Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles

I gotta admit, it took me a minute or two to get the first one. 😎

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "Tales From Snoopy's Doghouse " Edition

And speaking as we were last week of genius producer Erik Jacobsen, here are three songs (recorded in 1966-67) he helmed by unfairly treated by history first-generation San Francisco band The Sopwith Camel.

Pump up the volume on these and prepare to have your tiny minds blown.

Man, where even to begin? 😎

Let me just say, though, and for the record, that one of the reasons these guys aren't as famous as they should be is that the album pictured in the vids above came out -- to my knowledge inexplicably -- almost a year after "Hello Hello", the Top 10 single that made them briefly a thing. A year, of course, is a lifetime in pop music terms, and what the hell were they thinking?

I should add that "Treadin'" was the B-side of the aforementioned Top-Tenner, and I get chills just thinking of the glorious jangly folk-rock guitars that decorate it. I should also add that it was not included on the original Camel LP, and that the stereo version above was not available till a CD reissue sometime in the 90s.

Needless to say, I can still vividly recall my delight when I heard it in all its two-channel glory for the first time. 😎😎

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "How Do You Say 'Art for Art's Sake' in Yiddish?" Edition

Okay, here's the short version.

So me and a certain Shady Dame of my acquaintance have gotten hooked on/are bingewatching a teevee show called (Sky Arts) Portrait Arist of the Year.

It's been running annually since 2013; the season we're currently enjoying is from 2019. In any case, the format has remained consistent since its premier. Nine artists -- professional and amateur -- have a paint-off portrait contest where they start by doing quick (four hour) studies of live sitters who are mostly B-list (usually British) celebs -- tv stars, actors, comics, pop musicians, sports figures etc -- and then they whittle the contestants down to one.

Who then gets to paint -- over a much longer period, i.e. a couple of weeks -- a 10,000 pound commission portrait of an A-list celeb for a major Brit Art institution. (In the season we're currently watching, the sitter is Sir Tom Jones for a museum in Wales.)

In any event, it's a fabulously entertaining show, and most of the art is world class and brilliant.

Which leads us, inexorably, to today's theme. To wit:

...and the post-Elvis pop/rock/country/folk/jazz/hip hop music star that you personally would most have liked to have painted a portrait of -- from life -- is...????

Discuss.

And if you're wondering who my ideal sitter would have been...

Ah, the late great Ms. Winehouse.

For multiple reasons that I probably don't need to go into. 😎

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend everybody!!!

These Guys Are Gonna Be Bigger Than Rimsky and Korsakov Combined!!!

From their eponymous 1972 debut album, please enjoy (if possible) The Sidewinders and their shall we say interesting instro version of the venerable "Flight of the Bumblebee." Kinda like The Ventures on acid.

The Sidwinders were hugely hyped by their label (RCA) and they had a certain je ne sais quoi in the downtown NYC rock scene of the early '70s. I actually had the album at the time and listened to it often enough that I decided their underground cool did not make up for the crappy production by the young Lenny Kaye. Great album cover photo, however.

In any case, they never took off commercially, and these days if they're remembered at all, it's as the band that launched the careers of power pop deity Andy Paley (credits too numerous to mention) and Billy Squier (before he you should pardon the expression stroked out). 😎

Cue the Theme from The Twilight Zone

Okay, this has totally weirded me out.

I mean, I know they say that everybody has a doppelganger (i.e. somebody who looks just like them) somewhere in the world, but coming face to face (heh) with mine -- the dude in the middle with the sunglasses -- was not what I expected this morning.

In any case, those guys are a vintage rock tribute band from Santa Fe NM; the picture is apparently a promo for a gig they did seven years ago.

I should add that according to their official website they're still at it (god bless 'em). But in the more up-to-date group photos and vids over there my double now just looks like a generic old guy.

Whew. 😎

Tuesday's Music-Themed Photo-Funnies and Cartoon Chuckle

The Star Trek one just kills me. 😎

Why Are There No Jews In Show-Biz?

