Show #31 April 24, 2010

For Josephine's historical and otherwise...

Josephine- Abbreviated Cieling Abbreviated Cieling 12" EP
Teenarama- The Records Smashes, Crashes and Near Misses
Hurricane J- Hold Steady Heaven is Whenever
(I Live For) Cars & Girls- The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!
Let Your Fingers Do The Talking- Billy Karloff And The Extremes Let Your Fingers Do The Talking
Miss You Baby- The Yum Yums Sweet As Candy
It Won't Do Any Good- Happy Hate Me Nots It Won't Do Any Good 7"
Cold Wind- The Bis-quits The Bis-quits
^He Could Be The One- Josie Cotton Valley Girl: Music From The Soundtrack
Die Trying- New Math Die Trying 7"
Frustration- Purple Hearts Frustration 7"
Sick of Brick- Kevin K And The Hollywood Stars Cool Ways
Private Army- Richard X. Heyman Hey Man!
Tell Me Why (Can't Understand You)- 20/20 20/20
*Downtown- The Cuban Heels Downtown 7"
*Burning Love- The Wild Giraffes Right Now
*Singing In The Rain- Just Water Singing In The Rain 7"
*Cool Jerk- Human Sexual Response Fig. 15
Paper Dolls- Rubber City Rebels Rubber City Rebels
Feel So Good- Spelling Mistakes Feel So Good 7"
Baby It's Cold Outside- Pezband Pezband
I've Gotta Change My Life- The Fleshtones It's Super Rock Time!
Hey! (Not Another Face In The Crowd)- The Thrills DIY: Mass. Ave. - The Boston Scene (1975-83)
Soft in the Center- Hold Steady Heaven is Whenever
>Wayside- Artful Dodger DIY Come Out And Play: American Power Pop I (1975-78)
Diamonds In The Rough- The Vertebrats Jackie's Gone 7"
Rhythm Guitar- Ben Vaughn Mood Swings
Big Brown Eyes- The dB's Stands for deciBels
Mesmerized- The Cold Mesmerized 7"
What's The Point- Sussex Treat Me Kind 7"
She's So Cynical- Modulators She's So Cynical 7"
Running Away- The Romantics Romantics And Friends-Midwest Pop Explosion
That Girl- The Scientists The Scientists
Very Temporary- Bob Mould District Line

^Power Pop Peak: #21 Billboard Hot 100 6/29/79

SacroSet: Power Pop Cover Songs

>Power Pop Prototype: 1975

While I love digging up obscure musical gems from the past, there's nothing like having a new release to look forward to. It doesn't happen very often these days because, I'm sorry to say, I've just lost touch with a lot of new music. When I was in college I could read Boston Rock or The Boston Phoenix and know something about nearly every band in the reviews and club listings, but those days are long past. As I've gotten older, I simply don't have time to keep up on current music. For starters, there seems to be so much more of it today. When I was a teenager you'd go to Newbury Comics and there would be about 10 or 15 new LP's and 45's each week, of which I'd be interested in 2 or 3. Now the Newbury Comics e-mail blast has about 40 new cd's every week, and that doesn't count imports and 7" records. Back then, it seemed like you could have a comprehensive understanding of a genre like Boston Rock, Punk, New Wave or Power Pop. Now it would be a full time job trying to focus on one genre from one country and even then you'd probably miss a lot.

The other issue, and I know I'll come off sounding like an old man here, is that I don't like a lot of the new music I hear. I've lost count of the times someone has told me "you've got to hear this amazing band" and when I do, I'm underwhelmed. Having worked with commercial radio stations for years, I've come to the conclusion that people's music tastes are established between the ages of 16 and 24. For a huge music fan like me, you could probably broaden it out to age 10 to 26. I imagine that for the rest of my life the new bands I discover and love will share some characteristics with those I loved when I was younger. That certainly is the case with The Hold Steady, who have a new album Heaven Is Whenever out May 4th. When I listen to them it often feels like I could have written the songs myself. Not the ones about being wasted on drugs and alcohol, of course, but a lot of the ones about music:

From "Constructive Summer"
Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer
Sometimes I feel he was our only decent teacher
Getting older makes it harder to remember
We are our only saviors

From "Massive Nights"
We had some massive highs
We had some crushing lows
We had some lusty little crushes
We had those all-ages hardcore matinée shows

From "Stay Positive"
There's gonna come a time
Where the true scene leaders
Will forget where they differ and get big picture
'Cause the kids at the shows
They'll have kids of their own
And the sing-along songs will be our scriptures

