Kerli – Love Is Dead (2008)
purchase this album (Amazon)

As I’ve often stated in my reviews on my home site, there are many times when the best things you discover via the Internet are the ones you discover by accident. So it is with the CD Love Is Dead by Estonian singer Kerli, which came out this past July.

Mindlessly surfing YouTube one day, checking out spoofs of Daniel Craig and Quantum of Solace (I’m a fan of neither), I happened upon a sampling for the videogame of the same name, which has the theme song “When Nobody Loves You” by Kerli. The song was electric, shockingly new and refreshing, while still containing all the great elements of a classic James Bond theme. Whatever reasoning exists as to why in the world the producers of QoS decided to go with the abhorrent theme by Alicia Keys and Jack White rather than choose this will elude me for the rest of my days…nevertheless, it spurred me on to find out more about this young woman (she’ll be just 22 years old, come February ‘09) and her music.

Kerli Koiv hails from the small Northern European country, with a population just over one million, and depending on whether you believe either Wikipedia or her “official” bio on Island Def Jam’s site, she either didn’t or did win the Eurolaul contest in 2004. While other news sources such as esctoday.com report she was the runner-up to the group Neiokoso, regardless, her considerable talent caught the attention of IDJ scouts and she was signed to the label. Love Is Dead has only tracked a peak position of #126 on the Billboard Top 200 (#2 on the BB heatseekers chart), moved just a bit over 5,000 copies of real CDs in record stores at that point, and its MP3 sales were given a handsome boost by an initial release as iTunes made her “Walking on Air” the free single of the week when the album debuted.

Love Is Dead track listing:

1. Love is Dead

2. Walking on Air

3. The Creationist

4. I Want Nothing

5. Up Up Up

6. Bulletproof

7. Beautiful Day

8. Creepshow

9. Hurt Me

10.Butterfly Cry

11.Strange Boy

12.Fragile

Anyone who really knows me is aware that I don’t buy a whole lot of modern music. Having lived through the ’70s and ’80s (and laugh if you will at this part), I know the best years of the music industry are pretty much over and done. Even my younger brother, who used to live and breathe hip-hop, has come to realize that music back in the last decade and years past, told stories. Singers such as Bowie, Prince, even Madonna–took the listener on an audio journey, and told tales of love, loss and passion from the beginning to the end of their songs. A lot of music today isn’t organic; it’s constructed by media trackers, programmers and executives who know nothing about what true music is, in order to fill the clubs and snag dollars out of wallets as quickly as possible. Sadly, the Onion video about the dangers of Miley Cyrus overuse isn’t really a joke when you think about it; it’s more prescient than most realize. Honestly, outside of the wonder that is Ayumi Hamasaki, I haven’t been excited about a new artist in a number of years.

Kerli’s music changed that…at least, as far as her music goes.

Although her Island bio states that Kerli observes no true musical influences (impossible for any artist…even Prince rightfully acknowledges Hendrix), her style contains traces of reggae, hip-hop, standard club, rock and balladry to comprise a powerful style of alternative music. Her music is full of lush strings, guitar, piano and heavy drums. Yes, her songs can easily be clumped into the limiting square peg of top 40 if radio stations demand it…but it shouldn’t be. Kerli’s music should be played on a variety of stations, as true music deserves to be heard by the masses and not confined to any niche group. Her music is at once passionately open, personal and poignant, as music by the best artists (i.e. U2 or Bowie) tends to be. When Richie Sambora’s album Stranger in This Town came out in 1991, it contained listening instructions: Turn down the lights, light a candle…welcome… These lines could just as easily be attributed to Love Is Dead:

The opening (and title) track is the most obviously “influenced” song, the style owing much to the music of Pat Benatar, although on this track–as throughout the disc–Kerli’s vocals are so distinctive and unique that she does stand out as her own person. This song is an anthem for any woman who’s ever been betrayed by someone they love. Track 2, “Walking on Air,” coincidentally also the first of her videos I have ever viewed, alternates between being a Goth standard and emotionally uplifting track. It’s one of the most directly autobiographical songs on the disc, and is a true pleasure throughout. Track 3, “The Creationist,” is one of the more acceptable top 40 sounding themes, due to its catchy nature. The crispness of this track tends to help showcase Kerli’s voice better than some other ones.

