Sep 052012
 

Back Track reexamines an old cover that deserves a new spotlight.

In 1983 X released More Fun in the New World, which became the fourth consecutive album to garner critical praise, and no doubt helped solidify their status as L.A. punk legends. More Fun was crisper than their previous albums, but no less raw and passionate. John Doe and Exene Cervenka still wrote their lyrics as if they were simply writing poems, and while there were more elements of pop to this album, the band’s punk and rockabilly roots held a presence. Continue reading »

Mar 212012
 

Back Track looks back at an old cover that deserves a new spotlight.

It seems fitting that, attempting a cover, one would bring together as many disparate elements as possible for a song that David Byrne has referred to as “a love song made up almost completely of non sequiturs.” That, however, is precisely what Brooklyn-based Sewing Machines did with Talking Heads‘ “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” and to great effect. Continue reading »

Mar 082012
 

Back Track looks back at an old cover that deserves a new spotlight.

David Watts is a real person according to Ray Davies, which makes the song unique in its character study. Lacking the mockery of the British class system, and missing the common person woes of the working citizen, “David Watts, ” the 1967 song from Something Else by the Kinks, is authentic in its compliments, although not without moments of ironic, homoerotic lyrics, as the Kinks were wont to write. The song simply reminds us of a person we desire to be, but cannot become. It’s a universal concept, going beyond the world of England, presented as a bouncy pop song. Continue reading »

Feb 272012
 

Back Track looks back at an old cover that deserves a new spotlight.

The Pixies released their last studio album, Trompe le Monde, in 1991. With an album cover of eyeballs, and several songs exploring the world of sci-fi, it seems an unlikely place to hear a Jesus and Mary Chain song, but nestled within the tracks is an explosive cover of “Head On.” Continue reading »