From "Certain Songs"
I guess you're old enough to know
kids out on the east coast,
roughly twenty years old,
got coaxed out by a certain perfect ratio
of warm beer to the summer smoke
and the Meatloaf to the Billy Joel.
Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls

From "We Can Get Together"
Heaven is whenever we can get together
Sit down on the floor and listen to your records
Heaven is whenever we can get together
Lock your bedroom door and listen to your records

In the last 10 years I've been much more prone to be emotionally moved by films and books than by music. That's why Craig Finn's lyrics and The Hold Steady's music are such a revelation to me; they take me back to my first love, rock & roll. The great thing is that The Hold Steady isn't nostalgia. This music meets me where I am now- a 45 year old suburban dad- which is the thing I love most about it.

The other great thing about The Hold Steady is they are one of the few bands that can get me out to the clubs. The group is incredibly powerful live and I'm really looking forward to seeing them at The Fillmore in San Francisco next week. The last time I saw them was a mind-blowing experience that I will never forget.

Here's the link to download Hour 1 of tonight's show (Right click and "Save Target As" http://sunfmtv.com/fm/showarchive/public/2010-04-24__20_59_57.mp3

And here's Hour 2 http://sunfmtv.com/fm/showarchive/public/2010-04-24__21_59_57.mp3

Show #30 April 10, 2010

 

Oh Hillary, tonight we rock for thee... 

 

Hillary- The Quick Mondo Deco Crash- The Primitives Lovely 

Tie Me Up- Johnny Thunders & Patti Palladin Crawfish 7" 

What Can I Do- Fast Cars Coming, Ready or Not! 

 Zero Ambition- Back Seat Romeos Zero Ambition 7"  

All That Matters- Pointed Sticks Part Of The Noise 

Just A Chance- Badfinger Wish You Were Here 

Monkey Suit- Pernice Brothers Overcome by Happiness 

^Is She Really Going Out with Him?- Joe Jackson Look Smart 

Baby You're A Star- Gidgets Ga Ga PPO 2009 Top Ten 

Suspicious Minds- The Sports Don't Throw Stones 

Schooldays- The Starjets God Bless Starjets 

Stay Close To Me- Bad Brains Pay To Cum 7" 

Comeback- The Rockers The Rockers E.P. 7" 

*No Place Like Home- The Neighborhoods 12 Classic 45s 

*1+1<2- Classic Ruins 12 Classic 45s 

*I Want To Help You Ann- The Lyres 12 Classic 45s 

*Academy Fight Song- Mission Of Burma 12 Classic 45s 

One For The Road- Travoltas Endless Summer 

New Difference- Manual Scan Plan Of Action EP 

Searching For Affection- Contraband In The Night 45 

Wig In A Box- Hedwig And The Angry Inch Soundtrack 

You Say You- The Pencils Watching The Tears 7" 

Is It Over- The Fevers Love Always Wins 

>Shape Of Things To Come- Max Frost & The Troopers Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 

Paper Girl- The Jets Lover Boy 45 

Telephone- Transistors Telephone 7" 

Lost in the Supermarket- The Clash London Calling: 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition 

Bad Indication- Off Broadway On 

Don't Dictate- Penetration DIY Don't Dictate 

One Of The Kids- Paul Warren & Explorer One Of The Kids

 

^Power Pop Peak: #21 Billboard Hot 100 6/9/79 

 

*SacroSet: Ace of Hearts Records

 

>Power Pop Prototype: 1968

 

Alright! We went two weeks without a major figure in Power Pop shuffling off this mortal coil! I have to say, it was great to get back to straight up rocking this week. The Quick's "Hillary"gets us off to a fine start and Joe Jackson provides another Power Pop Peak from the genre's 1979 heyday. As the blog post from Show #28 proves, the Davis In The 80's SacroSet got me thinking about late 70's/early 80's music scenes across the country, especially the one in my hometown, Boston, Massachusetts. 

After The Real Kid's first album (which of course includes the opus "All Kindsa Girls"), my favorite early Boston rock records were the singles on Ace of Hearts. Classic Ruins' "1+1<2," The Neighborhoods "Prettiest Girl," Mission of Burma's "Academy Fight Song-" these are amazing records that I would put up against the releases of any label anywhere in the world.  The songs, the production, the artwork, the packaging- Ace of Hearts singles were second to none. I'm not alone in this assessment; The Neighborhoods single sold 10,000 copies and the Burma record sold out its first pressing of 7500- these are amazing numbers for 7 inches on a regional independent label.

