Music That Defines Our Memories
On episode 145 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast, I travel back to July 1979, Boulder, Colorado, to talk about the pseudo-side band project, The Rebels. Prince and his new touring band take time away from Minneapolis to write and record new music that never saw the light of day. I focus the episode … Continue reading Episode 145: Hard to Get / If I Love You Tonight / The Loser / You (The Rebels)
"Who are you?" "I'm Batman." Prince released a total of five singles, four in the U.S., from the Batman soundtrack in 1989 and 1990. Fans were accustomed to remixes and original material to accompany these single releases, and while this project was unlike any project Prince had created (a soundtrack to a film he had … Continue reading High-Speed Dub Review: Prince’s Batman Era B-Sides and 12″ Remixes
1980-1981 is a bit of a mystery when it comes to Prince's vault material. The late '70s was a boon for vault track bootleg collectors, with many of Prince's early demos having been leaked, plus the shelved Rebels tracks were widely distributed over the years. Then we got the deluge of tracks Prince was working … Continue reading Prince’s Vault Material – 1980 to 1981
Remember those Choose Your Own Adventure series of books? Aimed at young readers, they offered an opportunity to periodically take the wheel and steer the direction of the book's story. At some point, while reading, you are asked to make a choice. A choice that could completely change the plot's direction, the fate of the … Continue reading Purple Rain As A Choose Your Own Adventure – The Spiritual Path
Tears For Fears' breakthrough album, Songs From the Big Chair, was such a huge success in the mid '80s that it ended up being one of those "must own" records. If you were a fan of pop music, this album was minimally on your radar, if not already in your record or tape collection. Songs … Continue reading Tears For Fears – Songs From The Big Chair (1985)
Wilco, circa mid-2000s After completing my Wilco: Albums Ranked post, I felt I should do a quick top 10 favorite Wilco songs of all time post to accompany it. As you will probably notice, a lot of these tracks are from the trifecta of Being There, Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (6 of 10) and … Continue reading Wilco: Top 10 Songs
Wilco, the Midwestern-based, alt-country turned avant-garde turned dad-rock band out of Chicago via Belleville, IL, has been one of my favorite rock bands of the past 25 years. It all began from of the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, the duo that Wilco lead singer and primary songwriter, Jeff Tweedy, started with Jay Farrar in the … Continue reading Wilco: Albums Ranked
From day one, Prince exuded sexuality. There he was, shirtless, or possibly even nude (if you bought a dirty mind), for his album and record sleeve appearances on For You and Prince. Breathy, risque vocals and lyrics could be found on “Soft & Wet,” “When We’re Dancing Close & Slow,” and “Sexy Dancer.” These artistic … Continue reading Prince’s Sexual Revolution – Dirty Mind/Controversy Era
For my latest "High-Speed Dub Review," I do a quick down and dirty look back at an album in my collection that impacted my youth. The intent isn't to go super in-depth on each track, give a mini-biography on the artist, or offer a thesis on their cultural impact (if any was actually made). Simply … Continue reading Mötley Crüe – Theatre of Pain (1985)
https://youtu.be/BpA4YWnQvgU Prince's vault is well known and immensely speculated about. We know there's lots of stuff in there we've never heard. We also have to accept there's lots of stuff in there we may never get to hear. Thankfully for us, but maybe less so for Prince while he was alive, vault leaks and bootlegs … Continue reading Prince’s Vault Material – 1977 to 1978