all about nothing and more

Ellie Greenwich

2009-08-26T12:49:00.001-04:00

October 23, 1940 - August 26, 2009
Ellie Greenwich Ellie passed away this morning after fighting complications from a stroke.
R.I.P.

Edward Kennedy

2009-08-26T12:47:00.001-04:00

February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009

August 21, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-22T00:01:00.003-04:00

Jackie DeShannon turned 65 today so I have to give a shout to my first pop star
crush. With that in mind, not that I need a reason, I've been humming "Be Good Baby", one of those of those fluffy confections she whipped up with Jack Nitzsche back in '65.

Have some cake, a great weekend, and be good.

August 19, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-19T11:03:00.003-04:00

Following a busy year that brought five top twenty singles as a recording artist and a number one and two as a writer, Neil Diamond decided to leave Bang Records for greener pastures and artistic freedom. What the world did to deserve this is still unclear but we do know that his first three singles for UNI, the wonderful Chip Taylor production "Brooklyn Roads", the also wonderful but not Chipped "Two-Bit Manchild", and the merely okay "Sunday Sun" got trapped in the bottom half of the Hot 100. The debut album that followed didn't help, saddled with the exploitative (and unintentionally funny) "The Pot Smoker's Song" and the schmaltz of "Knackleflerg" and the better tracks finding Neil stuck somewhere between folk pop and Jimmy Webb without the depth to match either. Then, in 1969, a divine plan sent Neil to Chips Moman's American Sound Studios in Memphis and that is how "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" ended up being a (Neil Diamond version of a) butt kicking record.

"Hot August night and the leaves hangin’ down and the grass on the ground smellin’ sweet" and a great church piano lick set the scene beautifully, with the bass providing just enough sin to draw you in and before you know it, you've packed up the babies and grabbed the old ladies and fans are attempting to cut through the heat of revelation. "Cherry, Cherry" it isn't yet the same energy is there and soul it ain't, but it's not quite anything else either. One thing is certain, it wouldn't have worked if it had been recorded anywhere else. Once again, the single mix, heavy with reverb, a bit of double tracked vocal, and a tambourine on the edge of a nervous breakdown blows the album mix away yet that mono mix still remains outside the digital domain.

Sticking with their preferred theme of persecution, southern evangelicals cried that they were being mocked - by a Jewish boy from Brooklyn no less. Neil's story has changed a bit over the years so who knows what the intention was but, if he started out as a non-believer, as he passed the three minute mark he had clearly been moved - just listen to that yelp!

Being a little ahead of the God/Jesus pop curve that was to come, it wasn't a smash hit - it just missed the top twenty - but it, and the album that shared its name, paved the way for a return to Memphis a few months later to lay down the iconic groove that became "Sweet Caroline". Sequined shirts below unfortunate hair would follow and "Cracklin' Rosie" aside, "The Jewish Elvis" would never be the same or as good*.

*I don't care if he was on "The Last Waltz" and I still say "Beautiful Noise" wasn't that good even though it was pretty good.

August 18, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-19T00:08:00.003-04:00

In an attempt to answer the musical question, what would Jesus chew, I offer up Teegarden and Van Winkle's "God, Love and Rock and Roll", a chunk of bubblegum from the stacks of 1970 when it had already become a cliche to point out that Jesus had long hair, too. When compared to tracks like "Spirit In The Sky" or "Oh, Happy Day" it comes up lacking but I clearly recall seeing some sort of light coming from its grooves way back then. Although, it may have been only a sugar high.

August 17, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-17T23:21:00.002-04:00

The one hit wonder label is as subjective as any other form of reality even if the historical facts found in the charts of Billboard - Cashbox, even - are to be noted. For the buckets of acts handed the title, I can usually agree with only a few cans and even then, someone else will usually be more than happy to kick that around. Songs like "Antartica", "I Got The Message" "Where Do The Boys Go" and "I Like" might not be familiar to everyone - and that last one charted - who loved or despised Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance" but all three were hits of some sort, somewhere, and the kids of Charles Village and Mt. Vernon danced ourselves silly to them all between '82 and '84.

By 1987, they were laughing referred to as "Men Without Hits", if they were mentioned at all. But, the laugh was on them when, along with cold winter weather, came "Pop Goes The World", a summer single if there ever was one. The silly Zeus B. Held produced thing hit the top twenty with it's giddy fizz about everything and nothing that fuels the world and it was no surprise to most of us that the point (non point) was that we couldn't take it, or anything else, too seriously because "...every time I wonder if the world is right, I end up in some disco dancin all night".

I uncork this for the birthday girl who bubbled up along with me whenever it hit the turntable. Happy birthday, Squirrelfriend.

August 13, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-14T13:54:00.002-04:00

A quick check confirms that it's been almost three months since any song involving Paul Weller has been mentioned so, after a minutiae filled conversation regarding the various release formats of Style Council tracks with someone I didn't know at the time that the minutiae was being created, I offer up "You're The Best Thing". Keeping within the spirit of that conversation, I note that I'm not referring to the version that was on "Cafe Bleu" and/or "My Ever Changing Moods" and not the version issued as a single on Geffen in the US and not the UK seven inch "Groovin'" version. I'm referring to the long version of the single mix found on the UK twelve inch version of "Groovin'".

If you're looking for this version, go directly to Universal/Polydor/Chronicles 2003 20th Century Masters compilation, "The Millenium Collection: The Best of The Style Council". The liner notes will inform you that it contains the version found on TSC6, implying that it's the UK 7" edit. It's not.

Okay. Now, who wants to slow dance to one of the best things to ever happen?

2009-08-14T12:09:00.003-04:00

12"/80's: Electropop
Release date:
September 1, 2009

As usual, the category is open to endless debate...
And when will we get that extended version of The Cure's "Let's Go To Bed"? It would have been a far better choice over "Why Can't I Be You".

Track List (as reported):

1. Disc One Simple Minds - I Travel
2. Human League - Hard Times / Love Action
3. Japan - Life In Tokyo
4. Yazoo - Don't Go
5. Landscape - Einstein A Go Go
6. Tears For Fears - Change
7. Soft Cell - Torch
8. A Flock Of Seagulls - Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)
9. Talk Talk - Such A Shame
10. Heaven 17 - Play To Win

1. Disc Two New Order - Confusion
2. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
3. Freestyle - Don't Stop The Rock
4. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rock
5. Hashim - Al Naafiyish (The Soul)
6. Mantronix - Bassline (Stretched)
7. LL Cool J - You'll Rock
8. The Sugarhill Gang - Apache
9. Break Machine - Street Dance
10. Ollie & Jerry - Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us
11. Was (Not Was) - Wheel Me Out
12. Gwen Guthrie - Seventh Heaven

1. Disc Three Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax
2. Tin Tin - Kiss Me
3. The Cure - Why Can't I Be You?
4. Art Of Noise - Close (To The Edit)
5. Laid Back - White Horse
6. Trio - Da Da Da I Don't Love You, You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha
7. Visage - Pleasure Boys
8. Pete Shelley - Homosapien
9. Propaganda - Duel (Bittersweet)
10. Sharpe & Numan - Change Your Mind
11. Jan Hammer - Crockett's Theme
12. Giorgio Moroder, Harold Faltermeyer - Chase

available at Ideal Copy

Rest in peace, Les Paul

2009-08-13T12:47:00.002-04:00

(June 9, 1915 - August 13, 2009)

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/13/obit.les.paul/

2009-08-13T11:09:00.002-04:00

The latest stroll through the Liberty/Imperial/United Artists sixties masters:
The Complete United Artists Singles

August 12, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-12T19:23:00.005-04:00

Is it just me or does it feel like all these people bellowing at health care town halls are very closely related to the South Park bus driver? The best part of the so called death panels supposedly up Obama's socialist sleeve is the idea that a lot of these ninnies screaming that they want their country back should be "of age" sometime soon. And then there's Katy Abram, gulping and screaming at Oren Hatch. Turns out she hasn't given much thought to what she thinks she might want but, damn it, she wants it. Congratulations, Mrs. Abram, you're Jessica Simpson. I hope you didn't take any Pell Grants.

I understand that change is scary but I would think one would want to understand what this country - and that confounded constitution you're bleating about - was and is before you start asking for scenarios that could lead to your kids spending eight hours a day in a sweat shop for a quarter and your granny slipping out her ill fitting wooden teeth before turning a trick for an influenza shot.

I can't be the only person seething on the sofa, wondering when the folks who try to be fair minded are going to snap and if it will be before or after some nutbag kills someone. And really, if all this white trash that's making the news is what democracy is supposed to be, I might be persuaded to give socialism a squeeze just to get some distance.

How can this lead to a song, you may be asking. Easy. It's REM's pulsating pile of getting sick of your bullshit, "Bang And Blame". In an interesting twist - at least to me, "Bang And Blame" was the bands biggest hit since "Shiny Happy People", three years earlier. It was also their last top twenty - and/or forty, for that matter - hit. That makes me wonder what we should think about a country that pushes "Shiny Happy People" to number ten while "Everybody Hurts" only makes it to number twenty-nine.

And heeeeeeeeere's Katy:

Collector's Choice: Jackie DeShannon re-issues

2009-08-12T11:34:00.005-04:00

Self-titled debut lp, "Jackie DeShannon"

Two-fer containing 1968s "Me About You" and 1970s "To Be Free". Jackie's cover of Tim Hardin's "Reason To Believe" is included as a bonus track.

"New Arrangement", her lone lp for Columbia from 1975 containing the original version of "Bette Davis Eyes", the gorgeous "Boat To Sail". Three previously unreleased tracks, "Pure Natural Love", "Deep Into Paradise", and "Somebody Turn the Music On" provide an incentive to buy if you've already purchased the Japanese re-issue from a few years back. Take note that the single version of "Let The Sailors Dance", included in that Japanese release, is not included in this format although the Columbia singles "All Night Desire" and "Fire in the City" are.

Order all three cds as a 3-pack directly from Collectors' Choice and receive an autographed "New Arrangement" booklet from Jackie!

Collectors' Choice: USA Records/Destination Records

2009-08-12T10:29:00.005-04:00

2131 South Michigan Avenue, a two disc set of USA/Destination records tracks.

Record geeks rejoice!

August 11, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-11T23:53:00.002-04:00

Eric Carmen's birthday is August 11th and the best news I can give him is that I recently had a conversation with a thirty-six year old who didn't know "All By Myself" but did know "Hungry Eyes". Perhaps there's still hope. On the other hand, he had never heard of The Raspberries...

Since the whole Eric Carmen conversation got started because I'd mentioned how much the background vocals on Green Day's "21 Guns" remind me of The Raspberries' "Let's Pretend" - and since it's one of my most favorite singles of early seventies - I throw it into your ears. Let me know if it makes you want to kiss someone.

But, that's not all you get! In an effort to further wash the two songs mentioned in that first paragraph from your head, I present Eric's beach bubblegum "She Did It", a top thirty track from 1977. It reminds me of a girl with an Irish face and an Italian name who I was crazy about that summer and who would abruptly stop being crazy about me that fall. No hard feelings, though because this gem still makes me crack a "I just french kissed for the first time" grin whenever I hear it.

Happy birthday, Eric. Stay away from the bottle.

August 10, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-10T23:46:00.004-04:00

First, the good news. Those who have waited for a Pete Yorn album that follows through on all that was promised on "Musicforthemorningafter" can stop waiting. "Back & Fourth" is the aptly titled album and not only is it better than the last two but, it's damn close to being as good as the first. With his day in the life - where the day got progressively duller, apparently - trilogy behind him, and Rick Rubin doing that sharp focus thing Rubin-esque thing he does, I'm finally finding myself with a new favorite track each time I listen. Right now, I'm stuck on "Close", the sort of romantic promises ballad that Yorn does so well.

And now, the bad news. Pete Yorn is supposedly working on an album with Scarlett Johansson.

August 7, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-07T20:51:00.003-04:00

I've talked before about all those issues of Punk Magazine that would turn up in rural Maryland like divine gifts back in '77, providing glimpses of a world (CBGB's) I'd never seen and talk of music I'd yet to hear. But, I doubt that I've ever mentioned that Willy DeVille - and some fishnet clad, Ronettes revisit called Toots, his first wife, I would later learn - were the first people of that world I ever saw. They weren't attractive but I somehow knew that I'd like what they were doing. And, I was right because, if Springsteen had been Italian and had married a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx, and loved black doo-wop and R&B more than anything else, he'd have been Willy DeVille. And, if Springsteen managed to reach Spectorian heights with "Born To Run", he couldn't top Willy because Willy got some of the finest brick layers of the wall of sound for not one, not two, but three of his albums.

Willy, with the Mink moniker, managed to work with Jack Nitzsche, Steve Douglas, and Doc Pomus but, even if I'd known this at the time, I would not have been savvy enough to connect them to the names that I may or may not have noticed on the labels of those forty-fives of my parents that meant so much to me. In fact, it mattered little because I didn't get around to a copy of those albums until the original Mink DeVille had already split up.

