Retro: Vanilla Ice En Concierto

Hoy hace 35 años tuvo lugar el llamado "Concierto Del Año" como los medios de aquel entonces se encargaron de llamar al show que Vanilla Ice conocido también como el rapero blanco ó el "Elvis del rap, vino a dar a Guatemala. 

 

Y si efectivamente era todo un suceso por la talla del artista que se trataba y porque era algo raro y bueno todavía lo sigue siendo, que un artista en su prime venga a ofrecer shows por estos lares, generalmente lo hacen cuando ya les paso el momento, y si no, a manera de decir que "peor es nada" la infame moda de traer grupos o artistas tributos para que el público se conforme al menos con eso. 

 

Hubo una vez una división entre el rap comercial y el de las calles, y precisamente Vanilla Ice pertenecía al primera que sin necesidad de entrar en polémicas y enfrentamientos con la industria musical, lograron tener éxito, la llamada época dorada del rap comercial con nombres de la talla de M.C. Hammer, Kid 'n' Play, Tone Loc y por el Iceman que ayudaron a popularizar el género entre finales de los 80s e inicios de los 90s.

 

Por aquel 1991, se barajeo la posibilidad de traer a M.C. Hammer y hasta confirmaron que el malogrado acto C+C Music Factory vendría a ofrecer un show, al final todo se quedo en la nada, pero curiosamente se confirmo la llegada de Vanilla Ice y desde ese momento, se convirtió en el evento del año. Había jingle que decía así: "Coca Cola te trae una noticia que bien te cae es Vanilla Ice es Concierto compra tus entradas en Discos & Cosas a Q. 40.00 y Q. 65.00"  toda una ganga comparando los precios de los shows de hoy en día. 

 

El concierto tuvo lugar en el Teodoro Palacios Flores, pusieron de teloneros a un grupo llamado Stress que la verdad nada que ver con el estilo de Vanilla Ice, pero era lo que había, al final hizo su presencia frente a una 8,000 personas aproximadamente durante unos 90 minutos interpretando los temas de su disco "To The Extreme", aunque por momentos me recordó mucho al "Extremely Live" álbum en directo que por ese entonces también se estaba promocionando. 

 

El show tuvo sentimiento encontrados para muchos fue increíble y para otros no tanto y entonces comenzaron a correr el mensaje que ese no había sido el verdadero Vanilla Ice sino un impostor, ya que no se parecía físicamente, además que no se sabia los pases de baile como en los videos, casi no hubieron bailarines, el sonido estuvo malo (aunque eso siempre ha pasado en los conciertos que se han dado por aquí), al final vino e hizo lo suyo y su show quedo marcado en los anales de eventos musicales destacados en la historia nacional y que hoy 35 años después recordamos como uno de los momentos más icónicos de aquel 1991 y de la década de los 90s. 

Rocktrospectiva: The Finest And Brilliant "Life's Rich Pageant" Turns 40

 

Released on 28 July 1986 "Life's Rich Pageant" was the 4th., studio album by the US alternative rock band R.E.M., produced by Don Gehman and recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Indiana. This was the only album the band recorded with Gehman, who moved them from the more obscure and dense sound of their earlier albums to an accessible, hard rock-influenced quality. The album spawned two singles "Fall On Me" & "Superman."

During the first half of 1986, the band took a break from touring to recover energy. They wanted to make a change from the sound of their previous album, with Mills saying "We wanted to get away from the sort of murky feelings and sounds that we got out of Joe Boyd, producer on Fables of the Reconstruction] in London". They wanted a "really hard-driving record, but we also like to throw in a lot of things: pianos and organs and accordions and banjos and what-not" and considered working with Gehman as they liked the acoustic sound of his work with John Mellencamp.  They initially met for a number of demo sessions at John Keane's Studio in Athens, Georgia, in January & March 1986 (These recordings would later be released as the "Athens Demos" on the 25th-anniversary re-release of the album). After being initially skeptical, they embraced the new recording process with Gehman 

Recorded at Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Recording Studio in Belmont, Indiana, in April and May 1986. The recording studio was larger and had newer technology than they were used to, and they enjoyed the area, attending many concerts in nearby Bloomington while there. The band were also happy with the production of the record and the extra clarity of the vocals 

The album's title was inspired by a line spoken by Inspector Clouseau in the 1964 film "A Shot in the Dark." The cover art features an image of drummer Bill Berry and a bison below, alluding to the album's environmental theme and referencing Buffalo Bill. By then, the band's fame was already transcending the boundaries of college rock, so a new recording was needed to propel them into a more mainstream sound, and indeed, the gamble paid off, as the production allowed the album to reach gold status, peaking at No. 21 and becoming, at the time, the band's best-selling and most successful album. 