Track 4, “I Want Nothing,” is a bit repetitive in its lyrics, but the driving force behind it is Kerli’s dark, angered vocals, which lift the tune above the mediocrity a lesser singer might have mired it in. Track 5, Up Up Up, is the most reggae-like tune, a true dancehall jam meant for close swaying. Track 6, “Bulletproof,” deals with the attempt to love in the face of past betrayal, and is a rock ballad of the truest, most faithful order. Although the various musicians perform with great accomplishment on the album, the guitar on this track is especially great. Track 7, “Beautiful Day,” much like “Creationist,” has a subtlety to its mixing which helps to highlight Kerli’s vocal talent.

Track 8, “Creepshow,” is probably the most Goth-intended track on the disc, although the lyrics are far less “horrifying” than its title suggests. It’s a darker song which seeps into the mind, and even if you’re a guy, you won’t be embarrassed to sing along with the “la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la” intro to the song. Track 9, “Hurt Me,” is a song about abuse, and debate rages within the fan community–dubbed by Kerli her “Moon Children”–as to whether the song is about an ex-boyfriend or her family. Regardless, in spite of its lyrics, the song is oddly sexy…in a dark way. Track 10, “Butterfly Cry,” is an ode to moving past pain in order to find the best within yourself. It’s one of the few slower tracks on the disc, and if this isn’t snatched up for a movie trailer soon, I’ll be amazed. Track 11, “Strange Boy,” is an absolute 100% club track which will more than likely be remixed to death by DJs coast-to-coast. Its pulsating beat catches a little bit of everything from Depeche Mode to Soft Cell to Bronski Beat. It’s an absolute club classic in the making.

“Fragile,” the disc’s final track, is a wonderfully beautiful ballad and a bittersweet ending to the album overall. One of the best things about Kerli’s lyrics and singing style is that there are few instances where it seems like she’s “just” singing; overall, the cohesiveness of the album’s style makes it sound as if she is “personally” “singing to” the listener…and there is a definitive difference between the two. Because of this style and approach, “Fragile” is a song which could be interpreted in many ways: she could be singing about her fans, the press and paparazzi, or people who have hurt her in the past. No matter who she is singing about, she is in the end singing to “you.”..and that is one of the crucial differences between an artist and a product.

If there are any true issues I have with Love Is Dead, they are: A) the credits–who performed which instrument, who Kerli gives thanks to, etc–are printed in teeny-weeny Eyestrain-O-Vision. I swear, I feared I was going to go blind trying to read the sheet. While Kerli is undeniably beautiful to look at, and I acknowledge it’s necessary to show her off for the debut disc, I hope that in future releases, there’ll be less artwork (the liner sleeve folds out into a poster of her creepy doll trademark) and larger typeface. B) No lyrics are included with the disc. Yes, the Internet has allowed for lyrics to be looked up easily at a whim, but in my opinion, at least for an initial debut, a lyrics sheet should be a must for “any” artist hoping to gain a following.

While the lyrics (written by Kerli and various others) tend to be repetitive in some of her songs, something tells me this is more a fault of Island Def Jam’s producers rather than Kerli. Her powerful and enticing vocals tend to overshadow this, and make each song compelling in its own right. Future releases will hopefully open up the writing a bit more. Overall though, Love Is Dead is definitely a winner–and comes alive due to the talent evident in a young woman “from a land called secret Estonia.” Apparently, nobody knows where it’s at…

…but I do, because I googled it, damn it.

The best things–and artists–are always discovered by accident.

The Band Sire Sired: Pioneering new wave label Sire Records was a huge influence on the Ocean Blue, as the band immersed itself in the label’s roster, including the Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen, New Order, and more. Still in high school, the group proudly wore these influences on their sleeves, becoming one of the first bands to truly reflect the pedigree of the early ’80s alternative sound on their self-titled debut. “Between Something And Nothing,” the group’s first modern rock radio hit, came off like an Ocean Rain outtake, and MTV hit “Ballerina Out Of Control,” from the band’s second album, Cerulean, sounded like Bernard Sumner was the new lead singer of the Smiths:

The strength of the band’s high school-written material was enough to get the band signed to a major label in 1988 … Sire Records.