Ace of Hearts owner Rick Harte is an eccentric dude but he knew enough to go out and find which bands were driving them wild in the clubs and he had the money to do something about it. You'd hear stories about his Phil Spectoresque tendencies in the studio (minus the firearms of course) like a 28 hour mix down session on "Max Ernst," the flipside of the first Burma single, that wasn't even the one they eventually used.

 

I met Rick Harte in the mid-80's when I interviewed him for acollege project. He gave very cryptic answers to all of my questions and only loosened up when he could see I was a huge fan of the label. Then I blew it by asking him about having The Lyres (who he was managing at the time) play on my radio show, WERS' Boston rock showcase Metrowave. Apparently the band's last performance on the station was bootlegged in the Netherlands or Sweden and he was still pissed off about it. Anyway, before I left he gave me the rare color sleeve of Mission of Burma's "Trem Two" single and an uncut "Academy Fight Song" sleeve that still had all the registration marks which was VERY cool. 

 

(Adding insult to injury when they bootlegged the Lyres show, they put a picture of the stolen WERS radio tape on the back cover!)

 

The early Ace of Hearts singles are compiled on the 12 Classic 45's CD pictured at the top of this post. In my opinion, it's

Rick Harte

really only nine classic 45's as I don't care for most of the non-reissue releases on the label after the mid 80's. I'm not sure what happened, but it seems like Harte kind of lost it around that time. Still, from 1978 to 1985 the dude was a bona fide genius and he helped document an important musical era for which I'm deeply thankful. 

 

Click on this link to stream tonight's show, to download, right click and "Save Link As":

ALL KINDSA GIRLS #30 

Show #29 March 27, 2010

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton...

Alex Chilton- The Replacements Pleased To Meet Me
Free Again- Alex Chilton Bach's Bottom
The Happy Song- The Box Tops Soul Deep: The Best Of The Box Tops
September Gurls- The Bangles Different Light
Don't Lie To Me- Big Star Nobody Can Dance
Mine Exclusively- Big Star In Space
Back Of A Car- Gin Blossoms Big Star Small World
Take It Off- Alex Chilton Top 30
^The Letter- The Box Tops Soul Deep: The Best Of The Box Tops
Interview- Big Star Live
The Ballad Of El Goodo- Big Star Live
That 70's Song- Cheap Trick That' 70's Show Presents That 70's Album: Rockin'
No Sex- Alex Chilton Top 30
When My Baby's Beside Me- Kelly Willis Big Star Small World
*Feel- Big Star #1 Record
*Thirteen- Big Star #1 Record
*Watch The Sunrise- Big Star #1 Record
*Give Me Another Chance- Big Star #1 Record
Hey, Little Child- Tommy Keene The Real Underground
Take Me Home And Make Me Like It- Alex Chilton Bach's Bottom
She Might Look My Way- Young Fresh Fellows Not The Singer But The Songs- An Alex Chilton Tribute
Life Is White- Big Star Radio City
I'm In Love With A Girl- The Popes Not The Singer But The Songs- An Alex Chilton Tribute
Baby Strange- Big Star Nobody Can Dance
>Neon Rainbow- The Box Tops Soul Deep: The Best Of The Box Tops
Jesus Christ- Teenage Fanclub Small World Big Star
Bangkok- Alex Chilton Top 30
Dony- Big Star In Space
Nightime- The Afgan Whigs Big Star Small World
Motel Blues- Big Star Live
Volare- Alex Chilton Top 30
Thank You Friends- Big Star Big Star's 3rd: Sister Lovers

^Power Pop Peak: #1 Billboard Hot 100 8/12/67

*SacroSet: Big Star's #1 Record

>Power Pop Prototype: 1967

Only three months in and 2010 has already been a rough year for Power Pop legends. First, Doug Fieger of The Knack, who wrote "My Sharona," arguably the biggest Power Pop hit of all time, dies on Valentine's Day. Then we lose Alex Chilton just over a month later on St. Patrick's Day. (Needless to say, this makes me anxious about the upcoming Easter, Mother's Day, 4th of July, etc., especially as I remember Peter Case had major heart surgery last year.) It's hard to think of a better reference point for Power Pop than Alex Chilton's group Big Star; initial critical acclaim, enormous historical impact, zero commercial success. Of course, Alex already had been down the pop star road a few years earlier and he didn't seem to care much for it.

