The Teardrop Explodes “Kilimanjaro”
Today’s Cool Album of The Day (#440 in a Series) is The Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro. The decade of the 1980’s saw the punk rock explosion extinguishing. While punk attacked, and damaged, the old guard prog movement (Yes; Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; etc.), its fading left a large void for the followers of punk who were looking to diversify their listening habits. The New Romantic/Blitz movement (Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, etc.) had a definite lack of testosterone for the old punks. Enter the new psychedelia. Bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Soft Boys, and The Teardrop Explodes filled this empty space in a more hard edged way. The Teardrop Explodes was led by singer, lyricist, bassist,...
Jim Jones Revue “Jim Jones Revue”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#433 in the series Series) is the Jim Jones Revue. Imagine just for a minute. You are a mad scientist in the rock and roll laboratory. You fuse the DNA of Jerry Lee Lewis , Little Richard, and the New York Dolls. What do you get? London’s Jim Jones Revue. Jim Jones (ex-Thee Hypnotics) and his band push the term rhythm and blues to its furthest limits. While Jones is the undeniable star of the show, the band fights Jones for every bit of the spotlight. The album is produced by Jones which produces shocking results. This record is very loud. Undoubtedly, the needles on the sound board were well into the red...
Stiff Little Fingers “Nobody’s Heroes”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#430 in the Series) is Stiff Little Fingers, Nobody’s Heroes. 1977. Northern Ireland. Punk rock was exploding in Britain with the Sex Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks, Jam, Stranglers, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Damned dominating the airwaves, charts, and tabloid headlines. Where was Ireland’s entry into the punk sweepstakes? The Undertones, one of the greats of the decade, were more of a pop band than punks. Enter Stiff Little Fingers. SLF’s debut (Inflammable Material) broke in 1979. It’s follow up, Nobody’s Heroes was released in 1980. As its title infers, anyone could be in a band and Stiff Little Fingers avoided most of the traditional trappings of stardom. Any group of kids could...
