Beneath the Zenith

Dramarama

A band I loved and followed closely as a kid — I remember their debut LP CINEMA VERITE holding a strange power over me in ‘85. It had real mystique. It was rock n’ roll. It was post-punk. It was even pre-grunge, and ahead of its time. And their single Anything, Anything was one of the greatest songs to come out of the U.S. in the eighties.

I saw them play live numerous times between ‘89 and ‘94 and celebrated their major label records VINYL and HI-FI SCI-FI. Easdale’s strong ‘97 solo record BRIGHT SIDE and the 2005 EVERYBODY DIES were real highlights for me. His songwriting continued to mature.

But I have to admit….their new release COLOR TV was totally unexpected. It came out of nowhere. I guess I figured they had called it quits. But this record is a genuine return to form in 2020 after a fifteen year hiatus.

Big guitars, drums and bass. Soaring vocals. Easdale is almost snarling and grinning at the same time. I love how this track tackles aging and nostalgia with both humor and sadness. A song that’s made me laugh and cry. The wit and truth is almost too much for me to think about.

A thousand movies in a box in my garage

Even though things have gotten better in so many ways — they still don’t really make ‘em like they used to. It’s easy for me to get nostalgic for turning on our analog TV and watching the Incredible Hulk or playing my Atari 2600. Or driving my sad Ford Granada across town to Tower Records on El Camino Blvd on a Tuesday. Just to pick up the new STUCK IN WONDERAMALAND on vinyl in the spring of ‘89. ❤️

And there’s no cure for our disease
The magic words are thanks and please
All the antennas look like trees.
And everything you buy is cheese. 😂