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Rudolf Dethu Showbiz, Jalan Pedungan Indah 11/11A, Denpasar (2026)

18/06/2026

This month in 1982, The Stray Cats released 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥. Despite being regarded as a masterpiece compilation of their British tracks—including “Rock This Town” and “Stray Cat Strut”—there’s one song included in the album that has only been performed 4 times in their entire touring history: “Little Miss Prissy.”

For contrast, the Setlist.fm database shows that "Stray Cat Strut" has been performed live 316 times, "Rock This Town" 298 times, "Runaway Boys" 270 times, and "(She's) Sexy + 17" 160 times.

However, rockabilly historians and music journalists consistently point to “Little Miss Prissy” as Brian Setzer’s blatant homage to Chuck Berry. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 has noted that the track moves away from pure, frantic 1950s rockabilly for a heavier, swinging rhythm-and-blues stomp that largely relies on Berry's signature guitar licks.

Among true Stray Cats fans, the song is treated as a litmus test. While casual listeners only know the hits, die-hards champion “Little Miss Prissy” for its swaggering attitude, Setzer’s witty lyrics about a high-society London girl, and its distinct mid-tempo groove.

What other unpopular Stray Cats’ tracks do you think deserve more respect?

31/05/2026

This month in 1992, the Pixies' cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Head On" was released in Japan.

It's a common misconception that "Head On' was an unknown track before 1991. In reality it was a massive success, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. But without the Pixies, "Head On" might have remained frozen in time—remembered fondly as a fantastic, synth-tinged artifact of 1989 alternative radio. The Pixies gave it wheels, muscle, and immortality.

The Pixies chose to cover the song because Pixies frontman Black Francis enjoyed it so much. He didn't look at the track through the lens of high-concept artistry or calculated alternative posturing. To him, it was simply an incredible, infectious pop song.

On their 1991 album 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦 𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦, the Pixies completely threw out the drum machines and synth and re-recorded it the only way the Pixies knew how: fast, raw, distorted, and packed with human velocity. Francis' rendition of the song was not an act of cynicism; it was an act of pure appreciation for a great hook.

Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis frequently praised the cover as a testament to Black Francis’s unique ear for melody, admiring how a frontman who "wasn't that hip when it came to modern music" managed to unearth a timeless rock hook from an electronic-heavy track.

Songwriters Jim and William Reid were highly flattered by the cover. The Pixies' aggressive rendition vindicated their songwriting, restored their alternative credibility, and boosted royalties.

The cover also catalyzed The Jesus and Mary Chain's 2007 reunion. Singer Jim Reid worried that performing the youthful song as an older musician would look awkward, but seeing the Pixies confidently tour with the track gave him the courage to return to the stage. "𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, '𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥: 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘖𝘯.' 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘖𝘯' 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, '𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘦?'"

28/05/2026

On this date in 1949, the Queen of Shock Rock, Wendy O. Williams, was born in Webster, New York.

In rock 'n' roll history books, Wendy O. Williams is frequently blamed for breaking up Motörhead following their EP collaboration. This happened during a chaotic 1982 recording session, which was supposed to be a cross-genre project but instead resulted in the tragic end of Motörhead's classic "three amigos" lineup—Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil "Philtyhy Animal" Taylor.

Many historians still point to Wendy’s raw vocal style during this EP cooperation was the direct cause of Motörhead broke apart. Her inability to get in tune during the sessions reportedly drove the band's legendary guitarist, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, to resign in frustration.

The project began in May 1982 when Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, a fan of Wendy's punk attitude, invited her to record a heavy duet of Tammy Wynette’s country classic, "Stand by Your Man." Clarke was tasked with producing the track in Toronto but hated the concept, viewing it as a cheap gimmick.

The session grew volatile when Wendy struggled to adapt her guttural vocals to the melody. As hours dragged on with Wendy singing out of tune, Clarke’s patience wore thin. He attempted to persuade Lemmy to drop the song and record a blues EP instead, but Lemmy refused to abandon his friend.

Furious, Clarke delivered an ultimatum: if Lemmy insisted on working with Wendy, he would leave. Lemmy stood his ground. That night, Clarke packed his gear and walked out, ending the definitive "Three Amigos" lineup.

While Wendy remains the scapegoat in rock lore, modern accounts note that the band was already fracturing over prior album disputes. Though the EP was a critical failure, Lemmy never regretted the project and remained fiercely proud of his work with Wendy.

Wendy died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1998. She was 48.

Happy heavenly birthday, Kommander of Kaos! Keep hitting the pedal to the metal!

24/05/2026

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴. 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." —𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳

On this day in 2010, Slipknot's co-founding bassist, Paul Gray ( #2/The Pig), was discovered dead in an Iowa hotel room. He was 38. An autopsy later confirmed his cause of death as an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl, aggravated by significant underlying heart disease.

