Show #188 September 26, 2026 Jeff Conolly Tribute

Dedicated to Dolly and Boston Rock & Roll Legend Jeff Conolly!

 

Dolly- Lyres On Fyre 

Jezebel- The Teddy Boys Jezebel 

Help You Ann- Lyres Help You Ann 

First Time is the Best Time- DMZ First Time Is The Best Time

Lift Up Your Hood- Bum Wanna Smash Sensation! 

Mighty Idy (JJ Solo)- DMZ The Lost Studio Sessions 1978 

Thinking of Me- The Gnomes More 

In My Town- Runarounds Waiting For The Hurricane 

First Thing Tomorrow- The Rousers A Treat Of New Beat 

Next Position Please- Cheap Trick Next Position Please 

^Nobody But Me- The Human Beinz Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era, Vol. 2 

How Do You Know?- The Lyres How Do You Know? 7" 

^Tired Of Waiting For You- The Kinks Tired of Waiting For You  

Buried Alive- Lyres AHS 1005 

The Way I Feel About You- The Pete Best Combo Beyond The Beatles 1964-66 

You Won't Be Sad Anymore- Lyres Lyres Lyres 

*Don't Give It Up Now- Willie Alexander Play New Rose For Me 

*Help You Ann- The Chesterfield Kings - Help You Ann/She Told Me Lies 

*She Pays the Rent- The Nomads She Pays The Rent 

*How Do You Know- Classic Ruins Room Starts Spinning 

You're So (Phisticated)- Uni Boys Uni Boys 

Tomorrows Tears- Riptides Powerpearls Vol. 7 

Tell Me Something I Don't Know- Sloan B Sides Win Vol. 3 2003-2011 

Tonight- Squares feat. Joe Satriani Squares 

>You're Gonna Miss Me- 13th Floor Elevators Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era - 1965-1968 

I'm Tellin' You Girl- Lyres On Fyre at the Rusty Nail 1985 

>Soapy- Mickey & The Clean Cuts Soapy 

On Fyre- Lyres A Promise Is A Promise 

>What A Girl Can`t Do- The Hangmen What A Girl Can't Do 

She Pays The Rent- Lyres Lyres Lyres

 

^Power Pop Peak(s):    #8 Billboard Hot 100 2/3/68

                                          #6  Billboard Hot 100 4/18/65

 

*SacroSet:  Lyres Tribute

 

>Power Pop Prototype(s) (Songs The Lyres Taught Us):  1966, 1965, 1966  

 

Obituaries about the great Jeff Conolly who passed away on July 31, 2026 had his age at either 70 (New York Times) or 69 (Boston Globe and others).  The Times is correct- they aren't "the paper of record" for nothing.  They mentioned he had rejected his DMZ-era nickname "Monoman," which came from his love of obscure 60's punk records that were often recorded in mono rather than stereo.  That was news to me but I haven't lived in Massachusetts since 1992 and only got to see him play
 once since then at an October 2000 Budget Rock Showcase 
at Thee Parkside in San Francisco.  The Times obit also said his subsequent band was called "Lyres," no "The."  The thing is, my friends and I ALWAYS called them "The Lyres."  It's true they are "Lyres" on all the early albums but Exhibit A in my defense is their first single from 1979 on Erik Lindgren's Sounds Interesting records.  We were fans of Conolly's first band DMZ so we bought How Do You Know? the month it came out and the band was "The Lyres" from then on.  I rest my case- though I did remove "The" from the album song listings above.  (My wife says I should include a reference to my OCD here- I wonder why?)

 

About ten years ago I was record shopping with Cousin Rich at a store in Plymouth, Mass and we were talking to the owner, who was around our age.  I told them I've wondered if the Boston rock & roll from my high school/college years (roughly 1978-1986) was objectively the greatest in the city's history or did it just feel that way since it was my time.  The Record Store Guy was pretty adamant that this was the golden age of Boston rock and nothing before or since has even come close. 

