Quiz #185 - Iggy Pop "Livin' on the edge of the night"

Brick by Brick refined Iggy's gifts without watering them down, adding a polish that focused his talents rather than blurring them. Working with a mixture of L.A. session heavyweights (Waddy Wachtel, David Lindley) and rock stars paying their respects (Slash and Duff McKagan from Guns n' Roses, Kate Pierson from the B-52's), Brick by Brick leans to tough, guitar-based hard rock, leavened with a few more pop-oriented tunes that still speak of a hard-nosed lyrical approach.

But the triumph here is Iggy's; he's rarely sung better on record, finding a middle ground between precision and abandon that honors both and surrenders to neither, and as a lyricist he reached a new level of maturity that proved he could expand his boundaries without loosing touch with his roots. On Brick by Brick, Iggy's dominant theme is the cultural and moral decay of modern America, and finding the strength to rise above it and reach a place in the world.

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Iggy Pop "Livin' on the edge of the night"
Album "Brick by brick" - 1990

Quiz #184 - The Cure "Jumping someone else's train"

Since I started posting only 3 quizes a week, I thought it would be better if they were posted one day apart.

This one expires next Wednesday.

UPDATED:

While not quite Bob Dylan at his vitriolic, satirical best, a young (teenage) Robert Smith does spew some venom toward lemmings and fashion slaves afraid to stand out and make their own statements: "Don't say what you mean/You might spoil your face/If you walk in the crowd/You won't leave any trace/It's always the same/You're jumping someone else's train." Smith, quoted on the website thecure.net, has said of the 1979 single that he was taking aim "at the mod revival at the time."


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The Cure "Jumping someone else's train"
Album "Boys don't cry" - 1980

Quiz #183 - Guns N'Roses "Garden of Eden"

First of June already? Halfway into the year and I still feel like someone is pulling the carpet out of my feet.

You shouldn't need 7 days to recognize this video :)

UPDATED:

After being delayed for nearly a year, the albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II were released in September 1991. Messy but fascinating, the albums showcased a more ambitious band; while there were still a fair number of full-throttle guitar rockers, there were stabs at Elton John-style balladry, acoustic blues, horn sections, female backup singers, ten-minute art rock epics with several different sections, and a good number of introspective, soul-searching lyrics. In short, they were now making art; amazingly, they were successful at it.


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Guns N'Roses "Garden of Eden"
Use Your Illusions I - 1991