Jimmy Cliff - Ruby Soho (Rancid)

Here is another cover of Ruby Soho, by Rancid. This time covered by the legendary Jimmy Cliff.



It's produced by Tim Armstrong, but it's very cool to see an old-school Reggae original covering a band that draws a lot from old-school Reggae.

Vampire Weekend - "Ruby Soho" (Rancid)

I was just talking to one of my friends about this today:



It's a really interesting cover. It plays like a Vampire Weekend original, but retains the lyrics and pace that make it one of Rancid's best tracks.

Weird Al cover The Ramones "Beat on the Brat"

I approve of this cover in every way possible.



I thought the U2 cover of Beat on the Brat was good, but this is better.

Rest in Peace Malcom Young

If you haven't heard, we lost Malcom Young of AC/DC today.

Here is my hands-down favorite AC/DC song, by way of tribute:


Warning: Lip Syncing.

AC/DC is a band where you just hear that power chord, that lead guitar magic of Angus Young. People say it's just simple, one-riff one-idea music.

They're wrong.

AC/DC songs are just as complex as they need to be. No more, no less. They don't waste any chords and they don't over-play their hand. If listen closely, you can hear all of the pieces coming togther oh so well. Listen to Let Their Be Rock live in 1978. It's not a simple song - it's just no more complicated than it needs to. Malcom's steady rhythm guitar is part of the underlying base on which it all lays.

I saw this little eulogy on Instagram from one of my favorite musicians:

Lost another legend today. He was the sole reason I wanted to be a rhythm guitar player. He was the man. No one could hold down the fort like this guy or hold a candle to him. Simply the best. I could only dream of being as good. (RIP)

A post shared by Lars Frederiksen (@larsfrederiksen) on Nov 18, 2017 at 9:28am PST

Rest in peace, Malcom. Thanks for all of the music.

Polysics - Lucky Star

Polysics just keeps cementing themselves in my head as "Japanese Speed DEVO meets Art of Noise."



None of that is a bad thing.

Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good (Live)

Joe Walsh recently played Life's Been Good on the Stephen Colbert show:



Not so different from when I first saw him live like 30 years ago. Still so good.

The Ramones - Little Bit O Soul

The first Ramones album I owned was Subterranean Jungle. I got it from a damaged cassette rack at a record store for $2 and played the living hell out of it.

The first track is a cover from Music Explosion, but to me, it screams Ramones.