From the out-of-kilter words and quirky music of Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio," it was clear that their songwriter and lead singer Stan Ridgway had a unique perspective on the world, and when he subsequently went solo, it was no surprise that he said he wanted to write songs that sounded like a hard-boiled Ross Macdonald or Raymond Chandler crime novel.
To that end, his debut solo was called "The Big Heat," a noirish sounding title if there ever was one. It was an album full of menacing new wave synthesizer rhythms and pulsing bass lines that, when added to Ridgway's angular vocals, detailed the dark fabric of life. In virtually all his songs, Ridgway narrates the lives of classic noir victims -- the guy who takes the fall in a doomed love triangle, the hapless taxi driver who drives a getaway car for a dark femme, a crime reporter for a daily newspaper who wonders where the last honest man is.
And on and on . . .
Though the stories are dark, and the protagonists are destined for a dead end, the music is always accessible and memorable, just like film noir. And Stan's world-weary perspective and quirky vocal delivery sell the tale.
Here's something from Ridgway's second solo "Mosquitos."
