Goodbye Horses by the Harvey Girls

The first time I remember hearing this song, was on the soundtrack to Jonathan Demme's Married to the Mob. One of the best collected soundtracks of the late 1980s.  Some months later, watching on video Jonathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs, I realized the director of these two movies was a real fan of this song using it twice and seperately and cinematically.

That version is by Q. Lazurus and more about that below.

The Film: Silence of the Lambs
The Song: “Goodbye Horses” | Q. Lazzarus
The Scene: [video] I wasn’t planning on adding this to the list, but every time I watch this film and see thsi scene…..it really just creeps my shit out every time. It’s seriously fucked up, but I can’t help but notice how well that song played during it. Anyways, it involves serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) as he sits in front of a mirror and applies makeup to his face. You notice the scalp of another woman over his own, and as he dances around and tucks his stuff he utters to himself, “Would you fuck me? I’d fuck me. I’d fuck me so hard.” Once you see this scene, you will never forget it. It’s seriously so fucked up.

A cover of a gem by Q. Lazurus
About the Harvey Girls:

A Brief History Melissa Rodenbeek and Hiram Lucke formed The Harvey Girls in August of 2003 in Lawrence, Kansas. The group, named after the waitresses who served travelers in the American West from the late 19th to the mid 20th centuries along the AT&SF railways, combine the melodies of bubblegum pop with experimentation in sound. Discography 2003 - The Biggest Book You'll Never Read e.p. 2004 - Blabber 'n Smoke album 2005 - The Harvey Girls compilation album released on Imaginary Albums 2005 - Hazy Heat / Your Evil Man single 2005 - The Wild Farewell album 2006 - Our History is Your Kitsch album Bringing us bang up to date with their latest release, a wonderful EP called 'Declinate'. It's the culmination of a year and a half of recording across three time zones, the guitars bend, the keyboards stand still, and the lyrics move from impression to declaration. The last song, 'Whispering Hope' was sung by Hiram's grandmother and her sisters in 1941 and recorded from a 78 rpm record of their performance.

SVC-012 - April 2007 'Declinate'

01. Faster Peach 02. Carrying The Gold 03. Tommorow is Blessed 04. Lazlo, Buddy 05. Whispering Hope

All proceeds of sales to be donated to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). Download 'Declinate' now in glorious 256kbps for £1.00 complete with full artwork.

Flashback: Love Parade by the Dream Academy

Nick Laird-Clowes is, quite simply, an absolute, criminally-underrated genius, & you can't go wrong with this self-titled 1985 desert-island masterpiece by The Dream Academy.

This album has a very lush, synthesizer-heavy sound & layered vocal chants. That said, it's easy to see how this record will appeal to fans of Enya, but if those surface aspects are mainly why you like the album, it's likely you won't have any interest at all in the 2 pre-Dream Academy records I just mentioned. It's quite inaccurate to call this a new age record--I think of it more as a singer-songwriter album given an incredibly mesmerizing, pastoral production. The dreamy, atmospheric sound lends itself marvelously to the material--David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd, of course) was brought in, & he ended up co-producing all but one of the tracks on here, & he deserves a lot of credit. The first 8 songs were all written by Nick with keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel (the last 2 tracks are Nick solo compositions), & they had a very special relationship as well. Drum machines are heavily used, but to terrific effect. Likewise, Gilbert's use of synths on here is simply masterful--he uses them to give the album a lush, warm sound that's never bland, grating, or lifeless. Plus, there's a lot of other instrumentation as well--there's lots of sparkling acoustic guitar on here, as well as masterful contributions from Kate St John--she graces the album with oboe, French horn, & saxophone work in all the right places, giving additional beauty to the songs. Also, David Gilmour plays guitar on "Bound To Be", & Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) plays 12-string Rickenbacker on "The Party". The album's sound is breaktaking & unique--to say it has a "generic `80s sound" is totally unfair & inaccurate.

The most most people hear off of this album is the oft-played "Life in a Northern Town", a radio staple written about English folk-guitarist Nick Drake. This first track sets the tone for the whole album, a mellow, beautiful soundscape that ranges from soft pop-rock to the jazzy ending track "One Dream."

 It is like listening to a gentle dream. Brilliant music! I hope they release some of the songs not put onto the three albums and hope they get back together to make some more music. Listening takes me back to my North Jersey teenage years in the eighties.

Rock the Casbah by Something For Kate

The Sydney band play Mel Bampton's last ever Like A Version and 'Rock The Casbah' by The Clash!

Band Website	somethingforkate.com
Band Members	Paul Dempsey Stephanie Ashworth Clint Hyndman

Highway to Hell by the Bellrays

LA group, The Bellrays, knew how to please an Australian audience when they belted out a great rendition of this classic AC/DC track for Like A Version. The band features frontwoman Lisa Kekaula (you might know her from Basement Jaxx).

If Tina Turner fronted the Stooges this is what they would sound like. The Bellrays call their music "Maximum Rock & Soul" I’d say that sums it up pretty well. With their sound and influences you’d think they’re from Detroit. Nope. L. A.

