"PEEK-A-BOO" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1988)

The moment a song is born, the world is different. It’s now a part of our lives. We sing it in the shower. We dance to it at our wedding. We get pumped with it. We break up to it. We memorize it. We try to forget it. We rediscover it. This month, I’m joining Arron Wright’s Twitter music challenge: ##Popiversary2. Because why the hell not. Songs deserve their own anniversaries, too.

Year: 1988

It takes a special kind of band to continually push boundaries, venturing beyond one’s comfort zone but simultaneously staying true to one’s essence. Siouxsie & The Banshees belongs in this prestigious category. Album to album, they have a history of folding in new genres into their post punk foundation. Even at their highest commercial success – the single “Kiss Them For Me” – they still stayed true to their essence. And one of the greatest examples of the band’s innovative side is “Peek-A-Boo”.

“Peek-A-Boo” sounds like one part circus, one part torture chamber, two parts industrial factory. Siouxsie sings with a highly unusual delivery, and every musical element – the accordion, the keys, and the drums – contributes greatly to the celebration of industrial noise. Gone are the guitar hooks. And even Severin’s bass is barely detectable on the track, aside from a few revs here and there. The track belongs to Siouxsie and Budgie, whose drums provide all the hooks you need.

“Peepshow, creepshow, Where did you get those eyes?”

"PAINTED BIRD" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1982)

For the month of October, I’m taking the #OctAtoZBandChallenge challenge. The premise is simple. Pick a band starting with the day’s assigned alphabet letter and then choose a song from that band.

Day 19

Not exactly a deep cut, but far from the obvious Siouxsie pick, today I’m going with “Painted Bird” off 1982’s underrated A Kiss In The Dreamhouse. There are some household tracks here: “Melt”, “Fireworks” and “Slowdive” are the biggest ones. The album before – Juju – is perhaps more recognizable. But A Kiss In The Dreamhouse was more daring and more experimental. Exactly the reasons why I chose “Painted Bird” of all Siouxsie tracks.

“Painted Bird” rewrites the rules on just about everything. It uses unconventional time signatures and seems to adjust its tempo mid-track. McGeoch experiments with various guitar riffs, from soaring hooks to shuffled arpeggios. Budgie’s drum kit is transformed into a percussion playground. Severin lends a hand on organ. Siouxsie turns in yet another vivid, gut-wrenching vocal performance. And the last 15 seconds of the song are a testament to the gripping power of an unexpected close.

“On lead-poisoned wings – you try to sing. Freak beak shrieks are thrown – at your confusing hue. The peacock screaming eyes – show no mercy no mercy.”

"CITIES IN DUST" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1985)

After spending an entire month looking back at the 80’s, I realized one thing. I need more. Luckily, a couple of fellow music fans on Twitter came up with the brilliant idea to highlight #30DaysOf80sMovieSongs during the month of April. I couldn’t resist at the opportunity to keep going, to keep listening, and to keep celebrating the decade that has meant more to me than any other from a musical standpoint. Each day I’m playing a different soundtrack favorite on the Mental Jukebox.

Movie: Out of Bounds

Let’s salute one of the most underrated bands of our time. A group that inspired bands who ended up inspiring other bands in turn. (The Cure, I’m looking at you.) Let’s also salute one of the greatest, most unique singers in Siouxsie Sioux. She could howl like a wolf in one moment, and then sing with a majestic stance in another. The instrumentalists were all exceptional as well. There was a revolving door of guitarists, but bassist Steven Severin and drummer Budgie stayed by Siouxsie’s side for many years. There are so many great rockers from Siouxsie & The Banshees – and one of them is certainly “Cities in Dust”.

Even when Siouxsie & the Banshees veered toward more accessible pop melodies, they never lost their brash post-punk edge. “Cities in Dust” is a case in point. Here’s a history lesson on Pompeii, put to a dance rock beat. Non-Banshee fans could appreciate this stuff. Alarming guitar riffs in the bridge. Haunting toy piano crescendos. And that unmistakeable falsetto howl from Siouxsie Sioux, one of the more underrated singer-songwriters of our time.

“Your former glories and all the stories. Dragged and washed with eager hands.”

"HAPPY HOUSE" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1980)

It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs

Musicians and fans owe a lot to this band. Siouxsie and the Banshees pushed boundaries musically and stretched our imaginations. Much like The Cure, they created a world you could get lost in. That world seemed cinematic at times (“Dazzle”, “Cascade”), occasionally perilous (“Spellbound”, “Cities in Dust”), and ecstatic at other moments (“Peek-A-Boo”, “Kiss Them For Me”). They created sweeping, biting, haunting post-punk expressions no one else was able or at least willing to create. One of their all-time classic anthems appeared in 1980 with a new lineup. The song is “Happy House”.

