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Thursday 30 December 2010

Your Face Is A Hammer In My Head


Whatever that means.

The House Of Love were the new Weather Prophets. In Dave Cavanagh's biography of Creation Records he describes The Weather Prophets slagging off Guy Chadwick's band as 'too psychedelic'. The House of Love's first album The House Of Love was 1988's indie heavyweight, chock full of great songs and two blistering singles- Christine and Destroy The Heart, all guitar effects and mystery. They signed to Fontana and came back with Never, which the press didn't like, and then this I Don't Know Why I Love You. Recorded with guitarist Terry Bickers but released after he'd been dumped at a motorway service station for unreasonable behaviour- drugs, ego, burning a tenner in the van, punched by the drummer etc etc. This is a great song, played to death on my stereo when it came out. Yes, it has iffy lyrics and lacks some of the 'ethereal' nature of the first album's songs but it's got a great drilling riff. After this it was all downhill, then scuppered by Madchester but briefly they were very good.

10 I Don't Know Why I Love You.wma

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do love that line.

davyh said...

They were very good. 'Burning a tenner in the van' eh? Cor, rock and roll.

'Destroy The Heart' isn't on the first album though. Sorry to be a pedant. But it's congenital.

Swiss Adam said...

But it was on the cassette version, which I had before the vinyl. With Blind as well.

davyh said...

Bugger

davyh said...

'The cassette version' - what a lost phrase that is!

Swiss Adam said...

Cheaper, travel proof, convenient, extra tracks. Shit sound quality. You can't have everything.

davyh said...

When I think back to the long list of albums I 'had on cassette' I think not one survives.

davyh said...

I tell a lie. Inspiral Carpets anyone?

Swiss Adam said...

I've still got the Inspirals Dung demo on cassette

Simon said...

Blimey, albums on cassette. I've several archive boxes, you know the big cardboard things filled to the brim with cassettes.

Some are taped off the radio classics, some are four-track demos from years ago, before I got the ability to burn cds, and the rest are albums, either taped from other peoples collections or bought.

The only problem with them all? I have no tape playing facilities of any kind. Must get around to getting a USB tape deck. Forget turntables, that would be far more useful to me!

hsd said...

I not sure I am in the tape versus vinyl debate but listen to this !
Have great new year!!!!!
http://www.hauntedbyfame.co.uk/sounds/wonderful_life.mp3