(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes checks in on our playlists and makes a couple of suggestions of his own.)
Back in April 2008, Toby Gibson asked the question, “What are we listening to now?” It’s time for an update.
I’ve got a couple of recommendations for your exploration. The first is a group whose name I’d heard lauded for years by the cognoscenti, but didn’t get around to listening to until a couple of years ago. Dr. Feelgood formed in the early ’70s in Canvey Island, Essex, and played a blistering, break-neck paced rhythm and blues that recalled the early Rolling Stones and jump-started the English proto-punk movement called “pub rock.”
The main attractions were Wilko Johnson, the manic guitarist whose quirky, pickless style often left his hands raw and bloody, and Lee Brilleaux, the filthy lead singer and harp player. Though some form of the band is still playing (Brilleaux died several years ago), stick to the first three albums, which were recorded with Wilko Johnson: “Down by the Jetty,” “Malpractice,” and “Stupidity.” I recently acquired a DVD of a film called “Goin’ Back Home,” which rivals any live concert performances I’ve ever seen on film, including the scenes of the Clash in “Rude Boy,” and even the Who at the Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus.
Here’s a clip from the film:
Lately I’ve found myself listening to the solo projects of the multitalented musicians of the Canadian band the New Pornographers.
In particular, I love A.C. Newman’s 2004 album “The Slow Wonder,” and “The Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” by Neko Case, whose clear sweet voice recalls the Shangri-Las’ Mary Weiss.
What have you been listening to lately? Is there any music, new or old, that you’d like to suggest to your fellow Che Undergrounders?
— Ray Brandes
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