I Don't Think This Relationship Can Be Saved

From the forthcoming album I'll See Myself Out, please enjoy the amusingly yclept Elvis Eno and the sublimely tragicomic love song that is "I Found Out Who She Voted For."

Inspirational Verse:

She seemed to be a true authentic music lover
She was a fan of Roger, but not Donald Glover
She laughed at every joke I told her
Not too young, she was nicely older

I was impressed with every outfit she was wearing
And she would swear that you would never hear her swearing
She liked the climates that were colder
And offered me the warmest shoulder

Her favorite show was The Saint with Roger Moore
She liked a Guinness and knew what's a good pour
But then I found out who she voted for

I don't know which tickles me more -- the lyrics (hey, I know the feeling!) or the vaguely Revolver-ish sound of the arrangement (love those fake strings!)

More to the point, I cannot tell a lie -- Mr. Eno is actually the nom du disque of Friend of PowerPop© John Dunbar, who attentive readers will recall as the head honcho of The John Sally Ride, a marvelous pop/rock band whose praises I have justifiably sung here on several previous occasions.

I should add that you can (and should) download/buy the song at the Bandcamp link above.

I should also add that when the new album is available in its entirety, I'll let you guys know. You're welcome very much. 😎

Clem Burke 1954 - 2025

Another great one gone way too soon.

Burke was pretty obviously the best drummer to have emerged from the whole late 70s/early 80s punk/new wave hoohah -- a guy who channelled, convincingly, the likes of Ringo, Keith Moon and Dino Danelli -- and as you can see from the clip above, he was pretty much Blondie's secret weapon, as crucial to their sound as Debbie Harry's New Yawk Girl Group vocalese.

I saw him live a bunch of times -- mostly with Blondie and at least once with Dramarama -- and he never failed to impress. Met him once, briefly, at somebody's gig, and he couldn't have been more charming.

And now a desperate plea for help: If memory serves, I saw Burke once, in the early 90s, drumming in the band of some solo late-punk guy who had a very good sort of guitar oriented album out on (possibly) SubPop at the time. I remember enjoying the show thoroughly (I think it was at Trax), but for the life of me, I can't remember who the guy was, and a search of the Burke discography over at Wiki has been unavailing.

Anybody have an idea who I'm talking about? I'll be your best friend...

Also, have I mentioned that this death shit is really pissing me off? Thank you.

What Makes the Elon Guard His Musk…

...in the misty morn and the dusky dusk?

Hey, i dunno. But seriously -- this is obviously the greatest album cover of all time. (Click on the image to enlarge it if you're having trouble reading.)

Actual power-pop related stuff resumes on the morrow. Honest.

We'll Always Have Amsterdam!

So yes, we got back to the USA safely last night, without being renditioned to some nightmarish gulag in Central America, so you won't have to start that Go Fund Me thing for our legal bills. In any case, regular non-vacation music stuff will return on the morrow,

But a postscript on Amsterdam, which is a helluva town. In fact, while walking around there over the weekend -- and I should add that the Shady Dame and I were by far the oldest people we saw the whole time, which was pretty hilarious -- we stumbled across Record Mania, which bills itself (apparently deservedly) as the best record store in the city. And had an absolutely smashing time browsing and shmoozing.

For starters, turns out Mike the Proprietor is a Floor Models fan!

Just kidding -- actually Mike was just a good sport. But he assured me he would listen to the album ASAP.

But even cooler -- look what I found in the store's homegrown Dutch music section...

A limited edition (1000 copies), on colored vinyl, 2024 remaster of my favorite Shocking Blue album (Scorpio's Dance, from 1970), supervised by the band's genius auteur Robbie van Leeuwen.

Wow. I scored a Shocking Blue LP...in Holland! Now I can die happy!

La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special “I Wanna Be Deported” Edition

Greetings from Amsterdam, everybody!

Beginning the second and final leg of our overseas vacation; France (specifically Paris) was a gas, and presumably the Netherlands will be as well (no pot jokes, thank you.)

Anyway, this brings us to today's business. To wit:

..and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis continental European (NOT British) pop/rock/folk solo artiste or band is/are...???

Okay, here are my two faves.

That Shocking Blue live clip is new to me; it's nice to know lead singer Mariska Veres (aka the Roma Grace Slick) was as sexy onstage as she was on record.

As for The Sevens, they were known as, justifiably, the Rolling Stones of Switzerland, and that record was produced, brilliantly (love those gunshots, which were recorded live in the studio), by the pre-disco Giorgio Moroder.

Alrighty then - what would YOUR choices be? Discuss.

And have a great weekend, everybody. See you on Monday, when we will have, hopefully, made a safe return to the Land of the Tariffs!

Nick Rivers Has Left the Building

RIP Val Kilmer 1959 - 2025.

i should add that Top Secret is both my all-time favorite comedy AND my favorite rock musical, and that Kilmer is brilliant in the Elvis role.

Have i mentioned that this death shit is really starting to piss me off?

Qu’est-ce Que Vous Dites “AC/DC” en Francais?

And the answer is Rock'n'Roll Voltage.

Okay, actually no it isn't, but that IS the name of the (mostly) heavy metal (mostly) vinyl record store a cerain Shady Dame and I visited in Paris yesterday.

It's a terrific little hole in the wall obsessives catacomb, and we had a lot of fun browsing. Alas, I can't seem to get the close-up photo I took of the Queen action figures set they had in the window to download, but trust me, it was a riot. (We would have bought the thing, but 75 euros seemed, shall we say, a tad extravagant.)

Anyway, if you're in Paris it's worth a trip to RRV; you can find out more about the joint (including its address, natch) over at its Livre du Visage page HERE.

Happy Poisson D’Avril!

That's April Fish, as the French have it -- a day for pranks and chocolate.

Anyway, having a great time here in the City of Light, as expected, but in the meantime -- from the 2016 expanded reissue of our 1995 classic Fire Lane -- here's Gerry Devine and the Hi-Beams (a/k/a The Floor Models Mark II) and their obviously relevant ode to the charms of "The Foreign Girl."

Featuring some weirdo whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels on bass. Written and sung by the titular (heh) Monsieur Devine.

It kinda blows my mind, but I don't think I've ever actually posted that before. Pretty cool song though, n'est-ce pas?

Coming tomorrow: an actual dispatch from our current journey on the Continent. Hopefully involving a Gallic record store. 😎