the thing about roxy music after 1980 as opposed to roxy music before 1980 is that roxy music before 1980 was better but roxy music after 1980 still had good album covers.
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1960s on mon
1970s on tues
1980s on wed
1990s on thurs
2000s on fri
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ft. the beatles, aretha franklin, neil young, dr. dre, serge gainsbourg, duke ellington, the kinks, jimi hendrix, pavement, the clash, smog, the smiths, al green, the rolling stones, cat power, dusty springfield, yo la tengo, antony, wilco, elvis, talking heads, elliott smith, r.e.m., ray charles, velvet underground, otis redding, the monochrome set, randy newman, the cure, gillian welch, queen, stevie wonder & more
"mtv makes me want to smoke crack." -beck
see the archives & a random post
"i just happen to be here, and it's okay." -caetano veloso
"sing a simple song but keep the swing strong." -de la soul
"think straight, keep a clean plate." -joanna newsom
"keep a clean nose, watch the plain-clothes." -bob dylan
"keep your feet warm, but keep your clothes on." -harry nilsson
"it took me about three or four weeks to toilet train my cat, nightlife. most of the time is spent moving the box very gradually to the bathroom." -charles mingus
"she had a chihuahua named carlos that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind." -tom waits
"you can't hold the hand of a rock 'n' roll man." -joni mitchell
"think about something else. was art tatum talented?" - shoot the piano player
"hey there, hey now, well, you can make a pacemaker blink, easy thing, make a man's heart go bibbity bom. -john cale
"i’ve still got things inside me, sad things, happy things, that people don’t know about." -loretta lynn
"to try to maximize the relationship of listening to a record through promotion is like experiencing driving a car by reading about stimulus programs." -bonnie 'prince' billy
"after cheesecake with all of your friends and family, who's gonna front the bill? me... say you want to take first-class trips, well i want to work those first-class hips. yes i do." -r. kelly
"too much cheesecake too soon, old money's better than new" -roxy music
"my mother used to tell me about vibrations. to think that invisible feelings, invisible vibrations existed scared me to death." -brian wilson
"i'm an idiot for you." -iggy pop
"i mean every letter in the words in the sentences of my quotes." -lil' wayne
"lyrics choochoo from my mouth like locomotion." - pato banton
"i'm going to boogie my scruples away." -lowell george
"i drive a rolls-royce, cause it's good for my voice." -t.rex
"i'm dealing in rock and roll. i'm not a bonafide human being." -phil spector
"phil approached me with a bottle of kosher red wine in one hand and a .45 in the other, put his arm around my shoulder and shoved the revolver into my neck and said, 'leonard, i love you.' i said, 'i hope you do, phil.'" -leonard cohen
"they’d whisper at each other and look at phil and whisper at each other. finally this lady, tanked, comes over to phil and says, 'alright, sonny, what’s your problem?' and he said, 'premature ejaculation, what’s yours?'" -tom wolfe
"he's got a mind like a sewer, and a heart like a fridge" -elvis costello
"i bite my nails and if that fails i go get myself stoned, but when i do i think of you and head myself back home." -gram parsons
"i would say groucho marx, to name one thing, and willie mays, and the second movement of the jupiter symphony, and louis armstrong’s recording of potatohead blues, swedish movies, naturally. sentimental education by flaubert, marlon brando, frank sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by cézanne, the crabs at sam wo’s, tracy’s face." -woody allen
"where have you been all my life?" -emmylou harris, to my brother tommy
"he had a huge room with nothing in it except this huge vast hammond organ, right next door to the police." -david bowie
brian eno songs that will make good book titles for my 10-volume memoir, in order: here he comes, baby's on fire, golden hours, brutal ardour, taking tiger mountain, events in dense fog, through hollow lands, some of them are old, everything merges with the night, dead finks don’t talk
ry cooder albums that every man should own: into the purple valley, boomer's story, paradise and lunch
"really, we don't want people twiddling their goatees over our stuff." -radiohead
thelonious monk's middle name: sphere
#1 song on the white album (tie): long long long, happiness is a warm gun
"the only word is love." -john lennon
"i love songs about horses, railroads, land, judgment day, family, hard times, whiskey, courtship, marriage, adultery, separation, murder, war, prison, rambling, damnation, home, salvation, death, pride, humor, piety, rebellion, patriotism, larceny, determination, tragedy, rowdiness, heartbreak and love. and mother. and god." -johnny cash
"i could even find it in my heart to love mike love." -belle & sebastian
"the moon is clear, the sky is bright, i'm happy as the horse's shite." -the pogues
"i hope that you all out there, young, old, tall, short, fat or thin, quick or slow, no matter what kind or color or shape or person you are, if you like to make music, why, go ahead.” -pete seeger
"chuck berry isn't merely the greatest of the rock and rollers, or rather, there's nothing mere about it. say rather that unless we can somehow recycle the concept of the great artist so that it supports chuck berry as well as it does marcel proust, we might as well trash it." -robert christgau
mashable.com says about us: "you can expect the unexpected with this awesome gem. groovy." 33 1/3 says: "it's nice to have someone steer me in a more worthwhile direction." others say: "pulitzer."
download albums, see album covers, photos, posters, quotes & 'staches
the olden days: 2008 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2009 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2010 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2011 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2012 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o.
make a tumblr!
