May 06, 2009 Earworm

After Baltimore's own, Here Today, were dropped by Columbia after one single, they changed their name to Vigil, signed with Chrysalis, and released the twelve inch single, "I Am Waiting". For those of us who loved Here Today, we waited to see them take off, figuring that if Kix could find a national audience, anything could happen. The idea of Jo Connor slithering across the MTV generation left me breathless but it was not to be. Their self-titled album sold enough copies to warrant the recording of a second album but, for some reason, the label decided not to release it and, other than one track being featured in the (on-screen) soundtrack to "A Nightmare On Elm Street 4", the tapes have been gathering dust in a vault and the fans who hold memories of the band dear are still waiting.

I can never hear either incarnation of the band without thinking of Bobby C. and today was his birthday so, "I Am Waiting" it is.

May 05, 2009 Earworm

I'm not saying that the Violent Femmes nicked something from Round Robin's "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann" for "Blister In The Sun", I'm just saying that it is impossible for me to hear one without thinking of the other. However, I am saying that P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri definitely nicked something from Calypso via Belafonte when they cooked up "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann" to feed L.A.'s Slauson jones.

Regardless, "Blister In The Sun" is a classic for a generation - and for analysis - and "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann" is... well, catchy as hell and notable for it's Jack Nitzsche arrangement and for being a far cry from other Sloan/Barri songs.

Does anyone know how to do the Slauson?

May 04, 2009 Earworm

While critics of "A New Tide" fuss over what Gomez is or is not and should or should not be, I choose "Airstream Driver" as the Monday morning kick-off because dark storms while behind the wheel can be just that fun. And how about that Ant-like stick work...