Show #76 April 7, 2012

Tonight's show is dedicated to Pamela!

Pamela- Face Dancer About Face
Across The Street- Hundred Million Martians Marseille
Looking at You- MC5 Babes In Arms
Uh Oh (Here I Go Again)- The Rings Rhythm Method
Torn- Doug Powell Curiouser
Sister Havana- Urge Overkill Saturation
Standard Question- Phil Neal Standard Question 7"
Wake Me When It's Over- Battered Wives Cigarettes
^We're an American Band- Grand Funk Railroad The Anthology - Thirty Years of Funk 1969-1999
Ask for Jill- The dB's Repercussion
No Future- Craig Finn Clear Heart Full Eyes
Dance of the '80s- The Surf Out Of Step EP
Running On The Spot- The Jam Direction, Reaction, Creation
Don't Mistake Love- Radio City Class of '77
*40 Boys In 40 Nights- The Donnas Turn 21
*Doin' It For The Ladies- Paul Collins King Of Power Pop
*A Road Song- Fountains Of Wayne Sky Full Of Holes
*One For The Road- Travoltas Endless Summer
Made In Japan- The Outlets Whole New World
Our Town- Marshall Crenshaw Field Day
Fool- The Tearjerkers Fool 7"
Blue Light- Bloc Party Silent Alarm
City Of Sisterly Love- Jimmy Silva and The Goats Heidi
Cellophane's Girl- Runarounds Waiting For The Hurricane 
>Travelin' Band- Creedence Clearwater Revival Cosmo's Factory
Not What I Used To Be- The Laughing Dogs Meet Their Makers
Your Hands (Together)- The New Pornographers Together
Come Anytime- Hoodoo Gurus Ampology
Blood- The Wigs File Under: Pop Vocal
Take One More Look- The Infidels The Infidels x4
Danny Says- The Ramones End Of The Century

^Power Pop Peak: #1 Billboard Hot 100 7/28/73

*SacroSet: Rock and Roll Road Songs

>Power Pop Prototype: 1970

My wife Jaime and I have never thought of ourselves as "cruisers," in either the "gay hustler" or "trip on a big boat" senses of the word.  Past vacations that didn't involve visiting family back east have all been about finding the cool places a destination, usually a city, has to offer.  (Surprisingly these places often have record stores nearby!)  Nonetheless, last fall when cleaning for the hundredth time the truckloads of crap my kids have strewn about their rooms it dawned on me:  they have way too much, and with Christmas coming, more is on the way.  I pictured myself shoveling a whole new crop of crap throughout 2012.  Thus was the idea to give them an "experience" for Christmas born.

Jaime and I spent hours on the web looking at all different kinds of vacation options and a cruise kept coming up.  All meals and lodging are taken care of and you get to go to some places you haven't been before (in this case Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta).  So, on March 18th we set sail on the Carnaval Splendor (pictured above) out of Long Beach and it was a pretty incredible seven days.  The kids had their first exposure to great live comedy, age appropriate "nightclubs" and a raucous piano bar.  The "Las Vegas style" shows were pretty cheesy though- I'll never forget the medley where a kick line of six fake Joan Jetts miming/air guitaring to "I Love Rock And Roll" blends into "Rock And Roll All Night" with four dancers running through the aisles in these bizarre Kiss costumes that made them look like theme park characters.  Jaime and Nica say my earnest rendition of this song at live band karaoke the night before was far superior- I even threw in Paul Stanley's  "what!" and "put your hands together!" from the Kiss Alive version.  The best karaoke experience though was seeing Jack and Nica almost spontaneously combust with embarrassment while watching Jaime and I sing "I Got You Babe."

The ports were fun and while the kids were initially freaked out by the aggressive sales techniques at the open air markets, both Jack and Nica were haggling like pros by the end of the week.  We went snorkeling off Los Arcos Beach in Cabo San Lucas and horseback riding in the countryside outside Puerto Vallarta.  The latter included a chance to swim across a river with a horse, which was really cool.  Nica was content to stay with Jaime and I most of the time and was only a little out of sorts the day of the Hunger Games film premiere- she really took one for the team by missing it for the cruise.  Jack fell in with a group of Canadians from Kamloops, British Columbia the first day, so he was all set for the duration.  Jack ordered room service every chance he got and both kids often took advantage of the 24 hour pizza, ice cream, etc.  Everything they say about the gluttony on cruises is true- no judgement, I definitely include myself in this assessment.