And continuing, if obliquely, with the theme of the Weekend Listomania just past, from 1969 please enjoy Norman Greenbaum's other, better (IMHO) single "Canned Ham."

Forgetting the built-in irony of one of my fellow Red Sea Pedestrians singing an ode to a defiantly non-Kosher product, this record (which, granted, was a sales disappointment) simply slays me; in fact, when the colored girl at the end asks Norman (plaintively) 'When you gonna buy me some canned ham, Greenbaum?", I fall out of my chair laughing every time.

I should add that this (like "Spirit in the Sky," AKA "Norman's Meal Ticket") was produced by the great Erik Jacobsen, who also did brilliant records by Tim Hardin, Chris Isaak and (the classic hits of) The Lovin' Spoonful.

And who is, to our knowledge, another nice Yiddish boy, and definitely somebody who's unjustly fallen through the cracks of history and should be a subject for future research.

Weekend Listomania: Special "Jooz Newz U Can Yooz" Edition

[I originally posted this one back in 2010 (oh my god!) when both this blog and the world were young and uncircumcized. Sadly, though, it seems more relevant than ever to our current troubling times. As is my wont, I have done some re-writing and added a new entry, in my usual ineffectual attempt to convince you guys that I'm not the pathetic slacker I actually am. -- S.S.]

Well, its Friday and you know what that means. In this case, my lovely Oriental hide-the-kosher-salami consultant Fah Lo Suee and I will be recovering from an epic Manischewitz binge occasioned by the latest Cease Something going on in the Middle East.

Which means that posting by moi will be at best fitful until next week.

But in the meantime, consider if you will this excerpt from Nick Tosches' Unsung Heroes Of Rock 'n' Roll, still the only rock book that knows what it's talking about (or so said the late great Samuel Beckett in the Foreword, despite the fact that he was dead at the time):

The history of rock 'n' roll has been obscured by a great deal of misknowing and ignorance, and by a great many lies. There are those who believe that rock 'n' roll was a sudden, magical effusion; that a young man named Elvis Presley one day rose, dipped his comb in water, swept his hair into a duck's-ass, bopped out into the world, and created -- thank God, Alan Freed was there to give it a name -- rock 'n' roll. This is perhaps the most popular and abiding myth. It is merely another lesson learnt from that cherished American history book that taught us that Peary went to the North Pole alone.

At the other extreme, there are those who believe that rock 'n' roll was created by black people, than seized and commercialized by whites. This is merely a lesson from a revised edition of that same cherished history book. One could make just as strong a case for Jews being the central ethnic group in rock n roll's early history [my emphasis]; for it was they who produced many of the most important records, wrote some of the best songs, cultivated much of the greatest talent, and operated the majority of the pioneering record companies.

I happen to think Tosches is right about this, in the main, which is to say that rock-and-roll, more than any other form of American music, has always been a mutt. Of course, you may disagree; if so, feel free to do so in the comment section. In any case, in the spirit of the above, here's an obviously pertinent and yet inclusively diverse little project to wile away the hours until I return:

Best or Worst Post-Elvis Pop/Rock/Soul/Folk/Country Record/Song Either Written By, Performed By, or About Our Jewish and Arab Brothers and Sisters!!!

And my totally top of my head Top Ten (but for you marked down to Top Nine) is:

9. Gene Pitney -- Mecca

My late great comic songwriter friend Gregory Fleeman used to close his club act with a cover of this that was without question the all time funniest thing I have ever seen/heard on a stage.

8. 10cc -- Wall Street Shuffle

Featuring the great Grahame Gouldman (a nice Yiddish kid from England) on bass. And a song about money -- who'd have thunk it?

7. Desmond Dekker -- Israelites

I have no idea what this song actually means, by the way; I've been told it reflects rather unflatteringly on my fellow Red Sea pedestrians, but given its Jamaican patois I've never really been sure.

6. Ray Stevens -- Ahab the Arab

From 1961, when you could apparently get away with stuff like this. Although in the current climate -- who knows?

5. Two Live Jews -- Oy It's So Humid

When we say these guys are def, we really MEAN....etc.