He'd never reach Springsteen heights, hampered with a heroin addiction and a face that lacked charm, but he had a slew of tracks that were far worthier and a Grammy nod of his own for "Storybook Love" from "The Princess Bride"(losing to "The Time of My Life" from "Dirty Dancing" must have hurt but losing to one of the Righteous Brothers probably made it hurt a little less). I've already mentioned "Something Beauty Dying", one of his finest moments with Doc Pomus and of his not so great mid-eighties output, so I'll put "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl", from "Cabretta", on display instead. It was the first Mink DeVille song I ever heard and loved so it's a good way to start the end.

August 6, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-07T20:38:00.003-04:00

According to IMDB, John Hughes wrote or contributed to thirty-seven movies. He is loved for most of them and revered for a few that include "Sixteen Candles","The Breakfast Club", and "Pretty In Pink". If you haven't seen them, your teenage years in no way crossed the eighties.

Critics have claimed that the endings tended to be a bit too forced and the intermingling amongst the types to be romanticized at best. After watching them again since Hughes' passing, I find that I still disagree. Part of the charm of these movies was watching those moments, however brief, when kids with different ideals were forced to come to terms with what the real world would offer after school was completely out, when the safety of the pack mentality would be disrupted by transitions, and each individual would be left to stand alone on his or her merit, with only their record collections to provide clues as to how they defined themselves.

Hughes was known for using music like no one ever had at that point and the song choices always came from the left bank of the mainstream of American pop culture and, if not at the time of release then at the time of filming, just ahead of the curve. I never saw one of his movies without thinking, "I can't believe he used _____!!". Each film had a moment where the scene and the song would meld so perfectly that I would never hear the song without seeing a Hughes visual again. "Sixteen Candles" and Thompson Twins' "If You Were Here" comes to mind first, but there's also one of those moments in "Pretty In Pink" and it's even better.

Having declared himself through with Andie after she destroys a dream that he's waited years to come true by choosing another boy, a rich boy named Blane, to fall for, Duckie's world has crumbled. Unaware of Duckie's feelings or unwilling to see them - a vagueness that is just one of the many problems with "Pretty In Pink" that makes it the weakest of the three films, she further humiliates his desires by bringing the rich boy to the very club that he's finally managed to slip in to - under the pretense of being the son of Iona, Andie's boss and mother figure - after months of waiting outside night after night for her. Andie's world has also been shaken as her first romance forces her to mingle with the rich crowd that treats her like trash, and then again, when Duckie treats Blaine with equal disdain. Iona, herself, gets a jolt when Duckie gives her a kiss full of pent-up needs and anger to spite Andie, making her aware of what's missing in her relationships.

Cue the anxious and tentative plinkety plink opening of New Order's "Shellshock" as we see morning after begin and Duckie once again on riding his bike in circles just out of sight of Andie's house, unable to stay away, hoping he won't see something that makes his heart stop beating.

Bravo.

August 5, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-07T20:37:00.002-04:00

As a singer, Paula Abdul is a damn fine dancer but she managed to put across a few fine pop confections during her brief time on the music radar. "Cold Hearted" still makes me wiggle and I still think that "Rush Rush" is a lovely clump of romantic cotton candy. But, her flat out awesome moment began and ended with "Straight Up". I've not watched "American Idol" since the end of season two but I can't imagine watching it without her there to soften the bray of Simon Cowell's t-shirts and the constant "Dawging" of Randy "I was only good enough for the touring band of Journey so I need to constantly remind you that I got street cred" Jackson.

Rumor has it that she might end up as a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance" and I look forward to not watching her on that program. I'll just watch the "Straight Up" video instead and be thankful that there's no rapping cartoon cat (or Dawg).

August 4, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-07T20:34:00.003-04:00

Proper respect should be given to Green Day's opening act as well because the Kaiser Chiefs still managed to get us moving despite a crappy sound system and the rudeness of the crowd. Unfortunately, they didn't include their wicked cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" where they obviously imagine the original was done not by Marvin or Gladys but The Clash circa "Sandanista". It's said that they tossed this together during a three hour layover for inclusion on "Help: A Day In The Life", the 2005 installment of the War Child benefit albums - one that couldn't get what would have been a very helpful US release - and it sounds like it in all the best ways.

August 3, 2009 Earworm

2009-08-07T20:32:00.003-04:00

It's been obvious for sometime that Billie Joe Armstrong is enjoying being a rock star. As Green Day has morphed into whatever it is that Green Day now is, their television appearances have captured a band leader in full swing and control of his audience. Fortunately, none of that Bono smug smudged him when both bands came together to herald the arrival of the saints.

After seeing them jump start my August last Saturday, it became clear that Billie Joe's idea of "one" is more about the audience than it is about him or his band. Considering the personalities the trio have shown, both individually and collectively, that is no small achievement. Arena sized acts rarely include audience participation and I can't think of another that polls the audience for anyone who can play a particular song on guitar and then give hand guitar duties for said song to a lucky musician to be. And, while it is not unusual for an arena sized act to allow the audience to take the chorus on a song, I'm unaware of one giving up the microphone for one of their biggest songs - in this case, "Longview" - to one audience member per verse. To be clear, these were not "let me jump in the audience and point the mic" moments, these people were brought on stage and unleashed and, in the case of the not so novice guest guitarist, an energy that matched Billie Joe's was set loose, keeping perfect manic pace with the leader of the band's cheerleader on black beauties antics.

Still, the moment my heart briefly stopped was when "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" stopped being the (first) cell phone waving moment and opportunity for the crowd to fill in the "I walk alone, I walk alone" lyric. Going into the second chorus, Billie Joe didn't bother coming in at all, and allowed a surprised audience to take it all the way home. And they did. They struggled a bit with the first two lines but nailed "Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me" and upon completing "'Til then I walk alone" you could see the surprise in everyone's face that they weren't, in fact, walking alone at all. And if you think I was being a sentimental fool imagining things but I've talked with many attendees of this tour, including my bro-date for the evening, and they all saw it, too. The kids were alright and, for a few moments, no one was alone. For the sake of brevity, I won't even go into the "21 Guns" moment except to say that I knew he'd never be able to hit that note night after night and that it really didn't matter at all.

I'm glad to see Billie Joe's rock and roll dreams come true because I think that right now we need a rock star who still has snot on his nose and isn't afraid to let his audience be offended by the things he stands for or against and who will let an obviously intoxicated six foot pink bunny warm up the crowd by leading them on the "YMCA" dance. And, all for the low, low price of fifty-bucks. Regardless of where you sat.

July 29, 2008 Earworm

2009-07-30T09:50:00.003-04:00

I've found myself yelling "JESUS CHRIST!" quite often as I watch the political shenanigans of the money changers and those who are doing their best to support them. With that outrage comes the deep seated Methodist guilt for tossing the guy's name around like that. As penance, I take the easy way out and refer to a 45 that I played until it was white back in 1975, "Operator" by The Manhattan Transfer. In case any wingnuts or zealots see this, I warn them that repeated plays will not have the same effect on the president.

And, in unrelated news, Creed's new album is supposed to drop next month.

July 28, 2009 Earworm

2009-07-28T10:19:00.002-04:00

April 1983: the once was one Heaven 17 and Human League send out their separate, and decidedly different, messages of perseverance. With its clumsy lyric, "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" could easily be taken for a love song but I never heard it as such. It was all too spontaneous - that clumsy lyric helped, like a poorly planned pep rally, where the details are overlooked in favor of the bigger picture. On the other hand, "We Live So Fast" was as serious as you could get on a dance floor, where the pace of the damn thing forced you to commit to the endeavor. And that might be the reason that "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" became the League's first #1 on the club play chart - yes, I thought "Don't You Want Me" had already done that, too - and second top ten on the big chart while "We Live So Fast" couldn't get beyond #34 on the former and didn't get near the latter.

July 2009: I'm reminded that I could once keep up with both these records even if my coif could not and am determined to do so again.

2009-07-20T23:59:00.003-04:00

If he's remembered at all, B.J. Thomas would probably be remembered for that "My Heart Will Go On" of 1970, Grammy and Academy Award winning "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head". If not that, it may be for the original version of "Hooked On A Feeling" or, thanks to the King's constant plundering of B.J.'s catalog, the guy who sang a lot of the same songs Elvis did.

By the time "Hooked On A Feeling" was released, Billy Joe, backed by The Triumphs, the band he joined in high school, had been recording singles for minuscule labels for more than five years. In 1964 they came close to a regional hit with the deliciously creepy "Billy and Sue" on Bragg but interest faded just as quickly as it had begun, a fate that a lease deal with and re-issue on Warner Brothers couldn't stop. The act eventually came to the attention of Houston's legendary Huey P. Meaux and they recorded an album with him with the intention of selling the product at their shows. Having promised his father that he would include at least one country song amongst the R&B covers, B.J. finished the all night album session with an exhausted cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Smelling a hit, Meaux released the cut as a single on one of his many small labels and watched as it took off.

Scepter Records stepped in with a national offer which was accepted with the provision that any B.J. Thomas releases would be sold in Texas on Meaux's label while the rest of the country would get the product on Scepter. "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" hit the national top ten in 1966. The maudlin "Mama" followed it a few months later, just missing the top twenty. Meanwhile, another label, Hickory, picked up the lease on the now two year old "Billy and Sue" and gave it another go. This time the swampy tale of battlefields and infidelity gave B.J. and the boys their third top forty single. Scepter issued a handful of singles, mostly the remaining Meaux tracks already released on his label, but couldn't get the act anywhere near the top forty in 1967. Meaux finally closed his Pacemaker label at the end of that year relinquishing B.J., and Pacemaker's A&R man, Steve Tyrell, to Scepter, and a B.J. was sent to Memphis to Chip Moman's American Studios for a new direction.

The first single from that union was "The Eyes Of A New York Woman", a record that can barely conceal the feelings of freedom, relief, or joy. The American boys - and Moman - propel B.J. along his journey into a new world and a new love, shamelessly borrowing the string line from that earlier American classic, "The Letter", and a few other tricks to boot. I can not hear this record without smiling or throwing my arms wide open to embrace it and, much to Dan's chagrin, I can't play it just once or twice.

"The Eyes Of A New York Woman" only got to twenty-eight but it paved the way for the top five "Hooked On A Feeling". There are many of us who will argue that it should have been the other way around.

July 16, 2009 Earworm

2009-07-16T23:33:00.003-04:00

Back in '76, my next door neighbor went mad for The Rubinoos' cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" but I wasn't impressed. Even then, I found some things to be holy and messing with Tommy James was already an act of treason in my eyes. The picture sleeve showed a photo of teen-age boys that one could mistake for the next pile of Leifs and Seans but without the polish. After driving me crazy with the damn thing for a week or two, an accident led to the wrong side of the record being played and the world got a little more sunny and then blacker as her hand reached for the tone arm, aiming to cut off what I now hear as a lost Beach Boys song with a pinch of The Cowsills sprinkled in the mix. Back then, all I heard was one groovy summer song.

Quite a bit later, the neighbor would take my virginity. I, in turn, took her Rubinoos 45, picture sleeve and all. It's in very fine shape after all these years which is more than can be said for what she got.

July 15, 2009 Earworm

2009-07-15T23:21:00.005-04:00

Texas started out stepping into the shoes of Lone Justice (Mach II) which kind of made sense in light of their relationship, via Johnny McElhone, to Hipsway and the soulful voice of lead singer Sharleen Spiteri. Three albums later, interest was lagging so the band sound some way to throw most of pop history into a blender and make something beyond delicious. The result was "White On Blonde", debuting at number 1 on the UK album chart, spawning four hit singles - one of which answers that not often asked question, "What would The Grass Roots sound like if Diana Ross sang lead"..., and being completely ignored in the US.

Adding more beats and another layer of gloss, 1999's "The Hush" also debuted at number 1 and, with the second single, "Summer Son", gave us the best record ABBA never made. I first heard it while being spoiled in business class, comfortably flying to London. Having given up on the band around the time of their second album, it took me forever to figure out who it was. Within hours of getting off the plane, I had picked up a copy of "The Hush", "White On Blonde", and their freshly released "Greatest Hits".

Ten years later, you can still find Dan and I jumping around with hands in the air whenever it hits the decks and you'd have to be pretty wooden to resist. Hands Up!

July 14, 2009 Earworm

2009-07-14T22:52:00.004-04:00

All that talk of Michael and The Jackson 5 inevitably leads my inner jukebox to their rivals, The Osmonds. Sweet and toothy, they bit into a track written for, but passed on by, the 5 and "One Bad Apple" ended up at number 1 for five weeks, just as "Mama's Pearl" was released. Manager Mike Curb was wise in sending the brothers to Rick Hall's Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, probably as far from their origins as they could get without a brothel being involved. Trying the lead vocal with both Donny and Merrill, with the perfect confection created with a smooth blend of both and Osmond mania exploded.

