I Bet You Look Like a Hood on the Dancefloor
At the request of nobody, I have a few more songs by the Dancing Hoods. I wrote about them here once before, noting that they were the first band of Mark Linkous (a/k/a Sparklehorse). Twenty years later, I still carry a torch for the Hoods, who combined lyrical smarts with trashy rock (e.g., NY Dolls) and power pop. "Freddy Mark" Linkous can really play guitar when he wants to.
Pleasure has a classic riff and some great lyrics, such as:
You're the not so obscure object of my desire
You're not the reason I dance, it's just my pants on fire
Impossible Years has some clever lines too:
Hit me with a flower, kiss me with a brick
Throw me up against a wall and see if I stick
Linkous wrote and sang the song Bye Bye Jim. I like this couplet:
I remember someone said to me,
To be a girl you gotta be a man.
The first three songs are from the 1985 album 12 Jealous Roses. The next two are from the Dancing Hoods' first record, a 1984 EP that was produced by Glenn Morrow. I like Mark's "Thunderous" solo at the end of Graveyard Shift. In my mind I can hear David Johansen singing along, "I need a fix and a KISS!"
I also dig Mark's lightning-fast rhythm playing on Not the Only One.Labels: dancing hoods
Dancing with the Hoods
If the Dancing Hoods are remembered at all, it is as a footnote to the career of Mark Linkous, a/k/a Sparklehorse. Linkous played lead guitar for this Long Island power pop band. If you like early Cheap Trick or the Gin Blossoms, you would enjoy the Dancing Hoods.
Their first release was a four song EP produced by Glen Morrow of the Individuals. Linkous was credited as “Freddie Linkous” on this EP, and as “Freddie Mark Linkous” on its followup, 1985's 12 Jealous Roses. I first got into the Dancing Hoods when 120 Minutes played the video for their song “Pleasure”. The song had a great guitar riff, and do you remember the chorus? “I danced on ledges a hundred flights up, drank dirty water from a jagged cup”... I think I later saw the Hoods on MTV playing live with Johnette Napolitano, but I can’t be sure.
1988's Hallelujah Anyway was supposed to be their breakthrough album, but the band broke up after its release. Some of the songs were obvious grabs for airplay. The bargain bins are filled with copies of this CD. So why do I carry a torch for the Dancing Hoods? Take a listen to these tracks. Lead singer Bob Bortnick quotes Dylan Thomas at length on “Crooked Angel” (which has a great riff by Linkous). And the band reimagines Leonard Cohen’s turgid “Diamonds in the Mine” as a balls-out rocker. So they were smarter than the average bear (they also covered the Left Banke on their first LP). Linkous exchanged his Johnny Thunders influences for Tom Waits, and I think Bob Bortnick went to work in A & R. I was surprised the other day to see that Uncut magazine's CD this month has an uptempo country-flavored cover of "Diamonds in the Mine" by the Broken Family Band. You can hear it at the blog Kofi's Hat.
Dancing Hoods: Crooked Angel
Dancing Hoods: Diamonds in the MineLabels: dancing hoods
