S/FJ

REMEMBER MEG GRIFFIN ON WPIX? IT'S LIKE THAT

It's a rockist kinda day, when we become the WNEW-FM-style bearded canonist we fear and joust with. I, we, whoever the fuck is here is listening over and over and over to the Pretenders' first and thinking nobody's ever made a better debut. (RHETORIC ALERT: I DON'T ACTUALLY THINK THAT. I FEEL THAT THE WORLD IN WHICH THAT IS TRUE IS THE WORLD I AM IN NOW.) Wait, not even The Overstater can stand by that. Too many first-time destroyers to battle with. But some kind of voodoo algorithm of consistency and valorizing of pleasure and ease and power and Holy-shit-where-are-you-from?-ness is at work. And who else came out of the box with the ballads and rockers so FULLY and EQUALLY covered? And the seven other styles? And a song in a funny time signature that isn't prog? Maybe the only one? Six Day War covered "Tattooed Love Boys," Alan sang. The Bad Brains covers with Dean were better. (Did anyone tape that show? The one at Maxwell's?)

And the Talking Heads boxset, that's the other loop today. We're thinkng all the Rolling Stone thoughts: How come nobody kills it like this now? How come today's coughing-in-their-sleeve weirdos can't also bring the sweets? And we know all the ways to discredit this line of thinking, but some days you just can't rewire what childhood hath wrought. I will always think Fear Of Music and Remain In Light are better than your records. Sorry!

I need a Swiffer to wipe up the nostalgia in here. But apologize? Never that.

Posted by Sasha at December 9, 2003 06:16 PM | TrackBack