4. The Regents -- Barbara Ann

Regents singer Chuck Fassert, like his brother Fred (who wrote the song) were of Iranian descent, so you can imagine the irony when that asshat John McCain sang this one as "Bomb Iran" during the 2008 campaign. And yes, I know that Iranians -- or Persians, as they're called in that fekakte Disney flick whose title I won't mention-- are not technically considered Arabs. So sue me.

3. Fountains of Wayne -- Strapped for Cash

Another song about money written by a Jew -- what are the odds?

2. The Blues Project -- No Time Like the Right Time

Left to right: Mssrs (Andy) Kulberg, (Al) Kooper, (Danny) Kalb, (Steve) Katz, and (Roy) Blumenfeld. Not for nothing did they call these guys the Jewish Beatles.

And the Numero Uno "Iceceberg, Goldberg, what difference does it make to the Titanic?" hit of them all simply has to be --

1. Gefilte Joe and the Fish -- Walk on the Kosher Side

"And the members of Hadassah go..."

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "Encounters with Greatness!!!" Edition

So Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood turned 79 last Monday, and when I heard the news I immediately flashed on this song from his 1974 solo debut album.

Now granted, that features Keith Richards singing lead, which seems a bit odd given that the name of the record is I've Got My My Own Album to Do, but hey -- it was the '70s, and we were all a little over the top.

In any event, it's a to-die for rocker, and as I can testify from personal experience, a ton of fun to cover live.

P.S.: I've told this story before, but it behooves repeating. The short version is that my '70s band The Hounds was recording at legendary Electric Lady studios sometime in 1974 or '75, and during a coffee break, I found myself in the studio lounge with none other than -- you guessed it -- Ron Wood. Who presumably was working next door in one of the studio's bigger rooms on what became IGMOATD.

I was utterly awestruck, as you can imagine, but Wood couldn't have been more of a nice regular guy, and while pouring himself a cuppa, he leaned over and said "Here, mate -- have one of these."

And gave me one of his custom guitar picks...

...which I never used either on-stage or in rehearsal, but rather left in a little ceramic dish on my coffee table, where it remained one of my most treasured possessions until I lost it during a traumatic move to a new apartment some two decades later.

I should add that the song we were working on the day Ronnie gifted it to me later became the A-side of our 1976 indie single. Available now on the fabulous 2026 bands that played at CBGBs boxset on Cherry Red Records.

Closed for Monkey Business

Sorry, not feeling so well today.

Excellent stuff related to the theme of this here blog resumes on the morrow.

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo-Funnies

I particularly like the Penny Lanesaw Massacre. 😎

I Knew Doris Day BEFORE She Was a Virgin!

So and speaking as we sort of were last week of the Great American Songbook hoo hah...

In case you're wondering, that was the B-side of the sublime "Concrete and Clay"; I know this because I actually owned the 45 back in the day (1965).

Well, actually I owned the American version on London Records, but you get the idea.

The song itself -- co-written by the great film composer Victor Young -- was originally a hit for Doris Day in 1952, but don't worry...I won't inflict that on you at this late date.

I should add that I have always loved U4+2's version; in fact, I wore out the b-side a lot faster than the putative hit.

I should also add that I stole today's title from Oscar Levant, who knew whereof he spoke. 😎

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "The Great Anglo/American Songbook" Edition

Okay, by way of introduction, from 2021, please enjoy my old friend/occasional bandmate/actual father of The Lemon Twigs (heh!) the remarkable Ronnie D'Addario and his genius-level cover of Frank Sinatra's classic 1945 plea for tolerance "The House I Live In"

In the style of the "Mr. Tambourine" era Byrds, i.e. 1965.

My god, that's brilliant. Both conceptually and execution-wise.

And I would be remiss if I didn't post the original proto-music video of the song, which won an Academy Award in 1946, just so you can see how transplendent Ronnie's cover is.

Anway, I bring all this up because the other day a certain Shady Dame of my acquaintance and I were watching Robert Altman's fabulous 2001 Agatha Christie detective mystery pastiche Gosford Park, and I flashed on how much I loved co-star Jeremy Northam's performance of Brit pop songwriter Ivor Novello's 1924 hit "The Land of Might Have Been."

