English musicians and music geeks extraordinaire Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness have posted a new episode of their podcast The Album Years. They talk about 1985, discussing albums by Kate Bush, The Cure, Thompson Twins, Talking Heads, and a whole lot more. This is part #3 about this year. The pair can be watched on YouTube as well.
Chicago based Red Spot Rhythm Section have been reimagining well-known songs as a side dish for their own material. Led by musician and arranger Joshua Siegal their offer a blend of roots, reggae, soul and ska which is very danceable. On their new single they cover two tracks that were big in the '80s: Soft Cell's Tainted Love (in itself a cover of the 1964 single sung by Gloria Jones) and The Cure's Boys Don't Cry.
For Tainted Love Siegal opted for an organ-driven, fast-paced delivery, with Claire Liparulo on vocals. It works quite well, although it lacks the anger and frustration that made Soft Cell's version the definitive one. Boys Don't Cry is slow and soulful. It's easy to picture singer Erthe St. James dressed in a sharp suit, fronting the band on TV shows like Soul Train or American Bandstand.
Watch Bat For Lashes tackle The Cure classic A Forest. Released on Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure album in 2008.
Watch the Yo La Tengo video for their cover of The Cure classic Friday I'm In Love. It's a track from their Stuff Like That There album.
