Gun Club

[ping-ping-clicka]

 

[joe_cpwe]

 

[CalebAaron666]

2nd favorite band of all time.

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

LutherBurger yeah I like this, Jefferies allusions to ritual magic, but I find his racism repellent and unacceptable , and I know that if seen in the best light, might have been his attempt at painting a portrait of an american racist boy, none the less I don't like, and I have my dough's.

That said the songs are my kinna darkness, the rock with the slide is a big seller for me.
" We can funk forever but you'll never get my soul" the words allusion to sex magic is tasty.
Yeah I like this band.

 

[davidge1]

I saw them in the early '80s. They were a great live band.

They don't get credit for being as influential as they were... especially their second album, Miami. If you listen to the song Brother and Sister, it's obvious where REM's guitar sound came from. REM also copied the chanting on the song Watermelon Man on This One Goes Out To The One I Love. Gun Club was a huge influence on bands like Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and Wilco as well.

 

[davidge1]

I find his racism repellent and unacceptable

It was meant to be repellent. The songs were stories told in the first person. When Johnny Cash sang "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die", he wasn't condoning shooting people. And just for the record, both Jeffery Lee Pierce and original Gun Club guitarist Kid Congo were Hispanic and probably had to deal with racism at some point in their own lives.

 

[Killing Floor]

Yeasss lawd!!! Love them.

FYI did you know Under the Gun is written about Jeffrey Lee Pierce?

 

[Engine Swap]

Fire of Love is a heckagood record!

 

[CalebAaron666]

The Gun Club’s “Miami” is definitely one of my desert island records.

 

[Larry Mal]

Gun Club is incredible:

 

[Larry Mal]

 

[jrblue]

When Johnny Cash sang "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die", he wasn't condoning shooting people.

True, but he did elevate the speaker to the level of tough-guy, ice-cool narrator, creating a real crappy ambivalence that is pretty problematic. I doubt if most listeners find the song's narrator to be abhorrent -- in fact, he's presented for your sympathy. I love Johnny Cash, but I think that particular song is a commercial tie-in (live in prison routine) and lacks the authenticity of his great work.

 

[davidge1]

doubt if most listeners find the song's narrator to be abhorrent -- in fact, he's presented for your sympathy

Folsom Prison Blues was just the example that came to mind. My point was that in music, especially the folk/blues/country music that Gun Club drew from, songs about tragedy and violence have always existed. In fact, there's an entire genre of folk songs called "murder ballads". Stories are often told in the first person, so it's unfair to criticize a singer or songwriter for it. The singer isn't the character in the song.

At the same time, Jeffery Lee Pierce was known for trying to provoke people just for the sake of being provocative... and I'd guess that was his intent with some of the lyrics.

 

[davidge1]

One of my favorites:

 

[ieatlions]

Never heard of this band. Tdpri educating me

 

[57joonya]

I saw them in the early '80s. They were a great live band.

They don't get credit for being as influential as they were... especially their second album, Miami. If you listen to the song Brother and Sister, it's obvious where REM's guitar sound came from. REM also copied the chanting on the song Watermelon Man on This One Goes Out To The One I Love. Gun Club was a huge influence on bands like Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and Wilco as well.

Wow . I’ve heard the name but admit I know nothing of this band - I’m gonna have to check em out

 

[bender66]

Got to see Kid Congo/Congo Norvell in the late 90's in SF. Prob 20yrs later saw Crime & The City Solution a couple doors up the street. Never thought I'd see either in this lifetime.

 

[RomanS]

That song made me want to learn steel guitar as a teen in the 80s: