Music Video
The Sex Pistols: God Save the Queen. Recorded October 1976, released May 1977.
Kasabian: Days Are Forgotten: 2011. Is Kasabian the final great band of the rock era? Here, the vote is an easy yes.
Blondie: Hanging On The Telephone. 1978. Written by Jack Lee of The Nerves in 1976 (that original, featuring Peter Case & Paul Collins). Few bands ever own the cutting edge of culture, as Blondie did at this moment. Watch and learn.
Rancid: Devil In Disguise: 2023. I have been a solid Rancid fan from the mid-nineties straight through today circa 2023. All through my Distortions-era days, not a single friend of mine ever liked Rancid. And I never understood why. For another Rancid favorite, click here.
X: Delta 88: 1979-ish. If this punk masterpiece doesn't make you want to go to Cannery Row, stay at Bates Motel, and get drunk as hell, then nothing will, I can tell.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre: The Future Is Your Past. 2022. Directed by Jean De Oliveira and Matilda Reid.
The Black Angels: Currency: 2017.
Generation X: Kiss Me Deadly: 1978. Produced by Martin Rushent. "A hidden flick-knife flicks." Poetry, but better.
the Dandy Warhols: Bohemian Like You: 2000: Still cool.
Wolf Alice: The Last Man On Earth. 2021. Two years ago, Wolf Alice's album Blue Weekend was my album of the year. I see them as somehow descended from vintage Suede. If you imagine Suede performing "By the Sea," and put that up next to this song, you might agree with me that not only could Suede have put this song on Coming Up, but also, that this would be the better of the two songs.
Cage The Elephant: Cigarette Daydreams: 2014: As if French Film originated in LA.
Suede: By The Sea. 1996. A live version, 1996, from their 1996 album Coming Up.
Loene Carmen: Nashville High. 2006. It still sounds perfect.
Ride: Charm Assault. 2017. Directed by Jean De Oliveira;
Concept by Anton Newcombe & Jean De Oliveira.
Suicide: Frankie Teardrop: A Film by Douglas Hart. 2022. Directed by original Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart. I consider this to be a masterpiece.
Kasabian: Reason Is Treason: 2004. Directed by Scott Lyon. Strangely, they made the video for the alternative mix (the "Jacknife Lee mix," as it's called). The album version of the track is actually better; to hear that, click here.
The Verve: Live in London 1993: Four songs: Star Sail, Slide Away, Virtual World, Blue. This performance, for me, is iconic, possibly for the simple reason that I saw them exactly one month after this October 1993 London show; their performance, absolutely on fire, looked exactly like this, but it was at the Variety Arts Center, downtown LA. The nineties was a horrific time for music; and in my view, the emergence of British indie like The Verve and Suede marked the beginning of an era.