Weekend Listomania: Special "If Music is the Universal Language, How Come There Aren't Any Hit Songs in Esperanto?" Edition

Okay, so here's the deal. As you guys know, my alternate watering hole here in Forest Hills, Queens is a wonderful Mexican joint called Mas Tortilla. And from time to time the proprietors there play el rock en español, rather than more traditional normal contemporary Latin pop, on their sound system.

As a result, I've discovered some pretty amazing non-anglo bands and songs of late, and my favorite is a group called Maná, a/k/a The Police of Mexico. Turns out they've been around since the early 80s, and they're hugely popular -- 45 million records sold, mostly in Spanish-speaking countries. Coincidentally, they got nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, the first band of their ilk to be so honored, although alas they didn't make the final cut.

Oh well, Quizás el año que viene. 😎

Anyway, I bring the whole thing up for a couple of reasons.

One -- as an excuse to post this Maná song from 1991, which I just heard for the first time at Mas Tortilla last week, and which I think is really cool.

I mean, dig that Rickenbacker guitar.

And two -- as an excuse to set up the weekend's business.

To wit:

Best Post-Elvis Pop/Rock/Folk/Country/Soul Song in English But With a Throwaway Quote, a Couple of Lines or a Verse or the Title, in a Foreign (European or Other) Language!!!

No arbitrary rules here, but I'm gonna enforce the Post-Elvis thing. And yeah, I did a shall we say less fully developed version of this Listomania back in 2007 (yipes!), but I figure the Statute of Limitations has run out on recycling it.

And my totally Top of My Head Top Six are:

6. The Beatles -- Michelle

"Michelle -- ma belle."

Optional Blindingly Obvious Award cheerfully accepted.

5. Warren Zevon -- Veracruz

Aquel día yo jure
Hacia el puerto volveré
Aunque el destino cambio mi vida
En Veracruz moriré
Aquel día yo jure

A drop dead gorgeous (ah, those mandolins and harp!) song from his Excitable Boy breakthrough. I meant to include this in that list of my favorite Zevons earlier in the week, but my senility precluded it.

4. Jay and the Americans -- Cara Mia

True story: Back when this was a contemporary hit (1965) some wiseguy at my local Top 40 station (WABC-AM) did a tape edit of the song so that the long-held high note Jay Black sings before the finale was extended for like half a minute (which sounded like an eternity). You never knew when that version was gonna be the one that they aired, but it was fucking hilarious, especially the first time you heard it and you briefly thought it might be real. I should add that I have never been able to find an audio clip of it or even any press mention that the prank had ever been pulled.

3. Tonio K. -- Funky Western Civilization

Still the only rock record ever made with a cameo spoken word section -- en français -- by Joan of Arc.

2. Talking Heads -- Psycho Killer

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Hey, we all know the feeling, David.

And the number one use of an outré patois in an international hit recording clearly is...

1. Labelle -- Lady Marmalade

Inspirational verse: "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir."

Second optional Blindingly Obvious Award cheerfully accepted.

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend everybody!!!

Closed for Monkey Business

Real life problems, sorry.

A fun Listomania on the morrow, promise.

Our Incurably Romantic Friends to the North

Okay, as attentitve readers will recall, a few weeks ago I had nice things to say about the first track from the new EP The Completely Fictional History of This Great Nation of Canada. By fab Toronto punk rockers The Mendozaz.

But now comes a second video from the EP and all I can say is...Hole. E. Shit.

In a good way, obviously.

Wow. Are those guys a delightful bunch of sentimental old fluffs or what?

“This was the first song written for this record,” says lead guitarist Jonathan Sohn. “It’s based on a very-true Canadian legend that we made up about an expedition of ice fishers being eaten alive by a school of great white sharks near Hudson Bay. I had an old recording of an instrumental jam we did six or seven years ago that I really liked. I channeled my inner Serj and came up with something unlike anything we’ve ever done. When recording the demo our engineer almost fell out of his chair laughing during the blood curdling scream. He’s okay (I think). I needed to be authentic while channeling the plight of the victims of this totally-legit horrible tragedy. Thoughts and prayers.”

Seriously, that song just, er, kills me, and I can't wait to hear the rest of the EP.

Meanwhile, you can -- and should -- find out more about the band (and purchase the EP for streaming) over at their official website.

And for the as yet unconvinced, I should add that clips of the whole new record can be listened to for free OVER HERE.

If the band is to be believed, of course.

Tuesday's Photo Chuckle

I must admit, it took me a few seconds to actually get that one. 😎

New music by a fabulous band from Canuckistan on the morrow.

And Fuck You Jann Wenner!!!

So as you may have heard, the late great Warren Zevon finally got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame over the weekend. Yeah yeah, I know we have arguments over why there's even a HOF in the first place, and we'll keep having 'em, but I think we can nonetheless agree that Zevon deserves to be in it if anybody does.