In 1966, Memphis band The Devilles were looking for a lead singer and drafted 16 year old William Alexander "Alex" Chilton after hearing about his stand out performance at a Central High School talent show. The group later changed their name to The Box Tops and within a year recorded and released "The Letter," which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and the top record of 1967. The song was also a huge hit around the world, hitting #1 on the charts in Chile, Israel, Norway and Poland while reaching the Top 5 in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden and the UK. The Box Tops would go on to release six more Top 40 hits including "Cry Like A Baby" and "Soul Deep." At 16 years old Alex Chilton was an international superstar, which seemed to leave a lasting negative impression on him the rest of his life.

After The Box Tops broke up in 1970, Blood, Sweat & Tears offered Chilton the lead vocal position in their group but by then he'd had enough so he rejected the offer as "too commercial." Instead he set himself to the task of learning to play the guitar, recording some demos in Memphis before moving to New York City. Returing to Memphis in 1971, Chilton asked local musician Chris Bell to join him in a folk duo, but Bell declined as he was playing in a band with Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel called Icewater. After seeing the group live, Chilton played some of his songs for them and was asked to join. Copping the name from a local supermarket chain, Big Star was born.

The ironically named group released the ironically titled #1 Record in June of 1972 to rave reviews but label Stax Records did a poor job promoting and distributing the record so it sank without a trace. Here's the thing, though- #1 Record is perhaps the single greatest Power Pop album of all time. I first heard the record in 1986, buying the British import CD at Tower Records in Boston. Chris Bell's "Feel" gets the album off to a rocking start, but it's the second and fourth songs, Chilton's "The Ballad of El Goodo" and "Thirteen," that really blew me away. I'm a sucker for underdog stories like "El Goodo" and "Thirteen" is a beautiful story of young love:

Won't you let me walk you home from school
Won't you let me meet you at the pool
Maybe Friday I can, get tickets for the dance
and I'll take you

Won't you tell your dad, "Get off my back"
Tell him what we said 'bout 'Paint It Black'
Rock & Roll is here to stay, come inside where it's okay
and I'll shake you

Won't you tell me what you're thinking of
Would you be an outlaw for my love
If it's so, well, let me know, if it's "no", well, I can go
I won't make you

These lyrics, combined with Alex's plaintive voice and finger picking make "Thirteen" one of my all-time favorite songs. The third song on #1 Record, "In The Street" was used as the theme song for the first season of TV's "That 70's Show," replaced in subsequent seasons by Cheap Trick's version, re-named "That 70's Song," which I played on tonight's show.

Chris Bell left Big Star after #1 Record, but made some contributions to the group's second album Radio City, which is also a great record that critics loved but Stax failed to distribute. In my opinion, that was the end of Big Star because even though Third/Sister Lovers was released under the group's name, I consider it more of an Alex Chilton solo record. A lot of bands cite Third/Sister Lovers as a work of staggering genius but to me it's all over the place, which pretty much sums up rest of Alex Chilton's recording career.

On his own it seems like Chilton's demons sometimes got the best of him which often didn't translate into great music. Alex was an eccentric guy and you'd hear about him living on the streets of New York or Paul Westerberg's story about the difficulty Alex had trying to get young ladies to accompany him "back to his tent" in Memphis. On a trip to New York City in the late 80's I convinced my then girlfriend, Laura Zurowski, to go to the Knitting Factory to see Alex perform. I was very excited to see him and had pretty big expectations going in. Unfortunately, the show was a total mess- Alex was loaded and played mostly sloppy versions of obscure R&B tunes for about 45 minutes before stumbling off stage. My problem was I'd convinced Laura to forego seeing whatever trendy indie rock band was playing that night, so I had some 'splaining to do. Thanks Alex.

Despite that negative experience, I ponied up again for the Big Star "reunion" (Alex & Jody along with Jon & Ken from The Posies) at The Fillmore in 2004 and boy am I glad I did. Alex was sober, in fine voice and he played brilliantly. Getting to hear those songs performed live, especially Alex's solo version of "Thirteen," made for a night I'll never forget. I don't think he ever reached the heights of Big Star but still, as tonight's show proves, Alex Chilton recorded quite a few great songs over the last 30 years. He will be missed.

Here are the links to download this week's show (right click and "Save Target As")

Hour 1 http://sonomasunfm.com/showarchive/public/2010-03-27__20_59_57.mp3
Hour 2 http://sonomasunfm.com/showarchive/public/2010-03-27__21_59_57.mp3

Show #28 March 13, 2010

 

She's some kind of angel, you know what I mean... Evangeline! 

  

Evangeline- Matthew Sweet Girlfriend 

Woman's World- The Jags Woman's World 7"

 Gotta Tell Me Why- The Slickee Boys Gotta Tell Me Why 7"

 Without You- Rudi Big Time 

She Say Yea- The Scruffs Wanna Meet The Scruffs 

Knew You- Neats 1981-84 The Ace of Hearts Years 

I Can See It Now- The Wigs File Under: Pop Vocal 

Tourist Information- Tours Tourist Information 7" 

^Dreaming- Blondie The Complete Picture 

Southern Streets- The Nice Boys The Nice Boys 

Lost Angels- The Sweet The Collection 

I Need Somebody To Love- The V.I.P.'S I Need Somebody To Love/Beat Crazy EP 

Places That Are Gone- Tommy Keene Songs From The Film

Page 3- The Lambrettas Beat Boys In The Jet Age 

*Talking Loud- Suspects It's Up To You 45 

*Beach State Rocking- Alternate Learning Painted Windows 

*Macy's Window- Thin White Rope Exploring The Axis 

*Two For One- Meantime Two For One 45 

Gold Into Straw- Brendan Benson The Alternative To Love 

You- X See How We Are 

Life Is A Song- The Rousers A Treat Of New Beat 

Run Away- Critical Mass It's What's Inside That Counts 

If It Were Up To Me- Rooney Rooney 

Confidential- Modernettes Teen City E.P. 12"

 >Gotta Keep Movin'- MC5 High Time 

Everybody Loves A Loser- Battered Wives Battered Wives 

Eloquent Spokesman- The Spongetones Beat & Torn 

Hungry For Love- The Revillos Rev Up 

Perfect Life- Boy's Life Boy's Life vs. The Outlets EP 

Hit the Floor- Earthquake DIY Come Out And Play: American Power Pop I (1975-78) 

Hormones In Action- The Neat Hormones In Action 7" 

So Long Baby Goodbye- Blasters The Blasters 

 

^Power Pop Peak: #27 Billboard Hot 100 9/29/79 

 

*SacroSet: Davis, California 80's Music Scene 

 

>Power Pop Prototype: 1971 

 

When I first got into rock & roll growing up on Massachusetts' south shore in the early 70's it seemed like there were a limited number of bands, most from exotic places like London, New York and Los Angeles. Aerosmith were from Boston (and now a couple of the guys in the group have homes in Duxbury, where my Mom lives), but even they seemed a million miles away. 

 

When punk rock broke, it also seemed geographically remote
but then a very cool thing started happening. My Cousin Rich and I started hearing about bands playing in the Boston clubs that were as good as, if not better than, a lot of the London and New York bands whose records we were buying. Thanks to college radio stations like MIT's WMBR and WERS at Emerson College (where I would eventually go to school) we heard seven inch singles and unreleased radio tapes by Boston bands like La Peste, Pastiche, Lou Miami & The Kozmetix, The Neighborhoods, Classic Ruins and more. 

 

The new Boston Rock magazine gave the local bands as much coverage as those from other places and a fanzine called The Noise (which is still going today) was dedicated exclusively to Boston rock & roll. It seemed like every "record run" into Boston and Cambridge, Rich and I would find a new release by a local band, sometimes sold to us by a member of the group. I once bought a Human Sexual Response album from Rich Gilbert, the band's guitarist, at a store called Looney Tunes. I tried to act cool at the time, but my mind was blown. Aimee Mann (Young Snakes, 'Til Tuesday) and WMBR DJ Tami Heidi (who would go on to work at WBCN and legendary LA station KROQ) worked at Newbury Comics, while Barrence Whitfield was over at Planet Records, so you never knew who'd be behind the record store check out counter. (Even two years ago, Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott sold me some records at Looney Tunes in Cambridge, which I still found VERY cool.) 

 

When the "all-ages show" was born we actually got to see groups like Del Fuegos, The Atlantics and The Real Kids (whose opus "All Kindsa Girls" is this radio show's namesake) play live in the clubs. It was amazing to buy a group's record one day and see them play live the next- up close too, not from row NN in the balcony. 

