10 May 2013 - Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

It's almost the weekend, so I thought we needed a fun song.  What better fun song than this classic, performed by a side project of the Talking Heads?  Enjoy one of the most sampled songs in history.

9 May 2013 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - True Men Don't Kill Coyotes

I'm going to move away from the typical 80s Thursdays cheese today and instead present you with a video from the self-titled Red Hot Chili Peppers debut from 1984 (I suppose some of you will say it's an entirely different kind of 80s cheese). Hard to believe they've been around for almost 30 years. I wasn't too sure about their first couple records when I first heard them (shortly after Mother's Milk came out). I eventually came around (many years later). I doubt I'll ever say the same about their last two albums.

8 May 2013 - Kate Bush - Cloudbusting (with a Neil Halstead bonus)

Here in the Rochester, NY, area, where I write this blog, we sit today, with a thickening cloud cover and corresponding barometric pressure that I am quite positive is causing pain for many with nerve or joint issues today.

Thankfully, I am not one of those sufferers.

But, for them, perhaps Wilhelm Reich's research on his farm, Orgonon, would help open the skies.  Kate Bush's song, loosely based on Peter Reich's book - he was Wilhelm's son - is a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to not only rainmaking, but a close relationship between father (played in this video by Donald Sutherland) and son (played by... well, Kate Bush).



As a bonus, here is Neil Halstead's fantastic cover of the song, re-imagined as a lullaby.

7 May 2013 - Michael Penn - No Myth

I saw Michael Penn a few years back when he was touring for his fantastic Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 record. Much like his better half Aimee Mann, he's a tremendous storyteller and performer. He's also very funny too, especially when he introduced this song -- surprisingly not called "Romeo in Black Jeans."

6 May 2013 (Part II) - The Darling Buds - Burst

So, while planning for Darling Buds Day 2014 - because, you know, this is a thing now - I will be petitioning to make this a national holiday in Wales - I started to worry.  What if I had found their only two videos?

I need not have worried.  We're so set for years to come that I felt it safe to post a SECOND video.  Whereas this and this were from their second album, the classic Crawdaddy, this one is from their debut, Pop Said.... The sound is slightly different - less pop, more rock - but three things are clear.

1. Their record label was hellbent on marketing them as a rock band with a blonde female lead vocalist.
2. Said blonde lead vocalist - Andrea Lewis - was really charismatic without showing too much boob (something that I would not say about Wendy James of Transvision Vamp, who was marketed the same way).  In fact, she was kind of modest.
3. This band is full of great musicians.

This song is fast-paced and will give you whiplash, much like most of their first album.  Probably why I love it so much.

6 May 2013 - The Darling Buds - Crystal Clear

I am thinking of making May 6th Darling Buds Day. After all, last May 6th, I posted a video of theirs under the Guilt-Free Sunday hashtag.

This song gets no such hashtag.  In fact, this was the song - and video - in which the Darling Buds had the exact opposite reaction to being lumped in with all the other vaguely rock-and-roll alternativesque British bands led by blonde lead vocalists - c'mon, I've told you about this before.  They ran right toward it.  They got poppier, less dark, and tried to be mainstream.  This pursuit led to the band's implosion, but that's another story.

As far as this song, from the great Crawdaddy album.... well, it's just poppy fun, and there's nothing wrong with that.  The video is a little odd, but hey. So, enjoy it.

5 de Mayo 2013 (Special Edition) - Liz Phair - Cinco De Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Mexico in the state of Puebla to celebrate the 5 May 1862 victory of the Mexican over the French in the Battle of Puebla.  It is not widely celebrated in Mexico outside of American tourist traps, and is not a Mexican federal holiday. So, let's celebrate the little-known Mexican holiday that is propped up by American retailers of Mexican beer by enjoying this jangle-pop classic, not about the battle of Puebla, but about a fizzled love, by Liz Phair.