90s Music Monday
More "videos shot in white rooms" shenanigans with the lovable scamps from Urge Overkill.
Many, many years ago I acquired a compilation album called "Rocks Off" which was a pretty good representation of what I was listening to at the time. Apart from Bon Jovi. And the Spin Doctors who I could just about tolerate if it weren't for the song "What Time Is It?" which induced a near-instant migraine in my parietal lobe. As did "Shinbone Alley" now that I come to think of it.
Anyway, nestled towards the end of the album between "It's about time" by The Lemonheads on one side and "Sugar Kane" by Sonic Youth was a band I'd heard about but not actually heard called Urge Overkill, a phrase that I rather liked and which reminded me of the character Raven from "Snow Crash" who had the phrase "Poor Impulse Control" tattoed on his forehead
"Positive Bleeding" though? Loved it. Loved the raucousness (I was a somewhat rambunctious child). Loved the guitars. Loved Nash Kato's voice. Loved the phrasing of the title even.
Some years later I saw them at The Underworld, the venue underneath the famous World's End pub in Camden. It's notable because, unlike most venues, the stage is only a few feet off the floor and you can walk right up to without a line of crowd control barriers and security guards to get in the way.
The gig was good but the band was old and tired. I suspect they weren't but in my mind's eye I saw their crushed velvet suits as being somewhat shapeless and threadbare. Maybe I was just projecting.
Comments
pesky YouTube - "embedding disabled by request"
I've never heard this song before, and would have told you I'd never heard of Urge Overkill, though now I've looked up the Pulp Fiction clip I recognise their version of the Neil Diamond classic. Their take on "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon" is a lot less sickly sweet than Diamond's original version, which you will hate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57q3kq4FP2o
Actually, I don't mind the Neil Diamond one as much because, well, at least it's true to form whereas with UO I just want rocky snark.
TRU FAX! When I was young I inexplicably had Neil Diamond, Neil Young and, to a lesser extent, Neil Sedaka mixed up in my head. In fact, when writing this reply I had to go back a change Young to Diamond in three places.