Former manager of the Sex Pistols and all-around punk rock provocateur Malcolm McLaren has died at the age of 64.
Born in the suburbs of post-World War 2 London, McLaren gained fame as the manager of punk pioneers the New York Dolls. But it was his idea to dress the group in Soviet Union iconography that practically doomed the band.
After the group’s dissolution, McLaren would start a clothes shop simply titled SEX which sold S&M bondage gear. At the same time, he started managing a group called the Strand who would later become known as the Sex Pistols. As the Sex Pistols became famous (or infamous), the band created controversy everywhere they went, whether it was the record labels that would consistently drop them or McLaren’s publicity stunts that thumbed their noses at the British aristocracy and the establishment in general.
McLaren’s turbulent time managing the group eventually soured around the time of “The Great Rock n’ Roll Swindle” where members of the Sex Pistols felt slighted in terms of payment and McLaren’s self-promotion. By the time that group had ceased, he had become a hitmaker in his own right in the 80′s with songs like “Buffalo Gals,” which has been sampled by artists like Mariah Carey. His song “About Her” was even featured in Quentin Tarentino’s “Kill Bill-Vol.2.”
Sometimes former bandmates and lovers turn on their own for inspiration and not exactly the most flattering kind of songs. We could add another article completely devoted to diss songs in hip-hop, but we’ve confined the hatred to mostly rock music.
1. “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette
Allegedly written for “Full House” star and former lover Dave Coulier, the song was the turning point for Alanis, who previously was a bright and cheery singer from Canadian. Released at the time when so-called “grunge” music was at its nadir, Alanis went from being on pre-”American Idol” talent show “Star Search” and opening for Vanilla Ice to being the anthem of trendy coffee shops everywhere. Who knew that someone would get so tied up in knots over Uncle Joey? The flipside to this is that because of this song, he’s still semi-famous.
"Cut it out, no really, CUT IT OUT!"
2. “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon
The subject of Simon’s poison pen has been debated since it was released in 1972. It could be Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, it could be actor and sex symbol Warren Beatty or it could be non-sex symbol and music executive David Geffen. Unless you have the cash, Simon isn’t telling anyone anytime soon. In 2003, Dick Ebersol, president of NBC Sports, made the winning bid in a charity auction that sold off a private performance of the song and the revelation of who it was written about by Simon herself on the condition that he never tell anybody either.
3. “Starf@#&ers Inc.” by Nine Inch Nails
Although the title was pared down to “Starsuckers Inc.” the vitriol contained in the song and the video stay pretty much intact. The song is rumored to be about Courtney Love, widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and the singer for the band Hole, for whom a grotesque caricature appears in the music video. Once you read the lyrics, you might see that the song could be about almost any self-obsessed starlet at the time.
In the video, we see Trent Reznor smashing plates adorned with the faces of other celebrities like Fred Durst.
4. “Too Many People” by Paul McCartney
In one of the first of several little revenge songs in the wake of the Beatles’ break-up, McCartney took some shots at John Lennon and everyone’s favorite scapegoat Yoko Ono in this song from 1971′s Ram. The wounds were still fresh as the Fab Four had only released its final song, George Harrison’s “I Me Mine” at the beginning of 1970. In the song, McCartney talks about “Too many people preaching practices” and how “You took your lucky break and broke it in two.” He later acknowledged in a 1984 interview with Playboy that the dig was pointed in his former bandmate’s direction.
5. “How Do You Sleep?” by John Lennon
Written as a kind of response for some perceived digs at him and his wife (see above), Lennon wrote this diss of a song on Imagine There are numerous references to songs that McCartney wrote like “Yesterday” and his solo song “Another Day.”, which is primarily known for being his most commercial work. Also worth noting is “Those freaks were right when they said you was dead,” a less-than-subtle reference to the “Paul is Dead” conspiracy theory from the Beatles’ heyday.
The video, filmed during the recording sessions captures former bandmate George Harrison’s reaction to the song.