Curb was smart enough to follow up "One Bad Apple" with a cover of an obscure Roy Orbison track, "Sweet And Innocent"*, credited to Donny Osmond (of The Osmonds) before bothering with a formal Osmonds follow up, gaining two acts for the price of one. Before we knew it, there was Little Jimmy, the Scrappy-Do of the family, and then Marie was unleashed.

As 1974 played out, Donny and Marie were everywhere singing uninspired cover versions of the songs of yesteryear - dragging along the mold of most of Donny's solo career it seemed - and the other brothers must have seen the writing on the wall. Before quietly fading into the background they worked out the blue print for every boy band who had aspirations to blue eyed soul and "Love Me For A Reason" jumped to number ten - their first visit to that neighborhood since the bizarre "Down By Lazy River" thirty months before. As a proud lover of "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" and several others of its ilk, every eight or nine years I find myself as thankful for "Love Me For A Reason" as I was when it was first released. In another odd turn, one of the composers of "Love Me..." was former Motown wunderkind, Johnny Bristol. Want another odd turn? "Ben" was intended for Donny but scheduling conflicts made it impossible.

Don't get me wrong, I know The Osmonds were no Jackson 5. But, the Jackson 5 weren't no Osmonds either. So, it all worked out perfectly.

*I'd chalk it up to simple nostalgia except that I hated it when it came out, but as goofy as it is, "Sweet And Innocent" sounds mighty awesome as I type this. And as gooey as "Go Away Little Girl" and "Puppy Love" still are, Donny's cover of "Hey Girl" is a damn fine record, too. Seriously. I mean it. But, I had no Osmonds posters on my wall...

July 13, 2009 Earworm

2009-07-14T01:13:00.002-04:00

So, now it's over and we've had a few days to digest. Every conversation that I've had about the er... spectacular has included some take on "It was pretty tasteful considering...", which is all well and good except that no one is sure as to how that sentence should end. First, I have to say that a rousing rendition of "We Are Going To See The King" is not the most tasteful choice to accompany the wheeling out of the King of Pop in a red rose topped casket that, through several unfortunate shots in CNN's coverage, ended up resembling a giant overdecorated chafing dish. Speaking of that title; when did he get promoted? The last I heard, he was the (self-proclaimed) Prince of Pop. Perhaps I missed a coronation or, maybe that was the coronation.

Many wonderful words were spoken, many that seemed inappropriate - particularly when spoken directly to the children of the deceased, and a few that seemed to be tossed out as an advance defense of any horrible discoveries pulled out from under a bed or the back of an underwear door. Brooke Shields' words proved to be the most effectual, alternating between awkward and humorous as the truth often does, reminding us that the King of Pop was a human being just like us, only with more accoutrement, and daughter Paris, of course, brought that point home merely by referring to him as "Daddy". After that, all the jokes seemed a little less funny and many of us realized that something other than a legend was now gone. Even Jermain seemed off limits after his beautiful rendition of "Smile" and he could finally be forgiven for that duet with Pia Zadora. Father Joe didn't speak and, after his label hawking at the BET Awards, that's probably the best thing about the whole show.

Still, I find that I have to go way back to find a place in Michael Jackson's history where there wasn't a joke or rumor attached. Back to the beginning, in fact.
I was only four years old in 1969 when "I Want You Back" was released, backed by that stunning version of Smokey's "Who's Been Lovin' You" that, during the spectacular, finally got the attention that it deserved. "ABC" followed and it's around that time, I recall, that I pitched a fit for my mother in an attempt to get a copy of "16" or "Tiger Beat" magazine because The Jackson 5 were on the cover with a fold out poster at its center. Next came "The Love You Save", a record so good that it stands as one of Motown's finest and comes with one of Jermain's finest moments on the flip, "I Found That Girl", all made even better by fold out poster on my wall. And then came the angelic "I'll Be There", impeccable and impossibly mature in delivery for a twelve year old, sung with such ease that Mariah Carey should forever hang her head in shame, and the biggest hit of Motown's "Detroit era". Four instant classics in a row, all going to number one, and all within a year. One Christmas release later - they never really count - and the spell was broken: "Mama's Pearl" stopped at number two, suffering from sounding too much like "ABC" and "The Love You Save" yet not enough and, perhaps, the group's over-exposure.

"Never Can Say Goodbye", again stopping at number two, eased the transition of Michael to solo status but "Got To Be There" could only make it two number four. For the next two years the chart results were uneven and the release schedule was filled with novelties and remakes and one Stylistics sound-alike, "Maybe Tomorrow", that barely sounded like a Jackson 5 record; not surprising as it had been written for Sammy Davis Jr. and possibly arranged for Diana Ross at her gloopiest. "Sugar Daddy" would hit number ten at the beginning of '72 but the Jackson 5 wouldn't reach that bracket again until "Dancing Machine" in 1974. Two years later, fed up with the label that set them into orbit and then kept them under strict control, the group dropped the 5 and moved over to Epic. Even there, they'd only manage two sizable hits, "Enjoy Yourself" and "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" within the three years before the success of Michael's "Off The Wall" hinted at what was about to happen. As wonderful as 67% of "Thriller" is, the Michael on my wall would not be seen again after the Motown 25 special, growing bigger with each single/video yet fading away behind gloves and jackets and Bubbles and zombies.

A day or two after Michael's death, a friend asked if I didn't think it was too soon to be making with the jokes. It took me a few moments to realize that my answer was no because he'd been a joke for so long. And it only took a few moments with Brooke and Paris to realize that I was wrong. My Michael may have been gone for a very long time but Brooke's friend and Paris' father lived far longer.

I don't know what comfort they will find in it but Michael will live on. Through endless repackaging, through the torrent of tell-alls that are bound to come, and through the steps of Usher and Justin and whoever the next generation brings to replace them, and within the grooves and bytes, Michael will be there.

Just look over your shoulder, honey...

June 25, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-25T10:05:00.002-04:00

The best laid plans yada, yada, yada. Bad timing abounds as my planned departure time fades into the past. Yet, Split Enz's "One Step Ahead" - the one that was gonna put them over in the US - rolls around my head. It didn't put them over. Maybe it was the white shoes in the video at the wrong time of year. Regardless, it's a classic.

I miss my fringe.

June 24, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-24T10:41:00.003-04:00

Pac-Man, Asteroid, Space Invaders. Five teenage boys, ages 14 to 17, in the video arcade at Security Square Mall in 1980. The only song they all sing along with is Rockpile's "Teacher Teacher". One of the boys is taking it more seriously than the others.

Lesson two, nothing new...

June 23, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-23T23:53:00.002-04:00

It's just a slap and tickle to get from Squeeze to Paul Carrack and if you grab Nick Lowe - which everyone involved did at some point - you get Paul's solo hit, "I Need You", which managed to squeeze into the top 40 back in the summer of '82. I wore out two copies of the 45 before finally realizing that I needed the album.

His latest album is great, too. Finally.

In related news, Elvis Costello will be playing on The Tonight Show in about thirty minutes. If you don't know how that is related, I don't know why you are here.

June 22, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-22T10:43:00.003-04:00

Mondays are always murder but another one passes and we're much more lucky than Francesca in Squeeze's bestest b-side, "What The Butler Saw". "The porch light, the torch light, the frosted morning lawn. The cloak of daylight has finally been drawn on the tale of what the butler saw".
Wonderful.
But, not for Francesca...

June 19, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-19T13:52:00.006-04:00

The results of recent Facebook quiz show that a majority of my friends think that my favorite movie is "Desperately Seeking Susan". It's not. Not that there's anything wrong with it. In fact, it's probably the most accurate depiction of the two worlds co-existing, and often clashing, to be found in a mainstream movie. Plus, you get Madonna dancing to her own "Into The Groove" and even the harshest critic of Madonna had to admit that it was a damn fine record. The Q-sound mix found on The Immaculate Collection, to my ears, pointlessly tampered with a perfect thing so look for the UK cd single of "Angel" if you want the real thing in digital form.

Have a great weekend.

June 18, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-18T23:29:00.003-04:00

When Yaz announced their break up in '82, no one knew what to expect of Alison Moyet on her own but no one expected the high gloss sheen of her 1984 solo debut, "Alf", either. While it became a much loved, and played, album that seemed to be in the collection of everyone I knew, there was also a hint of disappointment that came with it. When the follow up album came with even more gloss, everyone got the clue that her label was determined to make her a pop star in any way possible. The four year absence of new product led many to believe that she, or the label, had given up or that she simply shattered into a million brittle over produced pieces. A new decade and a new single, cheekily titled "It Won't Be Long", and we finally received the record that sounded like something we'd have expected. The parent album, "Hoodoo", only made the wait more worthwhile. A Grammy nod and one more album, heavily manipulated by the label (again), and Alison finally made it clear that she had no interest in making records only to be a pop star and waited out the next eight years of litigation it took be a true solo singer.

When Thompson Twins shook off a couple of members and, after the accidental success of "In The Name of Love", realized they just might have a pop career on their hands, they set about making their third album. Tighter, shinier, bigger and better, they threw out a preview of their future, "Lies", in October of '82. Aided by a sublimely silly video for MTV and constant club play, it reached number one on the club charts and left me anxious for the release of what would become one of my favorite albums of the decade. It also started my undying crush on front man Tom Bailey, he of the pleading eyes, pouting sneer, and flirty fringe. I never missed a Thompson Twins record but I never loved one of them as much as "Quick Step And Side Kick".

Happy birthday to Alison Moyet and Tom Bailey.

June 17, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-18T14:22:00.003-04:00

Psychopharmacology fall out, information overload, or emphatic ennui? That's best left for the listener to decide but "Restless Heart Syndrome" is currently my favorite track from Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown". How 'bout those strings!

June 16, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-16T11:58:00.004-04:00

Today saw the release of the remastered Big Star albums, "#1 Record" and "Radio City", two legendary albums - everybody has heard of them, even if they've never heard them - that still have not reached gold or platinum status after thiry-seven and thirty-five (respective) years. As with the last cd re-issue, the two albums are combined on one disc, this time with two single mixes added for good measure.

"#1 Record" was released in 1972 just as the band's label, Ardent, was in a dispute with it's distributing label, Stax, guaranteeing that every one who read the unanimous praise from the musical taste makers would be unable to buy a copy. "Radio City" was released in 1974 just as Stax was in a dispute with its distributor, Columbia, and the same fate would befall it. A third album, shelved by the all labels for lack of commercial appeal, wouldn't see the light of day until four years later when its release followed a double album repackaging of the first two. One year and a second hand copy later, "The Ballad of El Goodo" allowed me to finally understand why everyone slammed The Knack for not being true power-pop. It's a simple song of desperate determination mercifully devoid of romanticized machismo usually running rampant on the range of The Eagles. And if, over the years, people have come to the conclusion that the lyrics are too simple, well... those were simpler times, I guess.

With all due respect and apologies to Wilco, The Bangles, Elliot Smith, and The Loud Family (to name just a few) and absolutely no respect or apologies to Counting Crows, I am not impressed with covers of any Big Star songs. The exception to that being "Holocaust" and "Kanga-Roo" by This Mortal Coil (it's This Mortal Coil for heaven's sake!) and "Thirteen" as it appeared, tucked away on the "b-side" of "Push It" by Garbage. It's easy for me to imagine Shirley Manson as the recipient of Big Star's version, a girl in a hand me down halter smoking a crumbled cigarette pilfered from her mother's purse, callously singing borrowed words to her next conquest, completely aware of her impact but not yet aware of the damage it may cause. Or, the starter version of the predator we met in "Queer".

June 15, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-16T00:01:00.004-04:00

When old favorites attack, nothing can stop them. Not even knowing that it's not a particularly good record. Actually, I take that back: "Wham Bam" by Silver is actually a pretty good record, beautifully crafted and produced, it's the song itself that's a bit weak. But, that hasn't stopped me from playing it on a regular basis for the last thirty odd years.

Silver went as quickly as they came, never able to follow up the minor success of the one hit they got after the song was forced upon by co-producer Clive Davis. The rest of the album, filled with the band's own songs, explains why.

May 08 & 09 Earworm

2009-06-09T18:24:00.002-04:00

The last few days have been a total drag. Friday night brought a plague-like summer cold that slapped me into fourteen hours of sleep followed by mountains of crumpled tissues and the realization that over two hundred channels does not guarantee a steady stream of good movies. By Sunday night, I was sick of being sick and sore from coughing, sneezing, and lying about and that's when Dan began to cough...

Monday morning brought a realization that my computer is not well either and I'm still not sure of its ailment but, as of Tuesday, I'm sick of diagnostics. Maybe tomorrow... Nope, that won't happen because I'm taking puppy to finishing school for a few weeks and that makes my heart sick.

So, waaa, waaa, waaa.

