Grumbling over the current state of rock radio and the need to find something worthy of blowing a few woofers and tweeters over? Stand up, raise up and beg not my friend, as the coolest mutha in the room, Steven Van Zandt, has laid hands on two swaggering CD collections due this coming Tuesday from his new Wicked Cool Record Co. imprint, near religious, revival tent extravaganzas that dust the weak and electrify the willing. Fueled by the playlists of his syndicated radio program, Little Steven’s Underground Garage, the 15 personally selected tracks in The Coolest Songs In the World: Vol. 1 are each monsters in their own right - vibrating, nuts off, lost in the poppies fuzz nirvana to melt the heart of any lost, disenchanted soul who lost “the rock” many moons ago. Blasting off with cosmic power-poppers The Shazam, Cincinnati’s favorite sons The Greenhornes and the wigged-out frenzy of The Forty Fives, everything the doctor ordered keeps on coming, with snarling Ellie Vie fronting The Charms from Boston, a Mooney Suzuki rouser from 2002, and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s prophetic “Whatever Happened To My Rock and Roll.”
The sweaty, dangerous fun continues in CBGB OMFUG FOREVER, a tribute to the shuttered, iconic club with liner notes by Lenny Kaye. Sixteen tracks made the cut, with hits like Blondie’s “Hanging On the Telephone” from 1978 and The Damned’s “New Rose” from 1977, and a few rare tracks including Japanese bonus cuts from Green Day and U2 (who cover The Ramones’ “Beat On the Brat”).
The spirit of self described “punk rock warlord” Joe Summer lives on, recently to rave reviews at Sundance in the documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and next week in the soundtrack CD from Sony’s Legacy label. A perfect road mix for reminiscing about when a slogan like “the future is unwritten” was a majestic battle cry for those face deep in the weekly pages of NME or Sounds magazine, the 25 boombox-friendly selections run a zesty range from the twisted come-hither of Elvis Presley’s “Crawfish” to the MC5’s uncensored, righteous “Kick Out the Jams,” many introduced by disc jockey and pondering sage Strummer. Other highlights include a cool cover of “Rock the Casbah” by Rancid Taha, a live version of his own “I’m So Bored With the USA” with The Clash, tracks with his swan song band, The Mescaleros, and his early pub rock smash of “Keys To Your Heart” with the 101ers. Packed with interviews from members of The Clash, Bono, Flea, Courtney Love, Martin Scorses and more, the Julien Temple directed film should see theatric release this summer and DVD release in the fall.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Nelly Furtado on Thursday and Miranda Lambert on Friday. Late Night with Conan O’Brien gets down with Stephen Marley Thursday. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson hosts Craig Morgan Thursday and Montgomery Gentry Friday. Jimmy Kimmel Live boasts Alexa Ray Joel on Thursday. The Henry Rollins Show on IFC features musical guest Chris Cornell this weekend. Saturday Night Live’s musical guest this weekend is Linkin Park.