Tuesday's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles

The Gary Larson whale singing one is one of my all time favorites. First time I saw it I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. 😎

[h/t Robert Soltermann]

Monday Public Service Announcement

Attention, readers/musicians in the New York City area!

A friend of mine is moving to Florida, and he has no room in his new place for his beloved -- and practically never used -- Yamaha hardwood electronic keyboard.

He's letting it go for $1000.00 (Cheap! as they used to say at Mad Magazine).

If you're interested, get in touch with me in comments, and I'll hook you guys up. (Said friend lives in my Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills -- if you go out to see the instrument, let's do lunch when you're done!).

Meanwhile, as our president would put it, thank you for your attention to this matter.

Traditional PowerPop daily fare resumes on the morrow.

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "There is Nothin' Like A Dame!" Edition

[The idea for today's EQ popped into my head unbidden recently when I happened to hear that Corrs song I posted yesterday. My immediate reaction was "I must have done that one sometime in the past," but a check through the blog archives suggested otherwise, which pleases me no end. Anyway, it's such a great idea let's get to it right away, shall we? -- S.S.]

Okay.

...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis pop/rock/soul/folk girl group (in the 60s sense, i.e. they just sing and dance) or all-girl band (that plays its own instruments) is...?

Discuss.

No arbitrary rules, except that the aforementioned Corrs -- for obvious reasons, i.e. that one of them is a guy -- aren't eligible.

Okay, my least favorite?

I have tried to like those gals for years, and with a total lack of success. They're great on paper, i.e. they're all terrific musicians, and I understand why people are pushing to get them into the Hall of Fame, but sorry -- their records are snoozeville. They simply didn't rock.

And my favorite? Well, I was gonna go with The Bangles, who I adore and have since I played their debut album to death back in 1984...

...but then I remembered these currently active California punkettes.

I mean, for the name and the t-shirt alone.

I should add that you can find out more about Les Hormones -- and watch some of their other equally hilarious videos -- over at their official website HERE.

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "An Early Clue to the New Direction" Edition

From 2000, please enjoy fabulous Irish family band (yeah, yeah, I know I should have posted this on Tuesday in honor of St. Paddy's Day) The Corrs and their melodically insinuating and drop dead sexy hit "Breathless."

Man, watching that, all I can say is -- oh, to be 50 again. 😎

In any event, a coveted PowerPop No-Prize© will be awarded to the first reader who discerns its relevance to the theme of tomorrow's Weekend Essay Question.

Wednesday's Moment of Words Fail Me

From 1968, please enjoy footnote to history Brit band Fire and their absolute psych-pop masterpiece "Father's Name is Dad." A song which fully lives up to its title.

I must confess I'd never heard that (or even heard of it) before a chance encounter on YouTube the other day. And I was pleased to learn that the Fire guys later achieved fame more appropriate to their talent when they mutated into the hit-making (in England) folk-rock band The Strawbs.

In any event, that "Dad" song just kills me; everything about it (the wise-ass lyrics, the cool guitar riffage, the vaguely punkish vocals) sounds like it was created (as they say) with my mind in mind.

Today's Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles and Photo Funnies

I particularly like George Harrison Ford's later solo work. 😎

Comedy in Music (An Occasional Series): Special "Ripped My Jeans" Edition

From 1956, please enjoy satirical genius Stan Freberg and pretty much the funniest Elvis parody ever.

If you're not familiar with him, I should note here that Freberg was kind of a snob hipster jazz guy, and as you can probably tell from the above, he genuinely looked down on rock-and-roll -- in fact, IMHO the record's drollest gag is the singer's upset when the piano solo goes a little too upscale.

That said, this tickled me to death as a kid, and I wouldn't be surprised if Elvis himself thought it was funny despite its mean-spiritedness.

I should add that I originally had it on Stan's 1957 sort of Greatest Hits record A Child's Garden of Freberg...

...which is one of the essential comedy albums of its day, and worth it for the parody of Dragnet alone.

To this day, I can't hear the word "knave" without cracking up.

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "How Do You Say 'Tutti Frutti' in Yiddish?" Edition

So as attentive readers may have gleaned, I'm feeling the effects of a stressful couple of days involving our pussycat and major dental surgery (his, not mine).

He's almost fully recovered, thank you very much, but seriously -- I'm still totally exhausted from dealing with it.

That being the case, I must apologize for not being able to put my usual deep thought into coming up with a theme for this weekend's EQ.

Or for slacking through this introduction and getting immediately to the business at hand. To wit:

...and the post-Elvis pop/rock/soul-r&b/folk/country star performer you would most like to meet (or to have met but never did) is...?

Discuss.

I gotta say, due to the nature of my toiling at The Magazine Formerly Known as Stereo Review, I was insanely lucky enough over the years to have encountered or interviewed a galaxy of such folks, most of whom were absolutely delightful (notable exception: Major schmuck Chevy Chase. I'm pretty sure I've told that story here at some point, but if I haven't, remind me and I'll do it next week).

In any event, my own choice would be this guy.

Let's just say that the world has been a distinctly less entertaining place since he departed this sad vale of tears in 2020.

Alrighty, then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

The Lemon Twigs Have a New Single/Video Out, And Thus Life Remains Worth Living

This dropped yesterday morning, for those of you keeping score at home.

Whew. That's terrific, and I'm not just saying that because their dad is an old friend/bandmate of mine.

Seriously, on top of being ridiculously brilliant and talented, those kids have the kind of work ethic we haven't seen since certain great Brit bands of the '60s I could mention. 😎

Closed for Monkey Business

Had a very long stressful day yesterday -- short version: our pussycat had major dental surgery and is still quite under the weather.

Particularly groovy music stuff resumes on the morrow.