish" and while "Robert Smith was (is) still sad", I'm glad he took some time off to write this uncharacteristically joyful song.  The playful wording, the memorable guitar riff...  three and half minutes of perfection that always made me think of Danette:

when i see you sky as a kite
as high as i might           
i can't get that high       
the how you move              
the way you burst the clouds
it makes me want to try 

The Cure: "High", live version, extended version

Catherine Wheel - "Ferment" (LP Review)

You know that music that's played before and in between sets at concerts?  Presumably it is the sound engineer's cousin's band, with music that is simultaneously slightly familiar (if only because it is so derivative) but ultimately forgettable.  It blandly fills the aural space without distracting from the live acts that will follow.

Got that sound in your mind?  That's what "Ferment", the 1992 LP by Catherine Wheel sounds like.  None of the songs on this LP are really bad, some are decent (e.g., "Indigo is Blue"), but it's mostly an uninspiring shoegaze-by-numbers.  A reminder: I like shoegazing, but CW is no MBV or Slowdive; they're not even Curve or Lush -- a point apparently lost on Allmusic's Andy Kellman.

Uninspiring except for, and this is a huge "except", the song "Black Metallic".  Catherine Wheel caught lightning in a bottle for this one epic song.  I don't recall this song getting radio airplay, and although they have a video for the single edit (i.e., 4 minute version), I don't remember the video either.  But you really need to hear the 7 minute LP version; the single version doesn't build the same energy.  And it goes without saying that you also need maximum volume.

I'm not entirely sure what the song is about: some explanations include being in love with an emotionally unavailable person ("I never see you when you're smiling") or even an automobile ("Your skin is black metallic").  Those are pretty boring explanations; I read in some forgotten page a long time ago that it was about sex with a robot.  Granted, that's almost surely not true, but it ought to be true because it lends an engaging sci-fi creepiness to the song ("I think of you when you're sleeping / And all the secrets that you're keeping").

Standout songs: "Black Metallic" (7 minute LP version), (live version), (4 minute single version)

Skip 'em songs: none

Songs that appear: "Indigo Is Blue" (live version)

Final score: 5/10.  I don't normally recommend skipping the entire LP in favor of a single, but this is one of those times.

Chris Bell - "I Am the Cosmos" (LP Review)

Being huge fanboys, Johan, Lee, and I have had numerous discussions about Big Star, who rank with The Velvet Underground with respects to significant influence in the musical community without the corresponding commercial success (Johan even features Big Star in his technical presentations to illustrate the difference between importance and popularity).

The two main creative forces behind Big Star were Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, who were roughly comparable in their roles to McCartney & Lennon, respectively. And while the three Big Star LPs generally receive nearly perfect marks by most critics, I have to break with Lee, Johan, and other critics and confess I enjoy Chris Bell's "I Am the Cosmos" more than any of the Big Star LPs.

That is not to say that "I Am the Cosmos" is not a flawed LP; it is really just a collection of singles and demos that was posthumously assembled & released by Rykodisc in 1992. Prior to this, the only official solo Chris Bell release was the 1978 7" "I Am the Cosmos" (on the tiny label Car Records), right before Bell's death in an automobile accident. Prior to 1992, the unreleased Chris Bell recordings had acquired a mythic reputation, similar to "Smile", "Chrome Dreams", and other lost LPs.

Because it is a compilation the quality is variable, featuring a mix of artists (including appearances by Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens from Big Star), different studios, etc. The best tracks are sublime & achingly beautiful: the title track "I Am the Cosmos" (two different versions are featured) and its original b-side "You and Your Sister" (three different versions), "Speed of Sound", "Though I Know She Lies"; even spiritual: "Look Up", "There Was A Light". The weaker songs try to emulate Big Star-style, uptempo rockers (e.g., "Make A Scene", "I Got Kinda Lost", "Fight at the Table"), and on these songs the absence of Alex Chilton is noticeable. The slower, more introspective songs work best here. Perhaps the best way to describe them is to say the LP cover art perfectly captures their essence.

Since only bassist Andy Hummel fails to make an appearance, perhaps "I Am the Cosmos" should be considered the fourth Big Star LP. And if so, I would consider it to be the best Big Star LP. I don't understand how these songs could go unreleased for so long, but at least they're available now.

Standout tracks: "I Am the Cosmos", "You and Your Sister", "Speed of Sound", "Though I Know She Lies", "Look Up", "There Was A Light"

Skip 'em tracks: "Get Away", "Make A Scene", "I Got Kinda Lost", "Fight at the Table"

Final score: 9/10.

Bonus Links: YouTube is awash with amateur covers of Chris Bell songs. Here are some of the more well-known versions:

"I Am the Cosmos": This Mortal Coil, The Posies, Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson

"You and Your Sister": This Mortal Coil

P.S. No, I'm not ignoring the role of This Mortal Coil and Big Star / Chris Bell. I'll get to it.

Negativland - "Guns" (LP Review)

"Guns" was the first Negativland release I bought. In retrospect, that was fortunate because this two song EP is one of their most accessible releases. It was released in 1992, replacing the withdrawn 1991 "U2" EP. The saga between Negativland vs. U2's label, Island Records, as well as Negativland vs. their own label, SST Records, is well documented and will not be rehashed here (see: "The Letter U and Numeral 2", "Fair Use: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2" and "These Guys Are from England and Who Gives a Shit"). The cover art of the "Guns" EP is clear nod to the then-current U2 situation.

"Guns" consists of two songs: "Then" and "Now". "Then" samples from 1950s-1960s icons of TV and film, humorously and critically examining the cultural status of firearms. "Now" is similar, but pulls from more recent sources. I could try to describe the songs further, but since they're available online it is easier to just listen. Due to their dispute with SST, Negativland makes the mp3s freely available from their web site even though SST still sells the EP. How many bands do you know that actually promote free mp3s over their CDs?

Peter Neville has created an excellent video for "Then", providing many of the TV & movie clips that correspond to the samples in the song.

Standout tracks: "Then" (Negativland.com, YouTube), "Now" (Negativland.com).

Skip 'em tracks: none.

Final Score: 8/10. Not their most experimental release, but a good intro to their body of work. If this EP resonates with you, you should explore their other releases. If this is not to your liking... well, it pretty much gets weirder and noisier from here.

P.S. Terry went to a Negativland show in Norfolk (ca. late 1992) and got Mark Hosler to autograph my copy of "Guns". There are probably dozens of people (besides Terry and me) that think that's cool.