Robyn Hitchcock sought out some old friends to record his new album, Ole! Tarantula, and he found the Venus 3: Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin. By enlisting "3/4s of the Minus 5 and half of R.E.M," Hitchcock has created what he calls, "the rockingest record I've made in years." While the album roars with the garage-fueled energy of his Soft Boys days, Hitchcock's lyricism continues to drive his songs. The New York Times says, "[His songs] bridge the psychedelia of Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett and the archetypal English 'nonsense' of Edward Lear," and Rolling Stone says, "Robyn Hitchcock's songs are a lot like the genetic code: they're tough to crack, but the secret of life is in there somewhere." In addition to the Venus 3 core group, Ole! Tarantula was engineered by Seattle mainstay Kurt Bloch and features a cast of recurrent and new characters in the Hitchcock story: Morris Windsor (Soft Boys/Egyptians), Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger), Chris Ballew (Presidents of The United States of America), Kimberly Rew (Soft Boys) and Ian McLagan (The Faces). Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 will be touring in the fall of 2006.

Motocade

Other Girls by Tigercity : CAN anyone say Todd Rungren?




have two words for you: David Byrne's Disco Years Fronting the Time. This is your art rock Ice Cream Castles. This is everything that we've been talking about for years in one shoe-shuffling sharkskin sensation. Just listen. The production, the beat, the lyrics smooth like a marshmallow on a river of buttered honey. It's all there. This is Hall 'n Oates for the non-ironic set.

So - even though it's winter - get in your car, right now. Roll down the window, open the sunroof (you know you got one), hang your cabbie-arm out the side and get driving. The destination is not important, because TigerCity is navigating. You will get there on time. It's their promise to you. Feel better? I knew you would. I'm not about to let you down.

Go to their myspace and check out the other jams. I sat and thought for ages deciding whether to post this one or Solitary Man--- which starts out with some nasty Morris Day keyboards before ending up with a coda that makes the Killers look like...well...the Killers. But speaking of codas, the quiet synth rollout that closes this song is mesmerizing. They've thought of everything.

You can currently buy their EP, direct from the band for only six bucks. The more we spend the sooner they can get in the studio again and cut a new record, which I'm told with contain roughly 10 new songs. I'm definitely looking forward to it. Highly recommended.

Hey by the Debut : find them at myspace

Sometimes this is just what you need, right? The Debut hails from Minneapolis, and they've got that hearty midwest thing going on. In fact, this is what their bio says: "The Debut practices their music in a freezing cold basement so they light cigarettes to stay warm." But it also says they found their instruments in a magic box, so who knows?

This is from the band's disc This Record Is About Cars, which, as far as I can tell, isn't. Instead, it's good old rock 'n' roll, the kind you don't take home to meet your parents. The record isn't quite out yet, but hit up the band on MySpace to get yourself a copy.

BLOG: Art Decade : specializing in music of the "long seventies" (1966-1984) Contributors

• Sheridan Dupre III
• Big B
• Emmett
• Mike

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Choppercat had the pleasure of reading and listening to a fantastic selection at this blogsite. A lot of passion and hard-work has gone into posting a selection, like fine wine and dining, of perennial seventies soundscapes and pop culture through the early decade of the eighties. Please visit and know that this post could not have started here. It is just a small rip and tear into this blog's world and passions. Link  ART DECADE.

MORE 70's: STEVIE NICKS: Read this First Hand Account as told to Andy Capper, at VICELAND.com. Here's some of Stevie's rave.

At the party, everybody was drunk. But I can remember it like it was yesterday, so that means it was fun. Everybody was drinking wine, and there were wine spritzers there because of all the English people. It was a beautiful thing. At that point the serious drugs hadn't kicked in yet.

So yes, some bad days came later, but there's always been good days too. All of it, the good and the bad, is what allows me to sit now in a house that overlooks the ocean and have complete freedom in my life. I'm just really grateful to music every day.

 

IGGY POP Tour Dates NEWS MUSIC VIDEO

As if you need another reason to love Iggy Pop, the veteran rocker (and his band The Stooges) have the single most entertaining concert rider TSG has ever obtained. The document--all 18 pages of which you'll find below--describes Iggy's requirements in terms of amplifiers, security, lighting, stage set up, and dressing rooms. But unlike most similar documents, Iggy's rider is written in a rollicking, stream-of-consciousness fashion that delivers multiple laughs per page. Apparently written by roadie Jos Grain, the Iggy rider is peppered with witty gems, tasteless asides, and typos. For example, in describing how Iggy's dressing room should be made to "look less like a typical rock & roll dressing room," the rider suggests that promoters "just let someone loose with a little bit of artistic flair...Er, do you know any homosexuals?" Explaining the need for two heavy duty fans, Grain notes, "So that I can wear a scarf and pretend to be in a Bon Jovi video." Also, don't miss the backstage requirements of a Bob Hope impersonator and "a copy of USA Today that's got a story about morbidly obese people in it. Most amusing!" (18 pages)

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NYC

Iggy Pop and the Stooges

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