Cleveland Fucking Rocks!

So a certain Shady Dame and I are off to the heartland to spend a weekend gawking at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Sounds like fun to me -- see you all with new postings (including photos, one assumes) on Monday

Mister, We Could Use a Man Like Adolf Hitler Again

The great Brother Theodore unveils his political program on the Letterman show in 1985.



Heads will roll. I wish.

And My Soul's Been Psychedelicized

Another recently discovered live performance -- from 1991 -- being considered for a bonus track on the upcoming remaster/reissue of this masterpiece.

Vocals and rhythm guitar by Gerry, spectacular lead guitar by J.D. Goldberg, inspired drumming by Glen "Bob" Allen, my musical director for the last 40 years, and pedestrian bass and lame joke at the top of the song by some guy whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels.

Too bad we were born to late to get the tune on the soundtrack to this.

And yes, the song itself IS a fairly shameless pastiche of "Eight Miles High." The difference is we admit it's about drugs.

Closed Due to Genius(es) at Work

Off to the city and fabulous Below Rogue studios to work on our "live" album.

Regular posting, involving music made by actual musicians, resumes tomorrow.

Come to Think of It, This Guy Could Have Played the Red Skull

So we went to see the Superheroes in Gotham show at the New York Historical society over the weekend...

...which I highly recommend (it runs through next February). And not just because I got to pose with and photograph one of the coolest cars ever.

That one there was one of the three Batmobiles they made; two were used in the TV series, and the third (the one seen above) was the one they sent out on promo tours. I actually saw it at Shea Stadium in 1966 at the big Batman Concert, starring The Chiffons, The Rascals, Skitch Henderson and his Orchestra, Frank Gorshin and (of course) Adam West.

Also in the exhibition is the actual Superman suit from the 50s TV show, and in its honor, please enjoy my old Greenwich Village chum Erik Frandsen and his droll and ultimately touching tribute to the show's star -- "Nobody Grieves For George Reeves."



I should add that Erik, besides being a splendid singer/songwriter and guitarist, is also a comic actor of some repute. Here he is, as the existentially depressed German ambassador to the United Nations, on The Colbert Report.



You're welcome.

The Way We Were

For those of you who've been following the saga of the forthcoming "new" EP Letter From Liverpool, by the fabulous Floor Models (featuring a bass player whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels), two bits of news. The entire thing has been mastered and is ready to go (as soon as a certain Shady Dame of my acquaintance finalizes the artwork).

More to the point, the guys and I have had so much fun in the studio over the course of the project, we decided we're not quite ready to retire yet. So we're getting right back to work on remastering and reissuing this 1995 album by a later incarnation of the band, which has been out of print for a while.

Here's a live tape we recently discovered in the vaults and digitized; we're considering including it on the reissue as a bonus track. I think it kicks major ass, if truth be told.



A studio version of that, in a significantly different arrangement, closes the CD, but I've always been partial to this one. The quote from "Day Tripper" at the end is a particularly nice touch, I think.

Have a great weekend, everybody, and I'll see you on Monday with a less self-indulgent posting. Or not.

Closed Due to Being Incredibly Old

Man, that birthday stuff yesterday really tuckered me out.

Regular and more peppy posting resumes tomorrow.

The Greatest 1966 Hollies Song The Hollies Never Did

From 2013, and their charmingly monikered album Crummy Desert Sound, please enjoy The Resonars and "The World is Wrong."

I know absolutely nothing about these guys except they're from California and they seem to have been genetically bred to produce music that sounds like The Hollies Stop Stop Stop album and god bless 'em for that.

Seriously, this is fucking awesome.

[h/t Capt. Al]

Programming Notes From All Over

Yes, I'm going to be guesting on friend of PowerPop Capt. Al's intertube radio show Lost at Sea again today over at AREA 24.

We'll be spinning fabulous tracks of wax for two hours beginning at 5pm East Coast time, and you can check it out over at the link HERE.

I haven't decided on a theme for today's festivities, although there definitely will be one by the time we start; I also can tell you that we'll be premiering tracks from the forthcoming EP The Floor Models Sing For Gay Lovers Only!

