Original and cover; Havana Affair

Havana Affair was a song originally by the punk group The Ramones. It appeared on their debut self-titled debut album released in 1976. One of their first political songs. It was basically about the US meddling in Cuban affairs. It's about a guy who had a productive job in Cuba picking bananas, now he's living in the US working for the CIA. It's a fun, short song with not many lyrics. It's a straightforward punk rock song and I love the way Joey Ramone says banana in this song. Here it is:

In 2003, Johnny Ramone himself was presented with the idea of bands doing covers of Ramones songs. He agreed as long as he had full control. Rob Zombie contributed album art, and Stephen King (a long time Ramones fan) wrote the liner notes. It includes bands such as KISS, Garbage, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, U2, Green Day, Eddie Vedder, among others. Johnny Ramone liked The Red Hot Chili Peppers version of Havana Affair so much, that the album opened with that song. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have a bit of a different take on the song. Their version is more nuanced, more rock, less punk so it has a bit of a mellow vibe to it. I love the guitar especially. I love the Ramones but I do prefer the cover from Red Hot Chili Peppers myself. Here it is.

Lyrics:
PT-boat on the way to Havana
I used to make a living, man
Pickin' the banana.
Now I'm a guide for the CIA
Hooray for the USA!

Baby, baby, make me a loco
Baby, baby, make me a mambo

Sent to spy on a Cuban talent show
First stop- Havana au go-go
I used to make a living, man
Pickin' the banana
Hooray for Havana!

Red Hot Chili Peppers release 5th set of 7" singles, Pink as Floyd and Your Eyes Girl, 4 more singles left!

On January 4th, The Red Hot Chili Peppers unveiled their latest 7" single for the songs Pink as Floyd and Your Eyes Girl. These songs are from the sessions that brought us 2011's I'm With You album. These are basically songs that didn't make the album. These songs are getting more experimental as time goes on. The band is sounding tighter than ever and Josh is a great addition to the band. First the song Pink As Floyd:

As the title suggests, this is a bit of an homage to Pink Floyd. There are very nice spacey strings in this song, and I have never heard anything like it from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This song was played live on their recent tour, including one of the stops right here in Los Angeles. I really like this song and it's becoming one of my favorites. One of the most interesting choruses in a Chili Peppers song.Here are the lyrics

 Coming up next is the song Your Eyes Girl, which you can hear right here:

This song could have fit in on One Hot Minute. There's a bit of profanity from Flea on here at the beginning. This is another somewhat trippy song and I could tell why it was chosen on this set. I love the guitar in this song, it's completely out there. Check out the songs and look for the next set of singles out next month.  Here are handwritten lyrics for this song.

New David Bowie! First new album in 10 years!! Premiere of Who Are We Now?

Today is David Bowie's 66th birthday. He gave us all a huge surprise yesterday by premiering his new single, Who Are We Now. This is huge news because we have not heard a note from him since 2003's album Reality. Many thought he had retired from music to spend time with his family. We were all wrong. Turns out, he recorded this album in secret with Tony Visconti, whom he had worked with before on previous albums. The song, which you can hear below,is a more mellow, somber tune reminiscent of his recent albums, ...hours and Heathen. It's a decent track, I'm more excited to hear the new album, which will be called The Next Day to be released on March 12th. This news is all so sudden. As you all know, Bowie is a lifelong influence for me so to hear anything new from him is outstanding news. The song is about Berlin, a subject Bowie knows well, as his trilogy of albums recorded with Brian Eno, (Low, Lodger, Heroes) was recorded there. These are ranked pretty high and I hope this new album does not disappoint. Listen to the single and judge for yourself.

Tracklist for The Next Day, out March 12th (iTunes preorder here)

1. “The Next Day”
2. “Dirty Boys”
3. “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)”
4. “Love Is Lost”
5. “Where Are We Now?”
6. “Valentine’s Day”
7. “If You Can See Me”
8. “I’d Rather Be High”
9. “Boss of Me”
10. “Dancing Out In Space”
11. “How Does the Grass Grow?”
12. “(You Will) Set the World On Fire”
13. “You Feel So Lonely You Could Die”
14. “Heat”
15. “So She” (Bonus Track)
16. “I’ll Take You There” (Bonus Track)
17. “Plan” (Bonus Track)