The flip side turned out to be the a-side and, while myself crazy checking and re-checking cables, I accidentally played the wrong cd and the "Wanted! Young Man, Single, And Free" came screaming out of the speakers. Friends, I can not tell you just how high a man can jump when that comes at him unexpectedly. Even more impressive is just quickly a man recover, grap Mr. Microphone, and make a fool of himself. Lesson learned: if your wig is bigger than the pillow you use for crying, get a new bed because somethings aren't worth the headache. Thank heavens for The Honey Cone and "Want Ads".

Going hand and hand with "Want Ads" is "Somebody's Been Sleeping" by 100 Proof Aged In Soul and its fairy tale turned adulterous paranoia. Both tracks came from the pen of Norman Johnson, Barney Perkins, and Greg Perry, who also produced them under the guidance of the Motown free Holland-Dozier-Holland. Both also include performances from lesser known siblings of better known stars: in the case of The Honey Cone, Darlene Love's baby sister, Edna Wright, and Levi Stubbs' brother Joe, formerly of the Contours, led 100 Proof. Most importantly, both records sat in that holy stack of vinyl that belonged to my parents when I was a kid, still keep vigil in my own stacks, and I doubt that I'll ever be sick of either one.

June 04 & 05, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-05T19:39:00.004-04:00

Two quintessential California blonds celebrated a birthday yesterday and today: Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas and Terri Nunn of Berlin. Michelle is now the only surviving member of her group and Terri is now the only of the group that made her famous, although she was not a founding member. Both are also beautiful and, in their time, were often appreciated more for that - and they're romantic or sexual exploits - than for there voices.

"Creeque Alley" is the much loved story of the paths that led to The Mama's and The Papa's own dreams coming true but even this celebration of the turmoil filled groups success has a sad twist: no one seems to know if that is Michelle on the record or Jill Gibson, girlfriend of producer Lou Adler and Michelle's replacement after being fired for her many "indiscretions". There have been many different accounts of the recordings made during that time with Michelle ultimately admitting that the only two people who know for sure are Adler and engineer Bones Howe.

"Sex (I'm A)" is Berlin's most discussed record, "The Metro" is probably the most loved by fans, and "Take My Breath Away" stands as their biggest and most commonly known song but "No More Words", from their second album, "Lovelife", is the record I played and danced to the most. Georgio Moroder's production and mixing skills are as busy as ever and all that percolating syncopation still leaves me craving a cup of coffee.

Both songs are best heard in the versions most difficult to find these days. The mono single mix of "Creeque Alley" has a more ad-hoc feel to it, suggesting an intimate live setting that best fits the material and a triumph repeat of "Becoming a reality" that is missing from the stereo mix. The twelve inch remix of "No More Words" adds more bubbles for your dance floor pleasure and, even after all these years, still brings the smell of poppers to my mind.

Happy birthday, ladies, and a have a great weekend.

June 03, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-03T16:41:00.005-04:00

I was minding my own musical business when I happened to notice that Susan had posted a "video" of Dee Clark's "Raindrops" on Facebook and now I have it on endless repeat. I'm happy to note that Dee's testicle shrinking shrieking on the fade out still rattles me as much as it did when I was a wee one.

The production by Vee-Jay house wunderkind, Calvin Carter, was slicker than anything the label had yet released, and was awarded with their first appearance on the adult contemporary charts for it. For all its sophistication and sheen, it's that twangin' guitar, later used to great effect for Jerry Butler's "Moon River", getting along quite nicely with a strange arrangement that ranges from the subtle and cinematic to the buoyant and down right silly, that makes "Raindrops" as endlessly memorable as it is.

"Raindrops" peaked at #2 in 1961, held back from the top spot by Gary US Bonds' "Quarter To Three", a record that couldn't have been more different but what could have been a cure for what ailed Dee. It was Vee-Jay's biggest top 40 hit to date but dubious royalty was about to take the label all the way.

Susan, I hope you cheer up and dry out soon. And let us know if you need a lifeboat.

June 02, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-02T10:57:00.004-04:00

After leaving "Yellow House", The Beach Boys and Steely Dan jumped aboard Jefferson Airplane for a very special trip with a stop-over at Graceland; Paul Simon's, not Elvis Presley's. This is just one way to describe Grizzly Bear's latest album, "Veckatimest", but you'll have to throw in more reverb and some obligatory Spectorisms to get to "Cheerleader" which, for today at least, is my favorite track.

I'll go ahead and call the whole thing enchanting and intriguing because it is and because don't want to harsh anyone's mellow. What concerns me is this feeling I've had lately that our indie spiritual guides are drifting a bit too close to the edge of Yes and the other prog rock dinosaurs we once despised for their over elaborated concepts. With "Veckatimest", it's clear that the grasp of this issue for some of our most recently celebrated bands is fragile.

June 01, 2009 Earworm

2009-06-01T11:21:00.006-04:00

I am so impressed with Mandy Moore's "Amanda Leigh" album that I can't spotlight just one track, so I'll present the 70's AM gold that is the first single, "I Can Break Your Heart Any Day Of The Week" and "Fern Dell", a song that I'm having such a hard time getting my head around that I can only say "Simon & Garfunkel and Nilsson on Broadway" and know that I'm not even close to nailing down what I'm hearing. "Amanda Leigh" brings proof that the further Mandy Moore drifts from the mainstream, brighter burns the fire that allowed her to noticeably melt the edges of even the worst cheese her career endured. The guidance of producer and main co-writer Mike Viola (Candy Butchers) allows her to come up from under the gloss and dross of her Epic albums, the heavy hand that often hampered the heaviness of "Wild Hope", and, most importantly, lets the songs leave their mark without stating that they are making a statement.

The most impressive thing about "Amanda Leigh" is not that it is impressive for a Mandy Moore album. It's simply impressive: no caveat is necessary. That's not to say there isn't room for growth but the leaps that have been taken suggest that there is bound to be more.

Now, what's up with the video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsCr9TJ84EE

May 31, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-31T23:19:00.003-04:00

Since a morning coffee date on Friday lasted until it was time for another date for dinner, and with a wish to get these two records that I've had running around in my head for weeks now posted, it's time for a special Sunday edition of the earworm. This works out just fine since one of the records, "You Won't Even Know Her Name", is by a girl/woman calling herself Josephine Sunday. Little is known of Ms. Sunday beyond the fact that she hailed from Washington D.C., her real last name was Visaya, and that her father was born in the Phillipines. All that information, and that she performed the song on American Bandstand in 1965 looking like a lost Ronette, are culled from the liner notes of RPM's excellent compilation, "Girls Go Zonk".

The Ronettes look is quite appropriate in that "You Won't Even Know Her Name" is one of the better Spector homages. It's short and sweet, catchy as hell, and as a cute as a button. It's also an early Mike Curb production, well before he unleashed the likes of "You Light Up My Life" and Debbie Boone upon us, so we'll considerate it as antidote to that horror. Josephine's known discography contains only two other singles while Mike Curb's goes on for years and years proving that life is not always kind.

"The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun" by Julie Brown is a pastiche of a homage and hysterical in a way that would never fly in these post-Columbine days. Pulled from her 1984 Rhino e.p., "Goddess In Progress", and showcased in a cheap and cheesy video, it found in a home in the gay clubs where Julie had first found an audience and eventually made its way to MTV. References to this silliness are still quoted in certain circles, many that still surprise me, long after Ms. Brown's shtick wore out its welcome.

Julie followed up the success of "The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun" with a full length LP called "Trapped In The Body Of A White Gilrl" which only proved that brevity served her well. To her credit, her 1992 satire of Madonna's "Truth Or Dare", called "Medusa: Dare To Be Truthful", is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Okay, I've shaken May out of the way. Now we can move on to new old things and the many many new new things that have blowing my mind. And, in case you wondering, I did it for Johnny...

May 28, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-28T23:40:00.003-04:00

As good as Marshall Crenshaw's debut single, "Something's Gonna Happen" - released on Alan Betrock's Shake label in 1981, was, it was clear that something was going to happen. It did, but not quite as expected. Signing to Warners Brothers in '82, his debut album was called a masterpiece by just about everyone who heard it. Despite some action for "Someday, Someway" that same year, Crenshaw's records never reached the audience those in the know felt he deserved.

Rhino's "The Definitive Pop Collection" finally brought "Something's Gonna Happen" to the digital realm for those of us who missed it the first time, having been left off the expanded re-issue of his first album. The man couldn't make a bad record if he tried, no matter what some think of the drums on "Field Day".

May 27, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-27T19:56:00.002-04:00

Continuing with three in one pattern, all of todays songs are the result of a second chance in one way or another. All three failed to make an instant splash the second time around either but have achieved a cult following that continues to grow.

The Royal Guardsmen are best known for "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" and its many sequels but their first forty-five, "Baby, Let's Wait", is the one I love the most. It's plea of not rushing into a commitment drenched in echo and drowning in its organ heavy arrangement sounds like a man trapped between his heart and his future. The (Young) Rascals had already recorded the Lori Burton - Pam Sawyer composition (following creative, if not huge commercial, success with the team's flawless "Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart (Anymore)") but left it as an album cut on their debut, leaving the singles field open. It may have been too heavy - in every sense of the word - for the dj's of '66 but it finally found an audience upon re-release in '68 and would be the last hit for The Royal Guardsmen. If the songs scenario sounds familiar, it may be because co-author (with Lori Burton) Pam Sawyer would revisit the theme with The Supremes' "Love Child" as part of the songwriting team The Corporation. The song has shown up on several compilations over the year but I've yet to find the mono single mix available in digital form. So bad is the stereo mix that I've resorted to doing a little Sound Forge magic on my own to approximate the claustrophobia found in the grooves of the 45.

Orpheus was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and signed with M-G-M in late 1967. Their self-title debut album and the single, "Can't Find The Time" were released the following January. The single stopped at #111 but the album did well enough (#119 on the album chart) to warrant the release of two more albums. Finally cracking the Hot 100 with "Brown Arms In Houston" in 1969, M-G-M re-released "Can't Find The Time" and it crept to #80 as the band was falling apart. Chief songwriter, Bruce Arnold, would sign a newly staffed Orpheus to Bell Records in 1970 for one final album before disbanding the group in 1972. "Can't Find The Time" would hit the charts one more time in 1971, recorded by the Dallas act Rose Colored Glass, peaking at #51. A version by Hootie And The Blowfish was recorded for "Me, Myself, And Irene".

Little Jimmy Scott suffered from a rare genetic condition known as Kallman's syndrome that left him with the body of a prepubescent boy and the voice of an angel. He began singing while ushering at a Cleveland theater, performing for the crowd that lingered after the headliner had finished. Working his way to New York, he formed a close friendship with Doc Pomus who, at that time, was still trying to make it as a blues singer. Jimmy finally saw success in the late forties as the vocalist on the Lionel Hampton Band hit "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" although the success was hindered by a label credit that read "with male vocalist". Signing a with Savoy Records, owned by Herman Lubinsky, a man notorious for his cruel and deceitful dealings, would bring some immediate success, the arrangement would effectively halt his recording career for nearly two decades. As his recordings for the label stopped finding an audience, Jimmy signed with Ray Charles' label, Tangerine, and the Genius himself produced an album that was hailed as a landmark in jazz vocals. As buzz for the album grew Lubinsky brought suit against all parties involved, resulting in the album being pulled and a disillusioned Scott returning to Cleveland and menial jobs, losing touch with Pomus in the process. In 1969, and again in 1972, Atlantic recorded albums for Jimmy but the release of each would be hindered by the litigious nature of Herman Lubinsky and Scott would again return to Cleveland.

Doc Pomus never forgot Jimmy or his voice and began searching for him during the eighties with no success until he came across a concert listing for a show Scott was doing in Newark. Reunited with his old friend and with Lubinsky having died in '74 and finally out of the way, Doc began shopping tapes of Jimmy to anyone who would listen. Failing to get Scott a deal, he wrote a letter, published in Billboard, venting his frustration and daring those who would probably show up at Scott's funeral in hipster fashion only to foster their cool credentials to record this singer before it was too late.

Pomus died without seeing Jimmy signed but, after hearing Jimmy sing "Someone To Watch Over Me" at Doc's funeral, Seymour Stein was so impressed that he signed Scott to Sire Records. The resulting album, "All The Way", and it's title track, are stunning. Scott also sang with Lou Reed on "Power And Glory" that year and was seen singing "Sycamore Trees" on the series finale of "Twin Peaks". He has released ten further albums, been nominated for a Grammy, and performed with Michael Stipe, Antony and The Johnsons, and Pink Martini.

May 26, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-26T22:52:00.006-04:00

Due to poor planning on my part, Tuesday is a three for one. The three up for comment have absolutely nothing to do with each other except that, in my mind, they all are linked to my father for one reason or another. Having spent ten days in close quarters with him, it's no wonder that they've been fresh in my mind.