Okay, I'm kidding about that last. In any case, we'll be giving out an e-mail address throughout the show, so feel free to barrage us with requests, random thoughts, or death threats.

Number One Hits in an Alternate Universe (An Occasional Series)

The 1962 Ben E. King covers the 1960 Shirelles classic "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."

A terrific soulful vocal from Ben E., and a perfectly fine arrangement, but it just doesn't work, and solely because of the gender switch. When Ben E. sings it, he's actually saying "will you still love me, tomorrow, in the romantic sense?", a perfectly conventional sentiment. Unfortunately, the clear point of the song -- as Goffin and King wrote it -- is a teenage gal asking her swain "Will you dump me if I let you boink me tonight, like most of the other early 60s male chauvinist pigs I've let into my pants so far?"

Which was an unprecedented sentiment in a popular song at the time The Shirelles recorded it, and the reason their version was such a smash.

Know what I'm saying, girls?

Number One Hits in an Alternate Universe (An Occasional Series)

The 1965 Supremes cover the 1965 Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself."

Motown house band the Funk Brothers totally cook on the backing track, Diana Ross actually sings it very well, and still everything about this is totally, weirdly wrong.

Have a great weekend, all!!!

Your Thursday Moment of Shameless Plugola

From 1991, and their album Robot World, please enjoy New Zealand rock gods Bailter Space and the album's second track, the coincidentally titled "Robot World." (What -- you were expecting "Satisfaction"?)



I bring these guys, who were unknown to me until very recently, up because I have discovered that Brent McLachlan, the ace engineer and all around fine fellow who worked on the sessions for the Floor Models new song, was the drummer. (That's him, looking like an antipodean Bun E. Carlos, in the back of the photo).

I also bring this up because the band has, rightly so, been described as the Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr. of New Zealand, and because this particular song is frankly fucking awesome, especially under the headphones. And there's plenty more of their stuff on YouTube, so investigate away.

Your Wednesday Moment of Shameless Plugola

From his wonderful new album A Very Short Dream, please enjoy friend of PowerPop and guest Floor Model (he provided the glorious background harmonies on our "Letter From Liverpool") the incomparable Ronnie D'Addario and the ineffably poignant video for said album's titular tune.

You can -- and should -- download individual songs or the entire album over here at CD BABY; it's also available at Amazon or iTunes Music.

Taking a Day Off Due to Agita

Regular posting -- beginning with a great new song by a friend of PowerPop -- resumes tomorrow.

It's a Holiday! Can You Tell How Excited I Am?

In any case, this 1969 soundtrack theme seemed appropriate.

I actually think these guys are underrated (although this track is hardly their best) but that's a discussion for another day.

Meanwhile, enjoy the celebration of the destruction of America's indigenous peoples, everybody!

Dispatches From the Front

The Zombies Odessey and Oracle show in New York City last night was...well, words fail me.

I don't have any live footage, but here's Chris White singing "A Butcher's Tale" in London last year, with Rod Argent on the pump organ, which should give you an idea.



And may I just say, and for the record, that Chris White is now my favorite bass player. But beyond that, I want to BE Chris White.

I should also add that a great deal of the credit for how good the band sounded is due to the splendid Darian Sahanaja, of Wondermints/Brian Wilson band fame, who contributed additional keyboards and vocals.

Night of the Living Dead

Well, it's Friday, and a certain Shady Dame and I are off to see the original Zombies (minus their late guitarist Paul Atkinson) perform their great Odessey and Oracle album in its entirety this evening.

Eighth row center seats, plus we get to see the soundcheck and go backstage and meet the band (hey -- you get what you pay for).

I will resist the urge to gloat at this juncture. Actually, no I won't. Gloat gloat gloat.

Meanwhile, because I love you all more than food here's a very cool vintage clip of the band, in color and playing absolutely live, on American TV in 1966. And yes, that's Allan (My Son, the Folksinger) Sherman introducing them.



