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MUSIC
HUFFINGTON
01.19.14
Dog Ears
In which we spotlight music from a diversity of genres and
decades, lending an insider’s ear to what deserves to be heard.
BY THE EVERLASTING PHIL RAMONE AND DANIELLE EVIN
MIDDLE CLASS RUT
Middle Class Rut is the swaggering
Sacramento-based rock duo comprised of vocalists Zack Lopez (guitar)
and Sean Stockham (drums). As teenage co-founders of Leisure, Stockham
and Lopez inked their freshman deal
with DreamWorks at the hit of the
aughts. By 2006, they refreshed as
Middle Class Rut and toured the globe.
Shared stages include Panic! at the
Disco, Weezer, Linkin Park, Chevelle,
Janus, My Chemical Romance, Social
Distortion and Alice in Chains. Middle
Class Rut offers up a high-octane oeuvre to date. Get “One Debt Away,” from
their 2010 project No Name No Color
(Deluxe Edition). Play it loud!
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Rock
ARTIST: Middle Class Rut
SONG: Cornbread
ALBUM: No Name No Color
(Deluxe Edition)
THE VELVET
UNDERGROUND
The Velvet Underground was a revolution and a rock band, founded by the
late poet/pianist/guitarist Lou Reed and
Welsh violist/composer John Cale in
mid-’60s New York City. Doing residency
at Cafe Bizarre in Greenwich Village,
the band met pop artist Andy Warhol,
who invited them to perform at his
“Up-Tight” Film-Makers’ Cinematheque
series in February 1966. That led to
the fateful introduction to chanteuse/
model Nico, soon after drummer Maureen Tucker joined the outfit. The Velvet
Underground’s brutally urbane sound has
landmarked the genre and continues to
define the edge. The rock royals’ catalog
includes scores of greatness to collect.
Download the sonically addictive “The
Gift,” from The Velvet Underground’s
1968 White Light/White Heat.
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Rock
ARTIST: The Velvet Underground
SONG: The Gift
ALBUM: White Light/White Heat
THE JAM
Influential Brit mod-punk pack The
Jam was founded in Surrey in the
early ’70s by Paul Weller (guitar),
Bruce Foxton (bass), and Rick Buckler (drums), with guitarist Steve
Brookes rounding out its freshman
lineup. In 1977, the rising tide of
punk/pop buoyed Weller & Co. to U.K.
pop stardom, leading to a handfulplus of full lengths and more than a
dozen top-charting singles. By the
early ’80s, Weller moved on to The
Style Council and then went solo
towards decade’s end. Foxton joined
Still Little Fingers from 1990 till the
mid-aughts and collaborated with
Buckler in recent years, as well as
with Weller in 2012. Return to 1983
with “Shopping,” from The Jam: Gold.
BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Punk/Rock
ARTIST: The Jam
SONG: Shopping
ALBUM: The Jam: Gold