Shuffle of the Day 4 - "This is Not a Love Song" by Public Image Ltd.

This is one of those songs that either you like it (I fall here) or you hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. Let's see, it's (a) highly repetitive; (b) features Johnny Lydon's nasal, whiny vocals; (c) kind of disco-punk from the early 1980's. Not exactly middle America's cup of tea. "This is Not a Love Song" almost appears as a performance art piece disguised as music, making a statement about writing a song that isn't a love song, and making sure we know its not a love song. It might sound a little date these days, however, when I listen to "This is Not a Love Song" today, you begin to realize that lots of today's current dance rock bands owe a large debt to Public Image Ltd. Heck, they practically invented the genre after the demise of the Sex Pistols allowed Johnny to combine punk & dance into a gooey mess. Listen to pretty much anything by the Rapture and what do you get? Whiny vocals, guitars and dance beats, repetitive vocals. For that, Johnny Lydon can know that no matter how much his talk shows fail or his unpleasant Sex Pistols reunion tours might offend, PiL will live in on all these bands.

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I had the good fortune to see Casey Dienel and Tiger Saw again last night, this time in a sparsely filled club in Seattle (the Sunset Tavern). And just like the first time, Casey wowed me yet again, she seems to be able to easily get the crowd to just eat out of her hand whether she knows it or not. She comes across as so demure, but then just belts those songs out. Those of you who haven't checked out her album, Wind-Up Canary should do so. Now.
Tiger Saw was in Readers Digest form - instead of the 8 man entourage that I saw in Boston, they were down to 3: Dylan, Casey and the new drummer angel. The songs were on a diet too, shorter than I remember, but still captivating, especially at the end when they "let loose" (i.e., Dylan looked slightly more animated) on one of my favorites, "Postcards & Letters". Both Casey & Tiger Saw are playing in Portland this weekend and then they head to California. Go see them. Do it!
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I was recently asked if I really am choosing the song that is the first to come up or am I cherry picking. Never! First song, no matter what. You're all just going to have to trust me. Really.
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