I had a good feeling about the cruise even before we left thanks to a very memorable dinner our last night on shore.  We were staying with friends Brian and Wendy and when they asked where we wanted to go for dinner Jaime's immediate response was "wherever we might see famous people."  (I thought this myself , but was too "cool" to say it outloud- thanks Jaime!)  So, we drove over to Nobu in Malibu where on an earlier trip I had once seen David Carradine- that's right, Kwai Chang Caine himself!  As awesome as that was, my dad and I were huge fans of his TV show Kung Fu, it was small potatoes compared to that Saturday night with Brian and Wendy.

First, as we were walking in, Brian Grazer was leaving and passed right by us.  Pretty impressive, especially since he had just produced the Oscar telecast.  The kids were nonplussed, however, and admittedly the Oscars were boring as hell this year.

My friend Brian then noticed that Laura San Giacomo was having dinner a few tables over.  She is one of the sexiest women ever filmed in Sex, Lies and Videotape and "Just Shoot Me" was a fairly funny TV show.  Still, the kids had no idea who she was.




A little later on, Jack goes to the bathroom and when he comes out says "I think the guy who peed next to me might be someone famous."  So, for the next few minutes we've all got one eye on the men's room door.  It's a good thing I hadn't just taken swig of diet coke when it opened because the ensuing full on spit take would have been embarrassing.  I look over and dressed in white from head to toe (white open collar shirt, white pants, white loafers with no socks; screw the "Memorial Day" rule), with a deep tan and that instantly recognizable world famous haircut...... is Rod Stewart.

Wow.  Jaime is all a flutter but again the kids are "eh," so we go back to talking and eating our delicious dinner (sushi for everyone else, tempura for Nica and I).  After 20 minutes or so I see Jack jump in his chair a little and stare straight ahead with a slightly dazed smile on his face.  He says something I can't hear to Nica and she looks over at the outside door and immediately starts laughing.  When I ask her what she's laughing about she can't get the words out and just points toward the door, which is blocked from my view by a post. I lean back in my chair and see that I'm about three feet away from.... Robert Downey Jr.

Freaking Iron Man and Sherlock Homes- now the kids' minds are officially BLOWN.  They immediately started texting all their friends back in Sonoma.  Even Brian and Wendy are impressed but I'm guessing this is more for our benefit.  So, the great vacation started even before we got on the boat with a night we'll never forget at Nobu.

Click the links below to download this week's show (Right click and "Save Link As:")
Hour 1
Hour 2

Show #75 March 3, 2012

For Rita and the great Davy Jones!

Rita- Sorrows Love Too Late
Looking For The Good Times- The Monkees Listen To The Band
Let's Get Carried Away- Research Turtles Research Turtles
It's Alright- The Merrymakers Andrew's Store
Language School- Tours Language School 7"
Jackson- Craig Finn Clear Heart Full Eyes
More Songs About Chocolate and Girls- The Undertones Hypnotised
Cuddly Toy- The Monkees Listen To The Band
^I Want You- Savage Garden I Want You
Over And Over- Starz Starz
Accept Me- Dirty Looks Dirty Looks
*I Want You- Kiss Rock And Roll Over
*I Want You- The Proof It's Safe
*I Want You- Chris Von Sneidern Sight & Sound
*I Want You- The Krinkles 3 - The Mordorlorff Collection
*I Want You- The Moberlys Sexteen
*I Want You- Cheap Trick One On One
*I Want You- Hanoi Rocks Self Destruction Blues
*I Want You- Incredible Kidda Band Too Much, Too Little, Too Late
*I Want You- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Greatest Hits
Takin' Her Back- Paul Warren & Explorer One Of The Kids
Show Her You Care- Strangeways! Powerpop!
Love To Love- The Monkees Listen To The Band
Erica's Word- Game Theory Tinkers To Evers To Chance
Feeling Bad- Nerf Herder How To Meet Girls
The Greatest Gift- Dogs Different
>I Want You- The Troggs Hit Single Anthology
Bright Eyes Darkened- Slobberbone Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today
Immortals- The Dots I Don't Wanna Dance (With You) 7"
Crestfallen- Pernice Brothers Overcome by Happiness
One Way World- Secret Affair Glory Boys & Behind Closed Doors
Plastic Girls- The Diodes Tired of Waking Up Tired
Let Me Go Now- The Shods Tippy
I Wanna Be Free- The Monkees Listen To The Band