Cocteaus For Two: The band’s youthful naivete sometimes showed on its debut (”Office of a Busy Man,” anyone?), so it was nice to see the maturing band grow on Cerulean, as the group found itself moving in an even more atmospheric direction, finding inspiration in the stacked guitar reverb sound of the Cocteau Twins. One listen to the album’s opener, “Breezing Up,” (download) showed a new resonance that relied less on single-ready hooks and served as the perfect intro to the band’s progression. That doesn’t mean the Cerulean wasn’t without catchy songs, as the single “Mercury” proved:

Stab For Mass Appeal: While Cerulean was a great leap forward for the band, vocalist David Schelzel told me when we met in 1994 that it almost spelled the end for the Ocean Blue. Shelzel said he wrote all of the album alone and the less accessible sound was achieved with less of the other band members’ input than before. So their third album, Beneath the Rhythm and Sound, was a return to the “classic” Ocean Blue sound and lead single “Sublime” (download) was so catchy, MTV and some Top 40 radio stations jumped on board.

The more mainstream sound wasn’t enough to spur sales, however, and Beneath… ended up selling less than its “less accessible” predecessor. After one more EP, Sire and the Ocean Blue parted ways.

Departure and Arrival: Not only did the band say goodbye to Sire, but also to keyboardist/saxophonist Steve Lau. Lau claims the band had an issue with his homosexuality, a charge the group vehemently denied. In any case, touring guitarist Oed Ronne was promoted to full band member, bringing along a rawer, post-grunge sound. But before anyone panics, the resulting disc, See The Ocean Blue, wasn’t a complete break with the Ocean Blue of old as “Slide” (download) proves. But the guitars move to the front, the effects get turned down and Ronne even contributes to the writing process, but I defy anyone to sit through the excruciating “Behind” to the end. Not many saw See, so after just one album with new label Mercury, record company upheavals left the group unsigned again.

Indie-an Ocean: Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, since getting dropped the band has concentrated more on their day jobs, but new Ocean Blue discs have appeared here and there on independent labels. Davy Jones’ Locker was a fan-club only release that got greater distribution a couple years later via March Records and luckily it was another retreat back to the band’s classic sound as “Ayn” (download) features the Rickenbackers of old. The band continues to tour when it gets the chance and release singles and EPs, the last being Waterworks, featuring the single, “Pedestrian” (download) in 2004.

Their Crowning Moment: Cerulean’s “The Planetarium Scene” (download) is the perfect summation of the Ocean Blue, as the soaring synths, chiming guitars and almost go-go instrumental break envelope an evocative lyric of escape. Beautiful stuff.

For Fans Of: The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, Echo & The Bunnymen, New Order

As a bonus, here’s the band’s sublime take on the Smiths’ “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (Live)” (download) from the Peace & Light EP.

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College Sweethearts: The Knoxville, Tennessee, band got their start as college radio darlings in the early ’90s as the pleasing jangle-pop and harmonies of “Native Son,” (download) the title track from their debut, garnered heavy airplay and even got the band on MTV:

But it was “Don’t Drop The Baby” (download) that snared the most buzz, as that video went into regular rotation on MTV’s 120 Minutes and expanded the Judybats’ fan base beyond college dorms into mainstream Modern Rock Radio. While not a huge seller, it put the band on discriminating music fans’ radar.

Southern Charm, Power Pop and Horsing Around: From the album cover featuring a beat up pick-up truck to its title, Down in the Shacks Where the Satellite Dishes Grow, the band’s second LP showcased the band’s southern roots, with Jeff Heiskell’s nasally twang accompanying Margaret Mitchell melodramas like “Our Story” (download) and the somber closing track, “When Things Get Slow Around Here.”

Things got slicker for the group’s third and perhaps best album, Pain Makes You Beautiful. The twang and other Southern tics are downplayed and the production is super-glossy, resulting in the power pop of “All Day Afternoon,” (download) and “Ugly on the Outside,” a track that got a fair amount of airplay on the burgeoning alternative rock radio format, despite the onslaught of grunge. The slick production threatened to overtake the band on its fourth album, Full-Empty…let’s put it this way — it features a nearly irony-free remake of the Bee Gees’ “Jive Talkin’” that is truly cringeworthy. Despite drowning in studio gloss, there are some shining moments like “Stoned” (download) that recall the ‘Bats of old.

