I'll take some of each, please
73. Dictators "Pussy & Money"
Reunion albums aren't supposed to contain great artistic statements, merely some treats for the group's hardcore faithful especially when the faithful are basically a small devoted cult following. So when Bronx proto-punkers the Dictators decided to reunite for an album in 2001, it was expected to deliver some fun looks back, nothing more.
So where the hell did this come from? Written by bassist Andy Shernoff in collaboration with the late lyricist David Roter, "Pussy & Money" is not a hedonistic anthem(since they certainly don't sound happy about the state of things), but a clear-eyed demolition of pollyanna idealism and an unmasking of self-serving bullshit to show people's true motives (and for our purposes here 'pussy' can mean any kind of gratification, including that of the ego and 'money' could mean political power as well). This is one song that never would've been convincing coming from the young punks the Dictators were in the late seventies, since this song contains the type of knowledge picked up after three decades in the music business and a lifetime on the streets of New York: you can pray every night when the sun goes down/but there's only two things that make the world go 'round.....
The boys mercilessly drive the point home with Ross The Boss' pile driving riffage and Handsome Dick Manitoba's clenched teeth spitting out of the often bitterly hilarious lyrics until the glorious bellow of the chorus. Having some sense slapped into you has rarely felt this good.
Reunion albums aren't supposed to contain great artistic statements, merely some treats for the group's hardcore faithful especially when the faithful are basically a small devoted cult following. So when Bronx proto-punkers the Dictators decided to reunite for an album in 2001, it was expected to deliver some fun looks back, nothing more.
So where the hell did this come from? Written by bassist Andy Shernoff in collaboration with the late lyricist David Roter, "Pussy & Money" is not a hedonistic anthem(since they certainly don't sound happy about the state of things), but a clear-eyed demolition of pollyanna idealism and an unmasking of self-serving bullshit to show people's true motives (and for our purposes here 'pussy' can mean any kind of gratification, including that of the ego and 'money' could mean political power as well). This is one song that never would've been convincing coming from the young punks the Dictators were in the late seventies, since this song contains the type of knowledge picked up after three decades in the music business and a lifetime on the streets of New York: you can pray every night when the sun goes down/but there's only two things that make the world go 'round.....
The boys mercilessly drive the point home with Ross The Boss' pile driving riffage and Handsome Dick Manitoba's clenched teeth spitting out of the often bitterly hilarious lyrics until the glorious bellow of the chorus. Having some sense slapped into you has rarely felt this good.
