Hunx and His Punx frontman/founder/mastermind Seth Bogart has gone solo for his new album, Hairdresser Blue. It’s a slightly more thoughtful, emotional album than you may expect from the wild man behind Hunx, dealing with break-ups and the death of both his father and a close friend. But while the video for Bogart’s latest single, “Private Room,” finds the out singer all on his own in a chintzy hotel suite, he’s not exactly crying into his pillow on this one. It’s jangly, messy, queer punk for disgruntled hairdressers, waitresses or anyone else with big hair, a polyester uniform, and an axe to grind.
NEXT: “Running Up That Hill” with Theo Bleckmann
I stumbled across jazz vocalist Theo Bleckmann’s stunning cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” via NPR Music and had to share it. It’s not as though there aren’t already plenty of covers of this song; Placebo released a pretty astounding version in 2003, and there’s also The Chromatics’ 2007 take. But there’s just something about Bush’s work that lends itself well to creative reinterpretation, and while most artists seem intent on recreating “Running Up That Hill” as an icy electro-tinged track—Bush did, after all, usher in the era of the synthesizer with her third album, Never for Ever—Bleckmann’s version brings a warm, organic touch to the song, without sacrificing any of the melodrama. The single comes from his new album of Kate Bush covers, Hello Earth! The Music of Kate Bush.
NEXT: Counting the Decades
New York indie disco outfit Decades have been hard at work on their debut EP for a while now. In between live gigs, the band—fronted by queer singer-songwriter Max Vernon—has been in the studio readying their high-energy, dance floor-friendly tracks for release. Now two of those songs have hit Decades’ Bandcamp page. Check out “Pygmalion” and “Josephine” for a little taste of what’s to come.
NEXT: The myth of Rich Aucoin
I kind of already had this fantasy that Rich Aucoin existed in a brightly colored, cartoon world just based on his music. Now this animated short, “The Myth of Robo Wonder Kid,” comes along and basically confirms my suspicions. The short serves as the video for Aucion’s new single “P.U.S.H.,” and it’s kind of like the Powerpuff Girls meet Clash of the Titans meets Ren & Stimpy. It’s adorable. And the song’s pretty damn awesome too. It’s low on vocals—just some minimal vocoded lines—but the fuzzy beat and handclaps are jump-out-of-your-seat infectious.
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fagburn
It’s Hairdresser BLUES, by the way…
MoJo
Thanks for the heads up! I dig Decades lyrics. And Hunx & Punx vid was rad, though the song was so-so. As a Kate Bush fan, I think Bleckmann should be kicked, squarely, in the crotch…
MoJo
@MoJo:
I meant that Rich Aucoin vid was Rad. Dammit!