First, the kind of repugnant "Hot Child In The City" by Nick Gilder, a record that was just beginning its 31(!) weeks on the chart as my eight year estrangement from my dad ended. Over a rather sparse, and quite nifty, arrangement, Gilder's lyrics were just empty enough to allow the listener to fill in the blanks of their own fantasy - the boys with the "slut" down the block, the girls searching for their own sexual identity - and to suggest that the author's own understanding of women was gained through Penthouse Forum and evenings observing from a lonely corner of a fern bar while breathing through his mouth. "Hot Child In The City" could have only been a number one record in the seventies, at a time when everyone was okay 'cause you were okay. Nowadays, Chris Hansen would be at the door once the demo cut. And, as we learn during the bridge, it would be not a moment too soon.

Second, the beautiful, if not deceptive, 1967's "Summer Rain" by Johnny Rivers which must have been left for dead by the Baltimore oldies stations on which I was raised because, prior to discovering a copy whilst bin diving in the 25 cent per copy pile in 1978 - just as "Hot Child In The City" was finally on the wane, I'd never heard it. Jim Hendrick's lyric suggests domestic bliss at it's finest on the surface but what's with the constant recollection of the summer that just ended? I've never seen any explanation from the songwriter or its singer but I've always felt that Johnny's quite surprised to find himself where he ended up and quite unsure of how he feels about it.

Third, the stupendous "Ball Of Fire" by Tommy James and The Shondells, their last top twenty hit, a fine way to close out 1969, and a tumultuous decade. It is here that Tommy's music began to incorporate his spiritual leanings as he pleads with the listener to look beyond everything that is slipping through their fingers to what is always with us. "Ball Of Fire" has been in my life for as long as I can remember but, perhaps due to the crumbling second marriages of both my parents, it became a particular source of comfort during 1978 and my longing for any sense of normalcy. It would also jump back into my heavy rotation starting September 11, 2001 when it showed up on an unmarked cassette tape found under my car seat that day, its second verse and the unfortunate timing sending shivers down my spine as I drove home to the safest place I could envision.

After writing all of this, I realize that all three of these records are, to me, about longing. Hmmmm... thanks for the session; how much do I owe you?

May 25, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-25T23:36:00.003-04:00

I couldn't let the day go by without acknowledging Paul Weller's birthday. That's Entertainment.

May 22, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-22T21:19:00.003-04:00

Holy Crap! Morrissey turned 50 today.
Even holier? Jerry Dammers turned 54.

Let's wish Moz an "Unhappy Birthday" and hope that Jerry celebrates all "Friday Night, Saturday Morning". But not together.

Have a great weekend.

May 21, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-22T10:17:00.006-04:00

The hand wringing and cries of "Sell Out" that greeted Liz Phair's fourth album, you know, the one on the major label, were stupid enough - Matrix produced tracks and all - but when you factor in that precious "indie", Matador, had already rejected her first take on a third album, asking her to create some radio friendly songs for it, the whole notion of indie credibility becomes as transparent as the emperor's ensemble. The same holds true for the Gilman Street crew and its reaction to Green Day signing with Reprise in 1993 after giving the indie label of choice, Lookout, its biggest seller with "Kerplunk". While the slick production of Liz's self-titled Capitol album was a far cry from the lo-fi noise of her debut, a chronological review of her albums to date revealed a logical progression toward a cleaner sound and a more pop sound and when your album features a song called "HWC" (Hot White Cum, the accusations of selling one's soul to the Avril Lavigne set seem a bit off. As for Green Day, they never claimed to be anything other than three nimrods making pop punk records and the transition to "Dookie" from "Kerplunk" proved to be little more than a producer who knew what he was doing.

Liz's success with Capitol - a label that had, at one time, owned 49% of Matador, by the way - was short-lived. The fault may lie in the fact that she really didn't seem to take the whole thing seriously or with the outraged parents who found their kids singing along to the previously mentioned "HWC". If "Why Can't I" is her most lucrative pop moment, her best is "Supernova" from 94's "Whipsmart"; a girly love song from, and for, those who know better. Liz's fancy may have eyelashes that sparkle like gilded grass but she sounds more impressed by the fact that he's a flying, giant friction blast.

Green Day, of course, are on top of the charts this week with "21st Century Breakdown", selling over 200,000 copies in three days and without the support of Wal-Mart, the nations largest music seller, who refuse to stock any product that comes with a parental advisory label. When pressed for a clean version of the album, the band declined just as they had with their last two releases*, proving once again, that the band recognizes that no label should trump art. I can say I love this new album but I'll toss out the song that stopped me in my tracks in '92 - "No One Knows" from "Kerplunk" - because Billy Joe's wrestling with growing up the way in which one is expected hit a nerve back then and still does.

I throw both these tracks together for two reasons:
1) I've been away for a while
2) I discovered both of these acts in the best way; from a bunch of music loving employees in a real record store. Bite me, Wal-Mart.

*Their previous albums somehow having avoided the P.A. warning

May 06, 2009 Earworm

2009-05-06T23:24:00.005-04:00

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

2009-05-05T13:41:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-04T10:17:00.002-04:00

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...

April 30, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-30T11:19:00.004-04:00

I've made a smarty-pants comment or twenty about Arlen Specter in the last 48 hours and I sort of feel like I should rescind them after some thought. Cries of "traitor" and "opportunist" may be appropriate but - and I note this with some dismay - his acknowledging that his jump is motivated by his chances for future for re-election are the most well thought out, reality based, and honest thing I've heard from a party who really stands by their "NO!!! WE CAN'T!" stance.

As the dirty truth rises to the top of cesspool, it is impossible not to recognize that the Republican party could not care less about the wishes of all the people who vote Republican. The emphasis on that is the people, not the representatives that now find themselves embattled within the party. I mention this because it is easy to get distracted by the pundits and spokespeople who are quick to paint a cartoon villain mustache on any of their own who go against the tide as the rest of the party of goes down with the ship. That there are moderate Republicans within the party because there are moderate republicans who have elected them seems to be a minor detail that means nothing to those entrusted with the brand. As they scamper to de-define the horrific policies of a leader whom they didn't even bother to invite to their convention only magnifies their intentions of always being right, no matter how wrong their ideas appear to the majority that have increasingly left them behind.

I respect those who stand by their beliefs - even if I don't agree - but in this instance, I'm not sure that anyone knows what is they believe. History continuously shows that the their tent poles of fiscal responsibility and small government are a charade within their hands so, with those fallacies sensibly set aside, that leaves the things for which they are not for and this is may be the root of their problem: when the only thing that you can successfully pull of is to be anti-this or that, your beliefs become nothing more than scapegoats. And when you surround yourself with scapegoats, it's only a matter of time before you not only sink the ship, but your glass house is eventually shattered by your own hypocrisy.

So, now that my wind is out of the bag, the song of the day has been "White Flag" by Dido. Not just for the perfectly Republican second verse -
"I know I left too much and destruction to come back again.
And I cause nothing but trouble, I understand if you can't talk to me again.
And if you live by the rules of it's over then I'm sure that makes sense,but..."
-but because I will always love this song even though I don't love Dido.

April 29, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-29T23:44:00.003-04:00

Recognizing the somewhat surprising fact that Tommy James and The Shondells have had more records mentioned in the earworm than any other act, Tommy's birthday is noted with "Get Out Now". Although it was a low charter, it was their first single of their busiest year, 1968. The next single would be "Mony Mony" and, following two less than huge further releases, they would end the year with "Crimson And Clover"*.

Listening to some of the surprising records that are embraced within the Northern Soul scene, I can't help but wonder why "Get Out Now" has not been rescued from its relative obscurity...

*much to Susan Hubshman's dismay

April 28, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-28T23:16:00.003-04:00

It's obvious that M. Ward is proud of being an enigma and he probably takes great pleasure in our digging for clues once we're caught up in his echo filled attic of pop. His records are packed with so little and maybe that's why it is so easy to drag your own baggage in to the mix.

When I first encountered the title track of his latest, "Hold Time", my first thought was that I hoped that this would be how my final moments on the coil would sound and, even as a not so believing person, I hoped that the feeling of being above it all would be thrown in for good measure. I also chastened myself for being maudlin but, after repeated listening and a look at the video, I am pretty sure that what I'm hearing is dead on.

April 27, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-27T12:45:00.002-04:00

Swedish indie pop singer Jens Leckman. For real?

I'm pretty sure it's not a joke because "And I Remember Every Kiss" just resurfaced in my cramped mind and I've been swinging my arms wide open all weekend. If Jens is working on his english, Scott Walker may want to keep an eye on him.

March 24, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-24T21:00:00.002-04:00

While I'm in the first quarter of 1980 and as I come to the realization that I really need to keep better track of the days, I'll toss Paul McCartney and Wings' "Coming Up" for the Friday folly. I'll also add that Hilary started it just in case you're reaching for rocks.

It was Paul's seventh number one (3 weeks?!?) and the last one that is bearable. You may want to argue that last point but I remind you that his next two number one's were "Ebony and Ivory" and "Say, Say, Say". "Coming Up" is as dumb as a box of hair but a lot more fun but, since it's Friday, how much depth do you really want?

April 23, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-23T10:01:00.005-04:00

Always a little too ready to reach for her old copies of Song Hits magazine, Linda Ronstadt got a reputation for being a bit of a trash monger. With that aside, there can be no denying that she had a fantastic voice and, when applied to songs in which she was interested, she could own them just as well as her predecessors and, in the interest of fairness, many a fine songwriter benefited when she chose to interpret an unknown; just ask Warren Zevon, Andrew Gold, Billy Steinberg, and Mark Goldenberg.

Legend has it that Mick Jagger told Linda that she should stop soaking in balladry and try her hand at a harder sound and she responded with a decent cover of "Tumbling Dice" for the soundtrack to "FM". Her next album, "Living In The USA", continued the trend with its lead off single, a screaming version of Chuck Berry's "Back In The USA", and, perhaps to make a point, she cut off her hair. The album became the first in history to ship double platinum, sold just as many copies, and her roller skating get up on the cover was said to have increased interest in that pursuit as well. Still clutching her Motown songbook, the second single would be a cover of Smokey's "Ooh Baby Baby" that even Smokey can't deny as being anything but gorgeous.

Next up, an attempt at what was just beginning to be called New Wave with "Mad Love". Containing three Elvis Costello covers - she'd already tackled "Alison" on her last album, much to Costello's dismay - as well as three tracks from future Cretones ringleader, Mark Goldenberg, two oldies - "I Can't Let Go" and "Hurt So Bad" - and, for the first single, the rollicking "How Do I Make You", providing future "Like A Virgin" author Billy Steinberg with his first top ten hit. Reviews, as always, were mixed but most pointed to her take on Neil Young's overlooked "Look Out For My Love" as the best the album had to offer. This was not news to me as it had taken little more than two weeks to wear out the grooves on that particular spot on the album. Within a year, I went through three vinyl copies before letting finally letting it rest.

Over the years, my interest in Linda Ronstadt faded to little more than the occasional grasp for the upper reaches of the volume button whenever one of her older tracks hit the radio and her interests began to stray into areas of which I had little interest, making concept albums that didn't fit my particular concept at the time as well as some pretty wretched AOR records that make my teeth ache to this day. But I recently picked up a second hand copy of her greatest hits and found that it was like visiting with an old friend with whom you could complete each other's sentences. After buying the second volume of greatest hits, being shocked to find "Look Out For My Love" not included, and with my vinyl copy of "Mad Love" somehow lost over the years, I ordered a copy of it on cd. In retrospect, the album holds up just as well as many of those created by some of the female led New Wave acts that followed but, once again, I can't stop playing "Look Out For My Love". I think it is flawless.

April 22, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-23T09:32:00.002-04:00

Put a good beat to bitchy condescension, judgment, and jealousy and you get "The Get Go" by New Young Pony Club. And, in this instance, it also got shortlisted for the 2007 Mercury Music but, perhaps proving our parents right about not having anything nice to say, they didn't win.

April 21, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-21T09:17:00.003-04:00

The weather in Atlanta has been so bizarre that I can't help but think that we're a small, head nodding, scene in b-grade sitcom that ends with a cliched "wom, wom, wommmm". The forecast suggests high winds in the afternoon with storms in the evening and, within minutes, the morning sun and a few potted plants get blown away by a puppy melting downfall and then, as I am closing the last window, the sun sticks out it's tongue and all is calm.

All of these mixed messages remind me of OMD's "Crush", right down to the horns. While I know we need the moisture, I still can't stand this rain and its dark irony.

April 20, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-20T23:33:00.002-04:00

The 5th Dimension's take on "Stoned Soul Picnic" always makes me think of my grandmother's house and the smell of the freshly ironed shirts that her housekeeper deftly created while keeping one eye on her stories and the other on me as I broke a rule by touching my mom's stereo to play a song that brought us both relief from the heat. To my knowledge, we never got caught.

April 17, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-17T11:13:00.004-04:00

And after being a bit o' Debbie Downer "yesterday", I'll throw Franz Ferdinand's "Send Him Away" out there for a little Friday night getting ready groove. Naysayers be damned - they probably can't dance anyway, I love this album.

