The Stone Roses - "The Stone Roses" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1989 (Silverstone Records)

The Stone Roses first album came out in 1989, and it took me 29 years to finally hear this record.  I avoided them for two decades due to their hype.   I must remember not to run away from the hype, but to accept the hype, because "The Stone Roses" is an exceptional rock n' roll classic.  They're a great band because if you separate them they are not as good as when they are in this band.  When all the parts fit and make a beautiful aural expression, it is magic. 

The drip painting by John Squire expresses wildness, but the music he writes with Ian Brown is very formal with strong or catchy choruses.  There is a structure in place with the sound of a strong bassist, Mani, and an imaginative drummer/percussionist Reni.  Square's guitars are multi-tracked and dreamy but can have the intensity of a Steve Stills/Neil Young guitar dual in the classic Buffalo Springfield.   Brown's vocals are whispy with a great deal of masculinity melted into his soft singing.  At times it reminds me of early Simon and Garfunkel records, with its expression of its surroundings, that is folk music like in its intimacy.    

Many consider "The Stone Roses" an incredible and classic debut record for a band, and I have to admit that is true.  The fact that they couldn't really make a follow-up album, or self-exploded is interesting because their talent or genius was caught in a jar, but it's hard to reproduce that jar or moment.   The thing is an artist or musician shouldn't study it too carefully, because it is magic, and sometimes you just have to admit that this is great and move on with one's life. 

Buzzcocks (with Howard Devoto) "Spiral Scratch" Vinyl, 7" EP 45rpm Single, 1979 (New Hormones)

I first purchased this 7" EP at Bomp Records, and I believed in 1976.   It may have been the same shopping trip where I bought the Sneakers EP as well as the Devo single "Jacko Homo/"Mongoloid." History will tell that this was a great shopping day for me.   When I went to the record store, I don't think I have heard of the Buzzcocks.  Maybe in passing in a Brtish publication.  But I was struck by their image on the front of the sleeve, as well as reading the song titles on the back.  "Boredom," "Time's Up," "Breakdown," and "Friends of Mine."  At that time (and still) I'm attracted to the titles of songs.  I was reading a lot of poetry at the time, so the lyrics and even its title had meant a great deal to me.    The Punk Era, including what was happening in New York City as well as within the U.K., was a very literate time for me.  Not only in reading, but myself trying to write lyrics as well as getting into the songwriting and craft of Cole Porter and Noël Coward.  Which sounds odd, but I put Howard Devoto and Richard Hell into the same framework as these classic lyricists. 

This 7" is a perfect moment of its time, but even now, listening to it this morning, it's fresh air being pumped into a stale environment or room.  The sound of the instruments seemed simple, but almost bordering on an avant-garde level.  Minimalists who rock!  Howard Devoto's lyrics strike me as being very literary, profound, and smart.  This wasn't angry music against a system, but a reflection of what was happening around them.  Aggressive yes, but with wit and intelligence.  The Pete Shelley/Howard Devoto team couldn't possibly go wrong.  But then Devoto left the band.  For sure, I thought that would be the end of the Buzzcocks.  Boy, was I ever wrong!