Two singles were released from the album: the powerful and ecologically charged "Fall On Me," a favorite of Stipe and myself, and "Superman," sung by Mike Mills. But other tracks also appeared, which curiously became unofficial singles: the equally powerful and socially and ecologically charged "Cuyahoga," about the highly polluted river that flows into Lake Erie, referencing the times the river caught fire due to the high levels of pollution; and "Flowers of Guatemala," which, it is said, alluded to the genocide in that country during the armed conflict. 

Praised by many critics who highlighted the band as brilliant and unconventional with a promising future. They emphasized the dark folk sound of its predecessor, "Fables of Reconstruction," but noted its much more dynamic and upbeat sound. While some cited a lack of progress in the band's sonic evolution, this was of little consequence, as the band was at the zenith of its career and everything from then on would run smoothly, thanks to the outstanding work of Don Gehman, who definitively made the band sound much more open and unmasked. 

 

Life's Rich Pageant Track List:  

 

1. Begin The Begin

2. These Days

3. Fall On Me

4. Cuyahoga

5. Hyena

6. Underneath The Bunker

7. The Flowers Of Guatemala

8. I Believe

9. What If We Give It Away?

10. Just A Touch

11. Swan Swan H

12. Superman 

New Music: Pin Up Boys

           

The Manchester, England four-piece Westside Cowboy are releasing their debut album, It Goes On, on August 2. Now they have shared its second single, "Pin Up Boys," The band collectively had this to say about the song in a press release: Pin Up Boys was written a year and a half ago using an acoustic guitar, a drum machine sample pad and some screwdrivers as drumsticks. It is by far the longest serving song on the album and the one that we have played the most live, which was a blessing and a curse when we came to record. After realising this song was set in its ways, we thought the recording should be a somewhat faithful version of the live performance. We hope you get something out of it. Jack Shep directed the song’s video and had this to say about it:  Westside Cowboy's performance style is so energetic and distinct. They clearly have a mountainous future ahead of them, and it was awesome to work with young people at the precipice of starting something really special together. In the video we wanted to capture the band's dynamism, through a spotlight. We follow this fixed, malevolent spotlight chasing our hero (played by the band's mate, Will) as he tries to escape its gaze. As he runs, he manages to escape, splitting into a new spotlight with a new version of the band. The whole thing begins to buckle and shatter.”

New Music: Day In The Sun

           

Teenage Fanclub have announced their new album, Do Not Dare To Dream, out 9th October, and shared its lead single, Day In The Sun, with a video by Donald Milne filmed at Black Bay Studio on Great Bernera in the Outer Hebrides. The album is the band's thirteenth and follows the melancholic warmth of 2023’s Nothing Lasts Forever, whose lingering understated vibe makes Day In The Sun all the brighter. Those lush multi-part harmonies, 60s jangle, rich acoustic textures, and organ are still there in abundance alongside some really nice flourishes — that really subtle vox wah in the back and that harp opening, all accentuate that Californian psych glow, presenting a playful sparkling optimism that leans towards The Byrds.

New Music: Sounds We Cannot Hear

           

Protomartyr are back with their first album in three years. It’s titled Hotel Usona and will be out September 25. The first single from Hotel Usona is "Sounds We Cannot Hear"  which has Protomartyr’s signature sound augmented with horns, tubular bells, xylophone, and more, with Casey's lyrics setting a dark tone from the start. The video, a disquieting psychological thriller set at a hibachi restaurant, was directed by Danny Scharar & Harris Mayersohn and features comedian and actor Nate Varrone.

