Before his appointment in 2004 as Panama’s Minister of Tourism, singer/songwriter/actor/lawyer/politician Rubén Blades reigned as the heir apparent to salsa king Willie Colón, producing a thoroughly modern melange of salsa, Central American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova infused with politically charged lyrics inspired in part by the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. “Decisiones” opens Blades’ stunningly polyrhythmic magnum opus Buscando América (Searching For America). Each of the song’s three stanzas meticulously details the kind of impossibly heartbreaking, horrifying and tragic moral choices that everyday people face with heroic regularity. “Decisions, every day,” Blades cries for the unwed mother, the cuckolded husband, the unrepentant drunk, “Decisions, everything costs.” Backed by the precise, supple musicianship of the seven-member Seis del Solar, Blades’ gorgeous clarion vocals soar and rise above it all like a prophet’s in the wilderness.
Rock ‘n’ roll & heavy metal have never known a voice the likes of Ronnie James Dio.A scrapper & a journeyman, he rose through the ranks of bands like Elf, Rainbow & Black Sabbath, eventually unleashing his own band, Dio, in the ‘80s.Throughout these years & changes, he became one of the most emblematic and beloved stars in rock.His recent reunion with the members of Black Sabbath (under the moniker Heaven & Hell) once again brought joy to audiences around the world.Today’s song, “Eat Your Heart Out” exemplifies the swagger, confidence & passion that Dio brought to the table day in & day out.We miss ya, RJD.
RATT’s multi-platinum debut LP, Out Of The Cellar, spawned a multitude of radio and MTV smash singles and made the band worldwide rockstars overnight. However, the album also contains a number of solid deep tracks that hold their own, including today’s Damn Fine Day pick: “You’re In Trouble”. Rightfully sequenced at # 2 on the album’s tracklisting, sandwiched between the monster hits “Wanted Man” and “Round And Round”, this fan favorite could easily have been released as a single. Starting off with a long intro of bass and drums pounding out a jungle-like vibe (surely inspired by Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some”) that extends through the first verse, the song suddenly explodes into a super catchy chorus. This is where we finally get to hear RATT’s trademark dual buzzsaw guitars (Robin Crosby and Warren DeMartini’s tone and style personify early 80’s metal here). This song simply exudes the hairspray, lipstick, and spandex glory days of when RATT ‘N ROLL ruled the Sunset Strip and beyond.
Liverpool, England is probably best known as the birthplace of The Beatles, but alternative rock fans of the ’80s would tell you that it was also the birthplace of Echo and The Bunnymen.Today’s track, “The Yo Yo Man” comes from their album Ocean Rain, one of the band’s more popular albums which spawned hits like “The Killing Moon,” “Silver” and “Seven Seas.”Demand for the band continues to grow since their inception in 1978, in fact they are one of the highly anticipated acts that will be performing at the Coachella music festival this upcoming weekend.
Stay Hungry’s “Horror-Teria” is actually two songs crowded into one funhouse. “Captain Howdy” is a sudsy sludge propelled by the towering menace of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who would resuscitate the title malevolent, prick his body with various metals and tattoos, slide into his skin, and terrorize a celluloid suburbia in the 1998 motion picture Strangeland. “Street Justice” rides the neighborhood outrage generated by its predecessor’s unrepentant carnage, building on the tense guitars of Jay Jay French and Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda and bursting in the cathartic chorus’ fist-pump call-to-arms. Howdy’s fate at the hands of vigilantes is left open-ended, but since Snider’s been hard at work preparing Strangeland II for production, it’s safe to assume the captain’s reach remains considerable.
Every great act has a breakthrough album and for U2 it was 1984’s The Unforgettable Fire.The three studio albums that preceded it (Boy, October, and War) each stand the test of time, but it was The Unforgettable Fire where the group teamed up for the first time with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois that saw U2 ascend to global sensation.“Pride (In The Name Of Love),” may have been the smash radio hit, but today’s DFD selection “Wire,” which immediately follows it on the track list, is a hard-charging, lead-the-troops-into-battle piece that foreshadows in style and attitude many songs that would come later.
