The first Talking Heads album was pretty great, no question, and there’s definitely a rule somewhere about not trying to criticize perfection. But why oh why did they not choose to include this song? It’s clearly better than some of the songs they did include. … Continue reading Sugar on My Tongue
In the excellent Showtime series Work in Progress, an elderly butch lesbian is befriended by a group of queer kids young enough to be her offspring (the series is about a May-December romance, and I highly recommend it) and is flabbergasted by their joie de … Continue reading Sugar Moon
The Grateful Dead’s problem is that they’re the Grateful Dead. I don’t even need to explain all that that implies. Let’s just say that theirs is a peculiarly American saga, treading a knotty path from the hairiest side of 1960’s counterculture to highly profitable cottage … Continue reading Sugar Magnolia
Not every song rewards deep interpretation, even in David Bowie’s world. The meaning is sometimes self-evident. In this case, it’s the universal truth that liberated women are DTF. Of course, the activists who fought for women’s suffrage didn’t do it so their grandchildren could more … Continue reading Suffragette City
Every year I discover an artist who instantly becomes canonical, and in 2020 that artist was Tricky. Perhaps from today’s vantage point he doesn’t seem anomalous, but that’s because he was so far ahead of the curve and the curve has only recently caught up. … Continue reading Suffocated Love
When Morrissey was a child, there was string of child murders around Manchester, that would later be known as the Moors Murders. The killing spree lasted two years and claimed five victims. It was a major scandal for a sleepy city like Manchester, and, of … Continue reading Suffer Little Children
This is peak Morrissey. “It was a good lay” he says, and you swoon, remembering when getting a good lay meant something. Morrissey, at his best, brings a dizzy romantic swoon to the sad and the mundane: lonely days in library stacks, watery cups of … Continue reading Suedehead
George Harrison learned, as every celebrity must, that once you become rich and famous, no matter how good you try to be, you will inevitably end up in court defending yourself against someone’s grievances. There will be paternity suits and rape allegations from people you’ve … Continue reading Sue Me, Sue You Blues
This is certainly a good time to dwell on philosophical questions, such as the way things change and they way that they don’t, and there’s hardly a better companion for that than a Flaming Lips album. Obviously, I have a history with this album, which … Continue reading Suddenly Everything Has Changed
Mick Jagger once said, in a case of famous last words, that he would feel pretty silly still jumping around at 30. Fast forward several hundred years, and the eternal question still seems to be whether The Rolling Stones can maintain – or recapture – … Continue reading Suck on the Jugular