 

It wasn't until a few years later that I realized this was not a rare phenomenon. Between 1978 and 1982, there were local music scenes sprouting up across the country. Bands inspired by punk rock's do-it-yourself aesthetic were putting out records and packing the clubs. Compilation albums released at the time and subsequently, documented scenes in place like: 

 

Akron, OH (The Akron Compilation) 

Atlanta, GA (Standardeviation) 

Buffalo, NY (This Is It! Greater Buffalo's Greatest 1977-1984) 

Milwaukee, WI (History In 3 Chords) 

Minneapolis, MN (Big Hits of Mid-America Vol. III) 

 

 

New Haven, CT (It Happened But Nobody Noticed) 

New Orleans, LA (N.O. Experience Necessary) 

Portland, OR (Trap Sampler) 

Seattle, WA (Seattle Syndrome Vol. 1) 

St. Louis, MO (Test Patterns) 

 

 

Washington, DC (Connected) 

Toronto, ON (And Now Live From Toronto...The Last Pogo) 

Vancouver, BC (Vancouver Complication) 

 

How cool is that? 100's of bands playing for thousands of people in sweaty, packed clubs all over the country...all over the world. If we'd had the Internet back then, some of the bands might have been able to actually make some money for their efforts. 

 

The Suspects

Davis, California is a small city between Sacramento and the Bay Area that is home to the University of California Davis, a school probably best known for its agriculture program. Like the cities above, Davis had a thriving music scene in the late 70's/early 80's. College station KDVS and campus paper the California Aggie attracted student Steve Wynn who, after seeing the Sex Pistols infamous Winterland 1978 show in San Francisco formed a band called The Suspects. After moving to LA, Wynn and Kendra Smith of The Suspects went on to form the legendary PaisleyUnderground group The Dream Syndicate. Fellow Suspects member Russ Tolman joined Meantime, also in tonight's SacroSet, before forming True West with Gavin Blair, another Suspects alumni. True West were another big group of the 80's college rock era and their first 12" was co-produced by Steve Wynn. I have to say I never really got Thin White Rope's appeal, but they were one of the most successful Davis groups. More to my liking is Alternate Learning, Scott Miller's first band before he went on to Game Theory and The Loud Family. Alternate Learning, or ALRN, also included Joe Becker who was a member of Thin White Rope. 

 

ALRN

Steve Wynn, Scott Miller and Russ Tollman are all still making music today. Davis, California in the late 70's/early 80's never got its own record compilation, but I'd be hardpressed to name another city it's size that had as much long term musical impact. Here are the links to download this week's show (Right click and "Save Link As"): 

ALL KINDSA GIRLS #28

Show #27 February 27, 2010

For Lucinda....and for Doug

Lucinda- The Knack Get the Knack
Jumpin' In The Night- The Flamin' Groovies Groovies Greatest Grooves
Ready and Waiting- The Grip Weeds Infinite Soul: Best of the Grip Weeds
Psalm For The Elks Lodge Last Call- The Weakerthans Reconstruction Site
Every Wednesday Night At Eight- The Innocents One Way Love 7"
All I Want is You Alone- Steve Blimkie & The Reason Steve Blimkie & The Reason
Tired of Waking Up Tired- The Diodes Tired of Waking Up Tired
Say Goodbye To The Black Sheep- The Furys DIY: We're Desperate - The L.A. Scene 1976-79
^My Sharona- The Knack Get the Knack
Don't Go- The Donkeys Television Anarchy
Time Wraps Around You- Velvet Crush Teenage Symphonies To God Just A Kid- Milk 'N' Cookies Milk 'N' Cookies
Bad Dreams- The Sidewinders The Sidewinders
I Forgot The Flowers- Regular Guys Regular Guys E.P. 7"
*Val Kilmer- Bowling For Soup The Great Burrito Extortion Case
*David Duchovny- Bree Sharp Cheap and Evil Girl
*Gene Hackman- Hoodoo Gurus Ampology
*Michael Caine- Madness The Business
Time For Action- Secret Affair Glory Boys & Behind Closed Doors
I'm An Adult Now- The Pursuit Of Happiness I'm An Adult Now EP
Math Teacher- The Speedies Speedy Delivery
Two Blind Mice- The Screaming Tribesmen High Time
Unsatisfied- The Replacements Let It Be
Where's Bill Grundy Now?- Television Personalities Where's Bill Grundy Now? EP
>Run, Run, Run- The Third Rail Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era
World Ain't Turning- The Keys The Keys Album
What Can I Do?- Poodle Boys What Can I Do? 45
Mean To Me (The Clothes You Wear)- Advertising Advertising Jingles
No Direction- Start No Direction 7"
Always Heaven- Tommy Hoehn I Do Love The Light
Queen Of Eyes- The Soft Boys 1976-81
Couldn't Believe A Word- The 45's Couldn't Believe A Word 7"
I Can't Take It- Arlis Titan: It's All Pop!

