Tal Rosenberg, Reader digital content editor
Tears for Fears, Songs From the Big Chair I’d heard this album many times, but when a recent reissue prompted me to revisit it, the music connected with me in a huge way. Part of the reason is that “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is just a massive song, probably one of my 25 favorites. But there isn’t a bum track here (at least not on the original release), and you can hear the influence of Songs From the Big Chair on virtually every big synth-pop album that followed it—Depeche Mode, INXS, the Cure, the Blue Nile. The four-CD “Super Deluxe” edition is excessive, but the standard deluxe version is worth purchasing for two necessary bonus tracks: “Pharaohs,” which sounds like Keith Jarrett produced by the Art of Noise, and a deeply moving cover of Robert Wyatt‘s immortal “Sea Song.”
Rob Garmer, half of DJ duo We Theory
David Bowie David Bowie is everywhere: there’s the “David Bowie Is” exhibit at the MCA and a box-set anthology coming in November, and he’s recently put out a new song entitled “‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore” (he says the title is a play on the title of a play). We all listen to Bowie, but it’s still exciting to anticipate the new box set, Nothing Has Changed, which his website describes as “covering fifty years of recorded works from his 1964 debut, ‘Liza Jane,’ through to a brand new recording made this year.” The new material sounds a bit like “I’m Deranged,” Bowie’s song on the Lost Highway soundtrack—both tunes feature his ghostly vocals paired with contemporary beats.
West African highlife music West Africa exports much more than Internet scams and Ebola virus. Since the 1960s it’s been home to a genre of music called highlife, which stands apart from the familiar Afrobeat and Fela Kuti family records. We had a vinyl night at a friend’s house a while back, and old Nigerian records were the theme for the evening. Have a listen—notable artists include Sir Warrior & His Oriental Brothers International, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey & His Miliki Sound, and Chief Dr. Oliver de Coque & His Expo ’76.