^Power Pop Peak: #4 Billboard Hot 100 2/11/97

*SacroSet: "I Want You" Songs

>Power Pop Prototype: 1966

Virtual Music Database

As I've said before, one of the things I love about iTunes is its database functionality.  Sorry for the geek speak, but that's the best way to describe the input, index, sort and search functions of this powerful tool. Take the word of this former college radio DJ who would spend hours in the WERS record library preparing for each Niteklub or Metrowave show. It wasn't just pulling records; I'd needle drop on all that week's new releases, cull though older albums/singles and do research for music features (which without an Internet, mostly consisted of reading album liner notes and magazines).  Moving over to MIT public station WMBR after college presented an even more voluminous library of

Actual Music Database

albums, singles and a treasure trove of reel to reeltapes by legendary Boston bands.  WMBR also had a huge selection of 60's punk and psychedelic rock that I'd never had a chance to hear. As I was working full time by then, I'd often head over to the WMBR record library at 11:30 or so on a Saturday morning and not leave until 8pm when it was time to grab a slice of pizza and hit the clubs.

I would not trade my time in the WERS or WMBR record libraries for anything- it is the bedrock of my musical knowledge. That said, there is NO FREAKING WAY I could spend that much time working on a radio show today. It makes me smile just to imagine telling Jaime: "honey, I need to spend nine hours on Saturday researching discographies, refining music set nuances and perfecting slip-cue segue techniques for my two hour radio show so why don't you take up the slack with the chores, softball coaching, yard work, etc." I just showed this sentence to Jaime and she said "you mean you used to spend even MORE time working on your radio show than you do now?!?" (Oh darlin' if you only knew...) In any case, I think you can see where I'm coming from.

Which brings me back to iTunes. Combined with the power of the Internet, iTunes makes it possible to create a brand new episode of ALL KINDSA GIRLS every other week while keeping my marriage intact!  Tonight's program is a great example- up against a work deadline and stressing about the show, I remembered that an iTunes title sort I'd done a few weeks back revealed a ton of songs called "I Want You." A quick search of the iTunes store yielded a couple more, including the Troggs brilliant contribution which I first heard at WMBR, and boom! half the show is done.

Shortly before I went in to the studio to record the show I heard the sad news of Davy Jones' passing. I thought Cousin Rich was nuts when he started paying good money for original pressing Monkees albums back in the 80's but damn if he wasn't right again! The early Monkees records are great but it's the post Don Kirshner albums, where they became a "real" band, that I love. Mike has always been my favorite Monkee, but so far Davy Jones is the only one I've met and I'm happy to say he was a true gentleman. In the late 80's I was working at WMJX in Boston and our sister oldies station WMEX had Davy Jones in for an interview. It was hilarious to see so many of my female co-workers all a flutter in the presence of a still very handsome Mr. Jones. Some had watched The Monkees in its original TV run but far more had, like me, only seen that show in re-runs, his star status for us cemented by a guest appearance on the December 1971 episode of The Brady Bunch called "Getting Davy Jones:"

  


Seeing Marcia Brady, my own young lust object, lusting after Davy Jones made him that much cooler in my eyes. I especially love this picture- makes me wonder if the young Maureen McCormick is indeed "acting;" talk about "I Want You!" (I know it is way inappropriate, but man oh man is she hot!)