 

While still in high school Rich and I had started listening to legendary Boston bands The Real Kids (who gave us our namesake song "All Kindsa Girls"), Nervous Eaters, La Peste, Mission of Burma, The Atlantics, The Neighborhoods, Classic Ruins, and The Lyres.  While I got to see all but La Peste, The Neighborhoods, Lyres and Classic Ruins were most active after I got to town in 1982 and I'd try to see them every time they'd play.  During those years, a lot of Boston bands were as big a draw as the out of town touring groups.  Check out this 1985 ad for Boston club The Channel- a huge space with 1700 person capacity.  Half the groups listed are Boston bands including those playing the benefit, Lyres, Neighborhoods, New Man, and Down Avenue.  Outside of New York and LA, it's hard to imagine a club this size would book so many local bands today. Based on the slow and steady creep of DJ nights and tribute bands I'm seeing in Bay Area clubs it's certainly not happening here and I doubt it's any different in Boston.

 

DMZ in their "Flirting With Glam" phase

Whether or not Record Store Guy is right about our time being the "best time" for Boston Rock, I am so grateful for all the great shows I got to see.  While I was still in high school my friends and I had taken the T to several all-ages shows, hardcore matinees, and the like. When I moved to Boston in fall 1982 and got my fake ID it opened up a whole new world.  DMZ were before my time but I got to a ton of  Lyres shows and got to see Jeff Conolly's manic front man antics on many occasions:

• a notorious perfectionist, he would change the settings on his guitarist's amp and often yell at his band on stage.  One of my all-time favorite Boston drummers Paul Murphy, a member of both DMZ and numerous Lyres lineups was often the target of Conolly's wrath- Murphy had the patience of a saint.
• For a few years rock station WBCN did weekday lunchtime concerts at the club Metro.  I'd take the T to Kenmore, run over the Pike to Landsdown Street, see a 45 minute set and T back to work.  One memorable show was Lyres who, perhaps due to the aforementioned, were playing without Paul Murphy.  Undeterred, Conolly kept time on a vodka bottle with a drumstruck, something I saw do a few more times even with Murphy back on drums.
• On March 12, 1986 at WBCN's 18th Birthday Bash- Lyres opened for Aerosmith at arena Worcester Centrum,  Rather than spread out on the huge stage they played packed in tight next to each other, using no more space than they would have at clubs like Cantones or The Rat.  This was also the first time I heard them do the the slow, soulful nearly 5-minute version of "She Pays The Rent" from Lyres Lyres.  In front of Aerosmith fans.... at an arena!  It is still one of the ballsiest things I've ever seen a band pull off- Lyres were fearless!

Danny, Paul, Jeff, Rick

Freshman year at Emerson I did a radio show on WERS called Niteklub, and the show coordinator was dating local guitarist Danny McCormack who had been in The Transplants and Mighty Ions.  I met him at the station, then got to talk to him after an Ions show at Cantones, notable because after a teetering drunk smashed the microphone into his teeth, from the stage Danny coldcocked the guy without missing a beat on guitar.  Later that year, Jeff Conolly asked him to join the lyres and Danny ended up being with the band for just a few years but this period included their brilliant first and second albums On Fyre and Lyres, Lyres and is perhaps the longest tenure of any guitarist in the band's 47 year history.  Like I said, Conolly was tough on band members as proven by the band's Rock Family Tree.  That said, while several early 80's Boston bands had toured the U.S., Lyres is the first one I know of to make it

Danny w/Lyres in 2008

overseas to places like France, Spain, Germany, and The Netherlands.  Danny had great stories about Jeff and the places they played.  As the Cantones drunk incident proves, Danny was not one to be messed with.  I've no doubt that like any guitarist, it bugged the crap out of Danny when Jeff fiddled with the dials on his guitar amp during shows but I bet seeing the world in a first-class rock band was a worthwhile trade-off. Researching this post, I was happy to see Danny back with Lyres On Fyre lineup for several shows in the intervening years including one in front of 17,000 people at 2005's Little Steven's International Garage Rock Festival in Randall's Island, NY.

 

Jeff Conolly's reputation as a testy dude was legendary.  In the late 80's I was dating a woman several years younger than me who was assigned to interview Jeff for Providence weekly The Nice Paper.  Not wanting her to get blindsided, I told her several stories I had heard over the years about Jeff's prickliness so she was more than a little nervous heading over to his Charles St. apartment for the interview.  Turns out it was all for naught, he was a perfect gentleman- politely answering all her questions and  playing several records for her during their time together.  She told me one of her first questions was along the lines of "So, you have this reputation for being..." and before she could finish, Jeff said "an asshole?" and laughed.  He even let her take a picture of him in his Buzzy's Fabulous Roast Beef sweatshirt, something he had taken to wearing around town and in at least one other newspaper photo session.  (Buzzy's was right around the corner from Jeff's, near the Charles St. Jail and Mass General, that was open late.  In college I dated a girl who lived a few doors down on Cambridge St. and more than a few late nights ended at Buzzy's where you'd see people you'd just been with at the club, jail guards, off-duty nurses, cabbies -a cross section of Boston carnivores- it was a cool place.) 

I only had one personal interaction with Jeff Conolly, sometime in the mid-80's at Mystery Train records on Newbury Street.  Not being cute and blonde myself, I didn't know how much stock to take from my girlfriend's pleasant experience interviewing him.  I should have realized that first and foremost, Jeff Connolly is a record geek, just like me.  On this day he

wasn't fixated on some garage rock obscurity, the record he was full-on raving about was Big Star's second album Radio City from 1974.  This was years before The Bangles recorded Radio City's September Gurls for their 1986 album A Different Light or The Replacements recorded "Alex Chilton," their ode to Big Star's frontman, for 1987's Pleased To Meet Me.  The copy in Mystery Train Jeff was rhapsodizing over was the Ardent original so it was way out of my price range but I never forgot his praise so

in 1986 when UK label Big Beat released a Big Star CD including their first two albums, #1 Record and Radio City, I snapped it up and soon got to hear what he'd been talking about.  It was life-changing.  I have been a Big Star fan ever since and #1 Record is one of my all-time favorite records. (I should mention that in 1986 CDs could only be 75 minutes long so to make the CD, Big Beat cut "In The Street" and "ST 100/6."  How in the name of all that is holy could you cut "In The Street"?!? It is an absolute classic, going on to become the theme for That 70's Show in 1998!)

 

Emerson, WERS, and The Boston Rock Scene (both seeing bands and playing in a few myself) completely eradicated the stink of loserdom I carried throughout high school and helped make me the person I am today.  I met my wife in the late 80's when we were both working at WMJX.  During our early "just friends" phase, we went to see Barrence Whitfield & the Savages at The Channel and the night we passed the point of no return on "just friends" was after a Zulus show at The Rat.  I've no doubt we saw Jeff Conolly and Lyres as well, though the specifics are hazy.  Jeff and the scene he represented loom large in my life and for that I will be forever grateful.

Click the link below to stream/download this week's show:

ALL KINDSA GIRLS #188 Jeff Conolly Tribute

Show #187 May 23, 2026

 

Tonight's show proves it and is dedicated to Shirley, as in Cha Cha Muldowney! 

 

Shirley- L7 Hungry For Stink 

Who Says Girls Can't Rock- The 'B' Girls Who Says Girls Can't Rock 

*Gimme, Gimme- Nikki & The Corvettes Romantics And Friends-Midwest Pop Explosion 

*Gimmie My Radio- The Donnas American Teenage Rock 'n' Roll Machine 

*All In My Head- The Linda Lindas No Obligation 

Who Will Save Rock and Roll?- The Dictators D.F.F.D. 

