Song of the Day: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Rifles

B.R.M.C. came up in a conversation I had last week with a co-worker. I've lost track of the band over the years, perhaps unfairly thinking they had nothing to offer. The reason for this attitude is that their first album, which spawned today's "song of the day," is so good, a mix of Spiritualized, Jesus & Mary Chain and shoegazer. Their second album, on the other hand, failed to connect with me, and I wrote them off and haven't looked back. Listening to this first album again, it seems unlikely they could have slipped that much, so maybe it's time to seek out their more recent album and see what happens.

Song of the Day: Echo & the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon

I've mentioned this song before yet somehow have neglected to share it...until now. I didn't care much for the first Echo song I heard - it was a cover of "People Are Strange" for The Lost Boys, the 1987 double-Corey extravaganza that perhaps pre-dated the teenage thirst for blood...I mean vampires. At any rate, I was a huge Doors fan as a kid and thought any cover to be sacrilege, and this was no different. I enjoy the cover nowadays (and the movie remains strangely rewatchable, at least from a semi-ironic distance), but Echo & the Bunnymen's originals are much, much better. "The Killing Moon" is by far my favorite song of theirs, and, speaking of covers, Pavement fans would be wise to check out their cover of the song, which is a b-side on the "Major Leagues" single.

Song of the Day: The Jesus & Mary Chain - Darklands

My first exposure to The Jesus & Mary Chain was through the Pixies, but it was the Stoned & Dethroned album that made me a fan.  JAMC is often associated with the feedback of their debut Psychocandy, but the clearer (and even - gasp! - acoustic) guitars on Stoned did not detract from the impact of the songs.

For that reason, I really like the Darklands LP, which is a nice mix of what came before and what was to come.  The opening, eponymous track is a particular favorite of mine.