Michael Hurtt and His Haunted Hearts, Come Back To Louisiana

By Less Lee Moore

When first heard Michael Hurtt and His Haunted Hearts, I was dazzled. I’d seen Hurtt play with The Royal Pendletons dozens of times when I lived in New Orleans, but this was something altogether different.
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Top Five Cover Versions That Will Never Happen

By Less Lee Moore

5. INXS, “Some Kind Of Wonderful” by Grand Funk Railroad

I grew weary of the Hutchence/Geldof/Yates love triangle drama in the ’90s, so I wasn’t completely shocked by Michael Hutchence’s death. But when the remaining band members subsequently devised a reality show to find a new lead singer, I was offended on behalf of Hutchence as well as my own ’80s INXS fandom. His voice was sensual and bluesy, yet perfectly poised for pop songs. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until he was gone. Which is why the fact that he’ll never be able to cover “Some Kind Of Wonderful” (or sing and perform ever again, for that matter). makes me so very sad. In addition, INXS was one of the rare bands who utilized saxophone judiciously rather than embarrassingly and that would have been a great asset in a reimagining of this song.
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The Passions, Thirty Thousand Feet Over China

By Chelsea Spear

The Passions first came to me on a cloud of cinema nostalgia, flickering with maroon-tinted images of Laboratory Aim Density Girls and smelling faintly of vinegar. John Heyn, best known for co-directing the infamous Heavy Metal Parking Lot, had cut a short film of China Girl images to the tune of “I’m In Love with a German Film Star.” The images and footage of China Girls left me gobsmacked (more about that here), but the song lingered in my mind long after I first viewed the short. Though the British band’s albums were elusive on this side of the pond, a copy of Thirty Thousand Feet Over China surfaced in a bag of donations my boyfriend received at his job in a library.
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John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band, Live In Toronto ’69 DVD

By Less Lee Moore

“It gave me a great feeling, a feeling I haven’t had for a long time. It convinced me to do more appearances, either with or without the rest of the Beatles. Everything went down so well.”
—John Lennon, as quoted on the Ottawa Beatles Site

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Nothing Can Stop Us: Anti-Thatcherism and Anti-Conservatism in Music, 1980 – 1987

By Emily Carney

With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls
—Elvis Costello, “Shipbuilding” (performed by Robert Wyatt)

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Renato Zero, Presente

By Hanna

Presente is a great album—if you can get it. As a result of his breaking with Sony, Renato has released it independently, as he’s emphasized overly clearly in interviews. It’s like a perfect tiny illustration of protectionism: while the independent release has had many advantages—more control over promotion, a more detailed concept and, of course, the uncommercial 17 tracks of the CD—it also means it isn’t for sale anywhere outside of Italy. The Sorcini network has insured it gets shared, but it is a situation that should be resolved, as this is shutting many people out and alienating an already detached market.
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Various Artists, Music Inspired By the Film Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

By Noreen Sobczyk

This compilation is culled from covers of the many high quality songs in the Scott Walker catalog. If one wants an emotive, theatrical, “over the top” vocal, inherent to Scott Walker’s delivery—they would do better with the genuine article. On the flip side, if Walker’s show-tune-meets-cabaret delivery is too dramatic for your liking, then this compilation is an excellent way to enjoy these beautiful songs.
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After They Split: Limahl, ‘Don’t Suppose’ and Kaja, ‘Extra Play’

By Less Lee Moore

I received Kajagoogoo’s White Feathers at my 13th birthday party. I’d asked for it on cassette because my family and I were going to Disneyworld the next day and I wanted to be able to listen to it on my Walkman. (Ah, the pre-digital age when you had to have blank tapes handy and couldn’t just rip a CD to your hard drive and then transfer it to your MP3 player.)

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Danny Echo, S/T

By Less Lee Moore

Danny Echo has been blessed with a great big rock and roll voice. This was apparent when I saw the band live at NXNE 2008: they played their hearts out and even though there were only a handful of people in the crowd at Lee’s Palace, you’d never know it by their enthusiasm.
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Top Five Inebriated Concertgoers And How To Deal With Them

By Adam McIntyre

5. The Freebirder

At first it could just be chalked up to “he’s just a drunk redneck who suddenly is jonesing for some Skynyrd” but then Mike Judge popularized the cliché and it became pop culture turned inside out. Man-children, fueled by The One Time They Yelled It At Oak Mountain Ampitheater And The Whole Audience Laughed, undeterred by the nasty incident at Lilith Fair and presently ignorant of the lineup, truly believe that they are part of the night’s entertainment. Oh, but now a hipster is yelling it. Perhaps it’s a step further; he’s being ironic. He would actually hate it if Kasabian played “Freebird,” but two PBRs in and suddenly he has replaced “show us your tits” (the drunk boy mantra of choice in many situations) with a good old “Freeeeebird!” Again, you laughed at him once. This is your fault. He doesn’t own any Skynyrd, but the boys in that legendary southern rock band would agree: you should throw ice (or anything) at him. Extra points for hitting his girlfriend if he has one.
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