Around this time lead singer Jeff Heiskell officially came out in an interview with The Advocate that I remember quite distinctly, not because an alternative rock star was proudly out (a rarity still in 1995), but because he implied strongly throughout the interview that he had certain … physical relations … with horses on the farm during his upbringing (when he was finished, did he ask the horse, “Why the long face?”). I recall being thoroughly skeeved out and tried to put it out of mind so I could still enjoy the music. The fact that I bring it up now shows that I obviously failed. Hey, watch that “Native Son” video above now!

Their Crowning Moment: A top ten Modern Rock hit, Pain’s lead single, “Being Simple” wraps up everything Judybats in just over four perfect minutes, starting with the couplet, “Hearts cannot be broken / They’re small, squishy things,” and just becoming more transcendent from there. “Being Simple” is the huge hit the ‘Bats never had — it should have been as big as “Lightning Crashes,” “Glycerine,” or any of the other massive alt-rock ballads of its day.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, and the Judybats dissolved after Full-Empty, only to half-heartedly reunite for a final album under the Judybats name in 2000 (this version only featured Heiskell and guitarist Johnny Sughrue). Heiskell now records with a new band that bears his surname.

For Fans Of: R.E.M., The Ocean Blue, The Connells

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Jangle-Pop Roots: Wearing their Smiths and shoegazer influences on their sleeves, Ivy began as more of a guitar-based jangle-pop band, as tunes like “No Guarantee” (download) and “Don’t Believe a Word” fit right in with the growing mainstream acceptance of alternative music in the mid ’90s. Later works like “I’ve Got a Feeling” piled on the layers of guitars, creating beautiful, shimmering, three-minute pop masterpieces.

Synthpop Atmospherics: As the trio became more comfortable in their own skin, their sound expanded to even dreamier landscapes, adding synthesizers and orchestral flourishes to the mix. Chillout classics like “Keep Moving” (download) and “Thinking About You” provide the perfect soundtrack for a summer’s day on the Pacific Coast Highway or laying on the beach.

Superb Taste in Covers: Over the years, the band has shown impeccable taste in covering other people’s songs on b-sides and bonus tracks. Acts from Steely Dan to the Blow Monkeys have benefited from Ivy’s exquisite interpretations, including frequently name-checked Popdose crush Nick Heyward. The group covered his “Kite” (download) on their Guestroom EP, which collects all their covers in one handy stop. Also included — two versions of the Cure’s “Let’s Go to Bed”:

Label-Skipping Survivors: Ivy has shown great patience when it comes to record labels. Starting on indie Scratchie, then on to Seed Records, Atlantic snatched them up to the big leagues with 1997’s Apartment Life, only to drop them soon after. Sony swooped in, rereleasing and remixing Apartment Life, giving the single “The Best Thing” (download) the rare opportunity to be worked by two separate majors. Unfortunately, the public didn’t bite, so the band then signed to Nettwerk, then Minty Fresh, then back to Nettwerk. Phew.

Promotional Consideration: Despite all the record-company drama and minimal radio airplay, Ivy has managed to get their music out there via licensing in many movies and TV shows, as well as commercials. “Edge of the Ocean” (download) alone has been used in episodes of Alias, Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica Mars, and LAX, as well as in a commercial for Senseo coffee makers, so chances are you’ve heard it and didn’t even know it.

Ivy has been quiet since 2005’s In the Clear, but their resilience proves that fans shouldn’t have too long a wait until the next great release. Hopefully.

For Fans of: the Sundays, the Smiths, the Cardigans

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With her candyfloss hair, plastic bra and squealing, Betty Boop vocal histrionics, Dale Bozzio was New Wave personified, but such a figure overshadowed the songwriting and musical chops of the rest of Missing Persons, formed by Frank Zappa sidemen Terry Bozzio and Warren Cuccurullo. You love “Destination Unknown,” but why should you like the rest of Missing Persons? The evidence, please:

New Wave’s Best Musicians: Drummer Terry and guitarist Warren honed their craft under Zappa for years, and there probably wasn’t a more demanding taskmaster. That’s why Missing Persons were the tightest band in New Wave, able to stop and turn on a dime. When keyboardist Chuck Wild added evocative sequences and space-age synth flourishes, the result was ferocious, especially live. In fact, the band chose not to lipsynch in their video for “Words,” and instead performed live, not only matching the studio version in precision, but surpassing it:

The group’s live shows were nearly legendary, and the near punk-rock velocity of “Mental Hopscotch (Live 1981)” (download) shows a band at its peak, giving critics notice that this wasn’t just another bunch of New Romantic posers (although there was plenty of that, too!).

