Netflix trailer:

This is utterly fantastic. On some level stupendous. This is not your average rock doc…you know, a linear retelling of the band’s career, pure fact with a bit of rearview interpretation by those still alive. RATHER, this is all about the inspiration, this is all about the ARTISTRY!

And we haven’t had that spirit here for a very long time.

If you’re a baby boomer, you will remember. The inspiration of old films, from W.C. Fields to the Marx Brothers to “Inherit the Wind,” which had a profound effect on Mark Mothersbaugh.

Who is inspired by a pamphlet given to him by a teacher which lays out so much of the Devo philosophy long before there even is a band.

You see Gerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were art students.

You’re laughed at if you study art today. Which is one reason our music is so vapid. It’s paint by numbers, there’s no THINKING involved. And Devo was all about thinking. The thinking came first, audience acceptance second. They were projecting their ethos into the atmosphere, and how people reacted was important. Then again, they believed eventually people would get it, instead we’ve truly devolved. When you see the images from the “Beautiful World” video you know we’ve truly lost the plot. Things are ugly, but if you say so you’re the enemy. We’re all supposed to be mindless winners, in love with society. But what if you look at the dirty underside?

People don’t like it. Those in control. You’ve got to blame the game.

The essence of the music business is revealed when Mark asks the exec why if cassettes are cheaper to make and more profitable to the label that the band gets a lower royalty rate. The response is THAT’S THE WAY IT IS!

Do you accept that?

This film will demonstrate that while youngsters can sing and maybe even play, there’s no artistry involved. As a matter of fact, Devo and this doc are the antithesis of today’s music business. Where having a good voice is considered artistry.

Then again, maybe I’m just a smug baby boomer lifting the curtain on the warts of society.

Don’t confuse me, or Devo, with the boomers in D.C. who won’t let go. As a matter of fact, there’s  lot of anti-Reagan stuff in the flick. Devo are outsiders, like all great artists. They’re reacting to what they see. They’re not a part of it, they wouldn’t deign to be a part of it!

How to explain…

You really can’t.

It’s a sensibility.

It’s the opposite of going to Harvard and going to work in finance. It’s about having an idea and living in squalor believing in the mission, not even knowing if the mission will pay off, only that you need to stay on the path.

These are weirdos. From back when being a weirdo was a badge of honor. When you knew you weren’t cool and didn’t pretend to be. When you laughed at the cheerleaders and football players, meatheads who’d drunk the kool-aid.

Art is about questioning precepts. Why is it that way? Should it be that way? How do I make people aware of the conundrum?

Of course you’ve got some music business lore in this film. Record labels, MTV…but they are subsidiary to the story. I’d like to say they were tools of Devo, but that’s not an accurate description. They unknowingly exposed Devo and its message, unaware of the group’s underlying beliefs, and when they’d had their fill, they abandoned the group.

Timing is everything. If it weren’t for the Ramones and CBGB’s and the new wave, Devo probably never would have broken through. For all I know, they were not the only band on this path. But they stuck with it, and making it is about hard work and luck, and then taking advantage of the opportunity.

Devo never completely sells out. They can see the cognitive dissonance of going on “Merv Griffin” and “American Bandstand,” they stay true to their diffident personalities. Who’s using who?

This is what it used to be like, this is what we’re missing.

Of course Devo can’t be replicated exactly today, for numerous reasons. Then again, the tools of creation and exhibition are cheap and available to all, so if you do have a message you can get the word out. Will it resonate and spread?

There was less competition back then, because fewer acts could get the record label push. Today you do it all yourself, but as referenced above, you can do this, with no interference.

But really this is not about the system, the music business, but the band and its vision.

Where does your inspiration come from? If you just want to be rich and famous, so be it, you’re not going to change the world. You change the world by having a message and getting it out. And when it’s not the mainstream message, you must be subversive.

How do you learn how to do this?

By paying attention to the words of Max Ernst. Seeing films that have more depth than superheroes on parade.

Just watch it. We’d be in a better place, music would be in a better place, if everybody in the food chain watched this film.

Can you question your preconceptions?

Can you speak truth to authority?

These were the values of the baby boomers, before they sold out when Reagan legitimized greed. But some stayed on course, true to their beliefs, like Devo.

