Another Lousy Day In Paradise

Music Review: Enigma - Seven Lives Many Faces

Lars Hindsley — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:01:06 -0400

Michael Cretu has done it again! He's created another blended Enigma album that sounds like the rest despite distancing Enigma from its original epic sounds (Gregorian chant, Foghorn and Shakuhachi). Depending on your appreciation for the style of Enigma this is good or bad. In 1990 Enigma broke by combining classic and modern sound with Sadness, a strange Gothic ambient electronic escape from the everyday dance and rock sound we all knew.

Now almost twenty years later, the Enigma project claims to have evolved but merely dabbled in many different cultural sounds (Tribal chants, Ami, Latvian, etc…) to blend into their own style of electronic ambient music which fuses chants and electronic sexual undertones.

Unlike rock bands that will often want to redefine themselves, Enigma doesn't have that luxury although the face of Enigma Michael Cretu may claim it. "As long as I don't repeat myself, I won't get bored. That's why I always have to start something new, invent things!" I applaud his intent, the true mark of a great artist, however to those of us listening to his completed work can't help but hear the same sounds resonating in every song. If it is an evolution

Cy Curnin Interview - Lead Singer of th Fixx

Lars Hindsley — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:19:02 -0400

I completed the interview this last week. I've got the interview being sent out to be transcribed as it was an hour long conversation. It was more of a conversation than an interview as Cy is a genuine guy that more artistically inclined than celebrity driven. Having sung in a band, we spoke about music as fellow artisans and I believe you will find this an amazing interview as he himself acknowledged I drew a lot out of him others would have not.

I did not intend this, I simply think of Cy as a kindred spirit and the guy lives a life I would be living had I made it in the music industry. I admire him greatly for being so grounded and the values he holds onto. We are all flawed, as he and I even discussed divorce as we both have gone through that same journey. This will be a great interview I know you will enjoy if you are a fan of the Fixx or not.

In the mean time Cy does have a new CD completed. You can buy it as a zip file with lyrics and photo art complete at CDBaby.com for $9.99. Of course they will mail you a this version for a bit more. His web site is CyCurnin.com.

One of the Broken

Lars Hindsley — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:00:00 -0500

There is a band that I have loved for such a long time. Few rival their words in my opinion.

I'm speaking of a quirky band named Prefab Sprout. I present to you this very heartfelt song. One of the Broken. It hails from an amazing CD, Jordan: The Comeback. If I were on a desert island with a small collection of music to listen to for the rest of my life, this would be one of them.

One of the Broken is sung from the perspective of God. Yes. God. It dances back and forth from God speaking to you and then singing to you. The genuine passion and sincerity in Paddy Mcaloon's voice is perfect in its peacefulness. This lyrical device is not so subtle when you decide to speak on behalf of God. For God fearing men, you better be careful or at least hope God has a sense of humor.

But the message is so sincere. In short God asks you to sing your song to one of the broken, and by doing so... you are singing to God.

What makes One of the Broken special is that you instantly believe that God could be having his conversation in this manner. You are listening and willing. "It's not too far from here, come get up off your knees..."

Musically it is a contemporary hymn. And you feel you are floating in that third heaven as Paddy laces in the harp. The spiritual element is not wasted either. It makes no bones about being a song for believers.

Hi, this is God here.
Talking to me used to be a simple affair.
Moses only had do see a burning bush ...and he'd pull up a chair.

Well it's been a long time since we've talked in that way
If ...

The A's Live at the Electric Factory - Concert Review (The Philadelphia band, The A's)

Lars Hindsley — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 23:39:41 -0500

It seems right that upon seeing my blog is receiving no less than 50 new individual visitors per day on my A’s articles that it makes sense to offer up some additional reading material, being that I’ve attended the A’s reunion concert. It’s a long time since 1978 when I was in the eighth grade and the A’s first took flight from the northern side of Philadelphia. See my previous articles with comments and replies from actual band members: The Philadelphia band The A's, by the time I was in nineth grade in 1979 their self titled debut album was all over the region and they were the darlings of WMMR and WYSP the two dominant rock radio stations in the area.

The A’s re-united for the first time in 22 years at the Electric Factory on Thanksgiving Eve November 22^nd. Mike Snyder on Drums, Terry Bortman on Bass, Rocco Notte on Keys, Rick DeFonzo on lead guitar and frontman Richard Bush. I attended as one of the younger fans. I was 14 years old when the A’s were the Philadelphia Regions pride. They played the Philly club scene and Delaware was just as much a part of it hitting clubs like the Stone Balloon in Newark Delaware.

