Show #114 2013 YEAR-END DEDICATION SPECIAL January 11, 2014

Happy New Year from All Kindsa Girls!

All Kindsa Girls- The Real Kids Real Kids 
Amanda- Green Day ¡Tré! 
Rejuvenate Me- Brendan Benson You Were Right 
Margarita- Henry Essence Shake Some Action 8 (UK/Ireland) 
Betsy- The Probers Mad At The World 
Malady- Corin Ashley New Lion Terraces 
Polly- Sneakers Ear Cartoons 
Courtney- Nerf Herder How To Meet Girls 
^Stacy's Mom- Fountains Of Wayne Welcome Interstate Managers 
Amanda Ruth- Rank and File Rank and File 
Ricki- The Go Instant Reaction 
Somebody Has Finally Found Me- Richard X. Heyman X 
Charity- The Sighs S/T LP 
Shannon- The Volcanos The Volcanos 
*Electric Fever- Free Energy Love Sign 
*Make Up Your Mind- Sugar Stems Can't Wait 
*Get Away- Julian Leal Buttons: From Champaign to Chicago 
*Taken- Lisa Mychols Above, Beyond and In Between 
*Don't Come Back Now- The Bye Bye Blackbirds We Need The Rain 
Natalie- The Sidewalks Natalie 
Elaine- The Smithereens Green Thoughts 
Georgia O- The Nields Play 
Too Much Of A Good Thing- The Yum Yums ...Play Good Music 
Veronica- Wreckless Eric Big Smash 
Jenny- Sloan Hardcore 7˝ 
Unusual Me- Phil Angotti Life and Rhymes 
Rachel- Tommy Tutone Tommy Tutone 
Hayley- Flicks Hayley 
If I Only Could- Godfathers Jukebox Fury 
Sweet Jane- The Jim Carroll Band I Write Your Name 
Jeane- The Smiths The Sound Of The Smiths
Midnight to Stevens- The Clash Sound System Extras 2 

^Power Pop Peak:  #21 Billboard Hot 100 9/29/03

*SacroSet: 2013 Top 5 Records

In the late 20th Century (1999 to be exact) I began a New Year's tradition of e-mailing a small group of friends my Top 5 movies, videos, records and books of the previous year.  One of the things I love about great movies, records and books is discussing great movies, records and books.  Yes, I'm that guy at parties who's always going on about some "awesome" new discovery.  It's a good thing I was born when I was because if I had to act like one of today's young hipsters who sneer at everything and only "like" things ironically I'd be a freaking pariah.

Malkovich, Malkovich? Malkovich!

Looking over past lists at the Rick's Top 5 Lists blog, I have to say they really stand up.  Going back to 1999, there are some all-time great movies (Being John Malkovich) and books (About A Boy by Nick Hornby) on there.  I invite you to check out the Top 5's blog and hopefully you'll unearth some gems you haven't seen/heard before.

Reviewing old lists also shows major changes in our culture.   First the technology.  Back in 1999 I included a "Videos" category (meaning VHS) which by 2003 was "Videos/DVD's" then "DVD's/Videos," and starting in 2007, just "DVD's." Last year it became "DVD's/Web Streams" and my guess is that the DVD's days are numbered.  On the plus side, vinyl LP's remain a vital part of the "LP's/CD's" category, which I've renamed "Records" as it now includes LP's, CD's and digital downloads.  I'm betting "CD's" will eventually be the odd man out as most young people opt for downloads while the number of vinyl releases (many with a code for a free download) continues to increase every year.

The even greater change is the inclusion of the "TV/Web Shows" category, which showed up for the first time in 2008- the year Deadwood blew my mind.  I'd had favorite TV shows before then (like Freaks and Geeks and Lost) but for me the medium hit some kind of critical mass in 2008.  Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Life (featuring a pre-Homeland Damian Lewis); many would argue that in the intervening years TV has been better than movies.  One major factor is that the way we consume TV has changed.  Jaime and I discovered binge-watching in 2008 with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Arrested Development on Hulu.com.  Needless to say, that was a game changer.  In 2013, only five years later, two of my Top 5 TV/Web Shows (House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black) were produced by streaming service Netflix.

I'm sorry to say, the ascendance of the "TV/Web" category goes hand in hand with the demise of the "Live Performances" category.  I just can't do the 100 mile round trip into San Francisco to see bands anymore- forget about weeknights, it's even hard to make it work on the weekend.  Part of that I can blame on my kids, but part of it is my lazy

ass fault.  So, I look back at things like "Hold Steady and Drive By Truckers at The Fillmore San Francisco 11/24/08" and wistfully shake my head.  Who knows, maybe I'll add "see live music" to the list of things I'm going to do when I retire...  On the plus side, when Jaime and I were in New York after Christmas we saw the musical A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder and it was awesome! 