I’ve never seen a rock doc like this before. This is a perennial, to be viewed by up and comers of all ages for all time.

I’m stunned that they laid it all out there and got it right.

Then again, to do this you must be in control and do it your way, not compromising for commerciality. Only then do you have a chance of truly resonating and changing the world.

Music did change the world.

Not anymore.

But once upon a time there was an energy, and Devo weren’t the only ones, but they made it and never compromised and are still aware of what they did while having a sense of humor all the while.

WOW!

1

This is my favorite song on the new Ghost album, “Skeletá.”

At this point everybody in the business is familiar with the Swedish “metal” band. But the dirty little secret is the music is really not metal. I’m not saying it’s never heavy, but unlike so much of today’s metal it’s not played at light speed with voices shouting on top of what too often resembles noise. I get it, I get it, the listeners want to kick out the jams. They and their bands are the other, their own separate domain, but really a backwater. Most of the songs that you hear on the Active Rock chart don’t require a second listen. There’s emotion, then again it’s almost a caricature of the genre, akin to the hair band power ballads of the late eighties. But Ghost is different.

Ghost is more akin to “Hysteria.” Maybe even Queensrÿche at times. And Genesis?

Ghost is doing everything right when seemingly everybody else is doing it wrong. They want a cult audience. They know that keeping it somewhat precious only embellishes the act’s image. You have to make an effort to be a fan.

Consider the Yondr pouches. The truth is video helps you. The mystery has been history for years. It’s hard to get noticed, any publicity you receive benefits you.

And yes, Yondr pouches mean that the attendees can’t spend the show on their phones, but it also means there’s a blackout as to what happens on stage. And this only works if your music is good. And Ghost’s is.

Speaking of the hair band era… That’s where all the money was, on MTV, which fed the playlists on the new triumphant Top Forty stations on FM radio. You were either on MTV or you were in the wilderness. There was a great divide, and acts would do almost anything to get on the service. Sing ballads unrepresentative of the rest of their oeuvre and hire stylists for their videos and… One day the public woke up and had had enough, they were aware of the construct, it was just too damn phony.

Yes, Kurt Cobain and Nirvana came along in the early nineties to rescue rock, but those songs were hits everywhere, whereas prior to MTV…

There were two verticals, two roads. AM was Top Forty, FM was album rock. And occasionally tracks from FM crossed over to AM, but some of the best FM acts never had an AM hit, yet got a ton of FM airplay.

FM was the alternative. Not like in R.E.M. and the rest of the alternative acts, no…literally an alternative, the OTHER! Where thinking hard core music fans went and listened, prodigiously. You didn’t need a three minute single to triumph, you just needed a great record, genre wasn’t that important, FM rock was a big tent, at least until the corporate rock of the late seventies that killed the genre.

Ghost is not corporate rock.

So all we hear about is the acts in the Spotify Top 50, veritable brands, covered by mainstream media, even though so much of that music is evanescent junk. All the action is elsewhere. Sans the usual hype, just waiting like a land mine to blow up in your personal headspace.

Now one could argue that the Ghost paradigm was first done by Slipknot. But Slipknot’s music was nowhere near as accessible, really not accessible as all.

But really Ghost is a product of Sweden. Where you can stretch out artistically and be embraced, because radio was never open to all comers, you could go down the road less taken and triumph. Never forget that Max Martin started out in hard rock/metal.

To be Ghost is expensive. To make Ghost work you have to be a thinker, to not only execute but continue to push the envelope forward, coming up with new ideas to wow the audience.

Yes, the gimmick was the band on stage was unknowable. And for a long time, that was true. But it also caused listeners to focus on the music, the music came first.

2

Tobias Forge, the frontman of Ghost, is 44. And the band was formed in 2006 and their first album came out in 2010. This used to be unheard of. But this is what the internet has wrought, age no longer matters, it’s about the music. Are you willing to hang in there that long to make it?

Then you’d better be original, like Ghost.

Sure, there are plenty of acts out on the road with members who are in their fifties and sixties, never mind forties…but almost all of them are running on fumes, they’re selling tickets on the music they cut long ago. If it’s not pure nostalgia, it’s close. But to be 44, in the game for twenty years, and still be doing new, innovative work that resonates with the public? NEVER! Especially today, when it’s no longer about physical and only the hard core buys the new work…which promptly falls off the chart. The new music tends to be a rationalization for the tour.

