Sarge "Last Christmas" (mp3) (from the CD, My Pal God Holiday Record , My Pal God 1998) Continuing on with our string of holiday foolishness, here's one from Chicago's under appreciated Sarge , who covered this song from Wham! that we all knew and hated when it first came out circa the mid-80s. I seem to recall that this song continued to get reissued every holiday season after its initial release, even after the band (a loosely used term in this case) had already split-up. In any event, [...]
Velocity Girl "Merry Christmas, I Love You" (mp3) (from the 45, Seasons Greetings , Simple Machines 1992) I thought I'd try my hand at posting some holiday-flavored songs leading up to, and concluding on, Christmas Day. I know I've gone on in the past about these types of songs not necessarily my cup of cocoa but there were a couple floating around on my iTunes library that I felt were appropriate, not to mention amusing enough, to post. Here's one from early [...]
Dogs "Little Johnny Jet" (mp3) (from the LP, Legendary Lovers , Epic 1983) Teenagers growing up in France in the early to mid-70s were benefited of possessing an attitude of less information being better information. From what it sounds like, you were quickly introduced to rock music that was worthwhile hearing, something not necessarily shared with teenagers in the US at the same time, who usually went through years of being misinformed by listening to ELP or the Eagles and thinking that rock music was a spent force as of 1967. [...]
W hile he wouldn't be the first guy I'd invite over for dinner, you have to give Ike Turner some respect for the role he played in shaping the sound of rock n' roll. That and he could play a pretty decent guitar lick as well.
Bridal Shop "Bay The Moon" (mp3) (from the CD-r 3", Bay The Moon , Cloudberry Records 2007) I tend to listen to specific genres of music in bits and spurts, usually dependant on the type of mood that I'm in which, in turn, might be dependant on something as simple as the weather. Lately, my mood has been one of mainly whimsical reflection brought on no doubt by the fact that it feels like weeks since we've last seen the sun. A bit of [...]
Fortunate Sons "Talking" (mp3) Fortunate Sons "Dawning" (mp3) (from the LP, Karezza , Bam Caruso Records 1987) A fter the Barracudas decided to call it a day following the release of Endeavour To Preserve due to "creative differences," guitarist Chris Wilson went off and hobnobbed around Sweden for a couple of years before returning back to the UK to find that his former bandmate, ex-Barracuda guitarist/vocalist Robin Wills, had put together the [...]
Unknowns "Gun Fighting Man" (mp3) (from the mini LP, Dream Sequence , Bomp/Sire 1981) I spent some time on the ride into work this morning comparing and contrasting the first two releases from the Unknowns , the 1981 mini LP, Dream Sequence , and the self-titled full length the showed up the following year. Dream Sequence is one of my all time favorite records; probably right up there with the Primitons who were talked about on these pages a couple of weeks ago. Both are terrific with [...]
Mystreated "There's A Time" (mp3) (from the LP, 10 Boss Cuts (reissue) , Twist Big 5 1994) T he Mystreated created a bit of a stir in 1992 when they released their debut full-length, 10 Boss Cuts , which has been described as a wonderful collection of fuzztone-dominated punk, folk rock and pyschedelia. The album's low-fi production manages to successfully recreate the spirit of 1966 raw garage rock; so much so that you'd have to look at the album's release date [...]
Verbow "Lethargy's Crown" (mp3) (from the CD, Chronicles , Sony Records 1997) Verbow "I Wait Up" (mp3) (from the CD EP, Holiday , Sony Records, 1997) I 've avoided writing any type of post regarding Verbow not for lack of admiration but more for lack of having what I perceive to be ample time in which to give them appropriate praise. They were a wonderful band who not only released [...]
Twiggy "Since I Met You" (mp3) (from the EP, Bella Bella , Parasol Records 1992) One more piece of sunny-styled pop before we start our weekend. Obviously people like Chris Stamey and the dBs were influences for the way the songs of Todd Fletcher's first outfit, Twiggy , gestated. This one would be no exception. Twiggy released both this disc and another EP entitled Sworn By the Rose Petal Wings Of Her Soul for Parasol in 1992 before Fletcher moved on to other things (namely [...]
