I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend. Since I have off from school and work today, it will probably be one of the few relaxing Mondays of the year. Here is what is currently playing:
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[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p3/dep-sto.mp3]I’ll start this one off with a very underrated Depeche Mode song, from their earlier days on their 1984 album, Some Great Reward. The song is one of the earliest showcases of Gahan’s brilliantly fitting vocal delivery as Depeche Mode were just starting to grow in fame. The song’s meaning is rather straightforward as Martin L. Gore’s lyrics convey a feeling of annoyance of certain people changing just for false love. The bursting synths also enter a major part in the song’s brilliance. Why this song is rarely recognized in Depeche Mode’s catalog confuses me.
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Peppers Ghost – Heavy Body Bag
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p3/pep-hev.mp3]My favorite song off of Peppers Ghost debut album, Shake the Hand That Shook the World, was undoubtly ‘Heavy Body Bag’. The songs on the album were mainly hit-or-miss quality, but ‘Heavy Body Bag’ was great. Obvious influences are The Beatles and a touch of Zeppelin in this very catchy song.
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Destroyer – An Actor’s Revenge
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p3/des-act.mp3]While indie kids worship Dan Bejar’s Your Blues and Rubies, he had a few gems in the seemingly forgotten Notorious Lightning and Other Works, including ‘An Actor’s Revenge’. The songs had a few collaborations, such as with Frog Eyes’ Carey Mercer, and the six songs on the album were all rewarding in their own way. Typical Bejar ‘ooh’s’ and ‘aah’s’ can be found here, and we all love it.
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[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p3/dog-lon.mp3]This fast-paced intensity of a song recalls shades of The Clash and The Ramones, off of Dogs’ Turn Against This Land. I’ll give you a cookie if you can find a dull moment in the song, as it really takes off and does not stop after the build-up in the intro. Go ahead and move your head up and down.
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What a fantastic album 9 Times That Same Song was. It hijacked my iPod for about a week and would not allow much else to be played. The combination of brass instruments and bass really did it for me, especially on the great ‘Felt Tip’. Just listen to that devastating bass line and you’ll know what I mean. Just wait until the song explodes around the 02:48 point. Love Is All really utilized the change of key well throughout the entire album.
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The Divine Comedy – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p3/div-lig.mp3]I will never pass up the chance to post a great cover song. The one thing that a good cover song has to have though, is originality. Anyone can read tabs and sing over the result, but a few musicians go the extra length and add their own flavor to it. That is what Neil Hannon did to The Smiths’ classic, and the result was extraordinary. Hannon’s vocals have been compared to Morrissey at times due to his deeply echoed sarcasm, and he fits the bill perfectly for this cover.
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Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/p3/rig-unc.mp3]I’ll wrap it up with a classic that everyone has probably heard at one point or another. The thing that needs to be appreciated about this song the most is probably the breathtaking vocal work done by Bobby Hatfield. The song is a great work of unrequited romanticism at its finest. Though Hatfield died a few years ago, his vocals are remembered in one of the greatest love songs of all time.