^Power Pop Peak: #1 Billboard Hot 100 6/23/79

*SacroSet: Actorsongs

>Power Pop Prototype: 1967

Feb. 14, 2010, 7:21 PM EST

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Sunday. He was 57.

Fieger, a Detroit-area native, died at his home in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles after battling cancer, according to The Knack's manager, Jake Hooker.

Fieger formed The Knack in Los Angeles 1978, and the group quickly became a staple of Sunset Strip rock clubs. A year later he co-wrote and sang lead vocals on "My Sharona."

Fieger said the song, with its pounding drums and exuberant vocals, was inspired by a girlfriend of four years.

"I had never met a girl like her — ever," he told The Associated Press in a 1994 interview. "She induced madness. She was a very powerful presence. She had an insouciance that wouldn't quit. She was very self-assured. ... She also had an overpowering scent, and it drove me crazy."

"My Sharona," an unapologetically anthemic rock song, emerged during disco's heyday and held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard pop chart for six weeks, becoming an FM radio standard.

I was in the 9th Grade in 1979 and had been listening pretty much exclusively to punk rock since mid-1978. At the time, Punk and New Wave (or whatever you'd call Devo and The B-52's) seemed like an all or nothing thing. There was a phase when my favorite bands were Rush, AC/DC and The Ramones but switching allegiance to The Clash seemed to demand an orthodoxy that disallowed any pre-punk/new wave music. These lyrics to The Clash's "1977" say it all:

In 1977
Knives in West 11
Ain't so lucky to be rich
Sten guns in Knightsbridge

Danger stranger, you better paint your face
No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones
In 1977

Allegiance to this new music was going to demand a sacrifice, one I was more than willing to make. I sold all my Led Zeppelin albums to a kid in my class named Ed Ahigian and hid my love of Kiss and AC/DC from my friends. In fact, I have a vivid memory of listening to the Highway To Hell album with the volume cranked up one Saturday morning only to have Jim Harris and Pete Levine kick open my bedroom door, fake rape/beat me and shove me down between my bed and the wall while screaming about my shitty taste in music. The funny thing is they then went back downstairs and drove away. They were only in the house for about 90 seconds. I've got to admit now- that is pretty funny.

Anyway, even though The Knack were a current band, the record company was trying to position them as a "New Beatles" (matching outfits, back cover shot

replicating The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, etc), so I was VERY leery. Yet, after hearing "My Sharona" and "Good Girls Don't" on the radio, I took the plunge and bought Get The Knack. I liked the record okay and it might have had a chance to grow on me if I hadn't heard the aforementioned songs every half hour on the radio for the next five months. Stories then started to come out in music magazines about Doug Fieger acting like primadonna. Soon the critics, who hate anything that gets too popular because it negates their existence, started piling on.

  

 

Fall of 1979 saw the release of some All Kindsa Girls' favorites including The Beat, Shoes' Present Tense, The Records and 20/20. These brilliant records went nowhere and, as I've mentioned in a previous post, I think the critical "knacklash" bears some responsibility for squandering Power Pop's moment in the sun. The thing is, when I go back and listen to Get The Knack now, I hear a solid Power Pop album that holds up pretty well and for that we have Doug Fieger to thank.  RIP Doug.

Click the link below to stream this show, or to download, right click and "Save Link As:"
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #27

Show #26 February 6, 2010

Je t'aime Cheri, je t'aime...