Incidentally, younger readers may be wondering what the hell those dancing ladies are up to in the clip, to which I can only say that the past is a foreign country -- they do things differently there.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

The Ghosts of Rockabilly

I don't know if you guys have been watching Gotham -- which is now officially the most grisly and dark show in the history of television -- but here's something that's even scarier.



I was going to put this up last week, after having posted the Thieves song of the same name, but I got distracted by real life concerns.

In any case, now that I know that Jumpin' Gene is a cousin of new friend of PowerPop Steve Deaton, I figured I really needed to redress this grievous wrong.

Programming Notes From All Over

Just a quick reminder: Be sure to tune in to Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More...

...which airs today on RADIO ANDRA at 7pm CET.

That's Swedish time, which is apparently six hours later than East Coast time here in the Paris of the Tri-State metro area.

In any case, ace DJ Wayne Lundqvist Ford will be featuring the broadcast debut of the "new" Floor Models track "Letter From Liverpool," plus lots of other cool stuff both old (The Small Faces) and new (our pals The Steve Deaton Three).

Could be a hot one!

Who Listens to the Radio?

Well, you should.

Why? Because thanks to friend of PowerPop/incomparable DJ Wayne Lundqvist Ford, a certain band (featuring a certain bass player whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels) will be played on an indie radio station from the land of Ingmar Bergman and ABBA tomorrow. That's right -- we're talking about the broadcast debut of "Letter from Liverpool," by the fabulous Floor Models.

The show is called Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More...

...and you can check it out on the web at RADIO ANDRA at 7pm CET.

I believe that's six hours earlier than East Coast Time here in the Paris of the Tri-State Metro area, but you should Google the time difference to be sure.

The good news is that the shows get archived pretty quickly, so if you (or I, frankly) miss it I'll put up a link for your listening enjoyment.

UPDATE: Our dj informs me that the playlist will include Kurt Baker, Paz Antiguana, Charlène, The Steve Deaton Three, Bop's, The Outryders, The Frank and Walters Official, The Floor Models, The Four Tops, Small Faces, king mastino, Chamberdeacons, Teenage Fanclub, The Sitting Tenants, Strangely Alright, The Riffbackers, Sir Douglas Quintet, The Royal Hangmen and more. The fact our new pals The Steve Deaton Three are on the same show as us is, frankly, cosmic.

UPDATE PART DEUX: Our dj also informs me that the show is also hosted by Pop That Goes Crunch out of San Francisco Thurs 7pm PST, Fri 1pm PST and Sat 8am PST wwwlive365.com/stations/jeffreyr25

Songs It May Be Impossible to Do a Bad Version Of (An Occasional Series)

From their forthcoming eponymous debut album (which drops, as today's kids say, on November 17) please enjoy The Steve Deaton Three and their absolutely killer rethinking of/assault on the Nazz classic "Open My Eyes."

The band's originals are pretty transplendent as well; the album will be available via the usual suspects (ITunes, Apple Music, Spotify, et al) but in the meantime there's a pre-release version up over at Bandcamp where you can preview all the tracks, and you should do so posthaste.

I should also add that the album also includes a cover of a song by the great Sun Records rockabilly cat Jumpin' Gene Simmons...

...who happens to be Steve's second cousin.

Great Composers Steal, Etc.

As promised, another tune by Nashville rockers The Thieves -- "All the Lines Are Down." From their fabulous late 80s album Seduced by Money, produced by Marshall Crenshaw.

I hadn't listened to that one in ages until yesterday, and imagine my surprise when it turned out to be remarkably similar to a mid-90s tune by a band featuring a bass player whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels.

Go figure.

Incidentally, re-mastering and reissuing Fire Lane is shaping up to be my big project for 2016. Hey, it beats playing drinking games during the Republican primaries.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Where's Elvira Mistress of the Dark When I Need Her?

From sometime in the early 90s, please enjoy Nashville-based rockers Gwil Owen and the Thieves and their sad and infectious "Haunted House."

This is from a cassette-only DIY release; these guys previously had a really terrific major label (Capitol) CD produced by, of all people, Marshall Crenshaw, which is highly recommended if you can find a copy.

I should add that given the recent changes here at Casa Simels, the song seems sadly appropriate to my mood.