 So, without further adieu, here are my 2013 Top 5 Lists:

TOP 5 MOVIES

The Spectacular Now (BMOC)

Fruitvale Station (American tragedy)

Enough Said (man, it doesn’t get ANY easier)

Spring Breakers (ultimate bangerz)

(tie) Don Jon, Frances Ha (the pains of being pure at heart)

TOP 5 DVD’S/WEB STREAMS

War Witch (hear Komona)

Smashed (working the program)

Warm Bodies (zombie love)

Umberto D (thank God for our dogs)

Pitch Perfect (long live Fat Amy)

TOP 5 ALBUMS

Love Sign- Free Energy (more cowbell!)

Can’t Wait- Sugar Stems (Milwaukee’s finest)

We Need The Rain- The Bye Bye Blackbirds (pure pop from Oaktown)

Buttons:  From Champaign to Chicago- Various  Artists (joyful Illi-noise)

Above, Beyond and In Between- Lisa Mychols (SoCal pop chanteuse)

TOP 5 BOOKS

The Art Of Fielding- Chad Harbach (we all need a Mike Schwartz)

Telegraph Avenue- Michael Chabon (welcome to Brokeland)

The Professional- Robert B. Parker (Mr. Parker, you will be missed)

The Imperfectionists- Tom Rachman (end of an era)

In One Person- John Irving (a spinning top)

TOP 5 TV/CABLE SHOWS

House Of Cards (smoke filled rooms)

Orange Is The New Black (pied Piper)

Game of Thrones Season 2 (winter is coming...)

Orphan Black (Cosima is my favorite)

Walking Dead Season 3 (Michonne rules!)

I’d love to hear your favorites from 2013 so please leave a comment- I’m always on the lookout for quality viewing, listening and reading material.  Here’s wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!!

You can download tonight's show below (if the download stops, just pause and unpause)

Hour 1

Hour 2

Show #113 December 14, 2013 ALL KINDSA GIRLS SNOW DAY

The ALL KINDSA GIRLS SNOW DAY is dedicated to Suzy Snowflake!

Suzy Snowflake- Soul Coughing Made Especially For You
(It's A) Snow Day- Darlington Classics 2
Christmas Snow- Greg Pope Blue Ocean Sky
This Time Of Year- Mighty Mighty Bosstones A Santa Clause (It's A Punk Rock Christmas)
Waking On Christmas- The Smithereens Christmas With The Smithereens
I Saw Mommy Biting Santa Claus- The Dollyrots I Saw Mommy Biting Santa Claus
(Gimme A) Kiss For Christmas- John McMullan Hi-Fi Christmas Party
Seasons Greetings- Robbers on High Street Four Christmases Soundtrack
^Don't Eat The Yellow Snow- Frank Zappa Strictly Commercial
Christmas Time Again (I'll Be Good Next Year)- SPiN WXPN Local 12 Days of Christmas 2012
Christmas- Elton Duck Christmas 7"
The Blizzard of '78- Korps Xmas Snertz : Have a Very Gulcher Christmas!
(There's No War On Christmas) When Christmas Is In Your Heart- The Mockers s/t
Child's Christmas in Wales- John Cale Paris 1919
*Snow Day- Toby Lightman Snow Day
*Snow Day- Vegas With Randolph Snow Day
*Snow Day- matt pond PA Winter Songs EP
*Snow Day- Bleu A Big Bang Holidang
Christmas Time Again- The Connection Christmas Time Again
You Trashed My Christmas- The Primitives A Christmas Gift For You From Elefant Records
Christmas Night- Dwight Twilley Have A Twilley Christmas
A Christmas Carol (For The Losers In Love)- Vibeke Saugestad ...From All Of Me
I Hear (Click, Click, Click)- The Rosebuds Christmas Tree Island
Christmas Lights- The Hi-Risers Christmas Lights 7"
>Snow- Claudine Longet Love Is Blue
Christmas Again- The Kavanaghs Christmas Again
Come On Christmas- Barely Pink Come On Christmas
A Christmas Duel- The Hives vs. Cyndi Lauper Swedesplease Christmas Mix
Christmas Love- The Bratchmen The Easy Sound Of The Bratchman
The Last Christmas- Brainpool The Last Christmas
Merry X'mas Everybody- Sloan Holiday Single 2012
Christmas With The Snow- Marah A Christmas Kind Of Town
The Christmas Wish- Kermit The Frog A Christmas Together

^Power Pop Peak:  #86 Billboard Hot 100

*SacroSet:  "Snow Day" Songs

>Power Pop Prototype:  1968

I love living in California and it's a great place to raise a family.  That said, one thing my Cali born kids have never experienced is the transcendent joy that is the Snow Day.  As I described on tonight's show, the snow day ritual went as follows:

• you would hear about an incoming snow storm on TV and the radio;
• even if you'd never prayed before in your life, going to bed that night you'd say a silent prayer for snow;
• the next morning you wake up and run to the window to see your yard blanketed in white;
• you run downstairs to the kitchen where your mom has the radio on and listen for the alphabetical list of school closing announcements, again saying a prayer (likely offset by your mom's prayer);
• hearing your school district announced followed by "all classed cancelled" your head explodes with joy- it's a free day and you get to play in fresh SNOW!