New Wave’s Best Rhythm Section: With the later addition of bassist Patrick O’Hearn, Missing Persons could then boast the best rhythm section in New Wave, just edging out Duran’s Taylors. Nowhere was this more showcased than on the band’s second full-length LP, Rhyme & Reason, and especially on that album’s single, “Give (Extended Version),” (download) where O’Hearn pops and thumps against Bozzio’s combo of programmed and live drums, creating a completely separate melody in the process.

The band’s third LP, Color In Your Life, took these Chic-isms to the next level with none other than Bernard Edwards producing. Edwards toned down Dale’s yelping, forcing her to control herself in a lower register which showcased more of the songwriting and musicianship. “I Can’t Think About Dancin’” (download) is a stellar example of the “mature” Missing Persons, but amidst all this maturity something was … Missing.

For all the critical stick Dale took for her look and vocal acrobatics, those coos and yelps were an essential part of Missing Persons. Color suffered by sanding all her edges off, but there were still some gems such as the title track, “Color In Your Life” (download) where Dale got to cut loose a bit and show that she was just as important as the big-name musos backing her up

Their Crowning Moment: The lead track on their first album, Spring Session M, “Noticeable One,” (download) is the quintessential Missing Persons track, an ode to celebrity with a vicious performance from the band. It’s the hit that should have been.

Shockingly, all three Missing Persons albums are out of print on CD, while Spring Session M is still available on iTunes. Used copies of Rhyme & Reason fetch $200 on Amazon, if you can believe it. An ignoble fate for a band that deserves much better.

For Fans Of: No Doubt, Lene Lovich, Berlin

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Should the Monkees be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum? Certainly the argument that they began life as a solely commercial construct is a valid one, but then again, shouldn’t the Rock Hall at least recognize them for that alone, since they were trailblazers in the way rock music was mass marketed? And what about that music? If the group was nothing more than a pre-fab four, then why should you like the Monkees? The evidence, please:

Country/Rock Pioneers: You’re well-read, Popdosers, so I won’t bore you with the oft-told story of how the Monkees were cast. What I will point out is that while Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones were cast primarily for their acting experience, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith had strong folk music backgrounds. That influence came through immediately on songs like “What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round,” (download) which featured members of the Byrds on guitar. Nesmith would usually get two or three songs per album and could always be counted on for a strong performance that would influence future country/rock acts like America and Seals & Crofts.

One of Pop’s Best Rock Vocalists: That’s a pretty big statement to make about anyone who’s not John Lennon, but check out Micky Dolenz’s performance on “Tear Drop City” (download). Dolenz takes what should just be a dreary “Last Train to Clarksville” Xerox and lifts it to a higher plane with his gritty, sad and almost desperate delivery. Dolenz’s frenzied and committed takes on songs like “Goin’ Down,” “She” and “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” brought true rock fire to songs meant to crackle in mono over a teeny-bopper’s AM radio or from a cardboard record cut from the back of a cereal box. Not too shabby for someone hired to just be “the goofy one.”

Bubblegum Psychedelia: The heavy riff that begins “Saturday’s Child” (download) (written by Bread’s David Gates, of all people) was just a taste of the dialed-down trippy-hippie flavor with which the group would sometimes flavor some songs, sort of a Psychedelic Rock for Beginners. The attempts at kid-friendly freak-outs like “Take A Giant Step” or “Porpoise Song” were charming more than annoying, and you can’t help but sing along and imagine painting pretty flowers on your face while doing the Batusi (isn’t that what hippies did then?).

Davy Jones, Tambourine Impresario: Okay, that one’s a joke.

Their Crowning Moment: It’s one thing for a fabricated band to actually play their own instruments for the first time on a record. It’s another thing entirely to have one of your first DIY recordings be the excellent “All Of Your Toys,” (download) which was originally meant to be the band’s third single and the first to have all four members actually playing the instruments. A publishing kerfuffle derailed the single’s release, but it finally saw the light of day on 1987’s rarities compilation Missing Links. It may not be the Monkees’ catchiest song or cleanest performance, but its significance as evidence that this fake band was quickly becoming real couldn’t be ignored.

