Makes you wanna blow the stars from the sky...

I couldn't decide which of these songs to use for the latest installment of my Rescued From Obscurity series, so I've posted them both. I think I had trouble choosing between them because I've always gotten them mixed up in my mind, although I can't quite put my finger on why they remind me of one another.

The first, "Head On" by the Jesus and Mary Chain--released November 1989--is one that I've always thought should get more love than it does. Apparently The Pixies thought so too, since they covered the song just two years later. The Pixies version is okay but I much prefer the JAMC original, it's less scream-y and more melodic.

It's a great video (very 1989) and I am convinced that the same director must also be responsible for Love and Rockets' So Alive, released earlier the same year. I couldn't find directorial credits for either video, but the two clips are so similar that I'd be surprised if they weren't done by the same person.



We are, we are, we are but your children....

Love, love, love this song! I think it's interesting to note that it actually has two release dates: June 1983 as "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" in the UK and March 1984 as "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" in the US. Apparently Arista Records wanted to make changes to the song before it was released on this side of the pond. They seemed to think that Americans wouldn't be clever enough to track down the single if they didn't make "Whisper to a Scream" the non-parenthetical part of the title. Whatever.

The song was covered years later for the Scream soundtrack by the band SoHo. Their rendition is actually pretty good, but--again--I prefer the original.