"40+ years of iron-fisted dictatorship has been great for my ego, but lousy for my record collection. After devoting all of my energy to stubbornly enforcing an outdated Marxist philosophy, I have only recently, since ceding power to my brother Raul, reconnected with my long-playing vinyl platters. All week I'll be sharing some of my all-time Cuba-themed favorites.Pretenders, "Cuban Slide"
"Many a night was spent in my Havana palace doing the Cuban Slide on my freshly waxed floor with nothing more than a pair of white tube socks and a vintage Cohiba. The Bo Diddley beat and Chrissie Hynde's seductive voice is the best combination since the pork & pickles on a Cuban sandwich. Though "Cuban Slide" originally appeared on their 1980 Extended Play EP, it is now available on Rhino's expanded & remastered edition of their eponymous debut. Turn it up - or face solitary confinement!
mp3: Pretenders, "Cuban Slide" Pretenders (Reissue bonus track)
XTC, "Living Through Another Cuba"
"This ska-tinged deep-album cut is from Black Sea, which also contained the hit "Generals & Majors." No shout-out to dictators? Off with their heads! Many think that XTC quit touring because Andy Partridge had stage fright, but truth be told, they feared for their life after dissing yours truly - and rightly so! Here's an mp3 from the BBC plus a clip of them doing both of these blasphemous tunes."
mp3: XTC, "Living Through Another Cuba," Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions
YouTube: XTC, "Living Through Another Cuba"/"Generals & Majors" (live, 1982)
Two of my favorites. I have the Pretender's Pirate Radio box set if you're interested.
ReplyDeleteI was also thinking 'Bombs Away' from the Police.
"Guerilla Girl hard and sweet, a military man would love to meet"