April Skies with The Jesus and Mary Chain on ttt
Hello music lovers and Hello hivers!
I can't believe Tuesday is nearly over and I haven't written let alone published my ttt post!
It has been an exhausting day and we had run out of coffee not long ago, so I had to run to the shop.
On the way there, I of course was listening to Spotify when the song April Skies came on ...
So I stopped and took a picture, this was after 8.30pm. I love these long days of light we are now getting!
Time for some tunes from The Jesus and Mary Chain.
It is Tuesday and that of course means that it's #ttt or #threetunetuesday and so it's time to share some tunes with you!
@ablaze started #ttt 205 weeks ago! Go check out what it is all about on his last post 3 Irish greats for Three Tune Tuesday - Week 204 - win 5 HBI
Do go support @ablaze as without him we would not have this mental fun musical activity that you can win HSBI from! I am happy to be one of the FIVE sponsors and it is kinda fun checking out music from all over this global village of ours!
Long live #ttt 😁🎼 and #threetunetuesday
Where to start ~ East Kilbride, west of Scotland.
East Kilbride is a town not that far from Glasgow and was where a certain Ally McCoist is from. The one and only Coisty is of course a Rangers Legend, being our top goalscorer and all round comedian and fun guy. I still listen to him on the telly and radio and his patter even has the lassies listening and watching!
I detract ... that's nothing new...
East Kilbride was home to brothers Jim Reid and William Reid. They founded the influential alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain.
I will be intrigued if any of my American ttt members have heard of them.
The Jesus and Mary Chain (JAMC) broadly under the alternative rock umbrella emerging as a key band in the UK alternative scene of the 80s and 90s.
People say they were either too late or too early to make it. They emerged before BritPop where every fluff sticking a Union Flag on their guitar case was being offered a record deal!
To me they had two genres and you can see it in the albums they released.
Noise Pop: They are considered pioneers of this genre, which characteristically combines dissonant noise, feedback, and distortion with accessible pop melodies and song structures.
Shoegaze: While pre-dating the main wave, their heavily processed guitar sounds (reverb, distortion, feedback) and often detached vocal style were hugely influential on the shoegaze movement that followed (e.g., My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive).
Thanks gemini for the genre definitions.
So the three songs I am going to choose are from their first three albums. They have released eight albums and are touring again after the usual breakup hiatus.
So today we have three tunes from The Jesus and Mary Chain
Tune 1 ~ The Jesus and Mary Chain ~ Just Like Honey
Just Like Honey is from JAMC's first album Psychocandy released in 1985.
Some say this is JAMC's most iconic song, but I am not so sure. What I do know is this early JAMC down to a tee!
Simple melodies buried beneath layers of reverb-drenched guitar feedback and noise. The contrast between the beautiful tune and the abrasive production is signature JAMC.
Welcome to Noise Pop! Just Like Honey has said to be the archetypal noise-pop ballad.
Some of you might recognise it from the 2003 film Lost in Translation.
Tune 2 ~ The Jesus and Mary Chain ~ April Skies
So let's skip forward two years to the song that inspired today's Three Tune Tuesday...
April Skies is from JAMC's second album Darklands released in 1987.
You can tell the difference in this second album Darklands compared to the first album. There is much less noise! Well I should say they got smoother with their production and those melodies are more prominent now.
April Skies is a powerful, anthemic track with a soaring chorus and demonstrates their ability to write compelling alternative rock songs that could gain wider appeal without entirely losing their edge. It was there most successful single.
Tune 3 ~ The Jesus and Mary Chain ~ Head On
Head On is from JAMC's third album Automatic released in 1989.
This might have been their biggest hit if I remember. I do remember it was covered by the Pixies, what a band they are and they are due their own ttt especially as they have one of the songs I want at my funeral.
Fluff it, back to Head On and this shows JAMC shifting again. Much more electronic influences now and a catchy tune!
Which was your favourite The Jesus and Mary Chain tune or was it one of the many others that could have been chosen? Or have you never heard of them?!?
Note: The 3 YouTube videos that I have shared are not owned by me, I am simply spreading great music on Hive.
I wish that you all have a brilliant happy fun and terrific Tuesday until we meet again enjoy your tunes 🎶🎵🎶
Thanks for visiting!
Lead image captured by me and ramblings are from me, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated.
@tengolotodo April 29th 2025
DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND DO IT OFTEN
HASTE YE BACK
Feel free to check out Hive and comment if you need a starting hand
Absolutely awesome! I haven't heard The Jesus and Mary Chain in years. They were such a such cool band, and three picks were great! Great TTT my friend!
Yeah I do like spotify as it does pop some great bands into my playlists!
I had ABC pop up on mine along with Thompson Twins, that was a lot of fun!
Lexicon of Love album with Poison Arrow and The Look of Love I am guessing for ABC and ah Thompson Twins well cool that had loads of hits Doctor Doctor and Hold me now are two of the top of my head!
Lexicon of Love was a great album. Be Near Me was another great one of theirs along with When Smokey Sings. I have always been a Thompson Twins fan, so I dove deep into their albums. So many great songs! My problem is there are so many band I love in English and Spanish that I could listen all day and never fit them all in. The joys of not being young. I have a niece who's into Olivia Rodrigo and paid $900 for a concert ticket... I was dumbfounded...
$900 hehe only time I have done something like that was for Rangers when they got a European final in 2008.
I hope your niece enjoyed the concert at that price!
Totally my first time listening to them and they're actually 🔥🔥...
Nice pick for this week ❤️
hehe i think Meya is shocked I like something she likes 🤣
Glad you like them though and thank you
Yh 😅
I think you have a very good taste in music and it's funny that I always like your picks 😆 .. I would genuinely listen to any song you recommend without thinking twice .
That is high praise indeed, I am honoured 😁
Linda interpretación.😘🙏👏
I've heard of them, but I don't think I have ever heard any of their songs.
Aha I was wondering if you had or not.
I had never heard them before, but I liked all three interpretations. So you've already picked the songs you'd like to have played at your funeral? I did too!!! That might be a good #tttt of yours for next week. A hug from April, even though it's saying goodbye!!!
Well only one of them is a definite. Oh yes one more hug for April, that's a must!
The post title made me open the post, thinking: What the heck?! Did someone honestly launch a Jesus and Mary Chain? Did I know the existence of a band carrying such name 😆😆😆 All in all, your post intrigued me and search the big ass Internet asking if they were somehow popular in my country back in the days. Answer: wasn't able to find it, but I found this kick ass article from one of our most respected websites. It is in Dutch, but with the browser's built-in translation feature, it is easy to switch into your language of preference. https://3voor12.vpro.nl/artikelen/overzicht/2024/april/The-Jesus-and-mary-chain-interview.html
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