Anyway, I spent a good time lingering around the WMEX studio myself that day and had a great conversation walking Mr. Jones to the elevator. When I asked about the Monkees movie Head, a favorite of mine, he immediately launched into the dandruff song. I then had to ruin it by stupidly asking if he was still in touch with Frank Zappa (who had a mocking cameo in the movie). Davy Jones was probably half way through a string of eight radio interviews that day, but he still took the time to talk and joke around with me anyway. What a great guy- he will be missed.

Can't think of a better way to end this post than with a second photo of Davy and Maureen McCormick, together again at the TV Land Awards in 2003, both still cute as all get out.

Click the link below to stream this week's show, or to download right click and "Save Link As"
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #75

Show #74 February 18, 2012

 

This one's for Agnes
...and The Reducers!

 

 Agnes- Donnie Iris Back On The Streets 

Girls Like That- The Yum Yums Singles 'n' Stuff 

Baby's Got a Secret- The Wellingtons In Transit 

She's So Close- Millard Powers Nashpop: A Nashville Pop Compilation 

Not What It Appears- The Tories Wonderful Life 

You Say- The Kwyet Kings Been Where? Done What? 

If Looks Could Kill- Incredible Kidda Band Too Much, Too Little, Too Late 

It's Ok- Radio City Class of '77 

^Why Can't I- Liz Phair Liz Phair   

We'll Never Know- Wild Giraffes Right Now! 

Time Machine- The Click Five Greetings From Imrie House   

*What We Do- Saucers Saucers Saucers Saucers 

*Not A Chance- Tot Rocket & the Twins Television Rules 

*Small Talk- International Q International Q 7" 

*Out of Step- The Reducers Redux 

*West Coast- October Days West Coast 7" 

*Dear Abby- TV Neats Demos 

*Reach For The Sky- Roger C. Reale Radioactive 

No- The Rezillos Can't Stand the Rezillos   

Runaways- In The Night Nick Gilder You Know Who You Are 

Something In Common- Free Energy Free Energy 

Window To The World- Velvet Crush In The Presence Of Greatness 

Stuff 'n' Junk- Slaters The Big Black Bug Bled Black Blood 

Take The Cash (K.A.S.H)- Wreckless Eric Big Smash 

>Going All The Way- The Squires Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era, Vol. 2 

A to B- The Futureheads The Futureheads 

Too Young- The Fingers On The Radio 

No More Idols- Nervous Eaters Eat This! 

The Stranded Stars- The Shazam Godspeed the Shazam 

Don't Cry To Me Babe- Sneakers Ear Cartoons 

Closing Time- The Reducers Let's Go

 

^Power Pop Peak: #32 Billboard Hot 100 9/8/03

*SacroSet: Nutmeg State Power Pop

>Power Pop Prototype: 1966
 

I love the Internet, yet I do miss the random ways we used to learn about new music. Case in point, the 1982 debut single by The Reducers from New London, CT. Thirty years after its release, "Out Of Step" still blows me away, from the military sounding drum and bass intro to the explosive chorus and bridge harmony to the over the top third verse: 

 

But there's a pressure all the time
To go join up and stand in line
But if they think I'm one of them
Well they must be f***ing blind
Don't they see that I'm out of touch
I'm out of step
I'm out of touch with reality
I'm out of touch, out of step....  

 

It's an undisputed classic. My friend Lance was the first person to tell me about The Reducers. I usually heard about new music from Cousin Rich who, as I've said before, subscribed to both New York Rocker and Boston Rock and had a special radio that could pick up low-power Boston college radio station WMBR's "Late Risers Club." It's funny but I later learned that Lance first heard about The Reducers from Cousin Rich! (All three of us worked at Angelo's Supermarket in Kingston.) 