1960s on mon
1970s on tues
1980s on wed
1990s on thurs
2000s on fri
i'm a reporter at bloomberg news, here's some work
my email & twitter
ft. the beatles, aretha franklin, neil young, dr. dre, serge gainsbourg, duke ellington, the kinks, jimi hendrix, pavement, the clash, smog, the smiths, al green, the rolling stones, cat power, dusty springfield, yo la tengo, antony, wilco, elvis, talking heads, elliott smith, r.e.m., ray charles, velvet underground, otis redding, the monochrome set, randy newman, the cure, gillian welch, queen, stevie wonder & more
"mtv makes me want to smoke crack." -beck
see the archives & a random post
"i just happen to be here, and it's okay." -caetano veloso
"sing a simple song but keep the swing strong." -de la soul
"think straight, keep a clean plate." -joanna newsom
"keep a clean nose, watch the plain-clothes." -bob dylan
"keep your feet warm, but keep your clothes on." -harry nilsson
"it took me about three or four weeks to toilet train my cat, nightlife. most of the time is spent moving the box very gradually to the bathroom." -charles mingus
"she had a chihuahua named carlos that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind." -tom waits
"you can't hold the hand of a rock 'n' roll man." -joni mitchell
"think about something else. was art tatum talented?" - shoot the piano player
"hey there, hey now, well, you can make a pacemaker blink, easy thing, make a man's heart go bibbity bom. -john cale
"i’ve still got things inside me, sad things, happy things, that people don’t know about." -loretta lynn
"to try to maximize the relationship of listening to a record through promotion is like experiencing driving a car by reading about stimulus programs." -bonnie 'prince' billy
"after cheesecake with all of your friends and family, who's gonna front the bill? me... say you want to take first-class trips, well i want to work those first-class hips. yes i do." -r. kelly
"too much cheesecake too soon, old money's better than new" -roxy music
"my mother used to tell me about vibrations. to think that invisible feelings, invisible vibrations existed scared me to death." -brian wilson
"i'm an idiot for you." -iggy pop
"i mean every letter in the words in the sentences of my quotes." -lil' wayne
"lyrics choochoo from my mouth like locomotion." - pato banton
"i'm going to boogie my scruples away." -lowell george
"i drive a rolls-royce, cause it's good for my voice." -t.rex
"i'm dealing in rock and roll. i'm not a bonafide human being." -phil spector
"phil approached me with a bottle of kosher red wine in one hand and a .45 in the other, put his arm around my shoulder and shoved the revolver into my neck and said, 'leonard, i love you.' i said, 'i hope you do, phil.'" -leonard cohen
"they’d whisper at each other and look at phil and whisper at each other. finally this lady, tanked, comes over to phil and says, 'alright, sonny, what’s your problem?' and he said, 'premature ejaculation, what’s yours?'" -tom wolfe
"he's got a mind like a sewer, and a heart like a fridge" -elvis costello
"i bite my nails and if that fails i go get myself stoned, but when i do i think of you and head myself back home." -gram parsons
"i would say groucho marx, to name one thing, and willie mays, and the second movement of the jupiter symphony, and louis armstrong’s recording of potatohead blues, swedish movies, naturally. sentimental education by flaubert, marlon brando, frank sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by cézanne, the crabs at sam wo’s, tracy’s face." -woody allen
"where have you been all my life?" -emmylou harris, to my brother tommy
"he had a huge room with nothing in it except this huge vast hammond organ, right next door to the police." -david bowie
brian eno songs that will make good book titles for my 10-volume memoir, in order: here he comes, baby's on fire, golden hours, brutal ardour, taking tiger mountain, events in dense fog, through hollow lands, some of them are old, everything merges with the night, dead finks don’t talk
ry cooder albums that every man should own: into the purple valley, boomer's story, paradise and lunch
"really, we don't want people twiddling their goatees over our stuff." -radiohead
thelonious monk's middle name: sphere
#1 song on the white album (tie): long long long, happiness is a warm gun
"the only word is love." -john lennon
"i love songs about horses, railroads, land, judgment day, family, hard times, whiskey, courtship, marriage, adultery, separation, murder, war, prison, rambling, damnation, home, salvation, death, pride, humor, piety, rebellion, patriotism, larceny, determination, tragedy, rowdiness, heartbreak and love. and mother. and god." -johnny cash
"i could even find it in my heart to love mike love." -belle & sebastian
"the moon is clear, the sky is bright, i'm happy as the horse's shite." -the pogues
"i hope that you all out there, young, old, tall, short, fat or thin, quick or slow, no matter what kind or color or shape or person you are, if you like to make music, why, go ahead.” -pete seeger
"chuck berry isn't merely the greatest of the rock and rollers, or rather, there's nothing mere about it. say rather that unless we can somehow recycle the concept of the great artist so that it supports chuck berry as well as it does marcel proust, we might as well trash it." -robert christgau
mashable.com says about us: "you can expect the unexpected with this awesome gem. groovy." 33 1/3 says: "it's nice to have someone steer me in a more worthwhile direction." others say: "pulitzer."
download albums, see album covers, photos, posters, quotes & 'staches
the olden days: 2008 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2009 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2010 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2011 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o. n. d. 2012 j. f. m. a. m. j. j. a. s. o.
make a tumblr!
