Thanks Light… – Funeral
Inevitable things are also hilarious, no matter how horrifying they might seem at first. Things that cannot be avoided, after all, can be laughed at, ridiculed and called funny names. It’s not bound to change a damn thing, so you might as well get your money’s worth through pure enjoyment.
Now, these are truths that might sound rather obvious for people who’ve grown up in one of the countries that the world, cautiously, labels as “developing.” In Eastern Europe, for example, no tragedy ever fails to be accompanied by feverish laughter and people slapping each other over the head while dancing. The world is catching on to these primitive methods of grieving, as Thanks Light… proves.
The first thing to notice about “Funeral” is that this is well-performed, operatic garage-rock. The other thing is that the singer is funny, can summon charisma and is not at all fearful of murdering a sacred cow. Or is he fearless? People are known to start laughing when they’re in the presence of great danger. Maybe this is just a way to cope. If you’re not gonna laugh, you’re gonna cry, and that’s just a waste of a good opportunity.
Tom Andes – Black Dog Redux
Who exactly owns what when it comes to rock n’ roll tunes? Of course, the answer to this debate, potentially, will result in one side or another earning a few extra million dollars each year. But it’s still a fair debate, especially now, knowing how much of the classic-rock catalogue was directly inspired by blues, soul, or reggae musicians who rarely saw a dime of the profits.
With this in mind, if you’re charitable, you’ll agree that: a. Music always changes and evolves, and b. It’s the modern artists’ intentions that matter most. Tom Andes’ intentions are good ones and the artist is willing to do the heavy work and disassemble a classic in order to find out how it can be put back together.
“Black Dog Redux” wears its influences on its sleeve. It’s a touch ironic that Tom Andes borrows so much from the great Jimmy Page, a man known to indulge in a few reinterpretations of his own. The song twists, turns, struts. It moves from aggressive blues-rock to a kind of mock country-pop, and reveals all the lemon-squeezing strutting to be merely a strategy to get over nerves and lack of confidence.