I Don't Wanna Dream Anymore- Uni Boys Uni Boys 

Amateur Hour- Sparks Kimono My House

Harmless- Daniel Romano Preservers Of The Pearl 

^Vacation- Go-Go's Vacation 

*White Mice- Mo-dettes White Mice 

*Shoplifting- The Slits Cut 

*In Your Room- The Bangles Everything 

Who's Gonna Tell Mary- The Moondogs Powerpearls Vol. 3 

Something on My Mind- Speedies Teen Line no. 1 

Girls on the Run- The Radio Radiowave 

Real Life Saver- Gary Charlson Real Life Saver 

*Trash Can Murders- The Runaways Waitin' For The Night 

*Borrowed Time- Fanny Fanny Hill 

*Hit And Run- Girlschool Hit And Run 

*You're No Rock N' Roll Fun- Sleater -Kinney All Hands On The Bad One 

>Please, Please- Goldie & The Gingerbreads Sailor Boy 

>Gotta Get Away- The Pleasure Seekers What A Way To Die 

Find It- The Kelly Affair Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls

>Glue- The Ace of Cups It's Bad For You But Buy It! 

Girl's Rock (English Version)- Shonen Knife Our Best Place 

 

^Power Pop Peak:  #8 Billboard Hot 100 8/21/82

 

*SacroSet[s]:  All-Female Bands Who Write/Play Their Songs

 

>Power Pop Prototypes: 1965, 1968, 1968 

 

Once I'd decided the theme of tonight's show I had to find a dedication song written and played by an all-female band.  Couldn't have asked for better than L7's ode to The First Lady of Drag Racing Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney, who was NHRA Top Fuel Champion in 1977, 1980, and 1982.  Like all women everywhere throughout history, Muldowney had to deal with a lot of stupid men- here's my favorite exchange between her and a typically douchey male reporter:

 

TDMR:  What's a beautiful girl like you doing racing in a place like this?

 

SM:  Winning 

 

LOVE it- you can't get more rock & roll than that!  

  

Shonen Knife 10/21/25

The inspiration for this show came from seeing Osaka legends Shonen Knife last fall.  My wife and I had seen SK play at Slim's in SF about 30 years ago so when KSVY's Bob Taylor mentioned they were playing at Hopmonk in Novato we were all-in.  I wasn't sure how the band would draw in Novato, CA but the place was pretty full and SK full-on ROCKED.  Sisters Naoko and Atsuko Yamano were in fine form, joined by incredible drummer Risa Kawano who has been with the band since 2015.  

Go Pats!

Seriously- she is the most entertaining drummer I've seen in years!  Tearing it up like a Clem Burke with a huge smile on her face the whole time.  Jaime, Bob, and I had an amazing time and, in addition to rocking hard, learned from Naoko that "novato" means "wild pigeon" in Japanese.  Jaime secretly bought me a Shonen Knife t-shirt that night and gave it to me for my birthday later that week. I wore it on our next trip down to Long Beach to hang with my #1 Pats fan grandson.

 

As I've lamented before in this space, with the ascension of the Pacific Northwest music scenes in the late 90's, many of my favorite bands made San Francisco a mid-week tour stop.  After playing Friday/Saturday in San Diego and LA, rather than coming to San Francisco the following weekend, many chose to play SF on Tuesday or Wednesday leaving Friday/Saturday for Portland and Seattle. My only complaint about the Hopmonk Shonen Knife show is that it was on a Tuesday.  You heard me right- TUESDAY, the second least rocking night of the week.  

 

The same thing happened a few months back.  I'd been waiting over a year to see LA's Uni Boys and when they finally came to town it was again on a TUESDAY.  Even more troubling, the "town" in this case was Sacramento as their tour with Daniel Romano stayed on I-5 from LA to Portland, skipping San Francisco altogether!  That said, the Uni Boys were great, though we missed Reza who was on drum duty for the Lemon Twigs that night.  We really dug the legendary Old Ironsides too- what a cool place, it practically oozes rock & roll- and we got to a couple of cool record stores and a great restaurant before the show.  Also, perhaps due to local ordinances or the age of their crowd- the doors opened at 6pm and the Uni Boys went on at 7pm, somewhat mitigating the Tuesday night of it all.  (It was like a rock & roll Early Bird Special- clearly I am old.)