April 16, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-16T09:51:00.004-04:00

"Someday Son", from John Wesley Harding's latest album, "Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead", is a perfect (a)side for all the tea bag activity of late. While the protesters seem unfocused in their theory and taking easy, yet careless, aim as they vilify, John makes it perfectly clear as to who and what is responsible for the disastrous state in which we find ourselves: it is us. Believing in our inalienable right to have, without having to put forth much effort, we have charged ahead with little interest in our own best interests which, in most cases, is now thirty cents on the dollar.

April 15, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-15T13:54:00.002-04:00

Hopefully, you're all done with taxes and, perhaps, sitting down with a nice cup of tea...

I am so in awe of all this ado about "what" that I can not even find a beginning to make my ends meet. So, for the time being, I'll just sit and watch one political group bite on another political groups' protest even though the latter do not seem to have a good grasp on what it is they are protesting, gasp at the rampant racism and ignorant appropriation of Hitler, enjoy the puns in which heads Maddow, Cooper, and Olbermann are reveling, and turn up Mansun's "Taxloss" during the commercial breaks.

"We think you are stupid..."

April 14, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-14T09:50:00.002-04:00

Today is all about The Beautiful South because today was Vance's birthday. We're few miles further down the roads we cruised back in 1992, windows open and stereo blasting, still soaking up the "Choke" album while drinking in "0898" and counting down the days until the boy was legal to drink. Today, as luck would have it, I drove along some of those very roads we once toured while singing along, and the songs, as always, sound just as good.

I'll go with "36D"...

see the video here

April 13, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-13T18:46:00.003-04:00

The jury has finally reached a verdict and Phil Spector is guilty of second degree murder. By most accounts, he was not a good man: driven by demons and haunted by a family history of mental instability, the stories of his manipulations and eccentricities compile a very strong narrative for his eventual comeuppance. Yet, there still seems to be something missing in this, the final nail in both his and Lana Clarkson's coffin. While I think that Spector is guilty of much, and in the case for which he was tried, of something, I still have reasonable doubt as to how Clarkson's final hour played out and what, exactly, Phil's part in that gunshot was. The details do not matter to the victim when the outcome is death but the difference between manslaughter and murder mean everything for the defendant although, given Phil's litigious history, his appeals may mean that he, himself, dies before he ever spends a day in prison.

His legacy, of course, will live on regardless of these events. When I received a text telling me that the jury was about to announce it's verdict, an odd bit of timing found me listening to Shivaree's beautiful cover of "Paradise", a song Phil recorded with the Ronettes in 1965 and then left to languish while the kids at Red Bird made a classic Shangri-Las track with it. Ambrosia Parsley and company create a wide open oasis on their version with only the tympani passing judgement on her fantasy.

Spector Guilty of Second Degree Murder

2009-04-13T17:44:00.001-04:00

LA jury finds Phil Spector guilty of murder
Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:24pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Music producer Phil Spector was found guilty on Monday of the murder of a Hollywood actress at his Los Angeles area home in 2003.

A Los Angeles jury returned the verdict against Spector, 69, after a five-month retrial. The first trial ended in a jury deadlock in September 2007.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, Editing by Sandra Maler)

April 10, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-10T08:41:00.002-04:00

In 1988, before they were reborn slippy but after they went doot (doot doot), Underworld released the far poppier and guitar based, "Underneath The Radar". Glaringly produced by Rupert Hine, it was chock full of fun ditties to dance to and, especially on the opening track - "Glory! Glory!", quite a few pokes at the moral majority hypocrisy that often fueled the 80's. As media outlets report the decline of Christianity in the US, let "Glory! Glory!" serve as a reminder that Jesus' is not the only second coming for which we should be looking out for.

Have a great weekend.

April 09, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-09T10:12:00.004-04:00

With their latest album, "Slipaway Fires", Razorlight continue to polish up their act and search for an identity. Their recent facade suggests a cross between Crowded House and The Boomtown Rats yet, on "Burberry Blue Eyes", they provide sequel the story started by Pulp's "Common People".

With all the UK tabloid chatter about leader Johnny Borrell's exploits, it could easily be taken as a musical self-portrait but, to my ears, it has a hint of sour grapes to it. As an ex-Libertine himself, maybe he's lamenting his inability to gather his own Moss.

April 08, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-08T10:19:00.004-04:00

Vince Clarke finally found his perfect foil in Andy Bell, an over the top vocalist with a body that screamed rough trade as loudly as his mouth screamed, "GIRRRRRRRL!". After two and a half years of serving up perfect techno pop singles as though it were just another day at the bakery, they hit the big time with their third album, "The Innocents", and its trio of singles which included "Chains Of Love".

Bell's ideas of romance where always darker than those he had of sex and the message of "Chains of Love" was open to interpretation but, looking back on the world in which is was released, it is hard for me not to hear it as a call to act up against the indifference that was allowing the world we knew to die around us. By avoiding the pitfalls of pop preaching, the details of the message received was on a need to know basis but, after watching a pack of forty-somethings from all walks of life storm the dance floor when it hit the turntable, it is clear that the theme of unity did not fall on deaf ears then and continues to ring true now.

The good folks at Rhino have just released an expanded version of the 1992 singles collection, "Pop", which brings Erasures singular story up to date. Now is a good time to catch up.

April 07, 2009 Earworm

2009-04-07T15:13:00.001-04:00

A little more than six months ago, I told a friend that I felt a need to get back in touch with the person I was prior to becoming a corporate pawn with mortgage or, you know, a grown up. Call it a mid-life crisis if you'd like but I don't think that is true: I wasn't interested in buying a flash car, radical lifting and tucking, or trading in Dan for fresh eye candy. I just wanted to get reacquainted with the person who packed everything up and moved to a new city without having a home, a job, or a clue. I was thinking more of the me who moved to from Baltimore to Atlanta at 23 but Van Vechten's rule* - you get what you want in the form you deserve - guaranteed that the outcome would prove to be different. Within two months, the power of the internet threw me back twenty-five years, to my first escape into new territory, to a mythical place where my only concerns were having the latest records, a distinguishable look, and the time of my life.

Once again, I found myself surrounded by the same people who began their same journeys along side me - through a door opened by the same person who had opened it way back then, oddly enough - and was thrilled to find that they, too, seemed to be looking for a glimpse of themselves as they once were. Talk of reunions began and then plans for reunions began and, although I generally don't find big plans panning out as intended, I began to get on board and as excited as the next person who was about to begin the experience of the bygone.

No show goes off without a few hitches and this would prove to be no exception. Major players backed out, saddled with responsibilities, goals and deadlines, bad timing, illness, and some piss poor excuses. As the proceedings began, there were some glaring holes in the room which everyone noticed, and then there were smaller, more personal tears that left the events feeling a little less than whole for those who had wished for a perfect recreation of a decade when we were patching together the persons we'd become.

Events were staggered, not by design but by reality, so I was afforded the luxury of a slow re-entry that perfectly complimented my disdain for walking into crowded rooms and, again, I was surprised to find conversations beginning as though we'd only talked the day before - helped along with the months of constant chatter on Facebook, obviously. Old intimacies were instantly re-established as inside-jokes and catch phrases found themselves aired out and myths and legends were re-told for those who may have missed them the first time around, often giving the protagonists a chance to hear their stories from a refreshingly different perspective. From sushi houses to hometown homes, people once again began becoming one, weaving ourselves back together, back to a time where a day rarely went by without us passing on the street, meeting for meals, stumbling over each other on a dance floor, or waking up in the same bed.

I'd forgotten the strength one can feel in numbers, the power of a posse storming the gates, and just how tightly the ties that bind are bound. As names were mentioned and then followed by "I didn't know you knew them!" - always with an exclamation point - and connections were explained, the warp for one was established as the weft of another and the idea of peripheral people was edged out and the circle became smaller. And, although it all may sound so community serviced, I also found comfort in discovering, on the "big night" where it felt as though the entire city was crammed into two clubs, that those same people whom I disliked before were still not to my liking.

One of the benefits of getting older should be finding comfort in your beginnings, be it the family to which you were born, schoolyard friends, your house of worship, or the kinship built when you threw conventionality aside in order to build a more suitable, better you. We may be young only once but, like a good marriage, it's in the eyes of those with whom we were young, that we remain young. As families grow, responsibilities swell, and our bodies drop, it's the bonds we created that can hold us together.

In the time leading up to my trip, a day didn't go buy that I didn't hear Dusty Springfield's version of Goffin-King's "Goin' Back". A few days into the trip, I lucked upon a cut-out copy of "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" and was reacquainted with their take on the song. On her recording, Dusty sounds as though the road behind her is long while The Byrds sound as though theirs is just beginning. I find myself feeling quite comfortable in between. And if I got what I wanted in the form I deserved, I must have done quite a few things right along the way because I'm in fine form.

We're On Vacation!

2009-03-25T23:17:00.001-04:00

March 24, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-25T12:32:00.004-04:00

As the departure date grows closer, I hear the skip and step of Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots" jumping on my head, reminding me of how the ladies of Lavender Lane were still working on turning their copies of the "Straight From The Heart" white from repeated play a year after its 1982 release. I'm looking forward to my usual drive by through Charles Village and hope that Kmatt's cd/tape player adapter works.

March 23, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-23T22:59:00.003-04:00

Throughout the last few days my phone has been delivering the sounds of voices I've not heard in over twenty years, yet they all begin as if it were only yesterday when we last spoke. As each call brings news of another connection made, another face that will be seen, I get more excited about this trip back to Baltimore and I can barely sit still. And the music is filling my head so quickly that I'm barely able to make sense of it all so I'm grabbing Modern English's "Hands Across The Sea" because it seems the most appropriate as I watch and hear all of these broken links coming back together. Not to pretend that we're young again but to refresh ourselves with the energy we once had in abundance: to hear our memories told from a different perspective, of our exploits we'd long forgotten, and most importantly, to remind ourselves of all the dreams we had that are still within reach if we want them.

Then again, it will be fun just to drink with the old gang again and you can thank me later for not choosing "I Melt With You".

March 19, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-20T16:51:00.003-04:00

That saxophone on "Do The New Continental" by The Dovells sounds as though it's enticing young ladies to the stage which is why it peaked at #37 in 1962. Even the piano sounds horny. It's filthy, but it rocks.

To see Len Barry, one of the dreamiest lugs in Philly, and his boys contributing to the delinquency of minors:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGQ5T9Ye4nk

March 18, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-19T23:46:00.001-04:00

Imagine being tasked with creating a follow up to a number one single like The Temptations' "My Girl"...

To better, or even match, an instant classic of modern pop must have been daunting even if your name is Smokey Robinson but, following the Motown rule of making your hits successor sound enough like it, he managed to come up with a fine facsimile in "It's Growing" and, in lacking the success achieved by "My Girl", it remains a refreshing surprise when stumbled upon. Yesterday, while standing in line behind a technology challenged user for the self-serve machine at the post office, "It's Growing" came over the piped-in and what had been a few minutes of teeth gnashing suddenly turned into a group performance as I realized that the woman in front of me was singing along with the back up and the man behind me was tapping out the beat on his parcel. As our eyes met, he said, "What? You started it", so I guess I was humming, or worse, singing along absentmindedly. More surprising to me than our little big chill moment was that anyone knew this #18 pop hit well enough to pull it off.

"It's Growing" may not have that wicked bass line as it's opening but it does have a instantly catchy toy piano, and it's opening lyric - "like a snowball rolling down the side of slope of a hill" may not be one of Smokey's finest moments - it kind of sucks, actually - he still paints his visuals with a pen dipped in honey and candy hearts even if the message of love that David Ruffin delivers is honest enough to incorporate as much negative imagery as positive, suggesting an internal struggle that is further emphasized by several ebbs in a constantly expanding arrangement and whatever that it is that sounds like a wood block smacking a pipe*. Oh, and The Adantes make their one and only known appearance on a Temps record, adding an extra layer of concern to the mix.

"My Girl" is about unconditional love, "It's Growing" is about the anticipation and the anxiety that precedes it, and as time goes by, I find the latter far more interesting.

*probably a wood block smacking a pipe knowing those wacky kids at Motown.

March 17, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-17T10:32:00.004-04:00

Need to get your shamrock shaking? May I suggest the "hey, whaddya mean they're not Irish" Milltown Brothers and their delicious A&M debut single, "Apple Green". Sounding like the world's best garage band, if the garage had enough room for a swinging horn section, and sporting some excellent Jesus and Mary fringe, the Milltown Brothers held indie pop in place while the 80's became the 90's and everyone tried to sort out what that transition meant. All these years later I still have no idea what the kid is on about on "Apple Green" but he sounds young and snotty and sure that everything that awaits him will be handled with aplomb and, with the way everything around him sounds as though it shivers in anticipation, you can't help but believe that he is right.

