Old Stuff -- Stone Roses

By 1989, when the Stone Roses began gaining traction in the States after the release of their self-titled first full length, the word 'groovy' had long since been banished from the vernacular. But let's be honest with ourselves, when you strip away the cornyness, is there another word that comes close to describing the Stone Roses? It is the very essence of groovy. The psychedelic bass lines created a perfect foundation for the alternatingly bluesy -then- new wavy guitar, all covered by Ian Brown's effortlessly cool vocals (he's the Mancunian Lou Reed, dontcha know?). Check out the video of "I Wanna Be Adored" (sorry if there's an ad involved -- it'll be worth it).



Here's "Waterfall", another of the best songs off that classic album.



For me, that first Stone Roses album was the high point of the Madchester scene. Exhibit C in support:



Alas, the Stone Roses suffered a bitter, and bitterly early, split, but were good enough to leave us another very fine album, even if they made us wait 5 years for it. Here's my favorite tune off that one.