Uni Boys 4/28/26

 

Sacramento is happening, I'm sure we'll be there again soon though it does make me feel sorry for San Francisco.  With Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside closing, times are tough for live music venues in the city.  On the other hand, The Mabuhay Gardens is having punk shows again, so that's one bright spot.  Speaking of the soon to be closing Bottom of the Hill, Sloppy Seconds, an old punk rock favorite of mine, just played there in May.  Sadly, I was not able to attend because I work for a living and well, I'll let you guess which night of the week they happened to be playing. 

 

When putting these All Kindsa Girls shows together I have promised myself not to give in to my OCD tendencies.  So, while tonight's show features many all-female bands who write and play their music, not ALL the songs fit this theme.  My OCD does insist however that I tell you all the groups I considered yet did not play, including: 

 

British Bands: Belle Stars, Bodysnatchers, Gymslips, Raincoats, Dolly Mixture

 

US Indie Bands: Salem 66, Pandoras, Babes In Toyland, Scrawl

 

Metal Bands: Kittie, Vixen, Sahara Hotnights

 

Riot Grrl: Bikini Kill, Bratmobile

 

60's Bands: Shaggs, The Feminine Complex, Isis

 

?? (haven't listened to them yet): Rude Girl, Madame X 

 

Whew! Now that feels better.  Not to take anything away from the groups above but, as I've mentioned before, when trying to do a 100% theme show, I'd find myself playing some less than great records simply because they fit the theme.  I'm happy with tonight's mix- a ton of great songs fitting the theme alongside some great new records by aforementioned tour mates Uni Boys and Daniel Romano as well as Power Pop Classics by The Moondogs, Gary Charlson, and Sparks.  

 

The Dictators circa 2023 Adny, Keith, Albert, RTB 3/20/23

Tonight we also paid tribute the great Ross The Boss Friedman of The Dictators, one of my all-time favorite guitarists, who we lost on March 26, 2026.  I saw several versions of The Dictators over the years, the last opening for The Damned at the Regency Ballroom in SF on May 20, 2023- a Saturday no less!   This was the "Adny's in, Handsome Dick is out" version with Blue Oyster Cult's Albert Bouchard on drums and a dude named Keith Roth subbing on rhythm guitar for Scott "Top Ten" Kempner (who died on November 29, 2024) and covering HDM's vocal parts.  I'm not gonna lie, Handsome Dick's swagger (he's got his own problems) was sorely missed but Ross The Boss was on fire, blowing us away with his power and precision.  The second to last time I saw the band they were called "The Dictators NYC" as Adny and HDM were fighting over the name in court.  Had Ross not been playing I might have skipped it but the band (HDM, Ross, Dean Rispler, Daniel Rey, and JP Patterson) absolutely smoked.  Right after this tour they were legally forced to go back to their original name "Manitoba."

 

The Dictators NYC RTB, HDM, Rispler, Rey 11/10/16

 

Over 35 years, from the first time I saw The Dictators to the last, Ross The Boss never lost a step.  Fierce, endlessly inventive, and, on the august occasion I was lucky enough to meet him, a genuinely nice guy.  RIP Ross The Boss- there will never be another like him! 

Ross & Rick 11/10/16

 

Click the link below to stream/download this week's show: 

ALL KINDSA GIRLS #187

Show #186 2025 Year-End Special January 10, 2026

Like every year, the 2025 Year-End Special is dedicated to ALL KINDSA GIRLS! 

 

All Kindsa Girls- The Real Kids Real Kids 

I'm Not The One- The Gnomes The Gnomes 

Judas- The Saints Long March Through the Jazz Age 

#Big Fat Rock- Brian Posehn Grandpa Metal 

#Somebody Will- Andrew Durand Shucked (2023 Original Broadway Cast) 

#Afternoon Tea- Shonen Knife Our Best Place 

#Insane- Shaina Taub Suffs (2024 Original Broadway Cast) 

#Keep on Lovin You- Spike Sikes & His Awesome Hotcakes While The Sun Is Still Shining 

*Unhand Me- Genuine Fakes 3  

*Connie- The Prize In the Red 

*Raw Muscular Power- Death By Unga Bunga Raw Muscular Power 

*Capitol Cooler- Sloan Based on the Best Seller 

*Bystander- Wyldlife sorted. 

