At the time, they were two of the biggest rock stars the world had ever seen. So, expectations were probably off the charts when Mick Jagger and David Bowie decided to join forces and record a song together in 1985. The results, however, were surprisingly as uneventful as Pons Maar's vocal stylings as the Domino's Pizza Noid. Yep, their cover of Martha and the Vandellas' classic "Dancing in the Streets" wasn't rocking -- at all. The music video that accompanied it, however, was epic... well, epic for all the wrong reasons. The video is arguably the most embarrassing thing to come out of the Reagan decade. Having said that, it's a guilty pleasure I keep coming back to for decades. Forget the moves like Jagger, it's worth watching just for The Rolling Stones' icon's facial expression as he shouts "Back in the USSR!" Let's quickly move from that not-so-dynamic duo to a pair with a real pair. IAMDYNAMITE are a twosome that you can really get behind. Their in-your-face debut Supermegafantastic was among the year's best, and Chris Martin and Chris Phillips' rocking sound landed them spots opening up for Sum 41. Late last month, they filmed an A-Sides session at the Music Conservatory of Westchester and just killed it even though Martin was fighting a cold. Watch below, and get that "Dancing in the Streets" video out of your mind forever. Watch. Listen. Love.
"Where Will We Go"
Interview with Two Chris' and a Jon
... And watch an exclusive A-Sides performance of "Hey Girl" at asidesmusic.com.
Our second rocking act on A-Sides this week are New Cassettes. Before I tell you about them, I just want to say I miss making mix tapes. I miss waiting on the radio to record a song off of it, too. Everything is so damn immediate now. I miss the pre-Spotify days and iTunes nights. Anyway, I'll stop and get back to the band.
New Cassettes is a five-piece band from Northampton, England and they've been getting a lot of traction in recent months. Well, I say that but the truth is it's been a few years. They've opened for The Strokes, played the Glastonbury Music Festival, and are currently opening for Apollo Run in support of their album Winterhead. That album, by the way, was mixed by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne. While on tour, the band performed "I'm Not Faithful" and talked about it from their hotel room. It was recorded live, but you get to watch it taped! Boom.
New Cassettes "I'm Not Faithful"