Momentary poster children of the UK music rags, their debut album, "Slinky" received greatly deserved high praise but the follow up, "Valve", released in 1993, could not withstand the pressure in the wake of Nirvana and the band were quietly dropped from A&M and then went their separate ways. They re-grouped in 2004 for the self-released "Rubberband" and, once again, received the praise of the press but little commercial interest. Over the years, the reputation of "Slinky" has only grown, as has the misconception that the band was from Ireland. In fact, led by brothers Mike and Simon Nelson, the Milltown Brothers hailed from the Colne, Lancashire, which was, of course, a mill town.

March 16, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-16T18:14:00.005-04:00

During the months between "Just Like Honey" and "Some Candy Talking", my life had undergone a substantial change, going from criminally under-employed to juggling two jobs. With the lack of free time, one could assume that there was little opportunity for trouble and frivolity but when one job is done in a nightclub and the other is done in what seemed to many to be an overstaffed front for drug sales, it's not hard to wander. And with an ever growing cast of characters, there was no shortage of instigators.

Kenny and I could blow the rent money with just one visit to Howie's Music Machine which is exactly what we did on the magical week that the new Jesus and Mary Chain and the new Blow Monkeys singles arrived. Excitedly dragging Linda to her car, we rode out to Owings Mills, bitching and moaning until our respective medications kicked in, and spent a few hours and hundreds digging through the stacks. With no disrespect meant, I can say that I do not recall anything purchased that day beyond our intended targets.

After refreshing our medication for the ride home, we decided to call Jake, then manager of the Depot, and bribe him with a free McDonald's lunch to come to the club early and let us in; our goal being the dj booth and maximum volume. Upon arrival, pleasantries were exchanged, cigarettes were lit and, because it was five o'clock somewhere, cocktails were mixed as I uncovered the sound system. As I carefully placed the object of so much anticipation and speculation on the turntable, Kenny handed me my drink and said, "Have a seat, Missy", and I, focused on only one thing, did as told, not bothering with my usual response of "Don't call me Missy".

Even if I heard "Some Candy Talking" being played from two doors down, to this day my ears would still hurt from the flashback to the volume at which I first heard it that day. My stomach still flips a bit when I hear those opening notes and I can still see Jake frantically slapping Kenny's unfamiliar fingers away from the soundboard, trying to pull the noise down to a level safe for the ears of neighborhood dogs as Linda clings to the edge of the bar, trying to stay standing as she wipes tears of laughter from her face. And as the song fades out, I can still hear an exchange that would become all too familiar:
Jake: You three should not be allowed out
Linda: Nuh uh
Kenny: Fuck you, Jake
Larry: < shrug >

As this Depot reunion grows closer, the absence of my bookends becomes more and more apparent. It does not diminish my excitement but it does make realize that, no matter how full the place gets, it won't be full enough for me.

March 12, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-12T12:29:00.005-04:00

Before NARA shuts us down...

The Cowsills were none too pleased to have Tony Romeo's "Indian Lake", nor producer Wes Farrell, foisted upon them but the folks at M-G-M were not too pleased with the failure of the act's last two Cowsills produced and co-written singles in reaching the top twenty. Romeo arranged it to pop perfection with what sounds to me like an ear toward some good vibrations on the vocals. The listening public, recognizing a fun time when they heard one, took the outing to number ten and everyone was happy*.

"Indian Lake" may not be very deep but there is no room for shame in the shallow end. Life at forty five revolutions per minute looks pretty good on the days that you feel every year of your age. In fact, after a couple of spins of this silliness, I found myself eating peanut butter directly from a knife and not caring a lick about just how much a trip like this would cost today.

*(happy!
happy!)

March 11, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-12T00:02:00.003-04:00

The fine line between bubblegum and power pop was barely evident in 1969 when Mark Gutkowski and whomever else was the 1910 Fruitgum Company by then unleashed "Indian Giver". Sure, that intro is right out of a politically incorrect Disney mirage but it's pretty obvious that Mark's suffering from the withdrawal of something far more libidinous than the games his gang were usually on about, no matter what Simon Says.

March 10, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-10T19:34:00.003-04:00

If you keep dipping your fingers in oddities, you're bound to find things that knock your jaw to the floor and prompt that famous question, "WTF?". Such is the case with "Ghost Power" by The Cords. Coming straight outta Pulaski, Wisconsin, it's one of the gnarliest records I've ever heard, sans pretense, and I can only imagine the nirvana reached if the brothers Reid ever got their hands on a copy. If the mouth-on-tummy faux fart noise - allegedly created by a plastic horn - doesn't slay ya, maybe the freaky sci-fi phaser thingys will. If that doesn't work, there's always the accordion or the feedback.

If this description hasn't made you a wee bit curious, let me mention that The Cords were Franciscan monks who, when not creating a hellish garage/punk noise at church socials, could be found entertaining the crowds with their polka set!

All of that can (sometimes) be found on the 1970 Cuca single (in stereo!) or safe yourself the searching and find it on volume four of Sundazed's series, "Garage Beat '66: I'm In Need".

for a quick fix, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaLht-drX_E

March 09, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-06T19:21:00.005-05:00

The Jackson Five passed their sell by date by 1974 and realized it before anyone at Motown did. Jumping to Philadelphia International via Epic, they dropped the "5" for legal reasons, and started fresh. "Enjoy Yourself" got them off to a good start in 1976 but the Jackson juggernaut did not happen until they took creative control in 1978 and the "Destiny" album was released, spawning the platinum single "Shake Your Body Down To The Ground" and the dance floor classic, "Blame It On The Boogie". At the time it was impossible to see what was coming but 1979 brought Michael's "Off The Wall" with The Jackson's "Triumph" album hot on its heals in 1980. The first single, "Lovely One", played it safe and does not stray far from the sound of "Shake Your Body..." but the second single, "Heartbreak Hotel", stood out as something we'd not heard from them before. Writing credit is Michael's alone, and in hindsight, it's clear that it is here that he first encountered "Billy Jean", "Dirty Diana", and all the other women who seem to have caused him so much anxiety over the years. All the MJ hallmarks of recrimination, paranoia, and fear of adult sexual intimacy are on display as things go bump and crash in the night and we all get our cheap thrills by observing. "Heartbreak Hotel" is obviously the warm up for "Thriller" and, considering how well this nightmare swings, Michael may not have needed Quincy Jones as much as we thought.

March 05, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-06T17:19:00.003-05:00

This is me still pretending that today is the day before.

All this Jonas Brothers business is making me think of my generation's one teen idol with power pop cred, however belated it was. With a career so surreal that being presented with his Grammy for best rock vocal by Ted Nugent and Adam Ant seemed logical, Rick Springfield was old enough to be the father of the Jonas Brothers by the time he hit the heights but it was well worth the wait. Two excellent albums built around a clutch of great singles added a nice crunch to top forty radio circa 81-83. "Jessie's Girl" may have kicked it off with a number one bang - bravo for "cute"/"moot" and briefly bridging the ghastly gap at number one between Air Supply's "The One That You Love" and "Endless Love" - but to my ears, his crown jewel is "Don't Talk To Strangers". Sitting tight for four weeks at number two, trying to relieve of us the ghastliness of "Ebony And Ivory", their was not enough crunch to withstand the treacle but, twenty-eight years later, I'm still far more interested in that "slick European dude" getting his ass kicked than living in anybody's perfectly boring harmony.

March 04, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-05T00:17:00.003-05:00

Even if you don't buy into the myth of Scott Walker as patron saint of romantic gloom, you have to admit that there is no one who could do what he did exactly as he did it with The Walker Brothers. Even when we've heard the songs before - and we usually have - they are always darker yet prettier than you could have imagined. If you happened to have flipped over "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" - a hard thing to do, I know - you, too, may have found yourself as I did last night: dead tired with a wide awake mind that seemed to have nothing to think about. Over and over, my mind could only spin Scott's story as the string section tried to paint a different, happier, story while lingering above the world's loneliest bar at closing time.

I woke up exhausted, emptied the house, and filled it again with the ever familiar story, now my own, minus the pigeon and, thankfully, a night as empty as Scott's to anticipate.

March 03, 2009 Earworm

2009-03-04T23:17:00.005-05:00

Have you ever wondered what a glam rock cover of Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" would sound like? No, me neither. But, I'm trusting that you all have already shelled out your cash for the new benefit cd, "Warchild presents Heroes", and you already know what Beck has done with the song.

If not, tsk tsk, and what are you waiting for? There's only one duff in the bunch and that's the only clue I'm going to give.

February 25, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-25T23:04:00.003-05:00

So many of my records have fallen by the wayside; borrowed, lost, "borrowed", and tossed out or sold in times of desperation. I mourn them all eventually. Playing a round of complete the lyric with a facebook friend, my heart quickened when I saw "Finders not keepers - and all that's left is just reminders, love in pieces, the debris and the dust of memories that linger so long..." starting a new round. Again, a headband comes to mind and I see the picture sleeve of Lulu's 1981 US comeback single, "I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)" - and a long lost friend comes calling.

I don't know how we got separated but I do know that I drove a high school friend crazy with my infatuation with, and endless playing of, this single. Writer Neil Harrison - best known as faux John Lennon in yet another Beatles tribute - may not have written anything new about lost loves but in Lulu's delivery of lines like "But if I searched the whole world over - from pillar to post - you're the one that I need the most", her cadence suggesting constant distraction, it's all post-disco disco-light despair on the dance floor of a b-list club at last call.

"I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)" peaked at #16, suggesting that a lot of people in certain areas know this song, making it like a secret handshake of fellow travelers. And once the shake is complete, it can't be shaken, as I've discovered.

Also discovered was a ghastly video with a visibly uncomfortable vocalist who should, as noted by Bill, be leery of pyramid schemes.

February 24, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-24T23:32:00.004-05:00

From the depths of my mind comes a vision, newly minted in perfectly arranged post coital sweat, wearing a headband: screaching like a cougar in heat, trailing her prey, ready to pounce. Thankfully, she doesn't want to get Physical.

No, it's better than that. It's the third single from that cultural event - it's "Landslide", the single no one heard. Even if Livy never possessed the pipes required for strenuous pop, she made a believer out of me as she wailed like a banshee fanning her busy section. Unleashing her beast high atop the peak of her career, she had nowhere to go but down.

She can now be found as the diamond in a goat's ass that is "Sordid Lives" on Logo, playing Bitsy, the lesbian ex-con bar singer. She's fantastic, too.

February 23, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-23T14:15:00.005-05:00

It may not have been an underdog but I'm still a little surprised that "Slumdog Millionaire" won best picture, thinking something more political in these "challenging" times may have caused an upset. But every dog has his day and I should have heard it coming since I'd been playing "Every Dog Has His Day" by Let's Active all day.

I wasn't too impressed by this album at the time of release - when the stylus hit the groove I suspected a mis-pressed Ratt LP had been purchased - but I've become more fond of it over the years even though John Leckie's production gives the whole thing a sheen that, on a Let's Active album, sparkles like a Bollywood extravaganza.

February 20, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-20T10:03:00.002-05:00

Reminding me of the (primarily) innocent times of high school roller skating (where is Ursula Vinson?) and a tawdry kiss stolen in the most unlikely of places, Diana Ross' "Upside Down" also makes me feel dizzy and head over heels. Fortunately, it's never put me flat on my back.

Have a great weekend.

February 19, 2008 Earworm

2009-02-19T13:08:00.003-05:00

As Morrissey sang himself into the chorus of "Something Is Squeezing My Skull", the first track of his latest, "Years Of Refusal", I picked up my jaw long enough to ask myself, "Where did he get that voice?" A minute later he told me and the answer made me laugh. I'm still laughing three days later as different pieces of the lyric creep forward to take a bow - my current favorite being "The motion of taxis now excites me; will you peel it back and bite me".

I'm also amused by the sudden butch persona our formerly fey hero has on display. The cover of "Years of Refusal" shows Morrissey looking far more buff than we'd expect, the buttons of his shirt straining slightly, while he holds a small child: Morrissey is now a Daddy! His current band pumps up the muscle to the point that I'm now anxiously awaiting the possibility of a duet with Rob Halford.

Morrissey has officially become this charming Man so, should you find yourself unsaddled by a punctured bicycle, you may want to think carefully about getting into his taxi.

February 18, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-18T22:59:00.003-05:00

I've long suspected the choice of "Rain" as a single was clearly an attempt at damage control after Madonna's vagina had been given free rein during the "Erotica" period. As with any of her albums, the first two singles - "Erotica" and "Deeper And Deeper" - did well, but "Bad Girl", perhaps too confessional, broke her string of top twenty hits. As the unsold copies of "Erotica" began their return to the distributors, "Sex" continued to be a punchline and the debacle of "Body of Evidence" sank: it was beginning to look like a major crisis for the newly christened multimedia company, Maverick.

Taking the most commercial track from the album, track ten - which was exactly where the long winded album should have ended - and stripping it of its low moaning synth lines at the bottom - the tension of the unfulfilled, replacing it's beautiful strings with what sounds suspiciously like elements of "Crazy For You", and dropping the internal dialog found in the recitation on the album version, a remix was created that was as sterile as the double bagged. As dull as it became, it worked and back in the top twenty she went with what sounded like a typical ballad of love in which no one notices lyrics like "I will raise you from the ground (everything strange) and without a sound you'll appear (everything wild) and surrender to me". In other words, all the things that suggested the unsafe, all the things that made "Rain" one of her most interesting records to date, and all the things that sometimes still choke me up a bit when I hear it.

