Heavy rotation in the car:
Bob Dylan--Oh Mercy My father-in-law just gave me this disc, released in '89, and I have to say the lyricism ranks up there with Dylan's best work: seemless moves from self-effacement to corny humor. Highlights: "Everything is Broken" and "Ring Them Bells" (the former--as the title implies--features Dylan figuratively wringing his hands as Dylan often does and the latter's a kind of Chimes of Freedom Revisited, if you will).
Nothern State--All City Brand new release from Brooklyn's premier female hip hop ensemble. Not as good as their stellar Dying in Stereo e.p., but great wake-up-you-gotta-teach-this-morning music. Nicole likes "Girl for All Seasons" (the first single) but I'm all about track#4: "Last Night," which has a killer refrain about visiting an ATM (trust me--you gotta hear it). The Beastie Boys comparisons abound: they're white, they drop pop culture AND erudite/highbrow references, and they love NYC. If they follow the Beastie Boys career trajectory, I anxiously await their Free Tibet phase.
Richard Hell and the Voidoids--Blank Generation One of my favorite 70s punk albums. Hell was in Television and Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers before breaking out on his own with this debut. I love punk songs that have a little ironic 50s nostalgia (Blondie and The Ramones both have cuts that could have been on the Grease soundtrack, Lou Reed cites Dion as an influence, and, hell, they all wore leather jackets and boots), and Richard Hell does a kind of doo-wop thing on "Plan" (though the lyrics would never have flown in 1955!). And the title track, a rip-off of an old beat poem whose riff was later ripped off by The Stray Cats in "Stray Cat Strut," absolutely nails the angsty side of punk: "I belong to a blank generation/I can take it or leave it each time."
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