Siouxsie and the Banshees “The Passenger”

sfilzen — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 20:34:58 +0000

Siouxsie and the Banshees “The Passenger” 1987. Wonderland Records. 12″ single, “lllllloco-motion mix.” The single version of “The Passenger” – a fantastic cover of Iggy Pop’s version from 1977 (on Lust for Life, released as a single in ‘98) – appeared on Siouxsie and the Bashees’ 1987 all-cover album Through the Looking Glass and went to #41 on the UK charts. About a million other artists have covered “The Passenger” (well, not exactly, but there are a lot, and I do like the 1997 version by Lunachicks that’s on the We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute record), and Siouxsie’s is the best. Her voice is a great counterpoint to Pop’s masculine monotone growl, all clear soaring gothic gloss and mirrors, and a whole lot of horns. Pop quite liked Siouxsie’s rendition, stating, “She sings it well and she threw a little note in when she sings it, that I wish I had thought of, it’s kind of improved it. The horn thing is good.“ The “lllllloco-motion mix” is significantly longer than the single – I think about double in length – and seems to have even more horns plus what I think are tubular bells (well, bells at least). The B-side has two tracks, “She’s Cuckoo” and “Something Blue,” a lush lament that is perfectly and gothically sorrowful.

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Iggy Pop “Lust For Life”

sfilzen — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 19:39:32 +0000

Iggy Pop “Lust For Life” released on this date, August 29th, 1977. Doesn’t he look ridiculously happy on the cover? He deserved to be – this album is a masterpiece. Recorded with David Bowie, who also played piano and contributed backing vocals as well as writing and production work, Lust For Life reached #28 in the UK but just #120 in the US, stymied by Elvis Presley’s death and RCA’s move to focus on the promotion of Presley’s back catalogue reissues.

“Tonight” and “Success” are the most obvious Bowie-influenced tracks on the album, the former a deep blue tinged mid tempo rocker (Bowie covered the track on his 1984 release Tonight) and the latter infused with funk-jazz experimentation that disintegrates into hilarity with a call-and-response of “oh shit.” “Sixteen” is awesomely raw, vaguely dangerous in a funky bar wearing leather boots. “Fall In Love With Me” is cocky and jaunty, painting the picture of the girl he likely just saw pass by some Berlin club that he totally crushed on (“your plastic raincoat and your plastic shoes, they look good too standing in the snow..”). “The Passenger” is one of my all-time favorite songs that has made it on to many mix tapes over the years. It is perfect for long road trips: a relentlessly hedonistic and buoyant beat written for cruising. And of course the title track, “Lust For Life” rates up there as one of the best songs ever. I’ve kinda kiddingly over the years imagined that if I had a theme song – the one that would be played when I walked on set, for instance – it would be “Lust For Life.” Not so much because the lyrics match me (I’m not so into beating my brains with liquor and drugs, stripteases or hypnotizing chickens, though maybe I am worth a million in prizes) but rather the exuberant urgency of the music and excitement for just living life.

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Siouxsie and the Banshees “The Passenger”

Iggy Pop “Lust For Life”