McKay was a special guitarist, but the new guy, John McGeoch, more than held his own. Here he plays edgy. He also plays atmospheric. And he fits right in. Budgie also joined the band around this time. Listen to the drum parts on “Happy House” carefully. Those are reggae-infused rhythms and beats that are giving the song fits and added dimension. The biting sarcasm of the song isn’t complete without it. One word about Severin’s bass playing here. skittish. He starts high up on the neck a la Peter Hook, then carries this epic track along while Siouxsie sings part psychotic, part flirtatious. Incredibly irresistible.

“We've come to scream in the happy house. We're in a dream in the happy house.”

"DAZZLE" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1984)

For the month of October, I’m selecting a song each day from the decade that has the most meaning to me: the 80s. It was the decade that I grew up in. The period of time where I discovered my love for music — and explored many different genres. For the next 31 days, I’ll highlight a handful of songs that I truly loved and that were representative of the decade. #31DaysOf80sSongs

Siouxsie & the Banshees may be one of the most criminally underrated bands of all time. In fact, one of the most important bands of the post-punk era was inspired by them. That band, of course, is The Cure. Robert Smith’s stint w/Siouxie & the Banshees gave him a taste of everything he wanted in a band. It’s safe to say, without Siouxie there would be no Cure. The band excelled in recreating classics like “The Passenger” and “Dear Prudence” as well as crafting danceable tracks like “Peek-A-Boo”, “Happy House” and “Cities in Dust”. But they also had a flair for the epic, which is on full display in “Dazzle”.

“Dazzle” is majestic at times and sinister in other moments. It more closely resembles an orchestral movement than a rock song. What I love about “Dazzle” most is the turn from sweeping ballad to gothic explosion at the 1:17 mark. The track feels more like a black and white movie than a song, with the aforementioned explosion its car chase scene. “Dazzle” is a cinematic experience, doing what all great post-punk songs do — creating a scene where our minds can escape to over and over again.

“The stars that shine and the stars that shrink. In the face of stagnation the water runs before your eyes.”

"DEAR PRUDENCE" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1983)

Cover songs can be many things. They can be lazy album filler. They can be ho-hum recordings that do nothing to advance a band’s catalog. But, once in a while, they can be truly epic. For my next five entries, I’m highlighting five of my favorite cover songs of all time. Each of these tracks, in my opinion, have reinvented and, in many ways, exceeded the original recordings.

Hyaena is one of those underrated 80’s albums that makes you wonder why it didn’t get the same kind of attention that its peers did, like New Order’s Power, Corruption & Lies and The Smiths’ The Queen is Dead. No other band was doing what Siouxsie & the Banshees were doing in the studio or on tour — and no one could even if they tried. It was all about the band personnel. And this is as clear as day when you play their Beatles cover “Dear Prudence”.

Siouxsie’s unique sound and persona placed an emphatic and eerie stamp on this Beatles White Album classic. Her ominous, echoey presence is inescapable. Her vocals seem to hover over us - in direct contrast to the band’s other big cover song (Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”), where Siouxsie sings right into our faces as if she’s hanging over the edge of the concert stage. But the special treat on “Dear Prudence” wasn’t Siouxsie. It was Robert Smith’s ingenious musical arrangement and post-punk guitar riffs. Thankfully he got back to writing, recording and touring with The Cure shortly after Hyaena, but his gloomy contributions on “Dear Prudence” are forever immortalized.

“Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play? Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day.”

"SPELLBOUND" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1981)

For Women’s History Month, I’m selecting some of my favorite songs from some of the most talented and influential women in music. From frontwomen to singer-songwriters to iconic performers, I’m picking one song a day on Mental Jukebox until the end of March.

You can’t write a book about post-punk without mentioning the swirling, intense musical storm that is “Spellbound”. One of my favorite Siouxsie and the Banshees’ anthems — and there are several of them — this song was brilliantly original in every way. No one else sung like Siouxsie. No one else played guitar like that. And no one sure as hell ever wrote a song like that. “Spellbound” was a ritualistic purge of convention.

“Following the footsteps of a rag doll dance, we are entranced.”

"CITIES IN DUST" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1986)

Even when Siouxsie & the Banshees veered toward more accessible pop melodies, they never lost their brash post-punk edge. “Cities in Dust” is a case in point. Here’s a history lesson on Pompeii, put to a dance rock beat. Non-Banshee fans could appreciate this stuff. Alarming guitar riffs in the bridge. Haunting toy piano crescendos. And that unmistakeable falsetto from Siouxsie Sioux, one of the more underrated singer-songwriters of our time.

“We found you hiding. We found you lying. Choking on the dirt and sand. Your former glories and all the stories. Dragged and washed with eager hands.”