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.

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "Irma La Extremely Douce" Edition

From 1991, please enjoy should-have-been-much-more-famous Brit pop rocker The Jazz Butcher (a/k/a Pat Fish) and his infectiously Bo Diddley-ish ode to the star of several of my all-time favorite movies.

And yes, I too have had "a thing for Shirley MacLaine since I was so high." 😎

BTW -- after stumbling across the song the other day for the first time in a zillion years, I was moved to wiki Ms. MacLaine, and was pleased to learn that she is still alive and well at age 91.

And speaking of Irma La Douce, a certain Shady Dame and I will be winging our way to a much-needed vacation in France later in the day; depending on how exhausted I am upon arrival, I may put off posting tomorrow until we announce the winner of our Suggest a Theme for the Next Listomania or Essay Question contest on Friday.

Or not. 😎😎

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles

Okay, that last one could have been better. 😎

To Parphrase Jack Nicholson Speaking About Bob Dylan -- These Guys Are a Riot!

Specifically, Australian punk/pop faves The Gnomes, and the titular lead-off track from their forthcoming EP Magic Man.

The walls are plastered with posters of The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and more. It’s not the man-cave of some middle-aged classic rock dude, but the bedroom of 19-year-old Jay Millar, the singer, songwriter and lead guitarist with The Gnomes.

He still lives with his parents in Frankston, a 40-minute drive south of Melbourne on Port Phillip Bay.

My kinda dudes, obviously. I mean, whew -- can I ever relate. Especially that bit about still living with your parents. 😎

In any case, I love their video, for obvious reasons, including all those cool guitars. And you can learn more about the band from this wonderful profile in The Sydney Morning Herald.

BTW, the Gnomesters released a full-length debut album late last year; you can hear the whole thing, in all its fuzzed-out retro 60s glory, over at YouTube HERE.

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "A Deperate Cry for Help" Edition

Okay, this one is a total cheat. 😎

So let's get to it immediately. To wit:

...if you were writing this here blog, your first candidate of choice for a future Weekend Listomania or Essay Question would be...?

The short version: A certain Shady Dame and I are heading off on vacation (Paris and the South of France) next Wednesday, and I want to have all of that week's entries ready to go before we leave.

Only problem is -- gee whiz, as The Everly Brothers would have it -- I'm totally stuck for a theme for next weekend's post. Think of it as pre-TSA pre-check writer's block, although that's transparently an attempt to get me off the hook for being the indolent slacker that I self-evidently am.

In any case, I'm turning to you readers for a helping hand here.

And to motivate you all, whoever comes up with the List or Question I actually wind up using will be awarded a coveted PowerPop No-Prize© in perpetuity.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. 😎😎

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "Incense and Peppermint (Plus Snark)" Edition

From 1978, here's the charmingly monikered Johnny G. and his irrepressible ode to generational warfare, "The Hippys Graveyard." (As in "I don't want to go to...").

I actually had this -- one of the very first singles on the then fledgling Brit label Beggars Banquet -- when it first came out, and I used to play it constantly to taunt some of my friends who weren't quite getting with the late 70s punk/New Wave program. Sadly, I lost it, along with most of the rest of my seven inch vinyl collection, during the Great Girlfriend Crisis of 1980.

As for Johnny G., he was an ex-pub rocker who, like Nick Lowe (although obviously on a less exalted level) had some brief rock biz success in the early 70s and then managed to find himself find himself a niche in the briefly eclectic wake of the Sex Pistols.

Anyway, it's way catchy and pretty funny still, I think; certainly, it's one of the more unjustly forgotten artifacts of its era.

I should also add that I have long since forgiven Mr. G for having mispelled the word "hippie's." 😎

A(n Internet) Star is Born

Murphy Campbell, ladies and germs. Words fail me.

She's 19 going on 20, and she's from North Carolina.

She doesn't seem to have a website yet, and I don't know any more biographical stuff about her, but as you can see, she's the real deal musically and she's got charisma up the wazoo.

There's some issues going on with her -- involving an AI simulation and copyright infringements -- which I'll try to get the lowdown on for you guys and post about down the road; meanwhile, you can listen to/purchase some more of her music over at Bandcamp HERE.

[h/t Moe_Syzlak]

Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo Funny

I guarantee I'm gonna wind up at that old folks home. 😎

Isn't It Good Norwegian Whatever

A reader informs me it has been 10 years to the day since I last posted about world's greatest Norwegian power pop thrush Vibeke Saugestad.

Obviously, that's way too long, so here's a fabulous new (well, actually eight months old) song from her and her ace band.

Man, if that doesn't put a smile on your face, you really need to seek medical attention.

And I should add that I really really dig the Beatles-ish French Horn at the end of the song. 😎

I should also add that you can find out more about her, and hear more of her music, over at her official website HERE.

BTW, the fabulous bass player in the clip is Vibeke's hubby (an American, as are apparently the rest of the guys in the band). And the clip was filmed in her backyard in Beacon NY, where she now resides.

[h/t Michael Conroy]