Time to give some respect to the classic first 2 records of Nick Lowe:What's the best track in "jesus of cool" and "labour of lust"?

Wow! The first time that my pick was #1.

I thought "36 Inches High" was going to get at least one RIP Jim Ford sympathy vote.

Missed the vote but would've gone for "Marie Provost." Misspelling, mispronouncing, and in general not giving a shit (about a truly tragic tale, y'all), Lowe created the best popist fight song since "The Great Pretender."

"Marie Provost" was the surprise here, really. Didn't expect a non-single to do that well here.

But, Geir, poor Marie "became a doggie's dinner". Who could argue with that?

And it was a single, or at least the lead track on the "Bowi" e.p.

oh hang on, that was "Born a woman". As you were.

Eh, so it goes.

Officially out today. And so it goes.

but where it's going on one knows

February 19, 2008: Yep Rock re-releases "Jesus of Cool," Fidel Castro steps down. Coincidence?

cause he was living in a different world!

Have to get this. Especially glad to see "Rollers Show" back in circulation (a VERY clever piece of work which also works as straight celebratory/tribute pop); Radcliffe (with Mark Ellen) played it last night and spoke about this album at length. Loved the original when I was a kid.

After much thought, I've decided that Labour Of Lust is just about a perfect pop album--whatever "perfect" means.

^^^^

I just picked up these two albums (the Yep Roc reissues). Great power-pop! Damn I love the drumming on "Big Kick Plain Scrap".

Did 'American Squirm' make it onto one of them? So great.

Yeah, it was on the LoL reissue. Gotta track down those Wilderness Years tracks not on either reissue.

Guys, can you do me a favor? Listen to "Cruel To Be Kind" on headphones and tell me if you hear a table tennis game going on, very faintly, in the background.

Is that what that sound is?

I mean I can't hear continuous volleys but there are sounds every once in a while that seem to be a ping pong ball being hit.

That was my guess... it doesn't sound like it's a product of any of the instruments in the song, also doesn't sound like percussion. But it creeps in here and there and seems most noticeable towards the end of the song.

Also thanks for noticing SOMETHING there, man, it's been haunting me. Heh.

There's a 'glitch' noise the last time he sings 'I don't know why', what about that one?

Seems like you may be the first to have noticed this. I looked around the web and the closest thing I could find was not really related. http://www.thebluegrasssituation.com/read/shift-list-chef-john-currence-shares-soundtrack-his-rock-%E2%80%98n%E2%80%99-roll-life

If you don't want to click- it's a chef talking about his past in an indie rock band- here is the relevant part, perhaps not relevant enough but just bizarre enough to mention

The band relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where they wound up recording with legendary producer Mitch Easter, who had helmed R.E.M.’s earliest recordings. Easter’s relationship with the indie pioneers led to a surreal moment at one of Chapter Two’s own sessions. The band was at his house one day, trying to get a sound effect down on tape in his driveway, when a car pulled up. “We were in the middle of a take and we were like, ‘Who is this asshole?’” says Currence. “And then Mike Mills [of R.E.M.] gets out of the car, so our tune changed a bit.” The bassist stuck around and even helped with the session, creating a rhythm component for a song by hitting a baseball mitt with a ping-pong paddle

Also, one of the chef's favorite songs is the one under discussion.

Ha. Weird. I wonder if Nick Lowe is involved with his Facebook page at all... this all winds up with me living in a house with NICK LOWE-SECRET SOUND FX-CIA MIND CONTROL painted on the front, right?

(Oh and Mark G I think that's the noise I'm talking about!)

xpost
I hear the "ping-pong" as well — most noticeably between 2:44 and 2:50.

And run like the wind
The nation's young men steam