 

Anyway, I was late to the party on many of the first wave punk bands, too young to see them in the clubs, but with The Reducers I felt like I was there from the beginning. Shortly after starting at Emerson College radio station WERS, I met an upperclassman named Dave. He and I liked a lot of the same bands- in fact that first year I followed his initials on the station's record album airplay stickers like a trail of rock & roll bread crumbs. Dave's greatest contribution however was a fake ID he gave me in the Fall of 1982. I quickly memorized my new fake identity (Daniel something from Wayland, Mass) complete with zodiac sign and Chinese birth year, never once of course being asked for either. My strategy was to hand the bouncer my ID while asking a question, something like "what time does the opening band go on?" The goal was to create a momentary confusion between the blue-eyed 24 year old dude on my ID and my brown-eyed 17 year old self. I later realized that the bouncer wants to let you in- the club wants your money- so as long as they have plausible deniability you're good. The fact that I didn't drink also kept me out of trouble because the ABC people were only concerned about under 21's being served alcohol. 

 

I'm pretty sure I saw The Reducers first Boston show and that night I became a fan for life. A few years later they gave me a personal "perfect rock & roll moment" at TT The Bear's in Cambridge. I'd dragged nearly everyone I knew to the club and seeing all my friends packed onto the sweaty dance floor while the band played "Lets Go" made me feel like screaming "hey everybody we're all gonna get laid!!" at the top of my lungs. The Reducers are one of the least pretentious bands I've seen and they rock hard. Unlike the rock & roll cool (X, The Replacements) or quirky and tortured (Husker Du, Pixies) bands I liked, The Reducers were much more relatable. Not only did they dress like me in t-shirts (often pocket t's), faded Levi's, and Chuck Taylors, primary songwriters Peter Detmold and Hugh Birdsall were themselves college radio DJ's and HUGE music geeks. Big fans of mid-70's British pub rock groups like Dr. Feelgood

and Ducks Deluxe, the two took a trip to London to see those bands arriving just in time to witness firsthand the summer 1977 British punk rock explosion. Inspired by early performances of The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Jam along with the whole "Do It Yourself" punk aesthetic, Detmold and Birdsall returned to New London and started The Reducers. 

 

I interviewed The Reducers at least twice for WERS, once after a performance at The Channel and once at The Rat, and they were just the nicest guys. You could tell they are first and foremost music fans. In 1985 I was the host of WERS' local music show "Metrowave" and had The Reducers come in and play live in the studio. They played new songs "Runaway Home" and "Fistfight At The Beach" from their forthcoming Cruise To Nowhere album and at the end of the night gave me a ride back to my apartment- that's the kind of people they are.

It was around this time that CMJ (College Music Journal) called The Reducers "the best unsigned band in America" and they appeared on the major label compilation Epic presents The Unsigned. And yet, rather than fall victim to the "one and done" syndrome that afflicts most major label signees, when The Reducers didn't get the deal they wanted they stuck to their guns and put out Cruise To Nowhere on their own Rave On label. 

 

The band slowed down after that record and stopped touring nationally but they still record and play out every now and then. In 2006 the documentary film The Reducers America's Best Unsigned Band was released. They played up in Boston around that time and Cousin Rich said they rocked as hard as ever. Over 30 years and still going strong- God Bless The Reducers! 

 

Click this link to stream this week's show or to download Right Click and "Save Link As"

ALL KINDSA GIRLS #74

Show #73 VALENTINE SPECIAL February 4, 2012

Sending a Valentine to Emily...and to Papa on his birthday.