The release of The Final Cut in 1983 exposed the serious tensions between the members of Pink Floyd and led many to wonder about the future of the group.The project (the follow-up to The Wall) was clearly the creative vision of Roger Waters who wrote every song on the album, and must have left time, one would imagine, on the hands of band guitarist, and creative writing force in his own right, David Gilmour, to pen the material for his second solo album About Face, released in 1984.It’s easy to imagine “Murder,” today’s DFD track from that record, appearing on a Floyd album around that time with its quintessential PF acoustic-to-electric style.
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want The Smiths
Label: Warner Bros.
Released: 1984
For people who were in high school in the ’80s, John Hughes was one of our mentors. We looked to his movies for crazy characters and situations with which we could identify in all our awkwardness and alienation. For some, he was also like the older brother who introduced us to a treasure trove of music we’d never heard of: OMD, Simple Minds, Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, and others. “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths was used in Pretty In Pink. As it plays, Duckie is on his bed, throwing playing cards into a hat as Blaine and Andie have a roll in the hay. The lyrics told the story. John Hughes—who passed away suddenly yesterday—crystallized a moment in time in many of our lives, and we thank him for that collective memory.
The punk/folk of the Violent Femmes’ eponymous debut took everyone by surprise, and fans expecting more of the same were shocked when Hallowed Ground, album number two, kicked off with “Country Death Song.” The title isn’t ironic; it is in fact a country tune, a murder ballad in the mode of the traditional “Little Omie Wise” and Bob Dylan’s stark “Ballad Of Hollis Brown.” Gordon Gano’s high, nasal whine is a perfect country instrument, full of barely controlled emotion. But unlike country singers, by the end of “Country Death Song” Gano’s shrieking with emotion as the band lays down an unbridled cacophony to drive home the terrifying hopelessness of this tale of murder and remorse.
With releases by bands like X and The Blasters, Slash Records earned a reputation for finding the “next big thing” in the Los Angeles music scene of the early 1980s. When it was announced that Los Lobos, then just another band from East L.A., had signed to the imprint, expectations for the quintet skyrocketed, and when How Will The Wolf Survive? arrived, it did not disappoint. A kind of folk-rock of the 1980s—or perhaps folklorico-rock, refracting Mexican musical traditions through a contemporary sonic prism—courses through the album, which is as wildly eclectic as it is masterfully performed. The slice of barrio blues that opens the disc, “Don’t Worry Baby,” brims with self-assurance, from the little stutter in the guitar riff to Cesar Rosas’ cool-as-a-cucumber vocals.
In their younger years, Metallica never met an epic song they didn’t like—the eight songs on their sophomore album averaged six minutes apiece. The shortest of the bunch, the nightmarish “Trapped Under Ice,” captured the thrash madness of their debut album with better production values but the same impassioned intensity. (Interestingly, producer Flemming Rasmussen worked more in the jazz realm than rock.) While Ride The Lightning is more famous for the mid-tempo monster “Creeping Death” and the ominous suicide ballad “Fade To Black,” “Trapped Under Ice” is a straightforward, speed-laced juggernaut that not only helps you appreciate the less manic numbers, but it’s simply fun as an all-out headbanging exercise. Who hasn’t had a terrible dream that required scorching metal as its soundtrack?
I had to bite my tongue once when a (former) boss described Morrissey as morose. Of course, titles like “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”—one of my favorite Smiths songs—hardly help matters. But as Johnny Marr’s shimmering guitar riff implies, this song’s a lot brighter than it might seem at first blush. The singer’s out of work, and he’s depressed, and when he finds a job, he’s still depressed. Morrissey realizes the absurdity of that situation and is totally cool with it; real self-pity doesn’t have that kind of resiliency. The camped-up “misery” of this song is merely a moment’s pause to strike a dramatic pose—which is fun to do every now and then—before the singer gets on with his life.
Ratt’s full-length debut was a monster hit, with dark anthems like “Round And Round” and “Wanted Man” transforming them into international superstars and bringing the image of cover model (and David Coverdale’s future ex-wife) Tawny Kitaen into millions of homes. The multiplatinum Out Of The Cellar was full of generally short ’n’ snappy rockers, and the Robbin Crosby-penned “I’m Insane” was the quickest in tempo and length, clocking in at just under three minutes. The driving main riff and hyperactive solo displayed an obvious Judas Priest influence (singer Stephen Pearcy was certainly fond of the band), with lyrics about a bad boy headed for a mental breakdown. This aggressive tune is more typical of what metal started like in L.A. before the glam brigade transformed everything into feel-good party rock.