Me, I've been a fan since forever, and to celebrate the induction I thought I'd pick three of my favorite Zevon songs. In chronological order, starting with a track from his self-titled debut album....

...which ends with an ineffably haunting vocal and instrumental evocation of the hum of an air conditioner, a feat of musical onomatopoeia that has continued to amaze me since I first wrote about it (for Stereo Review) back in 1976.

Then there's this piece of gorgeosity from his Exciteable Boy breakthrough.

You don't usually think of Zevon as a power pop guy, but I think the above -- which sounds like the greatest 60s Brill Building pop song never written (and which was hooky enough that it showed up in a neat Patty Larkin cover version at the end of the 1998 rom com Sliding Doors) -- kind of fits the esthetic of this here blog.

And then there's this, which is just a flat out hilarious masterpiece...

..that, in an irony I'm sure Zevon appreciated, turned out to be sadly prophetic.

Anyway, as Zevon famously said -- enjoy every sandwich!

Oh, and once again -- fuck you Jann Wenner!!! 😎😎😎

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "This is Why You Pay the Big Bucks to Live in NYC" Edition

Okay, before we go any further, I'm sure you're all wondering what my reaction to Tuesday's election results were. 😎

In lieu of that, however, I just wanted to share this fabulous photo of our late great pussycat The Incomparable Eddie© (taken five years ago).

Let's just say I know who he would have pulled the levers for last Tuesday. 😎😎

But now to the weekend's business. To wit:

...and the most disappointing performance by a pop/rock/soul/folk/country solo artist or group that you ever personally witnessed live was...?

For me, this one isn't even close. Ladies and germs, I give you The Rolling Stones famous (infamous?) 1975 flat-bed truck rendition of "Brown Sugar."

In case I haven't told the story about that before, the short version is that yours truly (then toiling at Stereo Review) plus pretty much everybody else I knew in the rock press and PR biz were invited (via Stones managment and Atlantic Records) to a noon-ish Rolling Stones press conference at a Fifth Avenue eatery in Greenwich Village; we were assured that finger food and drinks would be provided and that the boys in the band would answer our questions about their up coming summer tour.

When we got to the joint, Mick and company were nowhere to be seen, which didn't help anybody's bad mood about having to fight the traffic coming down from mid-town. But the late great absurdist comedian Professor Irwin Corey was there, and with a microphone. Given that he was professionally billed as "The World's Foremost Authority," this seemed appropriate, and so while me and the assembled freeloaders scarfed down wine and mediocre hors d'ouevres, Corey rambled on about I forget what for about half an hour. Not surprisingly, I sensed a certain impatience in the crowd, and then the cry went up -- The Stones!!!

Yup. We could see through the restuarant's front window that the band was rolling down Fifth Avenue, so we all -- I'd estimate there were about 300 of us, not counting amused passerbys -- made a dash out to the sidewalk.

At which point, the band -- I recall it was drizzly and cold -- knocked out a half-assed version of their big hit and then unceremoniously drove away. Leaving us all to return to our respective offices and tell our co-workers and friends that we had a) seen the Stones up close and personal and b) been suckered.

In any case, I would like to re-emphasize just how mediocre the band's performance was; in all seriousness, I relisten to that clip above every couple of years on the off-chance that it might sound better for some reason. And it never does.

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choice or choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Okay, So Who Amongst Us Hasn't Dated a Blind She-Worm at Some Point?

From either the late 20th or early 21st century (I haven't been able to pin it down, sorry), please enjoy the pride of Mexico City La Gusana Ciega -- the name translates as "The Blind She-Worm"(!) -- and their South of the Border smash hit ode to the lovely "Ella Estrella."

Apart from that being a great piece of jangly guitar pop and a fabulously polysexual video -- those guys are just so freaking cool I can't even stand it. Those guitars...those suits...those haircuts. I mean, they look like an '80s skinny-tie band gone to seed. 😎

Attentive readers, of course, will recall that my alternate watering hole here in Forest Hills, Queens -- a/k/a the Paris of the Northeast -- is a wonderful Mexican joint called MAS TORTILLA, and that from time to time they play el rock en español, rather than more traditional contemporary Latin pop, on their sound system. As a result, I've discovered some pretty amazing bands and songs of late; you can check out pretty much my favorite -- Maná, a/k/a the Police of Mexico, and "Stuck in a Bar" -- over HERE.

Anent those sightless lady wigglers, they have an official website apparently, but it seems there's technical issues with it at the moment. If you want to know more about them you can, however, check out their Facebook page por aquí.

Today's Cartoon Chuckle(s)

Heh. 😎

And hah. 😎😎

Coming tomorrow -- a song and video actually having some connection to the raison d'etre of this here blog. Hint: ¿Cómo se dice “It'll blow your mind" en español?

Poppin' the Cherry Part II: The Bowery Boys (And Girls) Meet The Hounds

Okay, words pretty much fail me, ladies and germs, but I am not making this up: The Hounds, i.e. the 70s pop/rock band I toiled with for many years....