So…

The great thing about Ghost’s music is it’s not for everybody. They’re not compromising. And it’s working. They sell out arenas and their latest album, “Skeletá,” entered the chart at number one.

And we hear all about the Swifties, but hard rock/metal fans NEVER abandon the act, they’ve got the strongest fanbase extant. To triumph in hard rock/metal…you’ve made it forever. Meaning Ghost is a veritable phenomenon. But they don’t rap, they don’t employ outside songwriters, they’re in the Ghost business, like in the old days where every band was unique.

3

So if you’re listening with your thinking cap on, stop. That’s not how a non-fan new to this music is supposed to listen to this. You’re supposed to crank the tunes and let them wash over you and see if they penetrate.

And many people won’t like Ghost. But unlike their brethren in the Active Rock ghetto, there’s melody and harmony, WHAT A CONCEPT!

This music is not made for a dinner party. Rather this is the kind of music you play when you’re insanely happy or morbidly depressed. It speaks to you in those moods. And when you do listen there are no outside touchpoints, you’re in your own cocoon. And there are guitars…but really, a lot of this stuff is closer to early Queen than Metallica.

So when you drop the needle on a new album and don’t immediately take it off, if you’re inspired to listen all the way through, a song or two might jump out. You’re not expecting it to, it’s not because it’s been promoted as a single, it’s just that it resonates. There have been three radio tracks released from “Skeletá,” and “Guiding Lights” is not one of them. Because it doesn’t really fit the format. The broad rock of the old days? Yes. But “Guiding Lights” is not angry, as a matter of fact you can argue it’s beautiful.

“That the road that leads to nowhere is long

And that those who seek to go there are lost”

This is the magic right here, the anthemic chorus. A veritable hard rock chorus. This is the hook. Not only the choir-like effect of the vocalizations, but the lyricism, there’s a melody you can pick out and sing along to, or at least nod your head to.

And then there’s a twist:

“The guiding lights, they lead you on

And the road that leads to nowhere is long”

Yes, the chorus of “Guiding Lights” makes the track. That’s what stood out, made me take notice, want to play the song again.

The song starts with this riff, it sounds like it’s played on a toy piano.

Then the verse. This is very low key. Like you’re in the forest on a moonless night.

But then the number builds through the pre-chorus:

“There stood my God before me

Do you know what they said?”

This is the change that brings you to the anthemic chorus, that sets you up, it’s the pitcher’s windup before the ball is sent hurtling to the plate.

And this is not Pulitzer prize wordsmithing, but having said that…

“The road that leads to nowhere is long”

This is where so many hard rock listeners believe they’re going…NOWHERE! They’re on a journey, but no one is paying attention to it. They figure if they stay in the wilderness long enough they’ll find their people and a modicum of happiness.

Then again, you can interpret this as a love song. The end of a relationship. The road to ending is long and torturous. At the end there is no prize, there’s nothing. But still, the great thing is the nowhere metaphor works if you’re just alienated too.

And unlike so much hard rock/metal, you can interpret the song on a romantic level, it’s not all devils and dungeons, which is why women are drawn in. Sure, there are misanthropic women into bombastic hard rock/metal, but most want something more. I just Googled “Ghost have female fans” and this is was the top hit, from Reddit:

“Why does this fanbase have so many more women compared to other rock bands?”

And then there’s a specific question:

“First off, it’s a good thing! As a woman, it makes me really happy to see so many other girls that are into rock music.

“I’m just puzzled as to why Ghost has so many more female fans compared to other rock bands. It seems like most other band’s concerts are predominantly male.”

Why does this fanbase have so many more women compared to other rock bands?
byu/firstreformer inGhostbc

It’s the MUSIC!

The other acts have the look, with the leather and the studs…once again, almost a caricature of the scene, but Ghost has thrown that over and is appearing on stage…the band members are wearing robes.

All this means if you like this kind of music, you can come in from the wilderness, someone made a record just for you. They didn’t need to make it so angry and noisy and shouty that it turned off all but the hard core.