For Fans Of: The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Rooney

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Maryland-born quintet Velocity Girl created a bit of a buzz in the early to mid-’90s by marrying a blend of shoegazer guitar sludge with the pixie-pop vocal melodies of singer Sarah Shannon, snagging a minor MTV alterna-hit in the process. Then — pfft! — gone. So, why should you like Velocity Girl? The evidence, please:

“Bubblegrunge”: Shannon’s thin, almost uncharacteristic vocals, combined with all that guitar distortion, led the band’s detractors to coin a label for their sound: “bubblegrunge.” While that was meant to be a slam, it actually describes the group perfectly, especially if you remove all the indie-based shame and scorn behind it. Being signed to Sub Pop in the early ’90s meant grinding, angst-ridden wailing, and Velocity Girl’s melancholy Catherine Wheel-meets-the-Smiths meditations like “Crazy Town” (download) didn’t exactly fit that demo, no matter how hard the muddy production on their first album, Copacetic, tried to bury the pop in the mix.

Porter Brings the Pop: That Smiths-like quality must have hit someone’s ears, because Smiths producer John Porter was brought in to helm the band’s second album, ¡Simpatico! Porter traded the distortion for jangle, put Shannon’s vocals front and center, and tightened up the songwriting to three-minute bubblegum blasts. “I Can’t Stop Smiling” (download) features fun vocal interplay between Shannon and guitarist Archie Moore, plus a Spike Jonze-directed video:

Luckily, Porter didn’t polish away all the grit — “Labrador” (download) wisely pits Shannon’s tendency to sing flatly across the music rather than with it against aggressively dueling guitar licks. The result is engrossing push-and-pull, with some tasty hook frosting on top. Nummy. ¡Simpatico! is filled to the brim with similar two-and-a-half- to three-minute miracles. Just a stellar record, top to bottom.

Power-Pop Gloss: With ¡Simpatico! a strong seller, the band went in a bigger and bolder direction for 1996’s Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts. The guitars get turned back up and the production gets even glossier, and while it works great on some tracks like the single, “Nothing” (download), in other places it threatens to drown Shannon completely.

While not as strong as their previous effort, Gilded Stars doesn’t deserve the critical drubbing it often gets. While there’s a bit too much Archie on the vocals (seriously, guys, if you hire a frontwoman to sing the songs, let her!), there are still some pop gems to be found, particularly “Just Like That” and the album’s best track, “Formula 1 Throwaway,” a zippy track that’s anything but its title.

Their Crowning Moment: To make the obvious choice, it’d have to be the band’s biggest hit, “Sorry Again” (download), a tune that got plenty of MTV love in those heady, mid-’90s days of Alternative Nation and 120 Minutes. It’s the obvious choice — and the band’s biggest hit — because it distills everything about Velocity Girl into one cute song: college-romance angst, jangly guitars, and an irresistible hook. Even Archie’s vocals are welcome!

For Fans Of: the Darling Buds, the Primitives, the Breeders

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Jobriath Was First: An in-your-face, outrageous gay rock star. The kind of glittery, truly outrageous glam star Bowie, Reed, and Pop only hinted at being. In the age of Mikas and Patrick Wolfs it’s not such a big deal, but when the year was 1973, America was having none of it. Back then, Elton was “bi” at best and Freddy was straight. While Jobriath forged his own distinct sound, fueled by ’30s and ’40s movie-queen and street-hustler imagery, he was derided as merely a cheap American Bowie clone. (Never mind that Jobriath was rocking the Pierrot clown hat and white makeup a full seven years before Bowie would do so in the “Ashes to Ashes” video.) Jobriath’s debut album was hyped up to the rafters, with a huge billboard in Times Square, ads in glossy mags, and an appearance on The Midnight Special. Trouble is, no one bit. It didn’t help that Elektra Records decided to work the tepid rock of “Take Me I’m Yours” and “I’maman” as singles, which only confused the public — here they were presented with this space-alien, androgynous image and it was paired with brash, showtune-influenced rock. One wonders what might have happened if the proto-disco rock of “World Without End” (download) had been chosen as a single instead, since it was slightly ahead of its time (Bowie would mine the same sound during his “plastic soul” period a few years later).