Cheri- 20/20 20/20Let's Shake- Teenage Head Frantic City
Losing California- Sloan A Sides Win Singles 1992-2005
Black & White- The Windbreakers Meet The Windbreakers
Who's Been Sleeping Here?- Tuff Darts! Tuff Darts!
I Know A Place- Jay Reatard Singles 06-07
Stay With Me- The Krinkles 3 - The Mordorlorff Collection
If You Can't Give Me Love- Suzi Quatro The Wild One Greatest Hits
^Teacher Teacher- Rockpile Seconds Of Pleasure
Brokenhearted- Ray Paul & RPM Go Time
On The Phone- Stryker Stryker 7"
Constant Change- LMNOP Elemen Opee ElpeeTen Feet Tall- XTC Fossil Fuel The XTC Singles 1977-92
T.V. Love- Simpletones I Have A Date
*Liv Tyler- Travoltas Endless Summer
*Doris Day- London Cowboys Animal Pleasure
*Tia Carrere- The Powerchords ...Think I'm Gonna
*Lee Remick- The Go-Betweens Lee Remick
Suzi Is A Heartbreaker- Newtown Neurotics Punk Collection
The Way I Feel About You- The Lyres On Fyre
The Pleasure And The Pain- The Damned Strawberries
Not For Me- Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Crenshaw
Wednesday Week- The Undertones Hypnotised
Before Love Goes- The Keepers By The Same Name
>Somebody Made For Me- Emitt Rhodes Emitt Rhodes
I Shot My Manager- Gruppo Sportivo 10 Mistakes
It Doesn't Bother Me- The Distractions It Doesn't Bother Me 7"
All That Matters- Pointed Sticks Part Of The Noise
Glory- Television Adventure
I Can't Pretend- The Barracudas Drop Out
Shakeaway- The Pop Go!
Electric Toys- Readymades Electric Toys 7"Photographs Of You- The Secrets ...Secrets
Silver Lining- Stiff Little Fingers Go For It

^Power Pop Peak: #51 Billboard Hot 100 11/22/80

*SacroSet: Actressongs

>Power Pop Prototype: 1970

The picture above is from a series called "Saturday Night People" by my all-time favorite photographer Weegee. If you've read any of the previous posts,

Weegee

you'll know that music is one of my life's great passions and this picture really speaks to me. For me, the photograph shows one of those perfect moments where a song and a performer take you out of yourself and you meet in some magical "other" place where it's just you and them- the rest of the world disappears. It's an almost overwhelming experience- hearing the music, seeing the band, feeling the bass and drums in your spine and the dancefloor under your feet- if you were a pinball machine you'd be on "TILT." My last time was in

Craig Finn

2008 at The Fillmore in San Francisco listening to The Hold Steady tear through "Constructive Summer." After Craig Finn sings: "Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer" he lifts his pint glass high and screams "GET 'EM UP!!" Wow- just writing about it gives me chills. Anyway, I think I know what these women in Weegee's photo are feeling.

I first saw the trombone photo 25 years ago in an ad for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts summer concert series. I cut the small 2x3 inch ad out of the paper and stuck it to the wall in my room in Brookline Village. After a week or so, when it was still catching my eye every time I walked in the room, I decided to see if I could get a copy for myself. Turns out the MFA owns the negative and for $10 they'd send me a print! For some reason I decided to buy two prints and then did something I'd never done before- I took Weegee's photo to be professionally framed. (I'd always had tons of stuff on my room walls, but until then thumbtacks had sufficed).

When I met Jaime a few years later I realized she had the same passion for theater that I had for music. So, I took my second print of the photo to the same frame shop and then gave it to Jaime as a present. This was a nearly perfect gift in my estimation. The funny thing was, she took it as "here's your own copy since we will probably never live together/get married/have children/nurse each other in our dotage, etc." Jeez, talk about a communication breakdown! In any case, despite Jaime's initial misgivings, we are well on the way to doing all those things and I now have the photo up in my office as well.

Weegee, "Their First Murder" 1941

In the years since I "discovered" Weegee, I've been lucky enough to see two exhibitions of his work while Jaime and I were visiting New York. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about him:

Weegee worked in the Lower East Side of New York City as a press photo- grapher during the 30's and 40's, and he developed his signature style by following the city's emergency services and documenting their activity. Much of his work depicted unflinchingly realistic scenes of urban life, crime, injury and death.

Weegee's "Studio"

Weegee doesn't judge his subjects and his photos are ultimately about them, not him. Whether he was photographing a gangster with his face shot off, kids sleeping on a fire escape or women in a club listening to music, Weegee presents a crystal clear view of real people in a specific place at a specific time. Some of his photos make you laugh and even more make you feel like you just got punched in the stomach, but his compassion shines through every one.

My 2nd favorite Weegee Photograph

On this week's All Kindsa Girls there was a special dedication to Jay Reatard, another member of Memphis' proud musical heritage, who died at the age of 29 on January 13, 2010. One more senseless drug and alcohol related death. Even so, rest in peace Jimmy.

Click to stream or to download right click and "Save Link As:"
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #26