Thursday, February 28, 2013

Girl Group Pop Psychedelia A-Go Go!!!

This subject came up during Tuesday's appearance on the Intertube radio show, but it occurred to me at the time that this may be the most under-developed pop music genre ever.

I mean, I can only come up with two obvious examples.

The first -- from late 1965(!), is of course The Chiffons and the quite remarkable "Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind But Me)."





And the second -- from the spring of 1971, would be the post-Diana Ross incarnation of The Supremes with the sublime "Nathan Jones."





I should also add that the original version of the Chiffons hit, by the song's composer Brute Force...



...which apparently was in fact released to an uncomprehending public in 1968, is pretty fricking confounding.

I should also also add that Bananarama , who as I get older I become more and more convinced may have been the greatest thing in the history of Western Civ...



...did a pretty terrific cover of "Nathan Jones" in 1988.

6 comments:

Sal Nunziato said...

I've had a secret wish since it was first released that some brilliant power pop band would cover Bananarama's "I Heard A Rumour." I even have the arrangement in my head from when I tried doing it with my band. Every one of Bananarama's hits would sound fantastic with less synths and more guitar.

Steve Seddon said...

If you're going with the Supremes I would include Reflections. Pretty psych intro.

steve simels said...

Good point about Reflections, but I really don't like it, actually, and I've been more or less successful in convincing myself that it never existed.
:-)

Anonymous said...

Bananarama as hassids!

It is good, the original is better.

ROTP(lumber)

MJConroy said...

How about "Wounded" by The Cookies?

http://youtu.be/D8295jrJRkk

Marsupial said...

Late to the party -- but I am SO with you about Bananarama. I liked them in the 80s, but that was because I was a teenage new wave kid, and they were... Bananarama. Now I'm pulling up the stuff that I missed from them and getting a whole new subtext.

Man, I really hope you weren't being snarky. That would suck.