June 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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June 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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David J, ex-Bauhaus, releases EP preview of 6th solo LP 24 June 2002
Back in December of 1978, David J (David J. Haskins) along with Kevin Haskins (his younger brother), Daniel Ash, and Peter Murphy started Bauhaus (originally named by David as 'Bauhaus 1919') at the Nene College of Arts in Northampton, England. They built their striking image and sound by applying a dark morbidness to David Bowie’s androgeny and glam, single-handedly launching the Goth genre. Six years before, David Gates, songwriter for Los Angeles flower-pop quartet Bread, had penned his ultra-mainstream, kiddy-safe-rock portrait The Guitar Man. And tomorrow, David J releases for North America his cover of that song on California indie label Heyday records. The song appears on The Guitar Man EP along with four other tracks and serves as a preview to Haskins’ upcoming sixth solo album, Estranged—for which a label and a release date have yet to be revealed. David J’s trademark vocal delivery, at once menacing, existential, and sardonic, reframes The Guitar Man into an ironic commentary on pop music, in equal parts poignant, lovely, and droll. Joining Haskins on the song are Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters on background vocals and guitar, and Steven Perkins (drums) and Dave Navarro (guitar) from Jane’s Addiction. The EP includes two versions—one acoustic, one remixed by The Thievery Corporation (Rob Garza & Eric Hilton)—of new song The Auteur, another portrait, this time of the major-label or Hollywood producer who Haskins paints more or less as a vampire. Rounding out the EP are two non-LP tracks: a Marilyn Manson cover, The Dope Show, complete with string arrangement; and an excellent, new David J pop song titled Mickey Rourke Blues. David J—who has played in Love And Rockets, The Jazz Butcher, and in numerous collaborations—produced the songs on the EP (and forthcoming LP) himself, well sickened of the music industry’s manipulative agenda. In a recent note on his Website he calls Clear Channel Communications, the US-based entertainment giant which owns radio stations, venues, booking agencies, and billboards, and which is the driving force behind today’s payola scandal, 'The Great Satan.' The Guitar Man EP is musically mature, socially subversive, and a totally unexpected mindfuck from the guy who brought us Bela Lugosi’s Dead and Kundalini Express. Four bites out of five. Rockbites ratings 5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying. David J will guest DJ tonight at 10 pm PDT on W-FM, San Diego. | David J | | Bauhaus fan site | | CD from Amazon US | | top of page | |
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