Honoring his memory, Slipknot launched their 2011 Memorial World Tour, including a performance at Rock in Rio. The band recruited original co-founding guitarist from 1995, Donnie Steele, to fill in on bass; however, to protect the group's privacy, Steele performed entirely from backstage.

On stage, Gray was represented by an effigy featuring his signature jumpsuit, mask, and bass placed between the drums and DJ booth. This tribute allowed the band to mourn publicly until Alessandro "Vman" Venturella officially took over the live role in 2014.

Gray's legacy remains deeply tied to his work as a primary musical architect for the band. Along with drummer Joey Jordison, Gray heavily drove the composition of their iconic 2004 track "Duality," constructing its powerful riffs and hard-driving bass groove.

Lyrically, "Duality" explores internal anguish and psychological pressure, using eye-pressing as a metaphor for numbing emotional pain. Written by Corey Taylor during personal struggles, the song mirrored the collective trauma and addiction battles gripping Gray and the band.

Direct songs about Gray's private life and tragic passing would come later—most notably on their 2014 tribute album, 5: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳, which featured tracks like "Goodbye," specifically written about the day he died.

01/05/2026

"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 '𝘛𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨' 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯... 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮." ⎯⎯𝘉𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 (𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘢)

Despite its reputation as a quintessential 1990s party anthem, "Tubthumping" remains one of the most successful examples of tactical media subversion in music history. Chumbawamba, a Leeds-based anarchist collective, wrote the song to serve as a "Trojan Horse" promoting their ideology. The band made a successful leap from the squat-punk underground to the top of the international music charts by employing a high-energy pop structure.

The tune's central theme focuses on working-class resilience, symbolized by the recurring "get knocked down" refrain. While the general public often associated the lyrics with pub culture and alcohol consumption, the band members clarified that these elements represented communal solidarity. For the collective, the song was a tribute to the "tubthumpers"—the political agitators who continued to fight for social change despite systemic oppression.

The commercial success of the track sparked significant controversy within the anarchist community. Long-time supporters accused the band of selling out their radical principles by signing to a major label like EMI. In response, Chumbawamba argued that they were "boring from within," using corporate profits to fund activist groups, strikes, and independent social projects that would otherwise lack financial support.

Mainstream media reactions were initially focused on the song’s catchiness rather than its ideological roots. However, the band frequently used their newfound platform to promote direct action and civil disobedience. This culminated in a televised incident at the 1998 BRIT Awards, where a band member dumped ice water on the Deputy Prime Minister to protest the government's treatment of striking dockworkers.

The legacy of "Tubthumping" has evolved as scholars and fans have reconsidered its deeper meaning. While it continues to be played at sporting events and celebrations, its status as a protest anthem is cemented by the band's lifelong commitment to activism. The song stands as a rare instance where a radical political message achieved total saturation in global popular culture without losing its original intent.

Today, "Tubthumping" remains a fixture of May Day playlists, serving as a loud, rhythmic reminder that the spirit of the working class cannot be permanently suppressed.

Happy May Day!

17/04/2026

On this date in 1991, Nirvana appeared at the OK Hotel in Seattle, where they played a new song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," live for the first time.

The performance has since become one of the most renowned "I was there" moments in rock history, but the audience's immediate reaction at the time was surprisingly low-key.

While we now recognize it as the birth of a generational anthem, the roughly 500 people in attendance had no idea they were witnessing a cultural change. When Kurt Cobain stepped up to the podium and announced, "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 '𝘚𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵,'" the room remained almost silent—there isn't a single cheer or shout of recognition because nobody had ever heard the title before.

By April 1991, Nirvana was already a popular local band in the Seattle scene, and the OK Hotel was a packed, sweaty venue. The audience reacted with the usual enthusiasm they gave Nirvana—moshing and dancing—but they didn't regard "Teen Spirit" as any more exceptional than other songs in the set, such as "Breed" or "Sliver."

The show was a hurriedly arranged fundraiser. The band needed money for gas to drive to Los Angeles to record 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 the following month. The crowd was there to support the scene and the band, but the "seismic" nature of the song only became obvious months later, when the studio version premiered on MTV.

The opening band, Bikini Kill, their lead singer, Kathleen Hanna, was apparently the one who had inadvertently given Kurt the title weeks earlier when she spray-painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his bedroom wall.

Oh, the video here, check out the introduction, Kurt leaned into the mic to famously state, "𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘱 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥."

Courtney wasn't there; she was in Germany about to go on stage. When she heard the news via a phone call, she later said she found it "really sweet" and giggled, feeling "sort of embarrassed and sort of not."

Rudolf Dethu Showbiz

18/06/2026

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