Emily- The Blondes Swedish Heat
Listen To The Heartbeat- D.L. Byron Shake Some Action Vol 4
Heart- Rockpile Seconds Of Pleasure
Hearts In Her Eyes- The Searchers Hearts In Her Eyes 7"
Take This Heart Of Mine- The Saints Prehistoric Sounds
Break Your Heart- Mike Viola & The Candy Butchers Falling Into Place
Breakin My Heart- Vandykes Breakin My Heart Single
Break My Heart Tomorrow- Steve Blimkie & The Reason Steve Blimkie & The Reason
^Heartbeat- The Knack Get the Knack
Queen Of Hearts- Bobby Emmett Learning Love
Another Heartache- Any Trouble Wheels In Motion
Lonelyhearts- The Atlantics Lonelyhearts 7"
Lonely Hearts- Candy Whatever Happened To Fun
Another Nail For My Heart- Squeeze Singles: 45's and Under
*Valentine- Fools Face Tell America
*Valentines Day- Three Hour Tour Three Hour Tour - 1969
*A Valentine Song- The Outlets Whole New World
*Valentine- The Replacements Pleased To Meet Me
Heart Breaker- The Lonely Boys The Lonely Boys
Heartbreaker- Knots Heartbreaker 7"
Brokenhearted- Ray Paul & RPM Go Time
Heart- Ian North Neo LP
Lock On My Heart- The Zippers A Six Song Mini Album
Heartsongs- Weezer
>Heart- Barry & The Remains The Remains
Hearts Will Be Broken- The Records Crashes
Heartbeat- Jim Freeman & The Golden Gate Jumpers Romantic
Do You Wanna Break My Heart- The Sweat No More Running
You Broke My Heart- The Vibrators Pure Mania
I Could Break Your Heart- Oranjuly Oranjuly
Heart Of The City- Nick Lowe Jesus Of Cool
Heart On The Line- The Tearjerkers Murder Mystery 7"
Ways Of The Heart- The Cretones Thin Red Line

^Power Pop Peak: Get The Knack #1 Billboard 200 Summer 1979

*SacroSet: Valentine's Songs

>Power Pop Prototype: 1966

When I was working on this show last week I mentioned to Jaime that I had come up with a cool theme but before I could tell her what it was, she said "Oh, Valentine's Day." My response: "D'oh!" Of course it should be a Valentine's show, what was I thinking? So, after spending an hour or so on this other idea (which you'll hear in a future show) I went in a Valentine's direction. Here's where iTunes' power as a music database really comes in handy. A quick search on "Valentine" gave me the four songs in tonight's SacroSet and another search on "Heart" gave me about three shows worth of potential material. The interesting thing is that the vast majority of the songs were in the heart "broken" rather than heart "full of love" camp. For every "Heart" by Rockpile

Heart, why are you pounding like a hammer
Heart, why are you beating like a drum
Heart, why do you make such a commotion
When I'm waiting for my baby to come

There are about three or four songs like "Lonelyhearts" by The Atlantics:

I see fear and despair written all over your face
But it’s no disgrace, the life is lived below
You think that against you the entire world has sinned
Against the wall you’re pinned, while everyone throws stones

Lonely, lonely, lonely hearts
There’s nobody like lonely, lonely, lonely hearts
You know that I can hear your heartbeat
I know something’s going on
I can hear your heartbeat
On and on and on and on

In other words, heartbreak clearly carries the day. I don't know if this is because of how most relationships end (badly) or because bitterness and spite make for better songwriting inspiration (debatable). Maybe its because the recently jilted find themselves with more time on their hands and those not indulging revenge fantasies turn to songwriting for solace. Or to rub salt in the wound- myself, I've gone both ways.

I've always dismissed Valentine's Day as a modern marketing gimmick. In my case, I'm lucky because my wife's birthday is the week before so if I get the B-day right I can low key it on 14th. In any case, I was surprised to read that the first association of romantic love and 2/14 goes all the way back to a poem written by Geoffrey Chaucer (the "Canterbury Tales" dude) in 1382 called Parlement of Foules:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

["For this was on Saint Valentine's Day,
when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."]

The Catholics even tried to put the kibosh on Valentine's Day in 1969 when the Pope deleted it from the General Roman Calendar, but it didn't take and the tradition lives on.

In my family 2/14 has extra significance as it is my paternal grandfather's birthday. My mom always loved the fact that a man with the last name "Love" was born on Valentine's Day. I am the third Frederick J. Love after my dad (Jr.) and my grandfather (Sr.); that's us in the picture above. When my dad decided to go and marry a Protestant, both the "III" moniker and my Catholic upbringing were iron clad non-negotiable.

