Heavy Rotation: Week Ending August 27, 2010
August 27th, 201001. BNLX – EP #3, (Susstones.2010)
02. The Cult – Love, (Beggar Banquet.1985)
03. Dinosaur Jr – Ear Bleeding Country: The Best of …, (Rhino.2001)
04. Dinosaur Jr – Farm, (Liberator.2009)
05. “Ball of Confusion” by The Temptations, (Motown.1970)
06. T.Rex – Electric Warrior, (A&M.1971)
07. “Fractales (Pt. I)” by Apparat, (Shitkatapult.2007)
08. The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever, (Vagrant.2010)
09. Crusaders of Love – Never Grow Up, (Douche Master.2010)
10. “Natural Selection” by UNKLE, (Surrender All Entertainment.2010)
I was only a mere four months old when The Temptations released “Ball of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today)”. Knowing what I know now about the state of popular music, 1970 was a crossroad for many Golden Age of Music acts. Bands were delving into new territory (The Rolling Stones traded merseybeat/garage for Deep South American blues) and The Temptations were no different. Here they take their soul and merge it with hippy-dippy psychedelia and driving funk. Certainly, this is a long, long way from “My Girl”.
The song opens with a menacing bass line followed by heavy effected guitar and synth space whirrs. Gently strummed guitars, extended keyboard lines, weird synths, and dirty electric guitar riffs hint something big is coming. At about the one-minute mark, the song explodes with a cymbal crash and big horns. Each singer trades lines with Dennis Edwards singing the “Subterranean Homesick Blues”-esque rapid-fire litany of societal unrest, pop culture references, crooked politician vote-grabs, economic uncertainty, and history-making events. Each line is punctuated with the incredible “And the band played on” by bass singer Eddie Kendricks.
There is a ton of awesome going on through the track – bendy guitar lines, devastating vocals, funky funky funk, super-fast sax riffs, wailing harmonica, and great lyrics that hold a mirror up to society. The song completely exemplifies the title. There is a mild level of pissed off, hands in the air, what the fuck. A perfect song for then and now.
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