DATING MYSELF

Now after 22 years they re-unite at the Electric Factory an long time venue for area bands. We stood in a line around the block to get in at 7:00 pm after first doing some window shopping down South Street and grabbing a cheese steak at Jim’s. I couldn’t help but notice the age group in attendance. It was obvious to me that the A’s were now an older band which really struck me as strange. They were ...

The A's Live! Reunited just for me!

Lars Hindsley — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:00:00 -0400

OK, not just for me... But for all you folks that have been searching for the A's and reading my article about my younger days... I have news for ya all! I think I may be the youngest fan there! LOL Remember when the A's were big back in the 80's I was just a wee child of 14. You lucky folks were of age and could get into the Stone Balloon in Delaware, The Empire, The Troc or all the best Philly joints. I could just flip my copy of A Woman's Got The Power over and over again.

To you band members of the A's that have been visiting my blog and correcting me, I thank you band members with geniune sincerity. Just remember I gave a shit when you visited my blog and I kept your memory alive.

I'll hear them bring the house down once again with After Last Night!

So I guess I'll see you all at the Electric Factory! I'm going for my birthday! The band is throwing a great birthday party just for me! Hah! .... more

Police & John Mayer Concerts

Lars Hindsley — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 18:51:49 -0400

Thursday and Friday evening I was invited to two concerts. My date/friend and I had a great time where we met up with other friends, met strange characters and witnessed some silly behavior to put it mildly. I won’t go on about us, I’d rather tell you about the concerts.

Thursday night’s concert was the Police at Citizens Bank Park where the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team calls home. I was wondering right off where the group would play and how people would be allowed on the field, as we walked up to the stadium I saw hundreds of plastic narrow pallets stacked, I thought to myself those must be extra from placing over the ball field. Sure enough when we got in the entire ball field was covered by these pallets. I commented that the seats at floor level must be expensive and my date told me there were in the neighborhood of $200.00. Whatever the price they were the best seats as all the stadium seats where just plain far from a good view of the musicians. It was a good thing they had closed circuit video cameras and huge projections screens.

The concert stage was in center field facing home plate. Our tickets were off to the side of home plate. Good seats but as we approached them I saw that there we had an obstructed view of the concert stage. I mentioned this to our seating attendant and she said check our seats out before we took it further. We sat down and I was very sure we had a blocked view. I sought out a representative of the concert and he agreed we needed something better. We ended up with new tickets ...

Philadelphia's A's - When The Rebel Comes Home - Lyrics and Music

Lars Hindsley — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:52:01 -0400

I used to imagine the Rebel Richard Bush sang about. The young boy that left home with nothing but heart and came home a man. The opening open guitar chords would always give my solace thinking that rebel was worthwhile. Later the guitar work was simple and perfect, the keyboards seemed so ready for the 80's yet smooth and perfectly selected for production value. The whole song had heart. When Bush would belt out his passionate verse... "So be kind when he approaches.... cus that Rebel could be me!" at the end of the song you really knew he meant it, and you got the idea he really wanted that girl to take him to heart. I hope she did. Richard if you are reading this... you were a way cool guy I looked up to. I hope life has treated you fair. Your music still lives with a lot of us. If you'd like to learn a bit more about on of my favorite bands The A's, read here.

When The Rebel Comes Home

He’s a refugee from the highway

Out there fighting for years

Whether for God or glory

He’s been traveling through his tears

He always feels like the next step

Will surely set him free

So be kind when he approaches.... cus that rebel could be me!

Doesn’t know the roads been dying

Dying for so many years

He’s been traveling in darkness

He’s been traveling in fear

He left long ago as a young boy

Left the young boy in him behind

Now his reasons for leaving

Are just a little hard to find

When the rebel comes home,

Please don’t leave him alone no no!

Let him rest his head on his shoulder

You can't insult this ...

The Philadelphia band The A's

Lars Hindsley — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 09:49:10 -0400

Does anyone remember the band the A's? I do. I had to find some of their music on vinyl and record it to CD but as a rock band with a dance edge I think their music stands the test of time.

I think the year was 1981. I was 15 years old. They had already released their first self titled album and now had some backing from their label Arista. The album was named A Woman's Got the Power. It had a skinny girl on the cover holding up an arm almost like making a muscle while holding a glass of milk.

I recall at age 15 I snuck behind the Stone Balloon bar on Main Street in Newark Delaware with a big boom box to record them live through the back door. About halfway through the show a bouncer came back and found me. He stopped me from recording the gig. He made me wait and then came back to tell me the band said it was OK for me to record them. It was my personal copy of them playing live and that was good enough for me. And this was a big deal to me. I was 15, I had to ride my bike 7 miles to downtown Newark with this boombox on my handlebars. I thought I was going to be arrested when this bouncer comes back and notices me sitting there listening...hanging every note. When he came back with the OK, I was nothing short of shocked and stunned in relief. As a young boy just learning to know who I really liked in music, I was impressed at how cool they must have been to let me record them, even if it was through the stage door. (I finally got to see the A's live November 21st 2007 - see photos in my A's ReUnion Concert Gallery)

I recall a lot of great new songs on the Woman's Got the Power album but my favorite was still After Last Night from their first album. Also from the first album they had a fun and quirky tune called C.I.A. Another well done song with complete originality was Words. In fact I think originality is what made the A's a great local band worthy of the big time. Their songs carried a hook while honestly working on instrumental sounds and riffs that you just didn't hear every day.

During a time when Punk was making a real name for itself the A's were profoundly dance influenced. During this era the synth was not widely used. It was about to be, but not quite yet. And this is one reason the A's may not have made the cut with music fans. The world was about to quickly race forward with punk and new wave. The A's were like Boston in some ways, they clung to the old ways of music making.

I heard that the lead singer Richard Bush was big coke head and the band really never had aspirations of becoming a stadium type band. (NOTE: I HAVE SINCE RECEIVED A POST BY BAND MEMBER RICK DIFONZO JUNE 30 2007 CORRECTING THIS BAD INFORMATION. READ HIS FOLLOW-UP FOR THE REAL REASON THE BAND BROKE UP) And if you are pretty much a clubber with girls on your mind, you better have some damn good songs to take you over the hump, because I'm sure they would love to have become music stars, they just didn't have the maturity to cut the shit when it came to partying. This just didn't compute to me. How could a guy be so much more into drugs than achieving a worthwhile goal? What was worse was how could he write heartfelt lyrics while putting his priority on drugs? (AGAIN THIS PART OF MY ARTICLE STANDS CORRECTED: READ RICK DIFONZO'S COMMENT POST ON THIS ARTICLE).

Loz Netto Interview From Bzar to the Blues

Lars Hindsley — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:42:50 -0400

You are in for a real treat here. This is an extensive interview with Loz Netto. The questions span his early days to his most recent work. Questions are all over the place, from music to food. If you are a fan of Loz Netto this interview will really satisfy you! This is Lars Hindsley's exclusive interview with Loz Netto.

Baxter Robertson Interview; An 80's hero revisited

Lars Hindsley — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:40:09 -0400

I have something special today; Baxter Robertson, a genuinely great musician that enjoyed some 80’s recognition on MTV and west coast airplay. Baxter Robertson took a lot of time out to answer a wide range of questions from music to sports and everything in between for the sake of letting you get to know him better.

A lot of people will find this article in search of Baxter Robertson music and it won’t let you down. Just read on.

The Lover Speak's - No More I Love You's

Lars Hindsley — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:22:07 -0400

No More I Love You’s is so desperately passionate it is sick. I mean ... To hear the words sang "No more I love you’s ...the language is leaving me. No more I love you’s ...the language is leaving me exiled. No more I love you’s ...the changes are shifting me outside the words." Is delivered with such ...

Lars Hindsley's Favorite Songs

Lars Hindsley — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 23:39:48 -0500

I took some time to write this article. You will need time to read it. Before I roll on, you should know in advance there are songs here from the 80’s. Sure say I’m stuck in the 80’s I could care less. It was a time where music was matched by thoughtful insight and lyrics with heart. ...

The Producers - Retro Music Review

Lars Hindsley — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 11:30:25 -0400

From ska influence to out and out pop with an edge the tunes on this release are unbridled fun. The band makes no excuses for the commercial feel most of the songs embrace. Some songs like What She Does to Me, Certain Kind of Girl, and What's he Got? are true hits with a hook. ...

Everyone should reach this beach

Lars Hindsley — Thu, 04 Dec 2003 10:22:28 -0500

Again reaching back to the 80's, Reach the Beach is an album that is undatable. Understandably there is some period ...

ABC's of ABC

Lars Hindsley — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 15:40:52 -0500

I was 17 when I first heard ABC. Predating the Internet the only way to hear fringe music before the ...