6. “Wah-Wah” by George Harrison
What seems less like a breakup and more like a three-way cage match, George Harrison entered the fray with a song aimed at Paul.”Wah-Wah” was released on Harrison’s brilliant soloalbum All Things Must Pass.
7. “Mariah Carey and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream” by Sonic Youth
The song, later renamed “Kim Gordon and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream” probably after the ruffling of record label feathers, mentions some very unflattering things about her. Her breakdown on Total Request Live, her failed relationship with Eminem and her record label’s attempt to reshape her image were all fair game.
Like poison for your earholes.
8. “Cry Me A River” by Justin Timberlake
Breaking up is hard to do. Timberlake retells his side of the split with Britney Spears, even going so far as to accuse her of cheating on him. Spears acknowledged in a 2003 Rolling Stone profile that Timberlake kind of gloated that his video about her was controversial. Whoever is in the right is irrelevant, the way celebrities fight things out in the media only guarantees one winner: the media.
9. “Pull My Strings” by the Dead Kennedys
Written as a satirical comment on mainstream music at the time, the band performed this at the 1980 Bay Area Awards show with dollar signs on their shirts. Singer Jello Biafra sarcastically says they are a New Wave band to prove they are mature adults. The song itself is pretty tame when put alongside “California über Alles” and “Holiday in Cambodia,” but it’s worth noting because of the barbs also directed at the Knack, the band whose new single “My Sharona” was inescapable. In the bridge, they play the chorus of “My Sharona” and replace the lyrics with “my payola,” seeing how that was the only explanation for the song getting played on the radio.
(NSFW for some of the lyrics)
10. “C@#&sucker Blues” by the Rolling Stones
Written as the final song recorded for their label Decca Records at the time, the title and the lyrics were designed to anger and offend its executives. Just one look at the lyrics and you’ll probably think, “Good job.” The title also belongs to an infamous documentary of the Stones’ hedonistic antics on tour supporting their seminal Exile on Main Street, which were so depraved that due to a lawsuit, the film has been banned from being shown unless the director Robert Frank is present. But a simple search on YouTube brings up the whole movie broken up into parts, so you can enjoy (?) watching your rock and roll heroes utterly destroy themselves backstage.
I think it’s funny how everybody has accepted that Owl City basically ripped off The Postal Service.The one-man band of Adam Young is famous for the single “Fireflies” which sounds like him doing karaoke of one of Ben Gibbard’s more catchy songs.
Anyway, let’s go to the weirdness. The new video for his song “Vanilla Twilight” is about the End of Times. And something about lighthouses.
And Shaquille O’Neal for some reason.
It’s not just a cameo, it’s a prominent part. He’s begging the aliens/Jesus to take him with them. What’s next? Lebron James playing H-O-R-S-E with Satan in the latest video by Passion Pit?
Full disclosure: I saw Liars open for Radiohead at the Superpages Center in Grand Prairie on May 18, 2008 and for most of it, I wasn’t sure if it was a band playing or if it was the roadies doing a soundcheck. I had heard of Liars before and liked what I heard but I didn’t hear anything like it in their set. I was baffled and my friends who had believed me when I said I heard of them before told me that they sucked.
Later did I realize, like it or not, this is a defining characteristic of the band (not hearing anything like it before, not the sucking part).
Initially put under the catch-all label of “dance-punk” at the beginning of this century, Liars is a trio who burst onto the burgeoning New York City scene (along with TV on the Radio) with their debut album They Threw Us All in a Trench And Stuck a Monument On Top and then released a follow-up “story album” They Were Wrong, So We Drowned that got the lowest scores possible from Spin and Rolling Stone Magazine. The group bounced back with Drum’s Not Dead, a percussion-heavy album that further delved into their experimentation with rhythm and storytelling and a self-titled offering in 2007.