New Music: Blue Shadows

           

The Avalanches are back and now shares "Blue Shadows" the second collaboration between The Avalanches and Karen O, the solo artist and Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman having featured on "Dial D For Devotion" from the band’s 2020 album We Will Always Love You. “Blue Shadows” also marks the third single from The Avalanches in 2026, the track follows "Every Single Weekend" with Jamie xx and "Together" with Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza and Prentiss.

Rocktrospectiva: The Mature And Thoughtful "Play" Turns 35

Released on 23 July 1991 "Play" was the 9th., studio album by the British new wave group Squeeze. Back in the day was the first LP in the Squeeze discography to feature only four official members instead of five. Tony Berg produced the album. The album spawned the singles "Sunday Street", "Satisfied" & "Crying In My Sleep".  The album spent one week at number 41 in the UK Albums Chart in September 1991.

Considered one of Squeeze's most mature and thoughtful albums in which the liner notes are written out as a theatre script, with the songs laid out as dialogue. Play was a simple and low-key collection of songs charting the dissolution of a love affair. Reduced to a quartet by Jools Holland's departure for a career as a BBC television presenter, this aided the group to play with a loose, R&B-inflected casualness. 

Play may be one of Squeeze's greatest late period works. Producer Tony Berg, who'd just scored a sizable U.S. hit with the irresistible Michael Penn cut "No Myth." His studio wizardry meshed well with a collection of tunes that tackled various vagaries of love and loss, from breakups (the upbeat "Crying in My Sleep," the downbeat "Letting Go" to keeping it honest "The Truth," "House of Love", slice-of-life scenes "Sunday Street," "Satisfied" and even a relaxed celebration of coming back from a concert tour "The Day I Get Home". 

Though Play was only a moderate success in England, just missing the Top 40 of the British charts, the period is looked on warmly by both fans and even the band themselves, despite a challenging time behind-the-scenes where Difford entered rehab to address his relationship to alcohol. The album also received some positive reception from critics by proclaiming the record to be probably Squeeze's best post-reunion album. 

 

Play Track List:  

 

1. Satisfied

2. Crying In My Sleep

3. Letting Go

4. The Day I Get Home

5. The Truth

6. House Of Love

7. Cupid's Toy

8. Gone To The Dogs

9. Walk A Straight Line

10. Sunday Street

11. There Is A Voice 

New Music: All Falls To Me

            

Jesus Jones shares their new single "All Falls To Me" is the second track to be taken from the upcoming Jesus Jones album "Twilight" to be released in September 2026, the visuals are taken from the band's travels, on the world tour they did in 2023/2024. The tune start with a Flamenco intro and the goes into transition to a dancy sound pretty much as Jesus Jones trademark.

Rocktrospectiva: The Outstanding "Panic" Turns 40

Released on 21 July 1986, "Panic" was a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by lead vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was the band's first recording as a five-piece featuring new member Craig Gannon, "Panic" bemoans the state of contemporary pop music, exhorting listeners to "burn down the disco" and "hang the DJ" in retaliation. 

The song was released by Rough Trade as a single and reached No. 7 on the Irish Singles Chart and No. 11 in the UK Chart. Morrissey considered the song's appearance on daytime British radio a "tiny revolution" in its own way, as it aired amongst the very music it criticised. It was later included in the compilation albums The World Won't Listen and Louder Than Bombs both from 1987.

"Panic" was recorded at London's Livingston Studios in May 1986. It was the group's first recording sessions since they completed work on their third album The Queen Is Dead six months earlier. During the interim period, bassist Andy Rourke had been fired due to his heroin addiction, which had interfered with his playing. The band hired Craig Gannon to replace him, but after they rehired Rourke, guitarist Johnny Marr offered Gannon a position as second guitarist.

The then five-piece band worked with producer John Porter; this was his first work with the group in two years. He was concerned that the song was too short, so he copied the band's first take from 5 May and spliced a repetition of the first verse at the end to increase its length. The group was unimpressed and opted to leave the song as they originally structured it.

A story circulated as the basis for the song holds that Marr and Morrissey were listening to BBC Radio 1 when a news report announced the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Straight afterwards, BBC disc jockey Steve Wright played the song "I'm Your Man" by pop duo Wham! "I remember actually saying, 'What the fuck has this got to do with people's lives?'" Marr recalled. "We hear about Chernobyl, then, seconds later, we're expected to jump around to 'I'm Your Man'". While Marr subsequently stated that the account was exaggerated, he commented that it was a likely influence on Morrissey's lyrics. The band later commissioned a T-shirt featuring Wright's portrait and the phrase "Hang the DJ!"