^Good Friends- Milk 'N' Cookies Milk 'N' Cookies (Sal Maida)

^Saturday's Kids- The Jam Setting Sons (Rick Buckler)

^Girls- David Johansen David Johansen 

^Because I Love You- Badfinger Say No More (Joey Molland)

^I Can Make You Cry- Brian James Ain't That A Shame 

^Glass- Gang Of Four Entertainment! (Dave Allen)

^In The Sun- Blondie Blondie (Clem Burke)

^Frantic Romantic- Scientists Frantic Romantic (James Baker)

^New York Groove- Ace Frehley Ace Frehley 

^Is That Love?- Squeeze East Side Story (Gilson Lavis)

^Teenage Days- Hilly Michaels Calling All Girls 

^Musta Notta Gotta Lotta- Joe Ely Musta Notta Gotta Lotta 

52 Girls- The B-52's The B-52's

 

SacroSet[s]: #Top 5 Live Performances of 2025

*Top 5 Records of 2025

^Roll Call:  Those We Lost in 2025

It's getting harder to stay positive these days yet I continue to try.  The internet has monetized bad faith- does anyone actually believe anything they say anymore?  With clicks and shares the only goal, for many it seems like honesty, intellectual rigor, and belief itself are outmoded concepts.  It's a lot.  Thankfully, things are great closer to home- our first grandchild was born in March!  Sonoma Arts Live, our theater company, had another great season and ALL KINDSA GIRLS, my radio show, is going into its 18th year on KSVY.  And 2025, like every year, had its share of stellar movies, TV shows, records, books, and live performances.  There is much to be thankful for.  So, in a tradition that dates back to 1999, I humbly submit my 2025 Top 5 Lists:

TOP 5 MOVIES
Black Bag (marriage Bonds) 
Weapons (Aunt Gladys gonna getcha)
Hamnet (art redeems) 
28 Years Later (Sir Jimmy's got next) 
One Battle After Another (PTA goes genre) 

TOP 5-ish STREAMING/DVD MOVIES
Presence / His Three Daughters (haunted families)
Griffin In Summer / Nouvelle Vague (our tortured artists) 
Lake George / Train Dreams (nature calls)
Heavy Trip / Splitsville (comedy gold!)
The Sadness / Heretic (horror-ific) 

TOP 5 CLASSIC THURSDAY MOVIES
Vivacious Lady  (screwball classic)
The House Across The Street (big laughs w/body count) 
The Seventh Veil (psychomelodrama) 
The More The Merrier (Jean Arthur rules!) 
Blast of Silence (brutal noir) 

TOP 5 WORKOUT ROCUMENTARIES
Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? (think about your troubles)
Devo (through being cool) 
Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden of Black Genius) (running away)
The Stones & Brian Jones (2000 light years from home)
The Greatest Night In Pop (we are the world)

TOP 5 ALBUMS
The Genuine Fakes- 3 (Thank you Stockholm)
The Prize- In The Red (Melbourne's answer...)
Death By Unga Bunga- Raw Muscular Power (Norway now)
Sloan- Based On The Best Seller (The Masters return)
WYLDLIFE- sorted. (NYC Baby!)

TOP 5 TV SHOWS
Pluribus (Please Carol!)
Adolescence (parents' nightmare) 
The Residence (Watch for it!) 
Dying For Sex (sad/funny/sad)
Forever (the Maya/Fred one, the Netflix one is also great) 

TOP 5 BOOKS
The Known World- Edward P. Jones (what freedom?)
All Fours- Miranda July (metaphorical journey)
Greenwood- Michael Christie (Great Canadian Novel)
Chain-Gang All-Stars- Nana KwameAdjei-Brenyah (Thurwar's war)
Vera, or Faith- Gary Shteyngart (brave/sad new world)

