Show #5 March 21, 2009

For Elizabeth...

November 12, 1924-March 8, 2009

Elizabeth Smiles- The Dreamdayers All Things Come

Heart- Rockpile Seconds Of Pleasure

Do Anything You Wanna Do-Eddie and The Hotrods Life On The Line

Sound of the Rain-The Dils Made In Canada Double-7"

The First One- Gary Valentine The First One 45

Elephant Flares- Redd Kross Third Eye

Take This Heart Of Mine- The Saints Prehistoric Sounds

Days- Television Adventure

*I Don't Want Nobody(I Want You)- Boyfriends I Don't Want... 7"

*What Did I Say- Pete Holly and The Looks Baby Please Believe Me 7"

*Beat Your Heart Out- The Zeros Beat Your Heart Out 7"

*You're The One- Nikki and The Corvettes Nikki and The Corvettes

Can't See- The Drones Further Temptations

If You Really Love Me...Buy Me A Shirt- The Freshies The Very Best Of

I Don't Know Why(You Love Me)- Hi-Fi's s/t 7"

*Theme Set: Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records

As you can see from previous posts, each All Kindsa Girls show is dedicated to all girls and women who share a certain name. Tonight's show, however, is dedicated to one specific woman, my mother in law Elizabeth Jean Palmer Weiser who died earlier this month. Betty, you are missed.

The Great Greg Shaw

Since VH-1 has co-opted the phrase "Behind The Music" to define the rags to riches to rehab shame spiral of the pop stars we routinely gulp, swirl and spit out, it doesn't seem appropriate when talking about someone like Bomp! magazine/records founder Greg Shaw. Furthermore, the combination of the words "music" and "industry" gives any true rock and roll fan the shivers. That said, Greg Shaw built a vital small business as the man behind so many great Power Pop, punk and garage rock records over the years. Read about him here.

In the late 70's and early 80's, Bomp! was one of the few labels that I'd consider shelling out hard-earned paper route wages for without knowing anything about the band. The DMZ EP they put out in 1977 was the first or second Boston Rock 7" I ever bought. Bomp! also kept things in print for a long time. Even today, many independent labels do these blink and you missed it releases that, while they may generate hype, keep a lot of people from hearing the music and in the end probably benefit e-Bay more than anyone else. During Power Pop's 15 minutes of fame in the late 70's/early 80's, a lot of independent labels like 415 and Slash signed deals with major labels that ultimately lead to their demise. Bomp! never drank the corporate kool-aid and is about to celebrate its 35th birthday which is why it is in the All Kindsa Girls Hall of Fame!

Click the link below to stream this show or to download, right click and "Save Link As:
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #5

Show #4 March 7, 2009

Are you Rosemary? Then this one's for you!

Rosemary- The Dickies Stukas Over Disneyland
Another Girl, Another Planet- The Only Ones Special View
Wicked Gravity- The Jim Carroll Band Catholic Boy
Teen Line- The Shivvers Teen Line 45
Nice Girls- Any Trouble Where Are All The Nice Girls
First Time- The Boys The Complete Boys Punk Singles Collection
Stay Away- Rooney Rooney
Tennis (Again)- The Diodes Tired of Waking Up Tired
*The Shape Of Things To Come- The Headboys The Headboys
(#67 11/3/79)
*Starry Eyes- The Records The Records (#56 9/29/79)
*Girl Of My Dreams- Bram Tchaikovsky Strange Man, Changed Man
(#37 7/7/79)
*Good Girls Don't- The Knack Get The Knack (#11 9/1/79)
Shake Some Action- The Flamin' Groovies Groovies Greatest Grooves

*Theme Set: 1979- Power Pop Peaks On The Billboard Hot 100

Punk was huge in England in the late 70's but thanks to those dicks the Sex Pistols scaring American record and radio people, none of our class of '77 broke through here. It still pisses me off that "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" isn't a radio staple in America.

Ric Ocasek rocking a Skinny Tie

While punk didn't dent the American mainstream, it had a big influence on many musicians and by 1979 had created a new strain of Power Pop that I've heard called "skinny tie rock." This music was far more accessible than the punk rock that was blasting away in urban clubs yet it offered similiar high energy music stuffed into a three minute song. Cheap Trick ("I Want You To Want Me"), Joe Jackson ("Is She Really Going Out With Him?"), Nick Lowe ("Cruel To Be Kind"), Bram Tchaikovsky ("Girl of My Dreams") all had Top 40 hits in 1979. Coming on the heels of disco this was a breath of fresh air. What's more, I was sure it meant that since the music I loved was becoming popular that I would soon be popular too.

Me rocking a Skinny Tie w/ my
favorite Clash 16 Tons pin

I wore Skinny Ties to my job bagging groceries at Angelo's in Kingston, MA and every school day sported a different punk rock pin on my oxford shirt collar. I was sure my trench coat with Chuck Taylors look was about to catch on too. The summer of 1979 saw the ascent of the top charting Power Pop song of all time- "My Sharona" was #1 for six straight weeks that summer. Anything gets tired after that long so in retrospect the backlash (knacklash?) is not too surprising. Supposedly the band were tools too, so it didn't take long for the critics to start piling on, although not before "Good Girls Don't" went to #11. There were a smattering of Power Pop hits in the early 80's but the genre, largely displaced by MTV new wave and then hair metal, never reached its 1979 commercial peak.

As for me, in 1979 I was to remain unpopular, though I suppose I should be happy that my friends and I, especially "Most Individual" Jim Harris, were taunted with catcalls of "Devo" (thanks to "Whip It" #14 8/30/80) in the Duxbury High School hallways rather than "Freakin' Knackhead," "My Big Boner," etc.

The Jam wore the hell out of their Skinny Ties

Blondie were all in for Skinny Ties
(Love this photo- Clem is the only one who was ready...)

Click the link below to stream this week's show or to download, right click and "Save Target As."
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #4