Tulip Frenzy

For a decade or more Luna was our favorite band.  Some may have found Dean Wareham’s voice offputting, the lyrics occasionally corny, but if you believe in the Unified Field Theory wherein the best rock’n’roll connects to mythical Sterling Morrison/Velvet Underground guitar chords, you had to like Luna. If all the best strands lead back to the VU, Luna was the most tasteful spider in that web.  When Wareham broke up the band a few years ago, we admit to feeling an emptiness that has not since been alleviated.

Dean and Britta were a poor substitution, and no offense to Britta, it was mostly because the absence of Sean Eden and Lee Wahl meant Wareham wasn’t really playing in a band.  So the brilliance of “13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests” was a welcome surprise.  In fact, their version of the Velvet Underground’s lost gem, “I’m Not A Young Man Anymore” is the song of the summer.

We were skeptical, given how bad the Cale/Reed collaboration on “Songs For Drella” was, that a Warhol-inspired album could work.  This one does.  Oh, not every song.  But enough of them are prime Luna/VU/Young Marble Giants gems that it almost feels like we have Luna back.

This entry was posted on August 14, 2010 at 6:06 pm and is filed under Music with tags 13 Most Beautiful: Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, Dean and Britta, Dean Wareham. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.