#943: roxy music - editions of you (1973)
a lot of people have read john milton’s paradise lost, which is excellent, but fewer have continued on to the even better sequel, paradise regained. so they don’t know the part where brian eno floats down and plays a synthesizer solo with feathers rising up from his shoulders. and then just when you think it’s all over, he sings harmony for bryan ferry: “don’t play yourself for a fool, too much cheesecake too soon,” he says, and stands. “old money’s better than new! no mention in the latest tribune! don’t let this happen to you!”
if i were the u.s. congress in 1974, i would have been a lot less concerned about the fashionably saucy cover of roxy music’s country life than that line in editions of you that warns out of nowhere about “too much cheesecake too soon.” what does that mean! and why is it followed by a line about old money? no one will ever know. it’s the most intimidating pastry-related lyric outside of r. kelly’s ”after cheesecake with all of your friends and family, who’s gonna front the bill? me.”
#736: roxy music - editions of you (1973)
there is rock music, glam music, glamorous music, sax music, which can be sex music, which is like naval music, which is different than naval-gazing music, which isn’t shoe-gazing music, which can be nod music, plus there’s knob music and nob music, tit music, cleaved music, cleavage music, moron music and maraca music and mustache music, vulgar music, vulva music and velvet music, but roxy music is better than all of them combined.
#689: roxy music - remake/remodel (live, 1972)
the only important things to remember about the 1970s were brian eno’s vests, bryan ferry’s mustaches, phil manzanera’s spectacles, and andy mackay’s oboe solos, plus, depending on your perspective and surname, my dad’s hair.
the reason that john cale’s 1974 album fear sounds like jumpsuits, fistfights at the lions club, ex-wives, fish, lou reed’s aftershave, coal mines in wales, patti smith’s perspiration, police station basements and 23rd street at nighttime is that it is really, really good. his holiness richard thompson from fairport convention plays guitar, and so does phil manzanera, whose roxy music companion sir brian eno is credited as playing “eno.” and the backup singing on thigh-slapper the man who couldn’t afford to orgy is credited to certain girls named “i & d chantler and l strike,” about whom very little seems to be known. but to be fair, vintage violence is almost as perfect for a late-winter sunday afternoon, and so is looking at pictures of john cale.
you’re making a terribly grave error if on this damp and cold december sunday you’re not listening to brian eno’s first four ambient albums, especially on land. a sad winter weekend afternoon without them is like a happy summer evening without roxy music.
#321: roxy music - street life (1973)
you know what’s absolute total bullshit? any song that (1) isn’t sung by a man in a white tuxedo and black bow-tie who can snap with both hands, (2) doesn’t refer to both yale and black magic, and (3) lacks long-haired guys breaking into electric plastic violin solos.
unrelatedly, wouldn’t it be cool to have a tattoo of bryan ferry’s face on one arm and one of brain eno’s on the other? phil manzanera would feel left out, but still.
#158: roxy music - mother of pearl (1976)
don’t pay too much attention to the first two minutes of the song, which i’ve never been crazy about (focus instead on bryan ferry’s mustache and maybe his hands too, the best hands in show business), but afterwards comes something that could have only been written while bryan ferry was frolicking in the indian ocean on a drug binge with a gaggle of sixteen-year-old girls.
“you are my favorita/ and a place in your heart, dear/ makes me feel more real,” is the nicest thing a scary mustachioed man has ever said.
#15: roxy music - ladytron (1972)
62-year-old bryan ferry now dates a 27-year-old dancer, which means she’s currently exactly the same age mr. ferry was during this performance (from the same top of the pops show as below). very sexy.
i love when he closes his eyes to croon. and has a high-collared oboe solo ever looked better? and can the guitarist see out of his glasses? and isn’t brian eno’s gold-gloved knob-twiddling thrilling? he looks like he’s piloting a private glam jet through the sunny glam skies.
#14: roxy music - virginia plain (1972)
in 1972, bryan ferry got behind a microphone on top of the pops wearing a sparkly sequented blouse, backed by brian eno in leopard print and gold gloves. just like that, glam became cool.
and then 49 seconds into roxy music’s debut, the band thwacks to a halt. “baby jane’s in acapulco,” mr. ferry squeeks, “and we are flying down to rio.” (be sure to catch the little jazz-hand wiggle there.) that would be the hippest line in roxy music history, if it weren’t for: “midnight blue casino floors/ dance the cha-cha through till sunrise/ open up exclusive doors. oh wow!”
and did you know the critic robert christgau once called brian eno “a balding, long-haired eunuch lookalike”? i like when he looks up here and smiles at the saxophone/oboe player in the green alien suit. it’s so touching.