Seriously, I think that's gorgeous and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Lack of blues influence notwithstanding. 😎

And all of which leads us, slowly but inexorably, to the subject of today's thought experiment. To wit:

...and your favorite (or least favorite) pre-Elvis English or American trad pop song that's sort of become a standard or you just like is...???

Discuss.

No arbitrary rules whatsoever, and because I'm a nice guy, if you nominate something from the mid-50s or early '60s -- i.e., from My Fair Lady, West Side Story or The Music Man -- I will let you slide. But it's gotta be non-rock and nothing later than "Till There Was You"!!!

Anyway, in case you're wondering, here's my pick. By the Gershwins -- George and his lovely wife Ira. 😎

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

What -- No Love For Joey and Tommy?

From just now in 2026, please enjoy the brand new remix/reissue of Aussie punk/power pop pioneers The Eastern Dark's 1985 Ramones homage single "Johnny and Dee Dee."

I must confess to being heretofore unaware of those guys, who hailed from Sydney, although the guitar player had earlier been in The Celibate Rifles, who I recall enjoying back in the day. In any event, a terrific song; I particularly like the contrast between the delicately mournful instrumental intro and the buzz-saw guitars of the rest of it.

I should add that you can order copies of the newly pressed limited edition 45 -- in your choice of black, yellow, green and red vinyl -- over here at the website of Grown Up Wrong Records!.

BTW, get me drunk some time and I'll tell you about the, er, meeting I took with Dee Dee and my literary agent sometime in the '90s. The idea was they were gonna pitch a Dee Dee autobiography to some unsuspecting publisher and I was supposed to be the co-author.

Let's just say it was one of the creepiest experiences I've ever had.

It's Juxtaposition Wednesday

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. 😎

I should confess that the above Nashville Teens song is one of my favorite secret guilty pleasures of the Brit Invasion. Your mileage may vary, obviously.

In any case, actual new music directly relevant to the actual raison d'etre of this here blog will resume on the morrow.

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo-Funny

The one with the album covers is actually kinda scary. 😎

For Sal, Who Knows Why

Okay, I really love this one. Actually wrote it up in a 1973 or '74 column in Stereo Review (having heard it on a Bowie bootleg) expressing my pleasure and surprise that I actually liked something by the guy. 😎

Pretty sure I didn't know that it had ever been officially released, however.

In any event, if Ziggy Stardust (the album) had sounded this Eddie Cochran-ish and cool, I would have probably spent the rest of my career/life raving about how much I dug its auteur. 😎😎

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "Insert Michael Jackson Joke Here" Edition

Okay, this seemed kind of prescient/timely in the era of President Inepstein.

That is, of course, the incomparable Something Fierce, who as long-time/attentive readers will recall, I have described as the greatest pop/rock band you've never heard of unless you're from Minneapolis.

Of the song itself, I famously opined (at the time of its release in 1996):

"One song [from A Sound for Sore Ears] deserves particular mention...specifically, 'Watergate,' in which [they] posit -- over a hilariously overdramatic instrumental bed -- that A Girlfriend From Hell is the metaphorical equivalent of the Nixon scandals and sustain the conceit for more than five fricking minutes. If nothing else, this must be the first song in history to contemplate rhyming 'spill the beans' with 'Haldeman, Mitchell and Dean,' and I would like to go on record, at this juncture, as saying that this song remains for my money the most audacious conceptual masterstroke on any '90s rock album by anybody. So there."

And I stand by every word.

Which leads us, subtly but inexorably, to the subject of today's thought experiment. To wit:

...and your favorite (or least favorite) song centering on a person or people who are at the very least not so nice (and at the worst really evil) in the title or lyrics is/are???

Discuss.

No arbitrary rules whatsoever, but bonus points if the song you pick actually has the actual word "bad" in it somewhere.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, my fave is this fabulous Larry Williams cover you might possibly have heard before. 😎

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Okay, I Realize That Average is the New Great In Most Contemporary Pop Music, But This One Really IS Great!!!