This time with Sisterworld, the dramatic use of horns and composer Philip Glass-inspired passages that loop in and out at any time represents another stylistic shift. The first single “Scissor” bounces back and forth from a foreboding horn section and the most ominous choral singing this side of a West European monastery to a rocker with fuzzy guitars and bombastic drums. Percussion has always been Liars’ strong suit and this song makes you wait for it, but it’s worth it.
Like many of Glass’ most adamant critics, there’s a division between people who think that the band values form over function, style over structure and what may be “hypnotic” to some might be “grating” to others. Most of these songs sum up this argument, none more than “Drop Dead.” Set atop a guitar riff that stays static throughout, the vocals are can what either be described as “dream-like” or just simply “sleepy.” What some people call ambient music, other people call elevator muzak.
Other tracks like “Proud Evolution” recall some of Liars’ past experimentations with tribal drums, lyrics sung more like mantras and glitchy electronics. It’s good to see that the band hasn’t abandoned their past. Songs like “Goodnight Everything” that represent this shift to a more symphonic style show that the band is still forging ahead.
Like their contemporaries TV on the Radio and Radiohead (whose lead singers both contribute remixes in the deluxe edition of Sisterworld), labels don’t stick very well so if you like the direction Liars is taking with Sisterworld, you may very well not like the next detour the band takes. But for this moment, relax and just enjoy the journey.
Grade: B+
Download: “Scissor,” “Goodnight Everything,” “Too Much, Too Much”
Hot Chip’s “I Feel Better” is their second single off their latest album One Life Stand. I’m not going to give any spoilers about the video, which confuses me more with each viewing.
Wait around to the 0:50 mark, when things start to get really weird and never look back.
Directed by British actor Peter Serafinowicz, who’s perhaps best known as the eternally bitter roommate in “Shaun of the Dead.” Also check out his spoof of 70′s educational videos “Look Around You,” which recently jumped across the pond to the U.S. via Adult Swim.
Ask your grandfather about the old days when hit singles would come on 45 rpm vinyl records. The hit song would be the “A” and the other side was “B.” Here are some songs that deserved every right to be “A” but did not.
Them-”Gloria”
Sure, you’ve heard the song a million times from bands like U2, Patti Smith, The Doors and David Bowie but imagine turning the 45 of “Baby Please Don’t Go” and hearing “Gloria” for the first time. Nothing beats the original. Even after the songwriter Van Morrison’s departure to become a music legend in his own right, the garage-rock staple with its shout-along chorus lived on in the form of countless cover versions. It’s probably being played in a garage or dive bar right now. G-L-O-R-I-A!
Led Zeppelin-”Hey Hey What Can I Do?”
It must have been tough deciding whether this or “Immigrant Song” would become the single for their third album Led Zeppelin III, but this acoustic cut still gets some play as classic rock stations have resurrected most of Zep’s catalog. The song is a desperate plea from Robert Plant to a woman who “won’t be true” and even though it’s not different from the other songs where he’s trying to a) score a chick b) keep his chick or c) leave his cheek, it still rocks.
Radiohead-”Talk Show Host”
This song, more known for its place on the Romeo + Juliet film soundtrack than for being the b-side for “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” has a slinky bass and a hypnotic piano line. It sounds like lounge music for your local rehab, different even for a more experimental band like Radiohead.
Wu Tang Clan-”Method Man”
The first taste of the spotlight for the rapper turned actor came on the Wu’s B-side to “Protect Ya Neck” from the seminal Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers). From name-dropping Fat Albert, Dr. Seuss books and Looney Tunes to making veiled threats, this is the song that best sums up Method Man’s style for me.
Duran Duran-”The Chauffeur”
Released as a B-side to their single for “Rio” and even having its own video, “The Chaffeur” is strangely haunting coming from a band that was more associated with making screaming teenage girls dance. With the way the group was churning out risqué MTV material left and right, it seems like this moody song was crafted for a noir-inspired music video. Even so, it deserved a spot on the charts because it’s the kind of catchy song that crawls inside your ears and never really lets go. In the years since, bands like the Deftones and Sleepthief have covered it as a B-side and as a single, respectively.
