dB's

Certain Songs #286: The dB’s – “Looked At The Sun Too Long”

August 19, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: The Sound of Music
Year: 1987.

Please excuse me. I think that I said that a song other than “Looked at The Sun Too Long” was my favorite song from The Sound Of Music.

But I was clearly wrong. “Looked At The Sun Too Long” is yet another one of those Peter Holsapple songs that is a) about a relationship ending and b) sounds like a lost Chris Bell song.

And as such, it moves at a crawl, is full of strings and harmonies, and is on the short list of “Prettiest Song Ever Recorded (Power Pop Division).

Certain Songs #285 – The dB’s – “Think Too Hard”

August 18, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: The Sound of Music
Year: 1987.

if you wanna narrow it down, side two of The Sound of Music is why it’s one of my favorite albums of one of my favorite years. Side one is great, but I literally could have chosen any one of the six songs (and I’m definitely choosing more than one) on side two about which to write. Every single one of them means something different and something special to me.

And so it’s impossible to choose a favorite song on this side — or this album — which is really rare for me, but if the aliens came down and forced me at laserpoint to choose it, I’d probably go with “Think Too Hard.”

Certain Songs #283: The dB’s – “Amplifier”

August 16, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Like This
Year: 1984

Of course, I realize that “Amplifier” was originally released on Repercussion in 1982, but I’m going to write about the re-recorded (or “re-recorded”) version that is on Like This for reasons that I hope become somewhat clear as I go on.

1984’s Like This is probably the first dB’s album that most people heard. While both Stands For DeciBels and Repercussion were released on the tiny Albion label, Like This was released on Todd Rundgren’s Bearsville records, which — while still not a major label — had a distribution deal with WB, meaning there was some major label clout behind it.

Certain Songs #280: The dB’s – “Black and White”

August 13, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Stands For Decibels
Year: 1981

Fuck yeah, “Black and White!”

This is how you kick off your career. With a crash of drums and guitars and before you can even catch your breath Chris Stamey is playing Townshend-esque power chords on the acoustic while Peter Holsapple kicks out a jitterly hooky lead guitar.

Meanwhile, drummer Will Rigby is building and crashing underneath these guitars like he’s just been possessed by the spirit of Keith Moon, and damn straight there’s also handclaps and shimmering organ fighting to be heard as well.