As a someone who could be described as "mid-20th-Century-modern," I have a whole lot of sonic goodies in my mental jukebox. It's great to be able to call upon all my favorite music from the last half-century as I like; that said, I find that there's nothing like the satisfying rush of finding and listening to great new music. I don't believe in coddling the past too too much, whether in practice or the abstract. What is being made now of rock n' roll is interesting to me on all kinds of levels. It can never die, it's said.
But sometimes when I am digging my new fave bands -- which are to a great degree in the "garage rock" catch-all genre -- I can't help but be poked in the synapses by my old faves. More than just finding a few commonalities, obvious influences, or outright swipes (stealing stuff is a universal rock n' roll tradition), I listen for something a little deeper, a less-expected connection between old and new, some link that is on the surface is kind of weird (or really weird) but actually would SOUND GREAT all mashed up. So today I bring you my weird wishlist of classic LPs that I would LOVE to hear redone by some of the coolest cats and kitties of 2012 -- and some of my photographs, too. Let's go!
1. TY SEGALL COVERING CREAM'S "DISRAELI GEARS"
What does a young, hyper-prolific (and hyper in general) California musician have to do with laid-back blues-guitar mega-hero Eric Clapton? Not much, if you're looking at "Wonderful Tonight" or "Lay Down Sally." But if we time-trip back to late 1967, we find Clapton in a place where he was challenged to play within songs, rather than copy/recycle/snore through bland blues cliches or AOR muck. "Disraeli Gears" is a heavy record, but not so heavy that it doesn't feature tons of good pop songs that deserve a freshening. Ty Segall's the right man for the job, for his 2012 releases of "Slaughterhouse" and "Hair" (with White Fence) are heavy, all right, bringing the guitar solo back with a vengeance, surrounded by mad thrashy psych guitars and slice-through harmonies. It would WORK.
Ty Segall, "I Bought My Eyes" (2012)
Cream, "Blue Condition" (1967)
2. THE INTELLIGENCE COVERING THE CARS' "CANDY-O"
OK, this one is just a no-brainer for me. Common to both the Intelligence and the Cars is this tight-to-uptight mechanical feel of their song structures: the latter band kept tightening the screws to further a clean, aloof, chrome-shiny perfection; the former, more self-conscious of the orderliness, make endearing attempts to both embrace and destruct it. It would take like two minutes for Lars Finberg to reconfigure the Cars' "Since I Held You" to perfectly fit the Intelligence's quirkier style. Whaddya say, man?
The Intelligence, (They Found Me In The Back Of) The Galaxy" (2012)
The Cars, "Since I Held You" (1979)
3. JACUZZI BOYS COVERING THE ARCHIES' "THE ARCHIES"
I can tell you from repeat personal experience that Miami's Jacuzzi Boys have put on some pretty apeshit performances, or rather, their fans have gone apeshit, which makes for a lot of fun and a lot of beer flying in the air. So why on earth would I pick a cartoon band for them to cover? Ah, that's easy. Within the punky loud madness, there's also a nifty core of bubblegum Sugar Pops sweetness, heard most in vocalist Gabriel Arcala's puppy-whine voice. It's a great combination. Sending the JBs to take on the pure kiddie pop of the late-60s would be genius: they'd strip away the years, rough it up, yet keep the humor and lightness as well.
Jacuzzi Boys, "Crush" (2011)
The Archies, "La Dee Doo Down Down" (1968)
Running out of time for today...I'll be back with some more another time!
© Copyright 2008- Marianne Spellman