February 17, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-17T22:34:00.003-05:00

I've been going steady with Everything But The Girl for twenty-five years now, yet I often find myself surprised by the effect the opening guitars of "When All's Well" begin; my chest tightens it's hold on my heart and I feel like I'm falling in love all over again. Tracey sings "we are not pure, we are not true, we are not right" and her words fill my head with the memories of all the times I walked away from someone until they are pushed aside by the memories that came from the time that I didn't and I, too, feel my love is like cathedral bells.

Of course, there's that caveat of "when all's well": a detail I could never work out all those years ago...

February 16, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-16T21:17:00.006-05:00

Wow...
I learned that I'm surrounded by quite a few bah humbuggers this Valentine's Day. I'm not sure which is worse: those in a relationship who shrug the whole thing off or those who are single. While I'm not big on the grand statements suggested by advertisements, I've never been one to shy away from the chance to give/receive inexpensive sentiment sheathed in vivid red with a side of chocolate. Call me easy.

While running out to pick a card for my own personal heart holder, I planned to listen to Ultra Vivid Scene during the drive but accidentally pulled Tracey Ullman's "You Broke My Heart In Seventeen Places". Thinking, "Why not?", I went with it. As with most pastiche, the album hasn't aged well but it does have it's moments and one of them is "They Don't Know". Tracey's singing career was more of a lark - hilariously documented in her "Live And Exposed" show from 2005 - but the choice of Kirsty MacColl's "They Don't Know" as her second single - following the surprise success of her debut, an almost serious cover of "Breakway" with a high camp video that was still being played at The Hippo two years ago - showed a sense of savvy on someone's part. MacColl's own version was released by Stiff four years earlier and gained substantial UK airplay but, due to a distributors strike that hindered the record making it into stores, failed to chart. Not the type to hold a grudge, Kirsty can be heard on background vocals on Tracey's version.

The difference between the two records is striking: Kirsty's version sounds as though she will ignore the words of her friends but knows the whole thing will end in tears while Tracey - taking tongue out of cheek - actually sounds as though she believes that her fantasies will come true. Although Tracey's record is obviously routed in nostalgia - synthetic bells recall "Chapel Of Love" and castanets conjure Spector - it's second hand nostalgia as though channeled through a revival of "Grease" and somehow comes across as thoroughly modern for its time. Its time, of course, was steeped in retro deconstruction.

"They Don't Know" holds a special place in my heart as the closing song for nights spent dancing ourselves silly, closing the bar and packing too many teenage boys and girls into a car for a race to Baltimore's Block for hot dogs and then stopping into the seedy magazine stores to pack ourselves into booths to laugh at the peepshow porn offered for twenty-five cents a pop until the owners threw us out. An ever present mix tape would be fast forwarded to the song as we approached Mt. Vernon and we would fall out at the driver's apartment door to dance our last dance before drifting off to our respective beds and our own romantic dreams.

February 10, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-10T11:35:00.005-05:00

As much as I love Jennifer Holiday, I am a full fledged Jennifer Hudson fan. Not only is she a gifted a vocalist and actress , she has charm to spare, has shown grace under horrific pressure, and she circumvented the hyperbole of American Idol to shine on her own terms. "Spotlight" was a perfect summer single, languid yet anxious, a slow simmer that brought to my mind an image of her tapping her foot and waiting for the news to sink in - wise enough to know she will not hear anything that will change the scenario. Unfortunately, I can no longer hear it without thinking of the how harsh the spotlight can be. But then, I think of how deftly she stepped out of it, refusing to let the press manipulate her grief into soundbites for an infotainment starved world.

Now she's back, basking in a Grammy glow, a winner, and a shining star.

February 09, 2008 Earworm

2009-02-09T15:59:00.002-05:00

Watching the Grammy telecast last night was a less in aging. Providing running commentary of the happenings on Facebook allowed me to have a Grammy party without leaving the house or having to clean up when everyone left. After experiencing the bonding of an on-line community during the Obama inauguration, I was surprised by how little my friends, both old and new, were interested in the show. When I would ask, I received a variation on a theme of "It doesn't interest me anymore". WTF? But, as the show went on, I began to realize that most of the performances weren't very interesting to me, either. And that's when I began to feel my age until I remembered that the acts that performed on the Grammy's were seldom interesting to me. In fact, I usually considered myself lucky if I enjoyed just one performance. I feel better now. And younger. With even more smugging power!

It was a well paced show and that makes it a good Grammy show. It was great to see Alison Krause and Robert Plant in action and, after all she's been threw and kept it private for so long, Jennifer Hudson could have come out and sang the Hokey Pokey as a polka and the place - and I - would have stood and cheered while wiping away tears. I'm still not sure how I feel about the Rev. Al Green's get together with Justin Timberlake but it was nice of them to help out in a pinch.

Which brings me to the missing and the song I've been unable to get out of my head all day. What's going on with Rihanna? The young and beautiful pop tart that makes me sing and dance in my driver's seat as passing cars point and laugh! No news on her well being today - not even from her "people".

I hear her singing "S.O.S" over and over again in my head and I worry...

February 06, 2008 Earworm

2009-02-06T14:33:00.004-05:00

Shoot! I forgot to rude...

So often during my time with my previous company I was asked questions like, "If you won the lottery you'd run threw the halls of this place screaming "f#ck you", right?" or "When you finally leave, you're going to really give people a piece of your mind, right?". While the thought had often crossed my mind and put a smile across my face, I could never think of myself as the sort of person who would do such thing. I liked, and in some cases loved, my co-workers too much to subject them to that sort of negativity because, no matter how much they might enjoy hearing my rawest feelings at the time, reality would eventually dull the brief euphoria and they would look around and realize that they were still facing the very things about which I no longer had to be concerned.

However...

The times that I have decided not to use a certain song as an earworm are many - wanting to save it for the day which brought about my final exit. A bird flipping, fiery kiss off, from a seventeen year old girl who never sounding this over it again. The song to which I refer was the first charting single for the young Motown label, originally written by its young singer with the hope of hearing it recorded by Jackie Wilson, and finally deemed worthy of release on the twenty-sixth try. It is, of course, "Bye Bye Baby" by Mary Wells. If you do not know it, do not confuse it with the 4 Seasons track because it will slap you across the face as soon as the needle hits the groove.

In so many ways, I wish I'd done this earworm earlier but, better late than never. Right?

Right.

Have a great weekend.

February 05, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-05T21:02:00.002-05:00

Erick Lee Purkhiser aka Lux Interior
(October 21, 1946 – February 4, 2009)

The Cramps were everything but subtle and Lux Interior was everything a front man should be; over the top, lewd, sexy, and frightening as hell. His passing yesterday of a "pre-existing heart condition" is shocking because he always seemed to be a rock and roll zombie, long dead, always a young punk, and unstoppable. When a peer pointed out that he was the same age as her father - 62 - I felt as though I was hit with a reality pipe.

The Cramps starting making records in 1977 under the guiding hand of Alex Chilton and describing them is nearly impossible but the self proclaimed psychobilly is probably the most apt description of their perfect soundtracks to un-filmed slasher beach party porno flicks. The highlights of their first ten years, before the kitsch and camp began to become redundant self-parody, are too numerous to mention or to whittle down to just one so it has to be a two-fer Thursday and I'll have to go with the sophomoric and butt kicking "Can Your Pussy Do The Dog" because I can not hear it without remembering my friend, Renee, doing the lewdest dance to it one night and "Kizmiaz", a rare ballad in their catalog, which is absolutely hysterical and reminds me of yet another crazy female.

Their later albums often lacked punch as the joke wore thin and I grew older but their late seventies/early eighties output was as essential to my growing up as was high school. I wouldn't be the same without either even though both experiences were equally juvenile at times.

Rest in pieces, Lux.

February 04, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-04T22:41:00.003-05:00

Couldn't let the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly and the always behind a comma Richie Valens and Big Bopper go by without mention. Fifty years seems so far away and I wonder how much Buddy's music means to musicians of today and just how long we'll have to wait for the next wave of guitar pop-meisters like Marshall Crenshaw to come along and make Holly's music relevant again.

While we wait, the guitars of "Maybe Baby" jangle through my head even though it's the sound of Jerry Allison's drumming that I love the most.

February 03, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-03T21:53:00.003-05:00

Children, I got it bad for R. Dean Taylor lately. It's moved beyond
my love it longtime worship of "There's A Ghost In My House" and I've
found myself listening to a homemade cd that includes all the
different mixes of "Gotta See Jane" - there were four - and "Indiana
Wants Me" - only two repeatedly in the car as though the gas pedal
won't work without it. I'm even listening to the deemed to weak for
release first Motown produced single, "My Ladybug (Stay Away From That
Beatle)" from 1964.

Motown's faith in Taylor may not seem logical on the surface, but what
allowed him to linger for six hit-less years in this hallowed halls
has recently been brought to light ever so slowly: he worked,
uncredited, with Holland - Dozier - Holland on many of the hits we all
know as classic H-D-H. Merely mentioned as a rumor when his name
finally came up in Vol. 4 of The Complete Motown Singles, his song
doctoring finally became noted as fact in Vol. 7 which contains all
the singles released in 1967 and the first hits to include his name
in the writing credits - "All I Need" by The Temptations and The Four
Tops' "I'll Turn To Stone" and the aforementioned "There's A Ghost In
My House" which anyone with an ear can recognize as a Four Tops record
done by a very talented garage band.

Between the ill-fated Beatles novelty and the pay-off of "Indiana
Wants Me", Taylor released "Let's Go Somewhere" in '65 which went
nowhere except in Canada where it went top 40, "Ghost..." which
flopped in '67, and then, following the departure of H-D-H in 1968,
"Gotta See Jane", which he produced on his own. Rain, tires
screeching, a filtered vocal, a discreet harpsichord, and a string
arrangement that makes me weak, all should have added up to a hit but
it failed everywhere but the UK, where it went top 20. Berry Gordy,
sure that he had a US smash on his hands, remixed the single for a
second pressing but still it failed to take off. Songwriting duties
with what became known as "The Clan" kept Taylor off the release
schedule for all of 1969.

"Indian Wants Me" became a pop phenomenon when radio listeners began
freaking out over the sirens that opened the song and it became a top
five hit because it is an excellent record. Again, strings pay a
major part in its charm but this time, they are more discreet.
Lyrically, it's a perfect follow up to "Somewhere They Can't Find Me"
if you choose to end that story in a certain way, and it's a perfect
follow up or prequel to "Gotta See Jane", depending on how you let
either story play out. Always looking for the happy ending, I prefer
Jane as a sequel and apparently Motown did, too.

Having pulled "Gotta See Jane" out of the vaults in 1969 to launch the
Rare Earth label in Canada, it was remixed again and stereo promo
singles were sent out but, again, it failed to catch on. After the US
follow up to "Indiana Wants Me", "Ain't It A Sad Thing", failed to
live up to its predecessors success, "Gotta See Jane" was pulled out
again and the Canadian stereo version was mixed back down to mono and
re-released in Canada where it made the top twenty, and in the US,
where it actually peaked lower than "Ain't It A Sad Thing" and set the
pattern for ever diminishing commercial returns.

February 02, 2009 Earworm

2009-02-02T20:46:00.004-05:00

Considering the slapdash rush to capitalize on the sudden success of the tampered-with "Sounds of Silence", its surprising that the step-parent album came out as well as it did. It helped that six of the songs had been written for earlier albums but it's not any of those songs that is my favorite: that honor goes to "Somewhere They Can't Find Me". It's probably the worst song on the album, saddled with dated sixties guitar noodling on the chorus, clumsy vocals, no finish, and one of the more excruciatingly awkward lines in pop music - "I held up and robbed a liquor store" - that, even as a child, I recognized as embarrassingly weak. However, it is thsse shortcomings that keep it from sliding into the fake desperado outlaw crap that has made me hate The Eagles for so many years. While his feelings for his girl may be romantic, he never romanticizes his situation, and rejects any chance of posturing by admitting that his life has become "a scene badly written in which I must play" and that it is not right for him to leave this girl behind knowing that she will eventually be forced into his sordid story through no fault of her own. That the song ends before he takes his leave allows us all to write the ending of our choice and it is that weakness that I appreciate the most.

January 20, 2009 Earworm

2009-01-20T17:21:00.006-05:00

I don't know about the rest of you but I am beat. I've Obamarama'd myself into a tizzy and, for the moment, I fear only the hysteria hangover tomorrow. But there's plenty of time for that later and I'll be humming Jackie DeShannon's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" as I drift off to sleep.

I'll probably be right back to my skeptical self tomorrow but until then...