Bad Idea #852: Love & Rockets Tribute

Definitely no new tale to tell here, kids.

By Fred Mills

So, we're lounging around in the BLURT hot-tub the other day, waiting for Mandy Moore and Paula Abdul to arrive (don't ask), when Randy said, in a slightly slurry tone of voice, "Say - what's up with Love and Rockets? I've been jonesin' for some o' that goth/not-goth alterna-rock lately?" To which I replied, "Gleep!"

Okay - but it COULD'VE happened. Actually, if you know of anyone who has wondered anything about the ‘80s/'90s Bauhaus offshoot in, say, a hundred fortnights, get in touch with BLURT with evidence and we'll send you a boxed set of our first seven digital issues. It's a dare we think we can take.

Of course, if we were to poll the Flaming Lips, Maynard James Keenan's Puscifer, Monster Magnet, the Dandy Warhols and Black Francis, we might be spending the next few hours crating up BLURTs: those icons, along with 13 other acts, most of whom you've never heard of, are all to appear on New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets. That's the news we're getting this morning from Pitchfork, who informs us that July 28 is the digital target date (August 18 for physical) for the tribute, courtesy Aresenal Rock N Roll.

And although Change-man Shepherd Fairey has done a bangup job with the cover art, all we can say is - what's the point? Does anyone even know how any of the songs listed below go, much less want to hear them again? If you must, however, hotfoot it over to the album's MySpace page and check out some of the tunes.

Remember folks: friends don't let friends do tribute albums. If a musician starts making noises about taking part in one, walk up to him purposefully, take the keys to the recording studio out of his hands, and drive him immediately to the nearest bar.

Tracklisting:

01 Black Francis: "All in My Mind"
02 Puscifer: "Holiday on the Moon"
03 War Tapes: "Love Me"
04 Blaqk Audio: "No New Tale to Tell"
05 Dubfire: "I Feel Speed"
06 The Dandy Warhols: "Inside the Outside"
07 The Flaming Lips: "Kundalini Express"
08 Sweethead: "Life in Laralay"
09 Film School: "An American Dream"
10 A Place to Bury Strangers: "The Light"
11 Monster Magnet vs Adrian Young: "Mirror People"
12 The Stone Foxes: "Fever"
13 Frankenstein 3000: "No Big Deal"
14 VEX: "It Could Be Sunshine"
15 Better Than Ezra: "So Alive"
16 Chantal Claret vs Adrian Young: "Lazy"
17 Ian Moore: "Sweet F.A."
18 Snowden: "No Words No More"