TOP 5 LIVE PERFORMANCES
Brian Posehn 3/8/25 Sebastiani Theater, Sonoma CA (Revenge of the Nerd)
Shucked 9/24/25 "Corn" Theater, San Francisco CA (a-maize-ing)
Shonen Knife 10/21/25 HopMonk Tavern, Novato CA (Let's Knife!)
Suffs 10/30/25 Orpheum Theater San Francisco (keep marching!)
Spike Sikes & His Awesome Hotcakes 10/17/25 Murphy's Irish Pub, Sonoma CA (Soulmen) 

Past Top 5 lists (going back 27 years!) are available at Rick’s Top 5 Lists.  If you're curious about what I'm watching/listening to/reading/attending during the year check out the ALL KINDSA GIRLS Twitter (still disavowing the name change) or Bluesky pages.  I'd love to hear your 2025 favorites too- as you've no doubt noticed,  I've got a huge appetite for quality viewing, listening, and reading material.  Perhaps you'll see your picks in next year’s lists! 

Here's hoping for a brighter 2026!

Click the link below to stream/download this week's show:
ALL KINDSA GIRLS Show #186 2025 Year-EndSpecial 

Show #185 November 8, 2025

 

Our celebration of Motor City Power Pop is dedicated to Nicole!

 

*Nicole- The Singles Sweet Tooth 

*Back Seat Love- Nikki & The Corvettes Nikki & The Corvettes 

*More Time- Toby Redd A To Z 

*When I Look in Your Eyes- The Romantics The Romantics 

*Queen Of Hearts- Bobby Emmett Learning Love

So Far Down- Sloan Based on the Best Seller 

Fast Dreams- Wyldlife sorted. 

Dreaming in Stereo- The Jellybricks Dreaming In Stereo 

Good Enough- Genuine Fakes 3 

^Someday, Someway- Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Crenshaw 

*Love on Mars- The 3-D Invisibles Love On Mars 

*Heart Stops Beating- Nick Piunti Beyond The Static 

*So American- The Mutants So American 

*Rockstar- The Fags Light 'Em Up 

*You and Me- The Brunettes You and Me 

*So So Alone- The Reruns So So Alone 

*Ain't Gonna Take It- The Look Look Again 

Starchild- Death By Unga Bunga Raw Muscular Power 

I Can’t Get Over You- The Dogmatics Nowheresville 

She Says- Gyasi Here Comes The Good Part 

>Light of Love- The Pleasure Seekers Light of Love 

>One Love- Sky Don't Hold Back 

>Shakin' Street- MC5 Back In The U.S.A. 

*I Like My Dad- The Plugs I Like My Dad 

*Don't Come Crying To Me- Cinecyde I Left My Heart in Detroit City 

*X-15- The Ivories X-15 

*Jesus Chrysler- Luke Warm Featuring Jesus Chrysler And Other Original Recordings From 1980-81 

*Richest Man- Brendan Benson Dear Life

 

^Power Pop Peak: #36 Billboard Hot 100 8/28/82

 

*SacroSet[s]: Detroit Power Pop

 

>Power Pop Prototype:  1968, 1970, 1970 

 

My wife Jaime was born in East Lansing, MI and in June 1968, when she was 9, moved to Plymouth, MI in Wayne County- about 45 minutes west of Detroit.  Their timing could've been better...

Less than a year after the July 1967 12th Street Riot there was another riot in Detroit following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in April 1968.  Fearmongering around forced desegration busing in the early 70's and the surging crime rate leading to "Murder City" headlines only made things worse.  For my wife and many other white suburban Detroit kids, parents portrayed the city as a terrifying hellscape to be avoided at all costs.  On her family's rare trips to Detroit for a Tigers game, to see a show at the Fisher Theater, or visit the Detroit Institute of Arts it would be in and out, making sure the gas tank was full beforehand and no stopping for shopping or a meal after.  Even on my first visit to Plymouth in the early 90's I remember my future mother in law warning "don't go past 8 Mile," which my wife had heard thousands of times during her teen years.  As a map guy, I immediately had to see what she was talking about and discovered that 8 Mile is LONG east/west road that starts at Lake St. Clair:

 

To go "past 8 Mile" from Plymouth you'd be driving north, away from Detroit.  I pointed this out to my wife and she patiently explained that "past 8 Mile" is not just a geographic boundary, something we'd all learn from a movie 10 years later.  Google AI explains it this way (my first use of AI in a blog post!):

• "Don't go past 8 Mile" refers to the significant cultural, racial, and geographical boundary of Eight Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan, separating the Black city from its predominantly white suburbs, famously depicted in Eminem's movie 8 Mile, where characters constantly navigate this line as a social challenge, urging others to "go back" across it. The phrase embodies themes of class, race, and finding your place, especially in hip-hop culture, like in Eminem's breakout hit "Lose Yourself" from the film, about seizing the moment despite these barriers.

 

I grew up on Boston's South Shore and going "in town" with my family or on school trips was a regular occurrence.  The Museum of Science, Fenway Park, MFA, Symphony Hall, Quincy Market, the Aquarium, Boston Common/Public Garden, seeing Santa at Jordan Marsh- Boston was a wonderland growing up and I moved there the first chance I got.  Needless to say, this was not the case for Jaime when the playground chatter is about whether or not the National Guard is going to blow up bridges to stop rioters from getting "past 8 mile."

 

 

Curious since 1976 when I first heard Kiss' epic "Detroit Rock City," hearing other songs over the years mythologizing Detroit further piqued my interest.  In the early 80's, discovering The MC5's Kick Out The Jams, recorded live in 1969 at Detroit's Grande Ballroom, blew my mind (more on that band here).  Jaime's older brother Kurt saw the MC5 at the Grande- not his cup of tea, he said it was "awful- a loud, cacophonous, mess" though he did appreciate their energy.  

 

Before every trip back to Plymouth in the 90's and 2000's I'd tell myself "this time I'm going to check out Detroit" yet seeing how anxious it made my mother-in-law I couldn't go through with it.  We'd go to Ann Arbor instead- a very cool college town west of Plymouth, though no one has yet written "Ann Arbor Rock City." (Bonus points for being Tom Brady's alma mater- I'd say "Go Blue!" here but my father-in-law was a Spartan and I don't want to disturb his eternal slumber.)

 

It wasn't until 2021, years after my in-laws passed, that Jaime and I got back to Detroit and it was an awesome trip.  Cool bars, restaurants, record stores, the biggest farmer's market I've ever seen, a hopping downtown with tons of people out on the streets, Belle Isle Park-  we were finally "past 8 mile" and loving every minute of it!  The Motown Museum was unfortunately closed due to flooding but there was still plenty to see.  We even got out to the Grande Ballroom- closed for decades but still standing:

 

While I picked up The Look's first two albums on our Detroit trip, I didn't come upon the record that inspired tonight's show until earlier this year at the great Record Safari in Silver Lake during a trip to Long Beach to meet my new Grandson.  Toby Redd's A to Z may be my favorite discovery of the past five years.  A to Z, by a Detroit band in 1982, feels more like a British band in 1979.  These are accomplished musicians inspired by the "keep it simple" ethos of late 70's Punk, New Wave, and Power Pop.  Sadly it didn't last- on the next album, 1986's In The Light where they were joined by future Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith on drums, they succumbed to a trendy 80's MTV sound that is not my thing.  A to Z though, man it is awesome!

 

Speaking of my new Grandson, the first gift we gave him is a book we purchased on our 2021 Detroit trip at Jack White's Third Man Records in Cass Corridor.  Boy has that place changed since the Detroit Police rousted the MC5 all the way to Ann Arbor back in the day.  Like so many places we visited in Detroit, Cass Corridor was hopping- galleries, restaurants, shops of all kinds, music clubs.  My in-laws would've hardly recognized it!

 

Jack White and illustrator Elinor Blake

Click the link below to stream/download this week's show:

ALL KINDSA GIRLS #185