Jobriath the Defeated: Following Jobriath’s resounding failure, a full-scale theatrical tour was scrapped and a second album from the same recording sessions, Creatures of the Street, was quietly released less than a year later. “Quiet” is the appropriate word, since Creatures sounds like an act of contrition from a bratty child who’s grown up to see the error of his ways. It’s also the much better of the two albums. It begins with a ballad, and with the exception of a bluegrass-style tune and a couple more tepid rockers, stays in this lower-key mode, emphasizing Jobriath’s credible musical theater background (he was in the original cast of Hair) to much better effect. The sci-fi angle rears its head again on “Ecubyan” (download), but where before it seemed forced and derivative, here it becomes a moody allegory in an elegy for something — love? freedom? success? — lost. Meanwhile, the fragment “What a Pretty” (download) is both campy and disturbing — you’re not quite sure what Jobriath is attempting to express, but you’re mesmerized enough to listen.

Thankfully, Jobriath could also get right to the point, as on “Gone Tomorrow” (download), a new/old-fashioned plea for love:

But if I hide I must confess
I really love my lonely loneliness
But nonetheless I couldn’t make it that way
I don’t believe in here today
Gone tomorrow

It’s on the short list for songs I want played at my funeral.

Jobriath the Defiant: After Creatures of the Street hit the cutout bins, Jobriath was dropped by Elektra and his management, but not before doing some demo sessions for an aborted third album. A few tracks have leaked over the years and show him moving even further into the rock/funk territory explored previously on “World Without End.” “Girl of the Night” (download), the best of these demos, touches again on the hookers, hustlers, and street life that captivated Jobriath — but before anyone got a chance to see where he was going next, the axe came down and Jobriath was forbidden to record while he remained under contract … for ten years.

That didn’t stop him from performing, though. Jobriath became “Cole Berlin” and played in piano bars in New York City for years, living at the top of the Chelsea Hotel in a pyramid-shaped apartment while working on a musical, Pop Star, that never came to fruition. Here’s a rare clip of “Cole Berlin” at home, performing an original work:

Despite bright hopes, heaps of talent, and sass to spare, “Jobriath” Bruce Wayne Campbell died of AIDS in 1983, alone in his suite at the Chelsea Hotel after a life filled with sex, drugs, booze, and missed opportunities. In 2004, fan Morrissey helped release a compilation called Lonely Planet Boy, culled from both Jobriath albums, plus a new song from the third album’s demos. Late last year, Rhino Records finally rereleased both full albums, bringing them into print for the first time since 1974, but only in Japan. Strangely, only one Jobriath song is available on iTunes in America. The sting remains.

His Crowning Moment: Without a doubt, “Heartbeat” (download), the opening song off Creatures and at first glance a love song in the most traditional sense until you notice the mysterious line, “Once I believed I saw you die.” Years later, it was covered by Def Leppard (download) on the Wal-Mart-exclusive version of Yeah!

For Fans Of: Queen, Elton John, Mika, and, yes, David Bowie.

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Ah, Thomas Dolby. No, please don’t instantly yell “SCIENCE!” Yes, he’s primarily pigeonholed as a one-hit wonder, with “She Blinded Me With Science” still getting played nearly daily on ’80s flashback radio, but that novelty unfortunately blinded (heh) many people to the superior musical and lyrical talent buried in those deep album cuts. Dolby struggled to match that fluke success with more serious work to little avail, finally taking a nearly 15-year break before returning to the concert stage last year. He’s currently tinkering on his first studio album since 1992. So, why should you like Thomas Dolby (and I’m not just telling you why because I came in second place playing Thomas Dolby in the North Ridgeville, Ohio, Spanky’s Nightclub Teen Night Lipsynch Contest in 1984, either!)? The evidence, please …

Dolby, New Wave Pioneer: Debut LP The Golden Age of Wireless is one of the top ten greatest albums of the ’80s, hands down, with nary a stinker in the bunch, no matter what version of the album you choose (it was released and re-released and re-re-released several times with several different track listings). Yes, it has that song on it, but songs like “Radio Silence” (download) (here in its original “rock” version) and science-fiction ballad “Airwaves” (download) reveal much more than mere novelty. Every song is jam-packed with hooks, lyrical wit, and narrative innovation.

Even seemingly tossed-off B-sides like “Puppet Theatre” (download) feature melodies and grooves lesser musicians would kill for. Wireless set a high bar for Dolby, one that he would struggle to match for the rest of his career. Luckily, he didn’t do too shabbily.

