He played in bands, managed bands, vociferously collects music, and has gone to thousands of shows over his lifetime.
Josh is the author of the ebook “Writing Your Own Best Story: Addiction + Living Hope” which is now available on Amazon and .
This playlist was heavily influenced by the recent death of David Bowie.
It pays direct homage in the Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Devo tracks and indirect homage in the Bauhaus, NIN, and Savages tracks.
Martin Gore – Elk
Although MG marks GORE‘s first solo output since 2003’s Counterfeit² the new record couldn’t be further away from the cover album he released 12 years ago. His voice and songwriting skills are not asked this time, it’s all about sound. The curly blonde delivers 16 tracks and sketches, all bound together by his love for synthetic sounds. Although the producer claims to be inspired by cinematic sci-fi movies and the image of space in all of its endlessness it’s rather a concept album but a loose compilation of tracks and sketches. (NBHAP)
Bauhaus – Dark Entries
Bauhaus’ second single, and its first for long-time home Beggars Banquet (via the 4AD subsidiary), “Dark Entries” rides in on a squall of feedback and percussion, crashing on for some 45 seconds before Peter Murphy finally unveils one of his most breathless vocals. (AllMusic)
Savages – The Answer
A huge and surging monster of a song with a titanic, minimal guitar riff that gives me Hawkwind/Lungfish flashbacks (Stereogum)
Pusha T – Got Em’ Covered
On Darkest Before Dawn, he’s as good as he’s ever been at penning slick drug talk. On “Got Em Covered”: “40 keys in a rental/ My dogs bring it back now you name a better kennel.” But he really surprises — and impresses — in his willingness to advance beyond his storied coke glory days for material, both into the present and into varied subject matter. (Consequence of Sound)
Devo – Mongoloid
In case you were born on a Jackass Farm, let me share an important piece of social etiquette: you don’t go around calling people ‘Mongoloids’ and ‘Pinheads’!!! ‘Mongoloid’ is a mean-spirited term for a person with Down’s Syndrome, and a ‘Pinhead’ suffers from Microcephaly. Maybe Devo intended the terms as metaphors for the conformist working man, but it’s doubtful when (for example) they distinctly refer to the ‘Mongoloid’ as having “one chromosome too many.” (Mark Prindle)
Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers – Chinese Rocks
According to Dee Dee, the song was “about Jerry Nolan, of The Heartbreakers calling me up to come over and go cop” heroin, a form of which was known in those days as Chinese Rocks. “The line ‘My girlfriend’s crying in the shower stall’ was about Connie, and the shower was at Arturo Vega‘s loft,” where Dee Dee, his girlfriend Connie and Joey Ramone all lived at one point. (Wikipedia)
Nine Inch Nails – March Of The Pigs
All I can say is if you don’t know already how nerve-grinding and abrasive this band’s music can be at times then this will be a real eye-popper and pants-ripper for you. It’s an incredibly aggressive, high-velocity angry attack on the senses that features two shockingly serene piano breakdown moments that grant your brain a couple of breathers in the nick of time. It’s an exhilarating three-minute ride through rocky fields of mayhem. (Prog Archives)
Iggy & The Stooges – Shake Appeal
Little more than a slithering, turbulent, electrifying riff over which Iggy yelps his most histrionic yowl, “Shake Appeal” was originally titled “Tight Pants,” in which form it has since materialized on a string of Raw Power session compilations. (AllMusic)
Cloud Nothings – Morgan
Like a Polaroid slowly resolving itself, Turning On first hints dimly at the pop contours of its songs, allowing wisps of melodic imagery to emerge from inchoate hiss and fog. But then, as the CD unfurls, the image gradually clears. By “Morgan,” the next to last track, there’s a stake through the band’s fuzz-evoking name. The last few cuts, from cassette splits and limited 7” singles, are neither clouds nor nothing, but a fairly exciting intimation of songwriting skill. (Dusted)
TV on the Radio – Wolf Like Me
“Wolf Like Me” is a beast. A rare beat, at that. It’s challenging and experimental, but less so than TV on the Radio’s previous work. It bears a sweet familiarity lodged in its near-subversive roots in New Wave and Soul music. Best of all? It can fill the dance floor. (Pretty Much Amazing)
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