We called my grandfather "Papa" and he was an amazing guy. When I was little he and Nana lived on the top floor of a double-decker on Ackers Ave in Brookline. I remember running up those back stairs so fast I had to put my hands down on the step in front of me to keep from falling. At the top, Papa always greeted my sister and I with the same exclamation of surprise: "FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!!!" (as if he had NO IDEA we were driving up from Brockton that afternoon). It was awesome. In every memory I have of Papa he is smiling, yet I don't think I have one picture of the man where he doesn't look like a member of the Whitey Bulger gang. Even when my mom recreated the picture above several years later, Papa still didn't crack a smile. (Though since it was a meticulous recreation from our array down to our wardrobe, perhaps Papa was just being true to the original.)

Though only a three bedroom apartment (four if you count the finished porch that was my dad's room), Nana & Papa's place seemed filled with mystery. A fancy living room and dining room (only used Christmas & Easter) with antique furniture, oriental rugs and several displays of Hummel figurines that were not to be touched on penalty of swift amputation. There was a cool old basement filled with tons of stuff Papa couldn't get rid of (he had a slight hoarding "issue"), but my favorite was the attic. Accessible by stairs off the back hallway, I was simultaneously scared of/thrilled by the attic. While most of the stuff "down cellar" was clearly junk, the attic had old clothes, furniture, pictures and the best part was: I could touch all of it as much as I wanted to.

As my family was about to leave, Papa always pulled me aside and, on the down low, gave me a sandwich bag full of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. I have no idea how the man generated so much change, we visited a lot, but there it was and I loved it. I'd take the bag of change home, carefully count it out and put it in coin rolls my mom got from the bank. For some reason I never spent any of it and when I was away at Emerson freshman year, my parents unwrapped all the rolls (four or five coffee cans full) looking for rare coins. I can't remember if they found any but afterwards I was finally able to put the money in the bank. I wouldn't be surprised though if there is still an old coffee can full of rolled up change somewhere in my mom's house.

Along with his bags of change, "FOR THE LOVE OF PETE," and lifetime vanity license plate (72272) I also clearly remember the white box that always sat on Papa's kitchen table with "L.S./M.F.T." printed on it. I later learned this stood for "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco." It's funny, I don't remember seeing him smoke, but that box was a fixture in the Brookline house. Papa eventually quit but those unfiltered Lucky's are a real bitch kitty and he died of lung cancer in 1982. Since my own kids never got to meet their paternal grandfather I consider myself very lucky to have so many great memories of mine. Happy Birthday Papa!

Click on the links below to download this week's show:
Hour 1
Hour 2

Show #72 January 21, 2012

Rock On Donna!

Donna- 10cc Donna 7"
Are You Ready- Mike Read Shake Some Action Vol 8 (UK and Ireland)
Love Song To Myself- Walter Clevenger and The Dairy Kings Love Songs To Myself
Heart Attack- The Pets Misdirection
Laugh- Rubber City Rebels Rubber City Rebels
Just Fine- The Windbreakers Time Machine (1982-2002)
I'm Numb- Pointed Sticks Part Of The Noise
Be What You Gotta Be- Motors 1
^Hold On Loosely- .38 Special The Very Best Of The AandM Years
Merry-Go-Round- The Producers The Producers/You Make The Heat
Do You Wanna Love Me?- Paul Collins King Of Power Pop
Ex Lion Tamer- Wire I Am The Fly Single
Big Cities- Pushtwangers Here We Go Again
Pity- Rooney Eureka
*All Wound Up- 4/4 Systematic 7"
*Don't Think Twice (If You Can't Think At All)- 5-15 Shake Some Action Vol 6 (All Around The World)
*Me And My Desire- 999 999
*Giving It All- 20/20 Giving It All 7"
No You Don't- The Sweet The Collection
I Know What You Did Last Night- Helmet Boy Helmet Boy
Flaming Torch- The Only Ones Special View
For a While- Van Duren Are You Serious?
Ret Liv Dead- Teenage Fanclub Thirteen
You Will Pay- Yeh-Yeh Shake Some Action Vol 1 (UK)
>5 Star Rock 'N' Roll Petrol- The 101'ers Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited
Wide Awake (And Fading Out)- Pills Wide Awake With The Pills
Highly Inflammable- X-Ray Spex Germfree Adolescents
Shy Girl- The Innocents No Hit Wonders From Down-Under
Fat Chance- Tommy Tutone Tommy Tutone
It's Getting Better- Squire Big Smashes
Way Out- The La's The La's
Private Heaven- Utopia Utopia
Respectable Street- XTC Rag & Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers
Lonesome Lane- The 45's Couldn't Believe A Word 7"