Dolby, Master of Funk: Casual fans of that wacky “science guy” were probably struck dumb when presented with the second single from The Flat Earth, “Dissidents” (download), a straight-ahead funk number complete with popping bass, slashing funk guitar, and lyrics about … Russian dissident authors and journalists. Not exactly the subject matter to pack a party’s dance floor, but that’s part of Dolby’s charm.

Dolby also featured funky bass in quite a bit of his catalog, hitting an apex in his collaboration with P-Funk’s George Clinton in a combo dubbed Dolby’s Cube, dipping into the novelty well again with May the Cube Be With You. While not quite a success, it didn’t deter Dolby from being one of the first new wave artists to liberally integrate funk and early hip-hop into his work (see also “Get Out of My Mix,” a track worn out by breakdancers back in my high school days).

Dolby the Collaborator: Speaking of hip-hop, Dolby produced tracks for Whodini, then crossed genres back over to Lene Lovich, Prefab Sprout and their legendary Steve McQueen LP, then over to AOR-ville, playing keyboards for Foreigner and Def Leppard, then back to arty synth-pop with Ryuichi Sakamoto. His single with Sakamoto, “Field Work (Long London Mix)” (download), is an overlooked classic, never seeing a U.S. release:

His Crowning Moment: Tucked away at the end of a fluffier third album, Aliens Ate My Buick (that title alone is warning enough that it’s not Dolby’s strongest work), is “Budapest by Blimp” (download), an evocative, sprawling epic that begins with a simple funk bass riff and builds from there, adding a squealing guitar solo, operatic vocals, and sinister synths, eventually ending with a choir-punctuated release not unlike a street riot or uprising. It’s a swirling pinnacle that makes you forget it shares album space with songs like “Airhead” and “Hot Sauce.”

There’s plenty more to discover — I haven’t even mentioned his final studio album, Astronauts & Heretics, a pleasing return to form. I suggest starting with the deliciously sequenced compilation Retrospectacle, then working your way from Wireless up. If you only know Thomas Dolby from that song, you’re in a for a treat.

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Placebo, the grunge rockers: While they may have started out as Nirvana-influenced Britgrunge, songs like “Nancy Boy” (download) betrayed an underlying love for ’70s glam and David Bowie in particular. But Placebo’s early work had plenty of loud/soft dynamic and guitar muscle, not to mention hooks, to attract a more mainstream alternative (oxymoron alert!) audience. It was only the first of many musical masks the band would don.

Placebo, the Britpop band: The band’s second album, Without You I’m Nothing, saw the band achieve its greatest success, with “Pure Morning” and “Every Me, Every You” making the MTV playlist. American radio was slow to respond, however, probably because the band was lumped in with the then-current wave of Britpop assailing our shores. Since Placebo didn’t have the ready, working-class accessibility of an Oasis or Blur, audiences in the States sat back and stared at the weird girly-man singing about, ironically enough, the working class on stellar should’ve-been hits like “Slave to the Wage” (download). But while Placebo are always ready with a catchy rocker, the band is also adept at crafting melancholy morning-after ballads like “Follow the Cops Back Home” (download).

Placebo, the electronica trio: As the band matured, they’ve expanded their sound to include more electronic and synthesized elements, even incorporating dance beats into songs like “English Summer Rain” (download). It’s a testament to the group’s songwriting skills that the dance appropriations have never been forced or embarrassing, just more of a natural extension of their growth. While the Sleeping With Ghosts album was heavily weighted towards the synths, the band’s last album, Meds, saw a nicer balance between the guitar rock of old and the electronica influx.

Placebo, the pub cover band: Placebo are well known for their love of cover songs, stuffing many a CD single with them. You’re probably familiar with their versions of T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy” (featured in some car commercial) or Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” (featured in some teen soap opera), but my fave is their take on Robert Palmer’s “Johnny and Mary” (download), turning the original sequencer-laden song into a straight-ahead rocker.

Their crowning moment: No doubt, it has to be what must have been a dream duet, the single version of “Without You I’m Nothing” (download), featuring David Bowie on guest vocals. Equal parts despair and celebration, it’s a statement that can be taken two ways — is the protagonist happy or sad that without “you” they’re nothing?

For fans of: David Bowie, Rush, Jane’s Addiction, T. Rex

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