Thursday, June 07, 2007

The Sound of Young America

So speaking of Rhino reissues, as I was yesterday:

I also got -- in the same package the merry mailman delivered those Pretenders albums -- an ominous looking black-jacketed copy of
Unbreakable (A Retrospective 1990-2006)
by the Afghan Whigs. A band, I'm embarassed to admit, I've heretofore taken pretty much no notice of whatsoever.

Silly me. Behold (from said album) this clip of the Whigs' minor key wails-from-the-crypt version of the Supremes' "Come See About Me" -- it shouldn't work, but boy does it ever anyway. And color me extremely impressed.



Dang, these guys are good -- obviously, I'll have to check out the rest of the CD.

Postscript: A coveted PowerPop No Prize to the first reader who guesses how this post provides a clue to tomorrow's Weekend Listomania.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice take on what Diana Ross was selling back then. And a fine example of Holland-Dozier-Holland's talent for writing timeless tunes that stand up to this kind of whimsy.

Are we going to delve into covers of songs by 60s sex kittens?

Kid Charlemagne said...

Top 20, otherwise chirpy pop tunes done in an minor key, downer fashion?

Like Soft Cell's "Tainted Love"?

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, Soft Cell covered a Supremes hit, too. Maybe you're on to something here.

Anonymous said...

Bands with middle Eastern adjectives in the name?

I'll go first with the New Bomb Turks.

-Jay C.

Anonymous said...

Do the Polish Muslims count in Detroit?

Anonymous said...

The topic will be 1965 since that is the title of one of the Whigs' killer albums (albums-boy does that date me or what?)

Anonymous said...

It's all in the key of 'see'.

Anonymous said...

It certainly puts you in the mood. I like the way they increased the intensity of the song, which reminds me a little of the way Cheap Trick bumps up the intensity of cover (and I don't mean to imply they sound like Cheap Trick).

dave said...

I'll take "Bands With Nationalities in Their Names" for $500, Alex...