And you can be a fan and it delivers more than the music. The show cements the deal.

The road that leads to nowhere may be long, but so is the road to somewhere. Which is why so much of the good, groundbreaking sounds come from people who are older, who have lived a little while. They’ve got perspective, they’ve got something to say.

And in this case, I want to listen to it!

Hey Bob, Awesome write up and spot on here. Wait till you see them live next time they play in Los Angeles. They will blow you away. All 8 members of the band are so dynamic, and Paul is pure, non-stop entertainment!! I just heard the live version of ‘Sushi and Coca-Cola’ and they took this under 3-minute song and created a 7-minute live anthem that will make you get up and dance by yourself. You can’t stop moving! They are as authentic as it gets in music, and this song is going to move them to the next level and beyond. It does not fit a format or a DSP playlist, it is simply great music that is going to bleed into the mainstream and not leave, because the song and band has “it”. We all want “it”, and “it” is hard to find and get. St Paul and the Broken Bones will be around for many more decades, and you will love it when you see them every time live! 

Warren Christensen

Q Prime

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Thanks, BOB… Now you’ve created an earworm for me!  Not the greatest song I’ve ever heard, but certainly one with a nice groove. I’m not sure that Saint Paul is better than The Commitments, but Paul’s voice is really slick, and you don’t hardly ever hear any horn bands around anymore today, which I really miss! Bottom line is, this song should definitely have more traction than it currently does. As a former Head of promotion for several labels, I believe I could’ve gotten this played… Just sayin’…

Michael Abramson

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Hey Bob – your timing on this is so great.  I just saw St Paul & the Broken Bones this past Saturday at a free show in Marina del Rey as part of their summer concert series.  It was such a fun show, and as you mention below, everyone was up and moving for “Sushi and Coca-Cola.”  There’s no denying that he has a great voice, puts on a good show, AND they had the horns with them.  Keep spreading the word about real music!

All the best – Mary Jurey

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loved it song of summer 25…no lie…good vibe

Chris Rodinis

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I love the groove and his voice, that is one of the oddest videos I have seen but I like it!!

Doug Gillis

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Good shout on St Paul and the Broken Bones.

We saw them at the Ryman in Nashville many years ago. It was one of the greatest show I have seen. He looks like the guy other guys picked on in High School but he performs like James Brown only weirder. At one point he randomly rolled himself in the stage rug and hid under the drum riser. It was strange and fabulous. And he is a great singer.

Best

Michael Ross

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Saw them this summer at The Capitol Groove festival – a very cool midsize fest in downtown Hartford – where they blew the place out.  Was pretty inspiring and amazing to hear how many people – young kids – talking about their set even on Day 2.

Dave Rubin

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Been into them since their first album…..seen them many times live always a good time.

Michael Rosenblatt

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Simple? Yes.

Derivative? Yes.

Infectious? HELL YEAHHH!!

Nice find, Bob.

DG

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Thanks Bob, love this tune.

Louis Lindstrom

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Thank you, Bob!!!  This is great.  It is just where my head is right now.  Just sounds good.  Groove!  Give me an authentic band where people are playing real instruments. The horn section is killer.  The dude can sing, too!  The drummer plays just behind the beat, and it sounds like VINYL! This made me feel like I was a kid again, listening to Al Green or Billy Paul on my Zenith shelf-style radio (badass speaker, by the way!) in my bedroom .. singing along with an invisible microphone, while moving around the room like I was on “In Concert” or “Midnight Special!”

I hope to see this band LIVE. I was hooked at first listen!  Great group!

🙂

Beki Brindle-Scala

Woodstock, NY

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Terrific song.

Would feel at home on Stax.

Thanks,

Ernie Canadeo

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Al Green would’ve killed with this song..

I like it

Jeff Laufer

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I put these guys in the Muscle Shoals Sound category, classic style that, as you say, forces you to get up and move.  I’ve seen them live (in a smaller venue) and the show was great, they love their jobs and it comes across on the stage.

Jeff Bray

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This is crazy good.

You can’t possibly oversell it.

How is this not the song of the summer of 2025?!?!??!

I’ve never run into this band before.. Going off to research.

Thanks for this.!!!