In a word -- wow!!!

As you may have gleaned by now, that's Pete Fij(alkowski) and his self-described jangly/soaring new single "Don't Bring Me Sunshine" (from the forthcoming in September album Up's the New Down. Heh.)

Frankly, he had me by "I need someone like you to show me the way/through the backstreets of the human heart." And when that twangy echoed single note-guitar solo came in at the end, I was a goner.

From his bio: "Pete first burst onto the scene in the early 90s as the frontman and guitarist of post-shoegaze / pre-Britpop band Adorable, whose 1993 album Against Perfection, released on Creation Records, is regularly referred to as a lost indie classic..."

I must confess to being heretofore unaware of the Fij-ster, but I was less than thrilled with a lot of those '90s Brit bands, so it's no surprise I missed his previous work. But after hearing the above, I guarantee I'm gonna do the research and catch up with his ouevre in the subsequent years.

In any case, you can check out more of his stuff -- and keep abreast of future live gigs if you're lucky enough to live in the UK in the age of President Inepstein -- over at his Bandcamp page HERE.

Jeebus, what a great record. 😎

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "Touching Me, Touching You..." Edition

Long-time/attentive readers are no doubt aware of my fondness for Mr, Wilder, i.e. the self-described Last of the Full Grown Men and Idol of Idle Youth. 😎

The song itself, which absolutely slays me in a kind of Keith-Richards-Meets-Power-Pop sort of way, is from a 1991 album that I think on balance is his best; suffice it to say that nobody has come up with a better synthesis of Hank Williams, The Beatles and Andrei Tarkovsky.

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoons and Photo Funny

Two Nigel Tufnel gags for the price of one? Hey -- what are the odds of that happening!!! 😎

Gorgeous X Two

And speaking as we were the other day of The Everly Brothers, from 1966 and their fab gear album Two Yanks in England, please enjoy the thoroughly swoonerama folk-rock ballad "Signs That Will Never Change."

Penned, like most of the album, by the Hollies' Clarke-Hicks-Nash songwriting triumvirate.

Apparently the Hollies provided the instrumental backing tracks for most of the album as well, although Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones are rumoured to be in there too.

Oh, and because I love you all more than food, here's the Hollies themselves doing the song, as it turned up a year later as the b-side to their classic "Carrie-Anne."

I actually got a copy of that 45 (from the fabulous Sam Goody record store in Paramus NJ) practically the day it came out, and if truth be told I played "Signs" more often than I played the hit (estimable as it was); when people talk about great double-sided singles this one really should get props. 😎

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "Girls in Slacks" Edition

From their just released EP American Teenage Prophecy, please enjoy fetching LA neo-punk/New Wavers Kid Sistr and their quite blistering "Boys in Skirts."

I think we can all agree that the above is a wonderfully kick-ass Blondie-derived rock-and-roll record (with an actual guitar solo!!!). And that the video -- which would have been considered no big deal/utterly inoffensive, say, 20 years ago -- now seems unexpectedly transgressive, doubtless due to the newly repressive cultural climate we're all enduring in the age of President Inepstein.

You can watch Kid Sistr's hilarious origin story over HERE; they don't seem to have an official website, but for you old people who still use Facebook you can find out more about them at their FB page OVER HERE.

All of which leads us, inexorably. to the subject of today's business at hand. To wit:

...and your all-time favorite (or least favorite) all-or-mostly-all lady rock band is...?

Discuss.

And in case you're wondering, my faves are these kids. Now and in perpetuity.

And let me just add that it is one of the great regrets of my adult life that I never got to see them in person.

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Sibling Harmony Rules, Okay!!!

From 1965, and their lost in the mists of history Beat & Soul album, please enjoy The Everly Brothers and their remarkable cover of Mickey and Sylvia's 50's rock classic "Love is Strange."

Quite an interesting re-imagining of the song, I think; it was a big hit in England, where the EBs remained Top of the Pops, even though they had been rendered suddenly un-hip in the States by (ironically) the very British Invasion they had helped inspire.

