The O-town Scene

Music Notes by Mark Boshnack New music has been in- fluenced by old since the dawn of time, or at least since The Rolling Stones got its start in the 1970s. The new autobiography by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, “Life,” gives the reader a great opportunity to see how the band got started. In the early days, Keith said that he spent a lot of time listening to the American blues musicians that the Rolling Stones emulated. After they learned what made those records great, the band went on to become argu- ably the greatest rock and roll band in the world. Back then aspiring musicians had to scrounge for the latest vinyls from America. Musicians today have it a lot easier, with access to music limited only by time. So, you never know what you will find when you listen for the influences in more current music. The news that one of one of my recent favorite bands, the Smith Westerns, would be releasing a new CD in January, made me go back to the group’s first self- titled album released in 2009. Smith Westerns/ T. Rex recently released “Phosphene Dream” by 1960s psychedelic rock. The album opens up with a fuzz bass, reverb-filled song, “Bad Vibrations,” and just keeps churning. My favorite song is “Telephone” in which you can hear the sounds of Ques- tion Mark and Mysterians and once the organ kicks in, the Sir Douglas Quintet. The band gets its name from a song by the Velvet Underground, who also provides a big influence. Check out “Yellow Elevator #2” or the title song if you can’t get enough of that distinctive sound. The Rolling Stones used the sounds of the blues to introduce the likes of Slim Harpo and Muddy Waters to a new audience. Today’s bands are provid- ing a similar service to listeners by revisiting sounds of another generation. Friendly Fires/ The Talking Heads A band that is influenced by one of my all-time favorite groups, The Talking Heads, is English electro-pop group Friendly Fires. The self-titled first album was released in September 2008 but it still sounds pretty fresh. The lead singer, Cul- len Omori, sounds a lot like Marc Bolan of T. Rex fame. This works out Starting with the opening song, “Jump In the Pool,” the group uses some tight harmonies, along with the the poly-rhythmic sounds of its mentors to de- velop its own sound. In the second song, “In the Hospi- tal,” the band reaffirms to any doubters who ts influence is when the song infuses a chorus that could have come out of the Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed and Painless” from the album “Remain in Light,” one of my votes for best ever. The band channels the Head’s lead singer David Byrne in “Photobooth,” where band members use rhythm and funk to tell their story. well, because on songs like “Girl in Love,” the Chicago-based band sounds like its 1970s mentors. The song starts with a riff right out of Gary Glitter; that whole glam rock scene provides a big influence on album. There is an MP3 track, “Weekend,” recently out from the upcoming album “Dye It Blonde.” Omori is quoted on Pitchfork.com that influences are wider on the new album and the production budget bigger, but that first album is well worth the listen. Black Angels/ Velvet Underground The disco era is an inspiration for the English group Gold- frapp. The group’s latest CD, “Head First,” starts off with one of the catchiest pop songs of the year, “Rocket.” I got caught up in the sonic blast and found myself humming it a lot, without listening too closely to the words. It was so joyous that I thought it was a lovesong, but then realized it was the ultimate kissoff song: “I’ve got a rocket, you’re going on it.” Goldfrapp/ABBA Austin, Texas, band the Black Angels was influenced in its The record settles down after a couple of songs, but any fan of ABBA, disco or just really catchy pop music will probably find a favorite song if they listen to music inspired by another era. Nov. 11, 2010 O-Town Scene 5

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