Now "the anecdote might well be true," writes Tony Fletcher in A Light That Never Goes Out, his biography of the Smiths, but he states that "I'm Your Man" had been off the UK pop charts for several months by the time of the Chernobyl disaster and that "Morrissey hardly needed further provocation to attack Wright, whose highly ranked afternoon show treated all popular music as secondary to his madcap party format". The antagonism was apparently mutual; former Smiths manager Scott Piering says that at a 1985 meeting, Wright and his producer both made clear that they disliked the band's music. Moreover, the song itself makes no mention of the radio.

The song began with Morrissey mentioning chaos unravelling throughout Britain and Ireland (specifically mentioning London, Birmingham, Leeds, Grasmere, Carlisle, Dublin, Dundee, and Humberside). In the second part of the song, he revealed that the source of this chaos is pop music, which "says nothing to [him] about [his] life". In reaction, he implores listeners to "burn down the disco" and "hang the DJ", the latter lyrics repeated with the addition of a chorus of schoolchildren. Journalist Nick Kent described "Panic" as a mandate for "rock terrorism". John Luerssen calls it a "commentary on the tepid state of pop music in 1986" and a "chiming guitar song," based around a rotation between the G major and E minor chords.

"Panic" drew negative reaction from some critics who construed Morrissey's lyrics to have a racist connotation. Paolo Hewitt in the NME wrote, "If Morrissey wants to have a go at Radio 1 and Steve Wright, then fine [but] when he starts using words like disco and DJ, with all the attendant imagery that brings up for what is a predominantly white audience, he is being imprecise and offensive". Fletcher says that the lack of any explicit indication the song was about radio meant "Panic" "could be construed as reviving the racist and homophobic 'Disco Sucks' campaign of late 1970s America".

Morrissey denied the accusation, and in a September 1986 Melody Maker interview with Frank Owen decried Owen's suggestion that he was leading a "black pop conspiracy". Additional criticism was sparked by the same interview, wherein Morrissey was quoted naming reggae as "the most racist music in the entire world". Marr, in particular, was incensed by the article and in a 1987 NME interview threatened to "kick the living shit" out of the writer if he met him, such was his anger at the article's slant. He also countered that "disco music" could not be simply equated with "black music", saying, "To those who took offence at the 'burn down the disco' line [...] I'd say please show me the black members of New Order!"

The single cover had an image of a young Richard Bradford, known for his lead role as private eye McGill in the 1960s British TV adventure series Man in a Suitcase, features on the sleeve cover. Etching in the runout on the British 7" single reads "I DREAMT ABOUT STEW LAST NIGHT", a pun on a lyric from "Reel Around the Fountain" ("I dreamt about you last night"), while the 12" version did not have a matrix message. The German 12" runout reads "HANG THEM HIGH MONIKA/HANG THEM HIGH MONIKA

Two music videos were released for "Panic", both of which were directed by Derek Jarman. The first, which the band does not appear in, saw the song used in medley with "The Queen is Dead" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" in promotion of the band's then-recent studio album of the former's same name (although "Panic" does not appear on the aforementioned album), which Jarman created as a short film for the 1986 Edinburgh Festival. The second, better-known video for "Panic", in promotion of its release as a single, sees footage of the band performing the song at a gig overlayed with footage from its segment in Jarman's film.

 

Panic Track List

 

7-inch Vinyl record

 

1. Panic

2. Vicar In A Tutu

 

12-inch vinyl record and CD

 

1. Panic

2. Vicar In A Tutu

3. The Draize Train (Instrumental) 

New Music: Get Up And Dance

           

The UK band Man/Woman/Chainsaw have dropped a new single "Get Up and Dance", featuring Emmie-Mae Avery on lead vocals, the track is off the band’s debut LP Cannonball. From Emmie-Mae: “In my mind it’s set in a club, where you spot someone who’s been trying their luck with different people all night and decide to turn the game back on them. It starts playful but then takes a forceful approach, as you push them to prove their interest and test how far they’ll go, aiming to have them make a fool of themselves.”