^Power Pop Prototype: #27 Billboard Hot 100 2/28/81

*SacroSet: Bands By The Numbers

>Power Pop Prototype: 1976

David and Cyrinda

Steven Tyler's new pop-culture celebrity status just doesn't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy and I always have, even after learning he stole his signature scarves on the microphone stand thing from David Johansen of the New York Dolls (which somehow seems worse than his subsequent theft of Johansen's wife, Cyrinda Fox). In the past week I've defended Tyler's much maligned performance of the National
Anthem at the Patriots/Ravens game last weekend (Go Pats!). What's more, I even like the Diane Warren-penned "Aerosmith does Celine Dion" song "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" from that crappy asteroid movie.

Aerosmith are Boston boys and we love them for it. Everyone in the Boston area has an Aerosmith sighting to share. In the 80's I once saw Joe Perry shopping for housewares with his wife at the Ann and Hope store at the Arsenal Mall in Watertown, Mass. In the early 90's, drummer Joey Kramer moved to Duxbury, Mass where my mom lives and within a few years he was followed by guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. The first time my sister Sarah saw Joe Perry in town he was with his wife Billie pushing a shopping cart down an aisle of the A and P in Hall's Corner. The best part is that they were both in total rock and roll gear, he in leather pants and she in a huge white fur coat.  That is just awesome! People in Duxbury were proud of the Aerosmith guys and very protective of their privacy. While Kramer and Whitford have since moved away, Joe Perry is still in town and has done a lot for the community over the years, among other things, paying for a new town animal shelter.

In any case, I feel Aerosmith belong to the rock and rollers, which is why Steven Tyler on American Idol doesn't feel right. The band will always have a special place in my heart, because they were a pretty big "first" in my life. I enjoyed a short lived notoriety in Jr. High (what we called "Intermediate School") as "the kid who goes to rock concerts." A few weeks before my 13th birthday I heard a commercial on the radio for an Aerosmith concert at the Providence Civic Center on October 30, 1977. I asked my parents for tickets for my birthday with very little hope that I'd be going. My birthday came and after pizza and cake I opened presents that I can't remember, though I'd guess there was a record and a sweater in there somewhere. Opening my final present (a card, oh well) I was SHOCKED to find myself looking at two tickets to see Aerosmith on their "Express Tour." They were the Ticketron tickets with the blue and red design (at right is the closest thing I could find on the web). When I got to school the next day I told Mike Klein in home room that I was going to the concert and soon word spread.For the first time I had status and though it was short-lived, it was an experience I'll never forget.

Providence 10/30/77

The Aerosmith concert was amazing- I went with my neighbor Tommy Harrington and we had great seats on the floor about 25 rows back. In fact, we were only one person away from catching a Joey Kramer drumstick. My father drove us to Providence and waited outside during the show. I realize now what a sacrifice that was because with the pride of a true Bostonian he described Providence as "an armpit." (Interestingly, this is the same phrase Dad used to describe Worcester, Mass after waiting for my Cousin Rich and I outside a Worcester Centrum concert a few years later). I think he said he spent that night in Providence in a Burger King- all so I could go to my first rock concert. He was an amazing guy.

Aerosmith played all the hits from the first four albums that night and a few new songs that hadn't been released yet. I really liked one of the new songs so I thought I'd be cool and ask the clerk at the Hanover Mall Musicsmith about it, even though I knew it hadn't come out yet. Unfortunately I misheard the title at the concert so when I asked him about Aerosmith's "Charlie The Lion" he looked at me like I

Draw The Line

was a moron. When the album came out in December I was horrified to see that the song is called "Draw The Line" (the record's title track!!) not "Charlie The Lion-" a mom-like mistake I never made again.

You can download tonight's show below (Right click and "Save Target As"):

ALL KINDSA GIRLS #72