...have a song on a new 4 CD box set from Cherry Red Records, aka the World's Coolest Label.

From the promo material:

In December 1973 Hilly Kristal changed the name of his roots music bar from Hilly’s on the Bowery to CBGB and altered his musical policy to hire mostly rock bands. He was indifferent to many of them (“No one is going to like you guys, but I’ll have you back,” he told Joey Ramone), blissfully unaware of how important his scruffy little club would soon become.

In the span of only 15 months, the five groups that comprise the CBGB’s pantheon all debuted: Television in March 1974, followed by Ramones in August and Blondie in October, then Patti Smith in February 1975 and Talking Heads four months later.

Those five groups all quickly got record deals and became popular enough to outgrow CBGB’s. By the fall of 1977, Smith was the only one who was still playing there. What succeeded the Big Five was an array of new and retro styles, all of which feature here: No Wave (Sonic Youth, Mars, DNA, Bush Tetras), post-punk (Ritual Tension, Unknown Gender, Khmer Rouge), mutant funk and R&B (James Chance & The Contortions, Mink DeVille), art-rock bands (R.L. Crutchfield’s Dark Day, The Revelons, Erasers, Jeff and Jane Hudson) hardcore punk (Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Vatican Commandos, Beastie Boys), and lots of power pop (Sorrows, The dBs, The Rudies, The Miamis, The Paley Brothers) .

The club’s best-known bands are present on this compilation but we’ve also revived interest in dozens of unfairly forgotten acts that, for a moment in time, made an album, EP, 45, or even a demo that crackled with innovation, wit, and joy.

CBGB no longer exists, at least not in the physical plane, but what happened between those soot-filled, beer-stinking walls continues to reverberate around the world.

We're on disc one, between The Dictators and The Dead Boys.

The box set features over 100 songs, neatly alternating (as you will have gleaned from the above) between hits and deep cuts from a myriad of well known/stylistically varied NYC stalwarts (Patti Smith AND James Blood Ulmer) along with obscure not-even-cult-figures like us.

You can peruse the complete track listing -- and pre-order the thing, which will be available starting January 30th -- over at the Cherry Red website HERE.

I'm told there will be a booklet with extensive liner notes by ace rock critic Rob Tannenbaum and lotsa cool photos (I wrote the brief Hounds bio entry, and I'm informed that Rob quotes from an old Stereo Review column of mine when talking about Stuart's Hammer). I want to emphasize again, delightedly, that along with the scene's heavy hitters, like the ones previously mentioned, the set also includes lotsa stuff by unfairly forgotten weirdos, including a group I never got to see who had my favorite band name ever -- Chemicals Made From Dirt. 😎

Bottom line, I feel like I've died and gone to heaven. I mean -- first The Floor Models are on Cherry Red, and now The Hounds?

Oh, and because I love you all more than food, here's the song in question, which we released on our own P.O.J. label -- in stereo, the first non-mono disc by an indie NYC band -- back in 1976.

I'll keep you guys posted on new details about the set -- like if it's gonna be available for streaming at any point -- as they develop.

I'll also share a couple of hopefully amusing Hounds stories -- including our CBGBs debut, opening for a nascent international superstar -- when the set comes out next year.

Alone Again (Digitally)

From his about to be released (November 14th) new album, please enjoy long time musical hero of mine Steve Boyd (with his band The Loners) and his thought-provoking and melodically insinuating "When the West Was Won."

I'm not kidding about that hero thing; as attentive readers are doubtless aware, Boyd was/is the once-and-future(?) bass player of the incredible White Animals...

...a Nashville band who absolutely ruled the college alt-rock/frat party scene down South in the 80s, and who made amazing albums that -- for reasons that remain mysterious -- somehow never garnered them the national attention they so richly deserved. I've written about them on numerous occasions over the years, so rather than rehash the details I'll simply direct you to this pertinent LINK; let me just say, however, that the Animals -- for whom Boyd was one of two principal songwriters -- were one of the most astounding live acts of their day, and that any band who stared the stage with them (and I know this from personal experience) did so at their peril.

In any event, King of the Loners -- which leans more towards Americana and classic rock than the pop/punk/dub reggae fusion pioneered by the Animals -- features thirteen fab new songs exploring the themes of personal freedon, loss resilience and reinvention. Adding to the fun, the great Will Kimbrough, of Bis-Quits fame, also contibutes characteristically memorable guitar stuff on a couple of songs, which is otherwise essentially a one-man show.

I should add that if you happen to be in Nashville this coming Saturday (Nov. 8), you won't, alas, be able to see Boyd with the Animals at their sold out farewell show at the legendary Exit/In. But I'll be there -- in spirit -- and I'll tell the guys hello for you. 😎

I should also add that the album will be available on iTunes, Spotify, and all other major streaming platforms, so get over there pronto starting a week from Friday!!! 😎😎