Fast becoming the busiest men in "alternative rock" I reckon this new lp comes less than a year after the excellent Rewind The Film. Furious, propulsive and expansive, 'Futurology' is the sound of the Manics at their very best - a record inspired by permanent revolution, modern art and Autobahns - so there you go! Due out on 7 July here is the lead single.
The track listing as follows:
'Futurology' - 'Walk Me To The Bridge' - 'Let?s Go To War' - 'The Next Jet To Leave Moscow' - 'Europa Geht Durch Mich' - 'Divine Youth' - 'Sex, Power Love and Money' - 'Dreaming A City (Hughesovka)' - 'Black Square' - 'Between The Clock And The Bed' - 'Misguided Missile' - 'The View From Stow Hill' - 'Mayakovsky'
Whilst I am looking forward t the next in the instalment of Bowie 40th anniversary picture disks I have to say the creative department at Bowie Inc seems to have hit a bit of a lull on the b -sides.
Next up following a disappointing RSD release of Rock N Roll Suicide with a previously heard b side version is Diamond Dogs. With yes you guessed it a further release of a b side from an album...next up is probably Knock On Wood? Nice single though...
Following up his first solo album and the excellent Duke and The King albums, Simon Felice has released another cracking instalment in his post Felice Brothers output with the album Strangers. (Thanks to Michael for the pointer!).
Stand out tracks are Molly O, Bye Bye Palenville , Our Lady of the Gun and The Gallows.
Molly O!
And here is a clip of a stand out Duke and The King track:
It may again seem a strange choice to select an album by one of the best known and most iconic figures in popular music as a Forgotten Album Friday selection. However despite a couple of cracking singles and accompanying outstanding videos this 1999 album sneaked out with very little notice. I suspect that in part it was a backlash to the immediately preceding "drum n bass" effort earthling. To be fair the latter does have a cracking cover and with hindsight a couple of good tracks:
Hours has it all though.
The singles from the album are exceptional and stand up with most of Bowie's catalogue and to my ears a lot of the material harks back to Hunky Dory in style. Seven especially would have fitted somewhere between Quicksand and Bewlay Brothers quite nicely.
The album release saw Bowie playing some TV gigs, notably at the Beeb and these hinted at what could have been a great tour much in the same way as a Scary Monsters Tour would have been superb.
Key tracks:
Seven - below from the storytellers DVD
Thursdays Child - a fantastic video
The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell
Survive
You may have been lucky enough to snatch one on RSD 2014 (or pay over the odds on eBay).
No matter - this is worth the price of admission for Hey Blue Eyes alone. Bruce seems to have been one of the few social commentators on the Bush Jr era and I often wonder why that is.
To quote the artist “Hey Blue Eyes” rounds out the EP with one of my darkest political songs. Written during the Bush years, it’s a metaphor for the house of horrors our government’s actions created in the years following the invasion of Iraq. At its center is the repressed sexuality and abuse of power that characterized Abu Ghraib prison. I feel this is a shadow we as a country have yet to emerge"
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