A short (irrelevant?) review.

Here's a pick and a show review.

Songs that make me think my cell phone is ringing

Some writers like to talk about ringtones like they're soooooo smart. Here is the space to discuss the real phenomenon of this dizzying, sprawling media age, the one that reduces us humans to neck-craining dogs. Feel free to nominate choices in the comments section. My first contribution is the end of "Dan Abnormal" by Blur.

Perfect Pop

12. “Always Crashing in the Same Car,” David Bowie (1977)

I’ve been doing these perfect pop things for almost a year and hadn’t included any Bowie yet. The hell?

I’ve always been enthralled by that nagging keyboard line underneath DB’s vocal. Doo doo-doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo. It sounds like something out of a ‘50s doo-wop song, yet fits in perfectly in this alienated bit of space rock. Also, that same little lick can be heard in the semi-obscure mid-period Kinks song “Demolition,” a song that otherwise has just about nothing in common with “Always Crashing in the Same Car” but the two are nevertheless forever conjoined in my mind.

This song concludes with one of my favorite guitar solos, courtesy of one Rickey Gardner. The history of George Harrison collapsed into a few bars, the gently weeping guitar stranded in postwar Europe, flanged and desperate.

The lyrics.