15 Smiles, Oh Yes!
by R.C. Avellanosa
I can't begin to express the excitement I felt when I came across this. It is serendipity. This is the compilation I fell in love with for years. The cassette was played over and over until it was worn out, lost and faded in time. I was not really able to listen to the previous Third Wave compilations. This is the only chapter I am familiar with and it is the final but not the last. Bootleg CDs 1 and 2 followed. I did have to compile the songs myself. I only had to know the sequence and of course the exact songs. The order is crucial for my own ultimate listening experience. As it was arranged on cassette before. This was only released in the Philippines by Mercury Records under Dyna.
Paul Weller and The Jam for the first track with the theme song of the 1960s TV series Batman. The second track "Gone Daddy Gone" is dominated by xylophones. Third track is the sun-children's uniform "Flowers In Our Hair" performed by Julianne Regan (Gene Loves Jezebel, The Mission) and All About Eve. Also found on the soundtrack for the movie Some Kind Of Wonderful is the studio version of March Violets' "Turn To The Sky". You might find the lyrics mixed up with that other version. But still it has the same feel. The Cure's "How Beautiful You Are" can be found on Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me which I think is the best underrated song from that album. Xmal Deutschland is a band from Hamburg, Germany. The song is in German with words like Polarlicht...Von Alaska bis Kiruna..Scheine scheine and when you translate, you'd get the words Aurora..Northern Lights ...From Alaska to Kiruna ..Northern Lights ...Storm among the stars, Flares on the horizon! Burn burn ... Aura in the night sky..I think is cooler than it is.
So on to Side Two. Turn that tape first. Now it's Voice of The Beehive with the hit "I Say Nothing" needs no words to describe. I saw a movie and read a book The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I think that is where they named their band from. The Fountainhead's "Someone Like You" is pure New Wave, a mood set in a city of lights swarming with strangers. The second Violent Femmes song on this record, "Blister In The Sun" is supposedly all about masturbation. You decide if it really is. "I Will Remember" brings me back to the younger dreams of youth, Hard Rain by the way is not fronted by Bono. Camouflage with the haunting "Strangers Thoughts" is one new music song any waver shouldn't miss. And the last song which is my least favorite "America" by King Kurt.
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In The Water, See It Swimming
by R.C. Avellanosa
I searched and searched online. Searched for covers of my favorite songs. Searched deeper and was not disappointed. Had to find bands that play cover songs like we do too. There were quite a lot. I chose those that sounded a little different, a version that is. This is all cover versions of some of the best songs I heard. It is quite a stellar cast of new and equally great bands. The first song is a decent almost, acoustic version of Tool's "Prison Sex". The Go Team! surprisingly did an awesome version of Sonic Youth's "Bull In The Heather". My Vitriol's "Game of Pricks" I'd say is the best version I heard outshining the others. The fourth track is a lovely rendition of Echo & The Bunnymen's "The Cutter" by the eccentric pop-core Solex. Joy Division is represented here by Billy Corgan's side project Starchildren. It's quite good. You'd think its his own. Placebo did a perfect dose on "Where Is My Mind?". American indie/punk rock band Bad Astronaut covered my Posies' favorite "Solar Sister". It sounded almost the same but it still feels good to hear that it is covered.
From the motion picture The Cars 2, and of The Cars of course, Weezer's pop influence and powerplay rock for "You Might Think" is simply brilliant. The Violent Femmes always sound adorably lazy covering Culture Club's hit "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me". You must have heard The The's "Uncertain Smile" somewhere one way or another. And I could never forget this rendition of Pierce Turner. The eleventh track is Jawbox squeaky rock version of Sinatra's "I Got You Under My Skin". And the last and twelfth bonus track is Ian Broudie and The Lightning Seeds' upbeat version of The Only Ones' "Another Girl Another Planet" as good as the Mighty Lemon Drops version. These and all are the coolest songs I heard all week so far.
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The Soundtripper Volumes
