Debaser was on the album Doolittle (released in ‘89) but the single didn’t come out until 97.  We’re still including it on Pound Note because of it’s place in alternative rock history. It’s still a typical Pixies low overhead video, but a little better than Monkey Gone to Heaven.

WATN? After that reunion tour, hopefully not planning on touring again.

Trivia: This song popped up in an EA Sports video game.

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Our first Saturday night Live Cut for 2009. Yeah, we’ve been slacking here at Pound Note. Anyway, we came across this gem from 1987. The BoDeans performing Good Work on the David Letterman show.  Sound quality of the video is a little off (no fault of the band), but it’s a great trip back in time.

This video has everything: weird hats, good music, and no apparent point. All of which earn it 4 guitars in our book. I getting my haircut once and the stylist said that she was convinced Ian Astbury of the Cult was actually Jim Morrison of the Doors reincarnated.  I gave her an extra large tip so she could visit a therapist. Ironically, years later Astbury toured with the remaining members of the Doors.

One of the funniest things about the Cult in this video is if you turn off the sound and look at each member individually, you would think they were all playing a completely different genre of music. This might have been the first clue that the next three Cult albums would sound very different from each other.

WATN? The Cult are recording and plan a new release for Summer 2009.

Trivia: Ian Astbury’s “Gathering of Tribes” was the inspiration for Lollapalooza a year later. One former bass player went by the name Haggis.

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For those of you that still think Nirvana was the original voice of the 90’s, I give you the Pixies. Curt Cobain once admitted that he was trying to copy the Pixies with Smells Like Teen Spirit.  You can judge for yourself, but I would argue much of the “Seattle Grunge” sound was aped from the Minneapolis scene bands like Pixies and Soul Asylum.  At any rate, this video isn’t much to look at and the lyrics sound like a bad acid trip, but this band influenced a lot of the punk and alternative music recorded in the last 20 years.

WATN? They did a reunion tour recently that sounded awful.

Trivia? Their lead singer changed his name to Black Francis. I guess you kind of have to go into rock music with a name like that.

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This was truly one of my favorite songs of the 80’s, but the video never lived up to the song. Still not sure why the stalker chick is carrying a picture frame or why the egg has an eyeball in it. But, somebody had an artistic vision and this is the tragic result. The Church deserved better.

Under the Milky Way was from the album Starfish, released in 1988. The song was once voted Best Australian Song of the past 2 decades by readers of a Melbourne newspaper. Considering rock icons ACDC and INXS were in the running, that’s a pretty strong statement.

WATN? The Church have continued to tour and release albums throughout the 90’s and this decade. American chart success has eluded them, but they still have a significant following worldwide.

Trivia: Since the release of Starfish, the Church have refused to issue lyrics with their albums. They believe lyrics should be heard and not read.

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The Cure is one of a number of annoying bands that have blocked embedding on their YouTube videos. But we managed to grab this live version of Just Like Heaven from the 1989 VMA’s for our Saturday Night Concert Cuts. Seriously people, if you’re a band who’s heyday was in the 80’s, you could do with the publicity. Tell your lawyers to lighten up and let bloggers embed your videos!

Anyway, this is a pretty good song that’s unusually upbeat for a goth rock band. I tried to go goth once, but I didn’t own enough black.

WATN? The Cure are releasing a new album later this month.

Trivia: Robert Smith of The Cure battled Barbara Streisand in a classic South Park episode.

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Some days, you just need to get your weird on. Nobody helps you do that better than the Johns.  TMBG released Purple Toupee as a single from 1988’s Lincoln album. It looks like it was partly filmed at a flea market I drove by last week.  You can tell their getting warmed up for Birdhouse In Your Soul a few years later (One of my all time favorite videos!).

WATN? Still making great music and touring, they’ve also released several children’s albums. Here Comes Science will be released in 2009.

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This video looks like it was shot in a smoke filled club for about $10 -which was probably what it cost to see the BoDeans in 1986. However, it was one of our first glimpses of the group that would be named Best New American Band by a Rolling Stone Reader Poll in January 1987.  The BoDeans videos, much like their shows, never included a lot of special effects or frills, just straight forward Americana rock.

WATN? The BoDeans released Still earlier this year and continue to tour. Update: The BoDeans released Live Acoustic in October. It is available exclusively through their website.

Trivia: The album title Love, Hope, Sex & Dreams comes from the Rolling Stones song Shattered.

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This video gets a 5 guitar rating if for no other reason than inspiring our logo:

Watching this video and watching Westerberg thrash his guitar makes you feel like you’re at a real Replacements show.  No frills. Just good music.

WATN? Paul Westerberg is still doing the solo thing, but the Replacements have been broken up since 1991. Deluxe editions of the early albums were released this year.

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