Monday, October 26, 2009

Wall of Voodoo "Museums"

Yes, I've posted my song of the week, but I'm putting off marking right now and I thought I'd share another one of my all-time favourite songs, along with a few memories. Hearing an old song is like passing by an elderly woman who wears the same perfume that the librarian wore back in elementary school. It's kind of comforting.
Wall of Voodoo were an L.A. band in the eighties. Their music is hard to describe. I guess you could call it B-movie soundtrack meets surfer twang. The original line-up of WOV featured Stan Ridgway on vocals. I liked this line-up the best. They were so deranged. When Ridgway went solo, Andy Prieboy was brought in to sing. It was still the same great band, but slightly more polished - at least on vinyl. Marc Moreland is my favourite guitarist of all time. He played choppy and melodic guitar like no other and received little acclaim. He died in France several years ago after a lengthy illness. He never made it back to America.
When the second line-up of Wall of Voodoo released Seven Days in Sammystown, I ran out and bought the album. I played the hell out of it on my brother's turntable. Every song was amazing. I was in grade nine and I remember humming the songs as I was forced to run laps in gym. I hated gym.
Here's "Museums." It was probably my least favourite song off the album at the time. I've come to love it 20 + years later. I love Moreland's guitar playing, the melodic keyboards, and the lyrics. They make museums seem very romantic. I guess they are.
Sorry, no visuals to go with the song. Just hit play and file some papers or something. P.S. The Killers totally stole aspects of this album on their second record, including Brandon Flower's string tie, etc. I guess that's flattery.
Erin

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