The thing is, you're so pumped about your free day there's no way you can go back to sleep and it's 7 o'clock in the morning!  If it wasn't still storming outside, after breakfast my sister Sarah and I would usually head out into the snow and see what the neighborhood kids were doing;  sledding, making snowmen, having snowball fights, etc.  This would be good for a couple of hours until we'd get cold and head back home to discover that daytime television had not improved any since the last time we were home sick from school.  

After a blowout fight over choice of TV show, my sister and I would usually retreat to our rooms and the quiet, contemplative part of the snow day would begin.  Napping, reading, listening to music- all of these activities are more enjoyable on a snow day.  Lunch in our rooms and then when stir craziness precipitated another fight, it would be back out into the snow.  There were cranberry bogs at the end of our street and one year we built a toboggan run down a hill out onto one or the ponds they to used to irrigate- it was awesome.  Making it even better, when we got home in the afternoon we were often treated to that luscious snow day delicacy- HOT COCOA!  And not that Swiss Miss crap either, Mum made it on the stove top with milk and topped it off with a heaping dollop of marshmallow fluf.  It just doesn't get any better than that.

(click to enlarge)

Sad to say, but the joy of a snow day dissipates when you get older- especially when you realize they are going to shaft you with an extra day at the end of the year in June.  This turn of events is well represented by the graphic below depicting the modern high schooler's reaction to the snow day:

On our recent trip back to Massachusetts it didn't look like we'd be getting any snow.  In fact, about a week before we got there it had been 70 degrees.  The forecast changed a few days after Christmas though- not only was a storm coming, it had a cool name:  Hercules!  Before it had even started snowing that Wednesday several school districts on the South Shore cancelled classes for the next day.  That was probably premature because the real snow didn't start falling until midday Thursday- but second guessing District Superintendent snow day calls is practically a sport in Massachusetts.  By Thursday afternoon it was coming down pretty good and I took this picture of Jaime and the kids.  It's been a few years since I've driven in the snow so I was a little worried but it came back pretty quickly.  I actually kind of enjoyed fishtailing all over the road- they scariest part is the other drivers.  By Friday morning about a foot of snow had fallen and it was a for real snow day!  The kids didn't miss school but they did get to sledding thanks to Cousin Linda, Cousin Rich's wife.

Nica and Jack on Snow Day!

I'm going to close out this post with the lyrics to Bleu's "Snow Day" from tonight's SacroSet.  As you can see Bleu gets everything right- he's from Boston so he knows what he's talking about!

"Snow Day" by Bleu

Hey hey!
I woke up to the radio
And the glare of a blanket
Of fallen snow
When I heard the DJ speak to me
In a voice that was thick
As an evergreen
He announced all the schools
That were closing

On my knees and pray
For a snowy day
'Cause I need a break
And I wanna sled the day away
I need a snow day

Hey hey!
The leaves all fell
And the streets were cold
But the sky was as dry as a bone
When the clouds rolled in
Like a holy sign
We all built up a fort
At the bus stop sign
Trackin' snow in the door
At the five and dime
Get the marshmallows ready for cocoa time

On my knees and pray
For a snowy day
'Cause I need a break
And I wanna sled the day away
I need a snow day

Hey hey!

Click the link below to stream/download tonight's show:
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #113 SNOW DAY

Show #112 November 30, 2013

We dedicate this show to Jeane ...and The Hackney Brothers!

