Alright then back again and I’ve no dreams to share with you this time, actually I had a crap night’s sleep so a dream would have been rather welcomed. Just a few things tonight for you to ponder – a bit of news, a great review of Sandinista! and a few snippets. I’m constantly astounded by how many songs by The Clash get covered by other artists, I could feature a new one every day on the blog and still we’d never catch up – they get added to the various audio and video sites constantly. Some are good…some are bad….many are interesting and usually I can make my mind up on where I stand.

In this case though I keep changing my mind. Nouvelle Vague are more of a musical collective than a band, to date they have used in excess of 30 musicians and vocalists but the nucleus of this french band remain the same. If you haven’t heard of them their currency is cover versions – almost exclusively cover versions of punk, post punk and ‘new wave’ songs. Some of the tracks I’ve really got a lot of time for especially the covers of songs where the original vocalist guests with them. Namely their version of ‘All My Colours’ by Echo and The Bunnymen featuring Ian McCulloch of course (slowed down but simply sumptuous) and ‘Our Lips are Sealed’ by Fun Boy Three with Terry Hall guesting. That said Terry Hall could show up in our kitchen and I think dinner would taste better. Staying on task, Nouvelle Vague have been around since 2004 and have three albums under their belt. Artists covered include those mentioned above plus XTC, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus and The Violent Femmes. You get the idea. They’ve also now covered ‘The Guns of Brixton’ and being a band with a rotating cast I’ve seen/heard versions now with three different vocalists both male and female. It’s a cover version but does manage to reinvent the song to a somewhat sultry stroll. I’ve liked it on a Monday and resented it the next day but wanted to get your take on it. The version below is live and for the purist I’ve a link to the studio version also….perhaps they should have invited Paul.

My verdict, they have done a number of covers that I really think are worth seeking out or buying the album would be even better but I don’t think The Guns of Brixton is their best or most innovative effort. Incidentally they are out on tour around the States from now until February 20th, if they were coming to Phoenix I’d go along so if you do drop me an email.

I’d like to say thanks to a friend of the blog that we’ve linked to before, Mike who writes for the Houston Examiner. Now from what I can tell his gig is writing restaurant reviews but he manages to slip in his thoughts about music from time to time and specifically The Clash. I won’t steal his thunder but I will implore you to follow this link and read his thoughts about two of the greatest albums of our times. Mike asks this fascinating question which I know has its merits: (read the whole article for context)

“If London Calling might be considered the greatest album, as I believe it is better than the ones ahead of it on Rolling Stone’s list, and if Sandinista! is better in edited form, might not it be considered the best album of the rock era?”

Also Prez Obama gave his state of the union speech tonight…rather good stuff but still so much work to be done. I did like these words especially which should remind someone of these careerists what being a politician is supposed to be about in a democracy – no matter what side of the aisle you sit on.

“Just saying no to everything may be good short-term p olitics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambition”                                    President Obama,  Jan 27

Finally, a word about Scotland. Pound for pound has any nation produced more brilliant bands than our friends to the North? I’ve always had a very affectionate space in my record collection for bands from ‘up there’ and it took this article to remind me that the quality of bands from Scotland remains intensely good. The Scotsman list their greatest Scottish bands of the decade – Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian and Idlewild just for starters – ensure you read on and research them all. I can’t even list the number of acts fully or partially Scottish that have made me a happier man. Don’t forget Joe was half Scottish also (before anyone starts getting all English on me!) which he seemed to feel was a large factor in who he became as a man.

Cheers…