It is exactly what I needed.

Karen Gordon

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Love this! And the video.

John Parikhal

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St. Paul and the BB, Sushi and Coca Cola is very good. Paul Janeway and his cape wardrobe and stunning voice range is simply masterful. I’ve been a fan since I first heard Apollo.

Thanks Bobby!

Thank you,

Gary Hunter, CCIM

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Me thinks one of your better picks. It’s a killin’  track for all your stated reasons.  I saw them live about 6 years ago and found them, meh. After listening to this tune, I might give em another chance live.

Thanks, Bob.

Dave McNair

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Check out St Paul and the Broken Bones’ performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk. Great stuff!

 

Love your letters!

 

Thanks!

 

Pete Thompson

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i like the sushi song!

Jeff Lorber

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LOVE IT!!

Tom Gillam

New BraunfelsTX

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Thanks for the tip, Bob.

Their latest, “Fall Moon” has it going on too.

Rusty

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Great pick, thank you.

Kind regards,
Rob Whittaker

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The difference between a guitar + keyboards pop rock band vs. the same band with a well-charted  horn section blended in is like the difference between a plain scoop of ice cream vs. a hot fudge sundae.

Paul Lanning

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As a mid-60ish music fan, I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s increasingly hard to find worthy tunes to spin in this era and when you run across a working band that brings some soul/funk and horns to the mix, like St. Paul & The Broken Bones, you will have my ears. I submit the finest example of this genre is Tedeschi Trucks Band. The “wall of sound” they emit as a 12-piece ensemble is magnificent! Certainly, the economics of touring with such a lineup are daunting, and I admire them even more for placing the auditory experience of their fans above simply maximizing the bottom line.

Taylor Josey

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You like this ’cause it’s a REAL song.  The lyrics work against the music in a terrific way.  It’s kind of everyday/every life, sweetly sad.  Tough day…nothin’ fancy, just another tricky, lucky day.

AND…Paul Janeway’s vocal is damned good. That kind of tight, focussed, nasal, soulful intelligence is pretty rare at the moment…(he reminds me a bit of Frazee Ford).

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

gPresto

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Sorry, pass.

You want horns, listen to Tedeschi Trucks Band

Larry Mollin

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Thanks for bringing some love to songs like this, and more importantly, this fantastic band – especially live in concert.  I’ve seen them live many times over the last few years, including twice this year already. (They were touring with the Wood Brothers this summer, another non-mainstream band that is very good in concert).  At every show, Paul and the band play with real emotion and energy. There is no pretentious BS at their shows. They are all better musicians than you’d expect, and their lead guitarist can really rock. But you’re right, it’s the horns and Paul himself that kill it song after song.

I grew up in So. Cal and have been going to shows since my older sister took me to see Black Sabbath at the Long Beach Arena in 1976. Ater a long career in the event and sports marketing business, which included 30+ years of travel and the opportunity to see concerts all over the country, I recently retired.  And my passion now is seeing good bands in smaller venues.  I’m up to 26 shows this year, with another 10 already booked for the fall/winter.  I’m on a Rock n’ Roll retirement plan!

I don’t go to festivals, stadiums or big arena shows anymore.  I don’t want to see screens, videos, massive light shows or pyrotechnics.  I want to see and hear a band deliver a show to a crowd.  Some bands are good musicians.  Some bands are good entertainers.  But when a band can deliver both, that is a special night.  I live for those nights.   St. Paul and the Broken Bones is one of those bands.

At some point in every show, they play a very long version of the song Sanctify.  Paul usually goes out into the audience and finds a place he can get a little elevated.  He gets creative at times.  At the show I saw in Ft. Wayne, IN, last month, he climbed up a 20″ ladder and continued to sing!  When he’s in that robe (like he’s wearing in the video you sent), and he’s singing that song, the venue becomes a church, and he is testifying!!  The place is electric! To quote the late, great Jim Ladd, “Lord may mercy”!

Go see St. Paul and the Broken Bones live. They will fill your heart and soul with nothing but great music.

Cheers Bob!

Bill O’Neil

The story of their new book “Buzz Me In: Inside the Record Plant Studios.”

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-goggin-martin-porter/id1316200737?i=1000722936461

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