Video is kinda NSFW.
The Beatles-”Rain”
The other side of “Paperback Writer” reveals what fans call the Beatles’ finest B-side. Although “Writer” would hit number one and “Rain” would only chart at 22 in the U.S., its psychedelic sonic blast would have a ripple effect on all of rock music as we know it. The song features backwards singing a drum beat that doesn’t sound like Ringo’s a human metronome. The “Fab Four” also released three films promoting the song which ended up becoming a primitive precursor to modern-day music videos. Sure, it mostly features a shot of Ringo Starr walking toward the camera but it was the 60′s and everyone was probably chemically inspired.
Coming just two months shy of the landmark Revolver in 1966, this was just a sign of things to come.
Besides having a title that sounds like a Boyz II Men song circa 1993, garage-punk savants JEFF the Brotherhood hit a sweet spot with hooky melodies and ramshackle charm. Singer Jake Orrell’s voice usually sounds like he’s channeling the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson through the Talking Heads’ David Byrne but this rocker, with its straightforward pining for an unnamed hottie is different.
Update: I just did the research and “U Got the Look” is also a title for songs by Prince and new wave pioneer Gary Numan. Coincidence? I think not.
2. Beach House-”Norway”
Hailing from the not-so-sunny Baltimore, Maryland, this duo’s blend of surf pop is awash in bright melodies. Set atop a meandering guitar riff, singer Victoria Legrand’s husky voice and breathy singing sounds like a jilted lover longing to be alone no longer (sorry for the purple prose).
3. Hot Chip-“Take It In”
British pop group Hot Chip‘s glorious end to their fourth album One Life Stand. At first blush, the song sounds like a New Order b-side with its synth but takes off into a soulful chorus with lyrics like “My heart has flown to you just like a dove, it can fly, it can FLYYYYYYYY.”
For me, Hot Chip sometimes blurs the line between kitsch and 80′s pop nostalgia. As cheesy as it might sound, this song is actually the least cheesiest-sounding on the album. Oh, and it’s good. If they had been around in the 80′s, they might have had a huge hit on their hands.
4. Dr. Octagon-”Blue Flowers”
A trippy cut from Dr. Octagon’s 1996′s Dr. Octagonecologist. It’s 90′s gangsta rap, but through the kaleidoscope of sci-fi and horror films with a long story arc involving a time-travelling gynecologist named (you guessed it) Dr. Octagon. A screechy violin sets the verse on a tightwire with sludgy synths in the background but Dr. Octagon a.k.a. Dr. Dooom a.k.a. Kool Keith’s rhymes stay front and center.
A sample:
“Holding bags on down right from the hospital
It’s a patient that’s worth to keep the germs off the turf
Cybernetic microscopes and metal antidote
Two telescopes that magnify the size of a roach”
5. The Kills-”Pull a U”
Known more stateside for British ex-pat Jamie “Hotel” Hince’s relationship with Kate Moss and Allison “V.V.” Mosshart’s stint in Jack White’s side band Dead Weather, The Kills make music that makes people sit down and shut up. Although they are a duo almost doomed to be compared to White’s White Stripes, they are decidedly grittier (listen to “Fried My Little Brains” off Keep On Your Mean Side) but not without some radio-ready pop (Listen to their latest album Midnight Boom) It doesn’t sound like Hince is playing the guitar as much as wrestling a cobra to the floor kicking and screaming.
Ok Go has always been known for their infectious songs and even more infectious viral videos, like their treadmill-dancing antics for “Here It Goes Again.”
Now their latest single “This Too Shall Pass” is making the rounds on YouTube, where audience attention spans are usually limited to videos of kitties playing with string. With a Rube Goldberg-inspired contraption straight out of “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” Ok Go scores some points for creativity.
Even if Ok Go’s music isn’t your cup of tea, you can watch it with the sound turned off.
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