Today is both the birthday of 80’s pop icon Debbie Gibson, and the anniversary of CBGB founder Hilly Kristal’s passing in 2007 from complications from lung cancer. What better time to revisit when their world’s collided in the mid-90’s thanks to the Circle Jerks and their cover of The Soft Boys “I Wanna Destroy You.”
August 31, 2020
Where the Internet Took Us
IDLES is one of our favorite bands that we discovered while the blog was in hiatus. We could’ve easily done a While We Were Sleeping post about them (and may still do one because we definitely love them enough to keep posting about them) but we’re kicking off our week by cranking their Live at Abbey Road session that dropped last night. Who needs coffee when you have banging versions of the best songs from their back catalogue and first listens of tracks off their upcoming album Ultra Mono including this absolute ripper “War.”
Full set here. Ultra Mono is due out September 25th on Partisan Records and is available for pre-order here.
August 27, 2020
Various Re-post-ions: Thin Lizzy
We here at Postcard Elba are big Thin Lizzy fans, so to say we are anxiously awaiting this documentary is a bit of an understatement. This was supposed to be released to theaters this month, but you know, pandemic and whatnot. The distributor Eagle-Rock have a great number of concerts and documentaries available via digital streaming services and hopefully this gets added to the rotation soon. In the mean time, check out one of our favorite Thin Lizzy moments – when they played with 70 year old superfan May Booker after she wrote in to the BBC asking if she could play with them.
August 26, 2020
We Never Asked For This – Jealous of the Birds
Huzzah to Jealous of the Birds for reminding us to always take the time to dig a little deeper. We were sent the second single off her upcoming album Peninsula, the breezy “Something Holy” – a perfectly fine entry into the ever growing (and quickly becoming overcrowded) genre that might be best described as “easy listening indie.” That’s not to say we don’t like the song, we do, but there’s just a lot of versions of this particular song out there right now. However, we noticed this was the second single, so we decided to check out the one we missed, the great “Young Neanderthal” – a song with a hint of muscle and dirt mixed into the formula that reminds us of the criminally underrated NYC band Like, Mountains – which is always a good thing in our book. That lead us to dig back one more layer to the non-album single from last year “The Grass Begins To Eat Itself” which occupies the same kind of swaggery territory that Heartless Bastards are known for. It’s rare that an email ends up having us both anticipating an upcoming release and excited to dig backwards through an artist’s catalog, but that’s exactly where we are and we ain’t mad about it.
Peninsula comes out September 18th, 2020 via Canvasback/Atlantic.
August 25, 2020
This Day In Music History
The great Walter Williams of The O’Jays was born on this day in 1942. His silky smooth voice helped make songs like “Back Stabbers” and “Love Train” bonafide hits, but the O’Jays also dropped this often overlooked classic of power to the people funk, the title track to their 1975 album Survival. An apt anthem today just as much as it was then.
August 25, 2020
Tuesday Tip-Off: Deftones
The nu-metal movement that arose to prominence in the 90’s and Aughts is not a favorite of ours, but in every era there is a band that transcends the genre with an undefinable quality that makes them stand out from the pack. The Deftones were that band for that time, and lucky for us, continue to be. They just released the video for the title track off their upcoming album Ohms. The sound remains the same and that is a good thing. No one does atmospheric heaviness better and when you have something as timeless and, dare we repeat ourselves, transcendent you don’t mess with the recipe. Ohms drops September 25th on Warner Records.
Side note, the press release included the line “…have announced their feverishly anticipated album…” which during a pandemic is top notch music publicist tunnel vision. Is it Covid-19 or are you just stoked that Chino and the boys are back? Consult your physician to be sure.
August 24, 2020
While We Were Sleeping – Coolidge
While We Were Sleeping is our new segment where we check out releases that we missed during our lengthy hiatus. Today’s catch up is “The 5 Best Songs In The World” by Coolidge.
Gotta love the hyperbole of this EP’s title, but we would expect nothing less from Coolidge, a band that has always combined wry humor with great songwriting that blends rock and ska with undeniable pop sensibilities. Coolidge’s earlier releases put more emphasis on singer/guitarist Chris Smail’s penchant for Joe Jackson style of smart 80’s pop (especially their excellent sophomore release “Pop Star Baby”) but those instincts still shine through on T5BSITW’s much more ska flavored songs. Most of Coolidge’s members were in the much beloved third wave ska/rock/funk/party band Johnny Socko and this release is very much in the spirit of classic Socko. As they say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and this visitation to their old sonic stomping grounds has us smitten.
Check out all the Coolidge releases here: https://coolidgetheband.bandcamp.com/
August 24, 2020
Where the Internet Took Us
Alternative Attic posted a tasty little pandemic in studio set from Arkon, Ohio surf shredders The Beyonderers – the perfect way to kick off your week and cure your case of “the Mondays.”
August 21, 2020
Various Re-post-ions: Murder by Death
Our friends at Murder by Death recently pulled the curtain back on just how important the USPS to independent bands, and we felt it was important enough to share. Check it out.
August 21, 2020
This Day In Music History
Joe Strummer of The Clash and The Mescaleros was born on this day in 1952. You can celebrate Strummer’s life and immeasurable impact on music and culture at large with today’s live stream of A Song For Joe – a benefit for #SaveOurStages. Conveniently scheduled here in the states during normal office hours, throw on the headphones, pretend you’re working on spreadsheets and stick it to the man by checking out archival footage of Strummer and appearances by his friends.