In any case, a lot of the Everlys' mid-Sixties albums are due for critical re-assessment; I'm talking about (in particular) the great "Two Yanks in England", where most of the songs they essayed were provided to them courtesy of The Hollies Clarke-Hicks-Nash songwriting triumvirate.

In the Immortal Words of Edith Prickley on SCTV -- Could Be a Hot One!!!

The trailer(!) from Cal Everett's just released Weight of Early Promise...

...and a complete clip of one of the album's best songs.

This stuff is as impressive a slice of power pop craftsmanship as I've heard this side of The Lemon Twigs in years; when they say in the trailer that it's recommended for fans of Paul McCartney and Emitt Rhodes, they're not overselling it.

I must confess that I was previously unaware of this guy -- whose late 70s/early 80s band 4 Out of 5 Doctors is apparently highly regarded by genre afficianados -- but this is his first solo effort ever. You can find out more about him -- and check out the rest of Weight..., which is a 23-track pop opera concept record -- over at his official link HERE.

And may I just say, and for the record (as it were), that between this and the new Twigs album, 2026 is turning out to be a very good year for the kind of music that comprises the raison d'etre of this here blog.

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo-Funny

Hey -- "Fuck you, Steve"? Obviously, I couldn't resist. 😎

Belated Cinco de Mayo Greetings

At the risk of waxing cliched, how did I not get the memo on this?

I mean, seriously -- how do you say "freaking hilarious" en epspanol? 😎

Weekend Listomania: Special "Fuck That 'Newspaper of Record' Shit" Edition

Okay, by now all you guys have had a look at last weekend's New York Times The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters list...

...and had either a good mordant chuckle at its lameness or else a moment when you threw up in your mouth a little. (Jay-Z? Really?).

In any case, I think we can all agree that it was meant to be provocative, in the sleazy click-bait sense, so it probably really isn't worth the effort to make fun of it.

But I'm gonna try anyway.

You know -- just because. 😎

So here, and to be consumed with a large grain of salt, is my take on the subject.

Oh wait -- before we get going...I would be remiss not to mention that the Times omitted Neil Young and Joni Mitchell on the grounds that they were born in Canada. Uh, sorry Times -- they've lived here and done all their work here for like 60 years. I mean, c'mon -- the people who wrote "Ohio" and "Woodstock" obviously qualify as Americans.

And one final note: Jay-Z is on the cover of the actual physical copies of the magazine; online, the cover person is Taylor Swift. Make of that what you will.

And now, with that spleen vented, let's get to work!

TOP 10 BEST AMERICAN SONGWRITERS INEXPLICABLY/CRIMINALLY OMITTED FROM THE TIMES LIST

And in no particular order (except at the end where number 2 and number 1 are basically a tie) they are...

10. John Fogerty

How many great songs has this guy written?

9. John Sebastian

Hey, what can I tell ya -- if you don't think those guys were one of the greatest American bands ever there's no hope for you.

8. Jackson Browne

And just for the record (as it were) I should mention that sometime before I die I am gonna do a Stones-ish cover of that song somewhere.

7. James Taylor

Pop Quiz: How many people spent hours weeping over that album in their college dorm room?

6. Tom Waits

Wow. All that and Keith Richards (guitar and vocals) too.

5. Paul Westerberg

Paul's omission probably pisses me off more than any of the others, if truth be told. I mean, the Times included a nose to the ground commercial hack like Diane fucking Warren instead of him?

4. Gerry Devine

Okay, I'm obviously joking here, but not completely. I mean, I'll say it again -- the Times included Diane fucking Warren?

3. "Weird Al" Yankovic

He's the greatest pop music satirist since Tom Lehrer. I think that qualifies him.

2. Billy Joel

Oh, so being the Irving Berlin of his generation wasn't enough to get Joel onto the list? Fuck that shit.

And the Number One it's-so-embarrassing-he-didn't-make-the-list-instead-of-Diane-fucking-Warren guy is...

