The ska revival of the early 80s brought some great and timeless music, but The Beat’s debut album and associated singles were among the finest slabs of vinyl to emerge from the scene. Part of The Beat’s enduring charm came from great chorus hooks, but for many, the real energy and brilliance came from Ranking Roger.
Author Archives: Real Gone
DELUXE EDITION DREAMLAND: INXS – The Swing & Other Stories
During the late 80s and early 90s, INXS found themselves in the position of being one of the great arena filling rock-pop bands of the day.
Their 1987 world dominating ‘Kick’ album – boasting no fewer than five hit singles – was reissued in 2002 as a two disc deluxe edition, again in 2012 as a 3CD/DVD box set and yet again in 2017 as a modified version of the previous box, missing a few items but priced far more sensibly. Despite shifting a lot of album units, however, the rest of their back catalogue has been overlooked with regard to the deluxe reissue market.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Ed Sheeran Is Not To Blame
Social media is a wonderful tool. It can connect us with people across the globe; amuse us, inspire us and introduce us to music and films that might have otherwise escaped our notice. There’s a joy in interacting with people we wouldn’t otherwise meet – through being victims of geography, rather than any desire to do so – and discussing cult bands at length. As anyone moving in such circles will attest, conversations about Pink Floyd, Marillion and the Grateful Dead can effectively seem endless.
The negative side of social media is that to find the gold, we have to sift through the mundane, the verbal attacks, the political tensions and the endless moaning. Only last week, an insightful soul on Twitter suggested that if television was once considered “the idiots lantern”, then the internet could well be “the shitbag’s mirror”, effectively reflecting the bad side of all of us. It’s easy to pour scorn and derision on everything from a keyboard when you don’t have to hold your own in a face to face argument.
Watch ‘Destroyer’, the new video from HeyRocco
On their debut EP, HeyRocco weren’t exactly shy about flaunting their influences. Huge slabs of Nirvana-esque riffery collided with early Weezer songcraft and waves of distortion, creating something truly retro.
Watch the new video from Rooni
Back in 2014, Scandinavian alt-pop band Rooni released their ‘Pilot‘ EP, an enjoyable mixed bag of indie and power pop tunes that very much filled the whole left by The Wannadies. Better than that, a stand-alone single ‘Ambulance’ delivered three minutes of power pop perfection.
Over the next few years, the band kept a relatively low profile but released a few enjoyable singles, including a tribute to Kiss legend Paul Stanley.
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