Weekend Fundraiser

Okay, the short version.

Someone dear to a long-time friend of mine -- I won't go into the details, but let's just say that Six Degrees of (my old garage band) The Weasels kinda sums it up -- just had his house burn down around him.

Let that sink in for a second. I mean, I can't even begin to guess how horrible it must be to deal with that.

The good news is he got out physically unscathed. The bad news is literally everything else you could imagine, including the loss of a collection of vintage guitars and (most heartbreakingly) his beloved 10 year old cat Gracie.

In sum, he is now homeless and emotionally devastated.

That being the case, I am asking my readers to please share the story above and the Go Fund Me link below to your social media accounts, even if you can't yourself donate.

Helping Carl rebuild after losing everything in a house fire

In either case, it would be, as we Red Sea pedestrians refer to it, a mitzvah.

Thanks in advance, kids.

See you with happier stuff on Monday.

Okay, How Did I Miss This One?

The Rolling Stones, live at the Camden Theater in 1964, with their fabulous cover of "Route 66."

In genuine stereo. With no screaming kids. 😎

Seriously -- I had a huge collection of vintage Stones bootlegs, live and studio, back in the day, and yet I was unaware of the above until I stumbled across it on YouTube over the weekend. I'm baffled.

Oh well, I supposed I should just be grateful that such surprises are still out there in my old age. 😎😎

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "Le Chanson Incroyable" Edition

Oh. My. God.

Seriously, I don't think I've listened to that under the headphones in at least four decades. And by the time the harmonies came in at the end, I was a goner once again.

I should add that when that first came out in 1970 (just before the public breakup of the Beatles) I remember thinking "that may be the most beautiful song Paul's ever written."

And hearing it now, after all the intervening years, I see no reason to revise my opinion.

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles

The Gary Larson whale singing one is one of my all time favorites. First time I saw it I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. 😎

[h/t Robert Soltermann]

Monday Public Service Announcement

Attention, readers/musicians in the New York City area!

A friend of mine is moving to Florida, and he has no room in his new place for his beloved -- and practically never used -- Yamaha hardwood electronic keyboard.

He's letting it go for $1000.00 (Cheap! as they used to say at Mad Magazine).

If you're interested, get in touch with me in comments, and I'll hook you guys up. (Said friend lives in my Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills -- if you go out to see the instrument, let's do lunch when you're done!).

Meanwhile, as our president would put it, thank you for your attention to this matter.

Traditional PowerPop daily fare resumes on the morrow.

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "There is Nothin' Like A Dame!" Edition

[The idea for today's EQ popped into my head unbidden recently when I happened to hear that Corrs song I posted yesterday. My immediate reaction was "I must have done that one sometime in the past," but a check through the blog archives suggested otherwise, which pleases me no end. Anyway, it's such a great idea let's get to it right away, shall we? -- S.S.]

Okay.

...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis pop/rock/soul/folk girl group (in the 60s sense, i.e. they just sing and dance) or all-girl band (that plays its own instruments) is...?

Discuss.

No arbitrary rules, except that the aforementioned Corrs -- for obvious reasons, i.e. that one of them is a guy -- aren't eligible.

Okay, my least favorite?

I have tried to like those gals for years, and with a total lack of success. They're great on paper, i.e. they're all terrific musicians, and I understand why people are pushing to get them into the Hall of Fame, but sorry -- their records are snoozeville. They simply didn't rock.

And my favorite? Well, I was gonna go with The Bangles, who I adore and have since I played their debut album to death back in 1984...

...but then I remembered these currently active California punkettes.

I mean, for the name and the t-shirt alone.

I should add that you can find out more about Les Hormones -- and watch some of their other equally hilarious videos -- over at their official website HERE.

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "An Early Clue to the New Direction" Edition

From 2000, please enjoy fabulous Irish family band (yeah, yeah, I know I should have posted this on Tuesday in honor of St. Paddy's Day) The Corrs and their melodically insinuating and drop dead sexy hit "Breathless."

Man, watching that, all I can say is -- oh, to be 50 again. 😎

In any event, a coveted PowerPop No-Prize© will be awarded to the first reader who discerns its relevance to the theme of tomorrow's Weekend Essay Question.

Wednesday's Moment of Words Fail Me

From 1968, please enjoy footnote to history Brit band Fire and their absolute psych-pop masterpiece "Father's Name is Dad." A song which fully lives up to its title.

I must confess I'd never heard that (or even heard of it) before a chance encounter on YouTube the other day. And I was pleased to learn that the Fire guys later achieved fame more appropriate to their talent when they mutated into the hit-making (in England) folk-rock band The Strawbs.

In any event, that "Dad" song just kills me; everything about it (the wise-ass lyrics, the cool guitar riffage, the vaguely punkish vocals) sounds like it was created (as they say) with my mind in mind.

Today's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo Funnies

I particularly like George Harrison Ford's later solo work. 😎

Comedy in Music (An Occasional Series): Special "Ripped My Jeans" Edition

From 1956, please enjoy satirical genius Stan Freberg and pretty much the funniest Elvis parody ever.

If you're not familiar with him, I should note here that Freberg was kind of a snob hipster jazz guy, and as you can probably tell from the above, he genuinely looked down on rock-and-roll -- in fact, IMHO the record's drollest gag is the singer's upset when the piano solo goes a little too upscale.

That said, this tickled me to death as a kid, and I wouldn't be surprised if Elvis himself thought it was funny despite its mean-spiritedness.

I should add that I originally had it on Stan's 1957 sort of Greatest Hits record A Child's Garden of Freberg...

...which is one of the essential comedy albums of its day, and worth it for the parody of Dragnet alone.

To this day, I can't hear the word "knave" without cracking up.