Jeane- The Smiths The Sound Of The Smiths
Let's Go- Stephen Lawrenson Somewhere Else 
Keep On Knocking- Death ...For The Whole World To See
Love Round The Corner- The Motors Airport - The Motor's Greatest Hits
One-der One-der- Travoltas Teenbeat
Searching- Runarounds Waiting For The Hurricane
Channel 13- Student Teachers Ork Records Single
Piccadilly Circus- Stiff Little Fingers Go For It
^Let's Go- The Cars Just What I Needed - Anthology
I Couldn't Get Along Without You- Yachts S.O.S Singles 1977-1981
Tell Me Soon- Rooney Calling the World
Why Say No- Summer Suns Greatest
It's Love- Librarians The Pathetic Aesthetic
My Home Is Not A House- Jason Falkner Yellow Pills Vol 4 The Best of American Pop!
*Let's Go- The Reducers Let's Go
*Let's Go- Nikki and The Corvettes Romantics And Friends-Midwest Pop Explosion
*Let's Go- Blitzkrieg Bop Waves: An Anthology Of New Music, Vol. 1
*Let's Go- The Ramones End Of The Century
Chips Ahoy!- The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in America
She Do- The Volcanos The Volcanos
Ten Years- The Starjets God Bless Starjets
Any Day Now- The Vertebrats A Thousand Day Dream
A Different Me- Dogs Different
Angels Rearrange- Bob Mould Silver Age
>Let's Go- The Routers Let's Go
Somebody Knows- Code Blue Code Blue
Your Baby's Gone- The Revillos Attack of the Giant Revillos
Older Guys- Teenage Fanclub Thirteen
Baby Gets it All- Holly and the Italians The Right to Be Italian
Door- The Toms The Toms
Teen City- Modernettes Teen City E.P. 12"
You Get What You Deserve (Alternate Mix, 1973)- Big Star Nothing Can Hurt Me: Original Soundtrack 
Let's Go- Matt and Kim Let's Go 

^Power Pop Prototype: #14 Billboard Hot 100 6/12/79

*SacroSet:  "Let's Go!" Songs

>Power Pop Prototype:  1962

Sonoma California is a beautiful place to live and raise children.  For a town of about 11,000 people, Sonoma is surprisingly cosmopolitan with world class wineries, an art museum, and annual film festival.  (With this setup you just know I'm about to crap on my town...)  Yet time and time again I have bitterly joked with my wife, "I would love to see that movie but I live in a rural backwater."  When you've got a town with about ten film screens and a surrounding area with sixty, why in the name of all that is holy do you have to put Grown Ups 2 on 30 of them!  Seriously, when that piece of crap opened you could see it in Sonoma, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol... in some theaters on two screens so it showed every hour!  The Sebastiani Theater in Sonoma (the tall building in the postcard) and Summerfield in Santa Rosa are trying but I still never got to see Big Star:  Nothing Can Hurt Me, In A World..., Blue Caprice, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Short Term 12, Drinking Buddies, A Touch of Sin, Blue Is The Warmest Color and the list goes on. 

DVD hasn't been much of an option either since ten years ago Blockbuster put TWO stores in Sonoma effectively killing local video stores All Video, Movie Merchants and Moon Valley Video.  (I later learned that a Blockbuster franchise would have been granted exclusivity in a town the size of Sonoma so the two corporate stores in Sonoma were specifically designed to destroy their local competitors.  Videos edited for "content," predatory business practices- oh Blockbuster, may you burn in hell.)

Granted, not getting to see all the movies I want to is a classic "white people problem" but it still irks me.  The good news is that Netflix has helped level the playing field.  Case in point, thanks to Netflix Jaime and I watched the documentary A Band Called Death a few weeks ago and we both loved it.  The Hackney Brothers from Detroit, Michigan are true originals; three black guys playing heavy proto- punk music in 1975!  That's a year BEFORE the first Ramones album came out.  In 1971 David, Bobby and Dannis Hackney, like most of their their contemporaries, played R and B music as Rockfire Funk Express, probably aspiring to be the next Temptations or Sly and The Family Stone.  After seeing The Who and Alice Cooper, David convinced his brothers to take the band in a different direction and Death was born.  They didn't mention The MC5 or The Stooges in the documentary but Death's

music certainly fits that Michigan sound.  David Hackney's vision for Death included the cool triangle logo and cover art for what was to be their debut album ...For The Whole World To See, recorded in 1974.  Despite considerable resistance to the band's name, David refused to change it "because death is real," even when this meant passing on a record contract with Clive

Davis.  The band's sole release ended up being a single they put out themselves the following year (on Tryangle Records of course) including two songs from the '74 sessions, "Politicians In My Eyes" backed with tonight's All Kindsa Girls selection "Keep On Knocking."  That was it- Death broke up in 1977.

David Hackney

Lung cancer took David Hackney in 2000 which is doubly tragic because he never got to see the next phase in the Death legacy. In 2008 Bobby Hackney's son heard the Death single at a party in San Francisco and recognized his father's voice.  Googling the group he was shocked to see that his father and uncles had been in a proto-punk band and that the single was fetching upwards of $800 on e-bay.  The master tapes from the original 1974 Death sessions were dug up in an attic where they'd been sitting for thirty years and in 2009 ...For The Whole World To See was finally released.

After the record came out, Bobby and Dannis Hackney reformed Death with Bobbie Duncan, the guitarist of their Burlington, Vermont reggae band Lambsbread.  This version of Death has toured extensively, sharing David Hackney's music and vision with audiences around the world.

Death 2.0

This is the story of A Band Called Death and it is definitely worth hearing- thank you Netflix!

Click the link below to stream this show or to download, right click and "Save Link As:"
ALL KINDSA GIRLS #112