1. Randy Newman

Two other words: "Sail Away."

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Help Wanted

Okay, this is NOT one of those snarky musician photo funnies I've been posting lately. This is an actual flyer I saw on a lamp post near my digs in Forest Hills last weekend. And I lack the words to tell you how wonderful it makes me feel, and for a myriad of reasons.

Click on the photo to enlarge it, BTW.

LOCAL YOUNG ROCK BAND SEEKS BASS PLAYER

Hello. We are Bad Vintage. We are a young (high school and early college) local rock band comprised of a singer/guitar player and a drummer. We have been playing shows around Queens and Brooklyn but we lost our bass player recently so if you are a young bass player (if you can sing a little harmony that's a big plus) and you want to play some rock and roll, please reach out and let's talk.

Some things we love: the songwriting of the Rolling Stones, the style of Bowie, T-Rex/Bolan and English glam, the awesomeness of John Bonham and maybe a little old school Van Halen party vibe.

Wow. My kind of guys, obviously. I mean, c'mon -- if I was a little closer to my teenage years, I would have answered the above on the spot.

In any case, if anybody reading this is a bass player in both their neighborhood and demographic, you can get in touch with them via email at badvintagebandsearch@proton.me. And you can find out more about them over at instagram.com/bad_vintage_.

BTW -- I just heard from the guys; they sent me an audio clip of one of their original songs, which was terrific, and even better, a live video of them covering the Stones' "Miss You" at a bar around the corner from where I live (it's the smallest world in the world, right?). The short version is they look and sound like the kind of band you would have encountered at some Bowery dive in the early '70s (which, for reasons obvious to any longtime readers, is high praise in my book) and I'm now a total fan; as soon as I can figure out how to embed either clip, I'll post them and you can see and hear what I'm talking about.

Have I mentioned I love Forest Hills? 😎

Bette Sings Woody Guthrie

Words fail me.

Except -- I love, nay, lurve that woman. 😎

Regular apolitical postings, more in keeping with the theme of this here blog, resume on the morrow.

[h/t Gummo]

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo-Funnies

In the interests of full disclosure, I interviewed Wakeman over an expensive lunch sometime in the '70s, and he was the most unpretentious and hilariously funny rock star I ever encountered. 😎

Post-Vacation Wrap-Up: The Hell With the Umbrellas of Cherbourg -- I Got to See the Records Stores of France!!!

Specifically this one in Nice...

...and this one in Paris.

We were treated very kindly (considering we were Americans, if you know what I mean) in both stores, and both of them had fabulous assortments of vintage music. In Nice, a certain Shady Dame scored a vinyl copy of this way cool 1972 import Rolling Stones compilation...

...which has all their best early blues stuff, while aux Paris yours truly snagged CD versions of a fab EP by The Detroit Cobras and a three-disc box of the complete works of The Traveling Wilburys.

As I meant to imply, both stores were great, but Crocodisc in Paris was particularly cool in that it's been open in the same location -- across the street from the Sorbonne(!!!) -- since 1978. (For more info about the place, you can check out their website over HERE).

I should add that, alas, neither store had the French vinyl EP that I was most yearning to score a copy thereof...

...but that is, as they say, une autre histoire. 😎

Anyway, I'm back; regular less obviously self-indulgent postings resume on the morrow.

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "La Crèmes de la Crèmes " Edition

Okay, we're back -- safe and sound and both physically and spiritually refreshed -- from our vacation in France.

And consequently raring to go with more of the insouciant postings you've come to expect from this here blog.

Which leads us inexorably to today's business. To wit:

...and the members of a freaking fantastic supergroup you would assemble from currently alive pop/rock/folk/jazz/pop/r&b musicians -- of any gender or age -- would be...???

Discuss.

BTW, kudos to a certain Shady Dame of my acquaintance for giving me the above idea. As usual, she's working cheap, I'll tell you that for free.

And in case you're wondering -- my candidates for such a supergroup would be these guys.

I bring all this up because, as somebody pointed out to me recently, we haven't had any supergroups in what seems like ages, so certainly the time is ripe.

