Lorde AND the Cramps on the cover of the Rolling Stone...

I was very happy to see the new Rolling Stone (I don't say that very often!) in the supermarket today with its cover pic featuring Lorde sporting a Cramps t-shirt! What a spot of sunshine after spending way too much time perusing the packages of wheat-free loaves. RS to their credit has posted a kind of intro page to the Cramps with some selected songs for the as yet unenlightened. And very very cool that Lorde is on RS cover, but absolutely expected and inevitable, while her wardrobe drops a bit of extra (rather more unexpected) coolness into the glossy magazine rack. And it's clear Lorde's got good taste!

Swinging Party: Lorde/Replacements

It's great that New Zealand's own dear Ms. Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor (aka Lorde) kicked some serious ass at the US Grammy Awards. She's made some of the best popular pop music (as opposed to unloved but entirely worthy pop music that's always shifted to the side until much later on...Big Star, etc.) in a very long while! And this rather long in the tooth writer was very impressed by her cover of the Replacements' song Swinging Party. Here's a live version of the song by the band I once (along with a lot of other geeky boys) worshipped from 1985, and Lorde's updated take.

Live at the Roxy 12-17-1985

New Zealand Singer songwriter Lorde I do not own the rights to this song I am just a fan Swingin' party by Lorde (the Replacements cover) If being wrong's a crime, I'm serving forever If being strong's your kind, then I need help here with this feather If being afraid