2.24.2005

Quick shots from the British Unvasion

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I'm running late on a deadline for a magazine column, so for me to go into any specifics tonight would be suicidally counterproductive. At the same time, I'm trying to maintain a little more consistency in posting... I'm shooting for 4 times a week, but I'm just such a long-winded bastard and I already spend my day at a keyboard crapping out ad copy. The things we do for money, man.

Let's get to it:

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"S.F. Sorrow is Born" by THE PRETTY THINGS: Just get the whole album, entitled S.F. SORROW. It's one of those albums like Love's FOREVER CHANGES or The Zombies' ODYSSEY AND ORACLE that will make you feel like you don't know anything about what great music is really out there. This was a completely random purchase I made one day at the record store. I figured "Well, if they put out a digitally remastered version, it must at least be worth a shot." That kind of logic rarely works, but it did that day.

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"Something to Say" by THE ACTION: You know, as much as I love these guys, you'd really be better off learning about them at the Parasol Records site. One of the great unheralded bands of the late 60s... another band with those British Invasion soul fetishes. Head over to eMusic.com and get a cheapy subscription. They give 40 downloads for $10, so you could get this whole album for about 3 bucks.

The parasol site quotes Matthew Sweet:
"Their music is melodic mayhem. Reminiscent of the early Who or the Creation, but fueled by an emerging psychedelia, it has all of my favorite elements -- great songs and playing and singing that is approached with a spirit of abandon sadly missing from 99. 9% of today's music."

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