I mean seriously -- can you imagine how great those dudes would be together as a band, even in their current ancient states?

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Closed for Monkey Business À la Française: Special "Le Retour" Edition

Okay, we -- by which I mean moi and a certain Dame Louche -- are winging our way back from our French vacation today.

And frankly, I'm beat. So cut me some slacques, Jacques. 😎

Regular postings -- including one of the coolest Weekend Essay questions ever (on a conceptual level) -- resume on the morrow.

Okay, This is Getting Ridiculous. Why Aren't These Kids the Biggest Stars in the World?

Alright, I don't have to tell faithful readers of this here blog how great The Mona Lisa Twins are.

But their brand new cover of my favorite Peter Gabriel song just blows me away.

Uh guys -- would you please play live somewhere in the USA so I can see you before I die?

Thank you.

Today's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo-Funny

The Patti Smith one seems like we could have actually seen it somewhere in France. But no -- found it on the net, and I think it's NYC. 😎

These Kids Today, With Their Loud Hair and Their Long Music (an Occasional Series): Special "Sex With Your Dad?" Edition

From their just released LP(!) horseshoe, please enjoy fab/gear LA indie snark-pop duo Beaming and their wonderfully wiseass lead-off single "Bugbite."

The band describes it thusly...

"Rock-n-roll in a fun guitar tuning. This is a song about finding balance in a relationship and figuring out your capacities and willingness to give."

...which strikes me as pretty accurate, although I feel compelled to add that a) the video is one of the most hilarious things I've seen in ages and that b) I am totally in love with the gal with the New Yawk accent who says "Riddle me that." 😎

You can find out more about those guys, and hear more of their music, over at their official website HERE.

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "The Fix Was In" Edition

Nah, not really.

I mean -- c'mon. Just because the winner, in perpetuity, of the coveted PowerPop No-Prize© -- for suggesting the theme of this week's EQ -- is Friend of the Blog/proprietor of the invaluable Burning Wood Sal Nunziato, who has (coincidentally) done me numerous personal and professional favors over the years, how could anybody be cynical enough to believe that I chose his entry over any of the plethora of excellent reader submissions for any reason other than merit?

I mean, that would be like Affirmative Action or something. 😎

Oh well, in any case thank you Sal, and congrats on your prize. Enjoy -- you deserve it.

And thank you to everybody else who made suggestions -- they were all really terrific, and as I said last week, I'm planning to steal/make use of them whenever I get stuck for a subject again.

Which leads us, inexorably, to today's business. To wit:

...and the post-Elvis/pre-21st century song that is universally beloved but that you personally cannnot stand is...???

Discuss.

No arbitrary rules except for the time frame. Which is designed, deliberately, to eliminate any mention of contemporary annoyances including both Geese and Goose. 😎😎

In any event, Sal was inspired to come up with his submission by seeing the trailer for the new Spaceballs movie, and realizing that as much as he loved, nay lurved, Mel Brooks, he found the original film painfully unfunny. That being the case, I just want to add that although I like it a little better than Sal does, I would be the first to admit that it's not one of Mel's best efforts.

As for the song that everybody else seems to love but which just rubs me the wrong way? Pound for pound, I gotta say it's...

...wait for it...

John Lennon's "Imagine."

Yeah, yeah, I know...that's like saying you hate motherhood and apple pie. But hey -- I just think it's sappy, sentimental and too dirge-y for words. So sue me.

BTW -- I'm aware that these guys disagreed.

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

Back on Monday with a) some more upbeat musical stuff more befitting of this here blog and b) some news of how our current vacation in the south of France is going (maybe).

Meanwhile -- have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Closed for Monkey Business À la Française

Okay, we -- by which I mean moi and a certain Dame Louche -- have arrived safely in France; more specifically, in beautiful and sunny Nice, for an overdue week-long vacation.

But hey, I'm exhausted; at my age, transatlantic flights really take it out of me.

So regular postings -- which will include divulging the winner of the Give Us an Idea for a Weekend Essay Question contest -- resume on the morrow.