Kid_book portrait_Luz Gallardo
photo: Luz Gallardo

Kid Congo Powers tells us about his favorite albums, gigs, movies & books of 2022

Kid Congo Powers has had a busy 2022. He released a memoir, Some Kind of Kick, an “intimate coming of age tale, of a young, queer, Chicano kid, growing up in a suburb east of East LA, in the mid-‘70s, exploring his sexual identity through glam rock” and eventually being a member of three iconic bands, The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, among many other musical and artistic accomplishments.

He also released a new album with The Wolfmanhattan Project, his group with The Gories’ Mick Collins and former Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert, as well as a live album with his group Kid Congo Powers & The Near Death Experience where he’s backed by Australians Harry Howard, brother of the late Rowland S. Howard (The Birthday Party, Crime & The City Solution), and Dave Graney of The Moodists. You can listen to those two albums below.

We’ve been asking artists to tell us about the stuff they liked this year, and Kid Congo was nice enough to send us his list, which includes albums and singles (Ezra Furman, Alice Coltrane), gigs, and music-related movies and books. Check out his list below.

Speaking of The Cramps, they have been having a moment thanks to their 1980 single “Goo Goo Muck” being used in Netflix’s Addams Family spinoff series, Wednesday. Kid wrote on Twitter this week, “Before Wednesday Addams (the Tim Burton Netflix one) was a twinkle in Morticia & Gomez Addams eyeball I was playing guitar on the Goo Goo Muck w/The Cramps! San Francisco 1981.” Watch the video of that he shared below.

KID CONGO POWERS – BEST MUSIC-RELATED THINGS OF 2022

Album: All Of Us Flames by Ezra Furman
Great songs and writing. Some songs seeming so familiar but never being able to pinpoint who /where / why is a big win for me because this means they have weaved some sublime alchemy. Emotional, humorous, inventive and classic .

Song: “Glance” by The Tracks from the album Paredón Blanco
I love this young Chicano/Mexican rock n roll band from Boyle Heights in East LA. People say they hear The Cure in their music, but I hear some Billy McKenzie from The Associates in Venancio Bermudez’s vocals . “Glance” is a real beautiful ride. Great live band. Check them out!

Gig: Spiritualized at Hotel Congress in Tucson, AZ
I have seen Spiritualized at The Beacon Theater in NYC, at The Hollywood Bowl and similar large stages so it was great to see them in the small confines of Club Congress. Up close, personal and ecstatic .

Gig: Los Apson at Hoco Fest in Tucson, AZ
I saw my past and future seeing 1960’s Mexican rock n roll band Los Apson. Pure love and pride on the faces of the old and young in the audience and on the blaze of sound from the band. I also saw my Latinx present. Orale!

Reissue : PTAH The El Daoud by Alice Coltrane
I was riding home on my bicycle with the vinyl LP of this reissue purchased from Wooden Tooth Records in Tucson, when I fell off my bike and broke my leg! Luckily it survived the crash and Alice and company are helping me heal and dream .

Film: Moonage Daydream
Fantastic collage of film and sound. Saw it in IMAX. I am a cradle to the grave David Bowie fan, so it turned me on!

Book: Up Above The City, Down Below The Stars by Barry Adamson
Loved Barry’s memoir – so cleverly written and so raw and revealing that even I clutched my pearls along the way screaming “Barry I never knew!!“ But the behind the veil look at childhood, becoming the bass player in Magazine, The Bad Seeds, and into an amazing solo career told my story as well. The similarities, even from the youngest ages with myself and Barry were uncanny. I already loved Barry and his work , but the book made me see him as a brother from another mother . Maybe yours too. Get it!

up Above The City, Down Below The Stars by Barry Adamson