Walk on the Respectable Side

It's been a fairly hectic couple of days, and I just realized I forgot to post about the most fun I've had in ages.

To wit, attending -- last Friday -- the opening celebration for the Lou Reed Archive at the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center.

The ostensible focus of the event -- which was the swellest press party I've been to since my Stereo Review days -- was the 30th anniversary of Lou's New York album; as you can see in the above photo, among the artifacts that Lou donated (with the help of his wife Laurie Anderson, who spoke at the party, and was as charming and funny as one could have hoped) was the script for an (alas) never made film version of that album's "Dirty Boulevard."

Which would have been directed by Martin Scorsese(!) and starring Johnny Depp(!!). Words fail me.

I should add that part of the evening's festivities was being able to get a limited edition NYPL library card with the iconic Mick Rock photo of Lou.

A certain Shady Dame of my acquaintance stood on line and snagged one, I might add.

For information on exactly what is in the collection -- which I guarantee will blow your mind -- check out NYPL.ORG/LOUREED. I should also add that stuff like this is why you pay the big bucks to live in New York City.

[h/t Rebecca Littman]

Closed Due to Exhaustion

Out late last night seeing What's Left of the Yardbirds©.

Regular posting, including some thoughts on the show, resumes tomorrow.

Your Monday Moment of the Coolest Songs in the World

From 2019, please enjoy...

...The Weeklings (featuring Peter Noone) and a very sharp cover of The Easybeats classic "Friday on My Mind."



And also from 2019, it's The Tearaways (featuring the great Clem Burke on drums) and their tribute to "The Wrecking Crew."



The above was recorded before the passing of the great Hal Blaine last week, BTW (Hal actually got to hear it before he went to the great recording studio in the sky).

I should add that in the last two weeks, both of these tracks got the nod as Coolest Song of the Week over at Little Steven's Underground Garage Sirius XM radio show. Which is itself the coolest thing of the week in perpetuity.

For more on The Weeklings, head over to their website HERE.

For more on The Tearaways, their website is HERE. And you should immediately check out their fantastic CD Anthems and Lullabies, which can -- and very definitely should -- be previewed and ordered at iTunes Music HERE.

[h/t Marc Platt]

Your Friday Moment of Words Fail Me

From 2011, please enjoy power pop gods The Left Banke (and the NYU Choral Society) and the damndest version of their masterpiece "Desiree" you'll ever hear.



Seriously, folk, I'm speechless.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Got Live If You Want It

Attention Gothamites: If you're in the East Village vicinity of this charmingly monikered club tonight..

...stop in at 7:30 to see friend of PowerPop (and me)...

...Joe Benoit and his combo.

Art direction on the above, BTW, by my beautiful and brilliant girlfriend.

Joe's a ridiculously talented singer, songwriter and guitarist, and if you doubt me, here's a glorious song from that forthcoming EP.



You can hear the rest of the new tunes on Spotify HERE.

Seriously -- get over there now!!!

Granny Takes a Trip

From 2018, please enjoy pioneering first generation San Francisco band The Ace of Cups and the utterly amazing "Feel Good."



Those ladies were very well known in their hometown back in the day, but they never made a proper album until last year, when they reformed, thus proving that Scott Fitzgerald was wrong -- there ARE second acts in American lives.

In any event, that is pretty much the most fabulous thing I've ever seen, even if I hate the bass player for being way better than me. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album, which is on its way from Amazon as we speak.

Hal Blaine 1929 -- 2018

From January of 1965, please enjoy the instrumental sessions for "Mr. Tambourine Man." With the late great Mr. Blaine on drums.



And after about the 8 minute point, when Larry Knechtel nails the classic bass riff, you have to wonder if these guys knew they had just changed music forever.

I"ll have more to say about the Wrecking Crew tomorrow.

Your Monday Moment of "We've Got Trouble!!!"

Attentive readers with long memories may recall me yammering about pioneering L.A. glam pop band Christopher Milk on earlier occasions, most often in the context of their swansong, a fabulous failed single cover of Terry Reid's "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace,” which as they say should have been a goddamn hit.



In any case, Milk bass player Kirk Henry...

...is a Facebook chum of mine, and a few weeks ago -- during a discussion of original cast albums of Broadway shows (occasioned by my remarks about seeing Hamilton) -- he let it drop that back in 1987-88, he had recorded a shall we say highly rhythmic version of "Trouble," the classic patter song from The Music Man. As he told me: "I learned that song when I was 8, launched into an angry rapid-fire version of it at the Whiskey in 1972 when Ralph [Oswald, Christopher Milk's guitar player]'s amp blew up, and was reminded of it again the first time I heard rap."

I found this intriguing, obviously, and Kirk was kind enough to share the track with me. Give it a listen, won't you?



Okay, I won't go quite far enough as to say that it too should have been a goddamn hit, but it's, er, memorable nonetheless.

I should add that Christopher Milk's sole album, the charmingly monikered Some People Will Drink Anything, which is splendidly produced by Chris Thomas (of Procol Harum and Pretenders fame)...

...has finally been reissued, and can be streamed (or purchased on vinyl) over at Amazon HERE. Act now.

Because the Night V

Okay, so this has turned -- completely inadvertently, I should add -- into Patti Smith week.

So here's a sort of nostalgic closer, which I first posted about in these precincts back in 2011(!).

Consider, then, if you will, this extremely rare 1976 pamphlet edition of a poem by (then an item) Ms. Smith and Television guitarist Tom Verlaine.

Patti was kind enough to give me an autographed copy of that during the course of the 1978 interview I did with her for the Magazine Formerly Known as Stereo Review. And years later -- some time in the early 90s -- a friend of mine, who was working with Verlaine's management, passed it along to Tom, who was equally kind enough to add his John Hancock along with handwritten notes as to which verses were his and which were Patti's.

What can I tell you -- it's one of my most treasured possessions, even if it IS pretentious enough to alternate pages in English and (presumably well-translated) French.

Have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Because the Night IV

Patti Smith IS the Witch...

...in...

...coming soon to a theater near you.

Okay, I'm going to hell for that joke.