“Brand New Lover” – Dead or Alive. Perhaps you heard that DoA lead singer Pete Burns died this week. Here’s a reminder that the band had more than the one good song you probably think of first at the mention of their name.
“Dead Alive” – The Shins. Purely coincidental, but The Shins released a new song this week that name-checks Dead or Alive.
“Wanna” – BRONCHO. This doesn’t sound like a band from Norman, OK should sound, does it? I’ve heard their music before, but I discovered this song, which is a deep cut from their current Double Vanity album, when Frightened Rabbit dropped it into their Current Music Nuggets Spotify playlist. Once again FR leads me down a path of fine music.
“Tougher Than The Rest” – Bruce Springsteen. When the weather gets chilly and dreary in October and November, I enjoy spinning Springsteen’s starker albums like Nebraska and Tunnel of Love. This is one of my favorites from Tunnel, which bumps right up against cheesy thanks to its heavy synths and Bruce’s faux-country warble. But great lyrics and his honest delivery make it a classic. On an album full of songs about a marriage that is dissolving, this seems to be a declaration to a new lover that our narrator has learned from his past failures and is prepared to commit to her for the long haul. I’m sure it made Julianne Phillips all warm and fuzzy when she first heard it.
https://youtu.be/di-_n05tppo
“In A Big Country” – Big Country. I’ve heard this song three times over the past week on the radio (both terrestrial and satellite). Which means I’ve then gotten home and listened to it another half dozen times. I’ve said this many times before, but despite all the baggage that comes with this being labelled a one-hit-wonder from the early ‘80s, it’s a freaking brilliant tune, especially that second verse. Play it loud five times in a row!