Heat is a sensation induced by many things, such as dancing under a rain of bombs. Legend says that Lebanese people did so during the devastating civil war that disfigured their country.
The soundtrack to these macabre discos remain uncertain, but music astronauts found a 12" on the milky way, floating somewhere near Donna Summer (you all know the woman found inspiration masturbating in outer space).
Elias Rahbani and his Orchestra released a disco record catchier than any Claude François hit single or any Moroder production.
Heat is a sensation induced by watching the sleeve of that record, the perfect physique of that woman who seems to be coming straight out of any 70's erotic flick, her name was probably Liza, and as the song suggests, she may have been prone to Sapphic love.
One could believe that a middle eastern country were not exposed to western music at the time, error. Iran was very avant garde in the late 60's all through the 70's, and so was Lebanon.
Here are two tracks MUSIC selected from this rare master piece of middle-eastern music, space psych and flamboyant disco:
We Come From the Moon - Elias Rahbani and his Orchestra
Liza...Liza - Elias Rahbani and his Orchestra
They come second best in choosing the perfect band name in the nineties, the perfect being Hole, at least in the city of Olympia.
Beat Happening delivered five perfect albums from the mid-eighties to 1992, five raw, yet childish pieces of art in the sonic world of lo-fi.
The band has a very distinctive sound, due to the thrift-store guitar and maracas, the heavy repetitive drum action, as well as the deep, droning baryton voice of Calvin Johnson, Sub Pop fanzine then record label creator.
Their last album, You Turn Me On (1992, K/Sub Pop records) is probably their most felicitous, mixing their debut's raw energy as the hit in the head song Teenage Caveman with far more elaborate material such as the 9 minute-long Godsend or the aerial Sleepyhead (a personal favorite) both sung by Heather Lewis, featuring multitrack recording, which is at odds with their usual style, though it is pure bliss.
Teenage Caveman - Beat Happening
Godsend - Beat Happening
Sleepyhead - Beat Happening
in Beirut, a band was born a few years ago: The Incompetents, their debut was highly influenced by Beat Happening, mostly due to Serge Yared's voice, resembling Calvin Johnson's. You can listen to them them here
Corsican singer Alizée released Moi...Lolita in the early 00's, the song was produced by gay icon Mylène Farmer and the man that discovered her: Laurent Boutonnat, who is also the producer of Mylène's first and only good song: Maman a tort. The Moi...Lolita single was a success, thus, topped the European charts for months.
this has-been disco extended play from the post euro trash era is a jewel, the candid yet provocative lyrics, altogether with the 90's house synths and violins make make it a number one in the long list of MUSIC's guilty pleasures. It was featured on the UK and Germany Maxi, and costs about 150 euros on discogs.
Moi...Lolita (Lola extended version) - Alizée
Yesterday afternoon, the record shopkeeper handed me a cardboard box, the size of a 12" record sleeve, with a look on his face implying that he knows. he knows. he knows about MUSIC's unconditional love for The Smiths and wanted me to listen to this little gem he received in the morning.
Browsing through the colorful sleeves as if nothing had happened, I eagerly wait for the turntable to be free.
Inside the cardboard boy was a black and white 12" cover of The Smiths's (as I predicted) I Started Something I couldn't Finish, which is not the interesting part, so I flip the record and past Pretty Girls Make Graves is a superb version of Some Girls are Bigger then Others, recorded live in London in '86. Apparently it was the only time this song was performed. I thank the guy behind the counter and pay for the music. leave.
This take on the song is mellower, almost bossa, and sounds like a Cherry Red Record production of that era, and it is way superior to the recorded version on The Queen is Dead.
Some Girls are Bigger than Others (live '86) - The Smiths
Colin Blunstone is best known for his work with baroque pop band The Zombies, his plaintive voice is mostly what made She's Not There their hit single in the UK back in the sixties.
After a few releases as a solo artist, singer-songwriter Blunstone signed a masterpiece that could be Nico's Chelsea Girl's younger sister. One Year, his 1971 record reminds us very much of Cale's production for Nico, with a tinge of what a joyful Scott Walker could do. Both singles released entered the UK top 20
This forgotten gem of the early seventies is real transvestite, cross dressing between sixties pop and chamber folk music, it features a song written by Tim Hardins, who collaborated with Nico 4 years earlier, as well as compositions by some of his former bandmates from The Zombies. It was re-edited in the early 2000's by Sony Music
Say You Don't Mind - Colin Blunstone
She Loves the Way They Love Her - Colin Blunstone
in a garden in the House of Love, one can be intrigued by guitar-shaped flowers and butterflies with wings made of Chameleons and Echo and the Bunnymen record sleeves. All one has to do is listen to the third LP of House of Love, released on Fontana.
House of Love, previously signed on Creation records, delivered unnamed children until 1991, all their albums are nameless before that period.
Like most bands at the time, House of Love looked back in sixties music and soaked it in reverb-drenched guitars and an atmosphere that echoes strongly... Echo and the Bunnymen.
Music fanzine would like to share the favorite tracks of this magnificent record, Karine is obsessed with the band and actually saw them live back in the early nineties.
I don't know why I love you - House of Love
Hedonist - The House of Love
Shake and Crawl - House of Love