Sneetches "In A Perfect Place" (mp3) (from the CD, Sometimes That's All We Have , Alias Records 1988) M ore infectious-styled pop courtesy of San Francisco's the Sneetches , who would probably count such groups as the Zombies, the Easybeats and the Left Banke (whose songs they also covered on various occasions) as direct influences. Simple yet tuneful arrangements abound all throughout the group's catalogue and again, isn't that what we all want in our never-ending quest for the true meaning of pop? Something [...]
Erik Voeks "Compass" (mp3) (from the CD, Sandbox , Rockville Records 1993) W hy oh why Erik Voeks was never more of a household name is beyond me. What you have here is a guy who could write both charming pop songs and witty lyrics, not to mention the fact that he could play an accomplished guitar and had a terrific voice to match. I'd say he was a pretty complete talent overall and what did it get him in the [...]
Scrawl "The Garden Path" (mp3) (from the CD, Travel On, Rider , Elektra 1996) O ne of the downsides of being such a music fanatic and spending whatever available free time you may have listening to as much rock music as possible is, what is undoubtedly, the substantial sized collection of records that have been amassed and are spied upon as a bit of an "intrusion" by your dwelling-mate. I always can't help but feel a bit insecure when Ms. DB walks through the room [...]
Brian Eno & David Byrne "Qu'ran" (mp3) Went and saw the "remastered, restored, fully-loaded" version of Blade Runner a.k.a. The Final Cut last night at the Music Box Theatre. I won't bore you with the gushing for what is one of my all-time favorite films but this newly restored version looks absolutely stunning and crystal clear. This guy has a decent sized write-up although I do want to chime in that I thought there was some additional violence added to the film and that some of the original [...]
Libertines "Everybody Wants To Be My Sister" (mp3) I received an email last week in response to my Libertines ' (not those Libertines) post from the beginning of the year and was reminded of the group's anthology, Greatest Hits , which was released sometime over the summer. I haven't picked up a copy yet for myself but I did download a couple of the remastered tracks, all of which sound great. I highly encourage you do go here for more information [...]
Primitons "Stars" (mp3) One of my favorite records; the Primitons released their self-titled 7-song debut produced by Mitch Easter in 1985. Sidenote: do 7 songs an EP make? Or would it technically be called a mini-LP? I wonder. In any event, Chuck Warner has a nice little write-up over on the Throbbing Lobster site, who released the EP when it first came out. The overall sound of the EP itself showcases a nice jangle feel to it that isn't overly jangly if you get my meaning. It's a [...]
Swervedriver "Rave Down" (mp3) M y apologies for lack of attention to the site; I was having archiving issues that needed resolving followed by home buying issues that needed even more resolving. Therefore, here's a big, grandiose number from the mighty Swervedriver who I could not, not talk about in light of the announcement that the band would reunite for a world tour in 2008, a rumor that Swervies drummer Jez confirmed on the band's message board? For those not in the know, however… [...]
Zumpano "Oh, That Atkinson Girl" (mp3) Zumpano "Evil Black Magic" (mp3) A fter hitting the town last night and seeing the New Pornographers "pop-rock" out a sold-out Metro, I felt that it was a bit prudent to perhaps mention some of Carl Newman's other musical accomplishments, mainly his pre-Pornographers outfit, Zumpano . Their debut album, Look What The Rookie Did , is an absolute delight from start to finish with its strong emphasis on 60s styled [...]
Great Scots "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" (mp3) There have been many valiant attempts over the years to cover this classic song written by Nanci Matz and Annette Tucker. In fact, you could probably go so far to say that no one ever recorded a bad version of "I Ain't No Miracle Worker," the most famous one coming from the Brogues in 1965. The Chocolate Watch Band cut a decent recording of it in 1967 that in turn was followed by a very fine cover from the Barracudas on their 1983 album, Mean [...]
Vandalias "Hey Kari G" (mp3) Listening to this last night while working out got me thinking about how it really needed to be up here on the site. This is a fantastic song, an opinion that I'm sure others would share as well. Just ask Dan Sarka. When Sarka originally penned this song for Minneapolis' Sparrows, he thought it was so good that he took it along with him after the Sparrows split up and he subsequently recorded a new version with his cartoon character personas, the Vandalias and [...]
The Poor Ditching Boy
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
Mr Fogg - Eleven
