Thursday, January 07, 2010

An Early And Extremely Self-Indulgent Clue to the New Direction

From 1983, please enjoy Greenwich Village's finest, the fabulous Floor Models (featuring some guy whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels on bass) with their dark psychedelic tune in e minor shameless rip-off of "Eight Miles High" -- the showstopping "Fade into Grey."




This was recorded more or less live at WBAI-FM under fairly hectic circumstances, and I don't think it really does justice to our stage version; the lead guitar, by my personal hero Andy "Folk Rock" Pasternack (who I firmly believe is the greatest Rickenbacker twelve-string guy who ever lived, and that includes Roger McGuinn) is kind of buried in the mix. But hey -- we got the studio time for free. I should also add that it's sung, authoritatively, by the song's composer, the irrepressible Gerry Devine.

In any case, as always, a coveted PowerPop No-Prize will be awarded the first reader who gleans the clip's relevance to the theme of tomorrow's Weekend Listomania.
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20 comments:

  1. geor3ge1/07/2010 1:19 PM

    Songs with titles in the imperative?

    ReplyDelete
  2. steve simels1/07/2010 1:21 PM

    I rather like that, but no.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1/07/2010 1:34 PM

    If it ain't about fading or graying, I'm stunped.

    ReplyDelete
  4. David1/07/2010 1:59 PM

    Songs with a Byrds influence that aint by the Byrds? (certainly a pregnant topic)...

    ReplyDelete
  5. dave™©1/07/2010 2:00 PM

    Songs that sound uncannily like other songs?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gummo1/07/2010 2:26 PM

    Songs that evoke a different musical era?

    ReplyDelete
  7. FD13NYC1/07/2010 2:40 PM

    Old guys diggin' up their old music of bands they used to be in and putting them on their blogs? (Kidding)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wendy1/07/2010 2:51 PM

    Great cover ... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. steve simels1/07/2010 5:05 PM

    Okay -- here's a hint. It's something in the lyrics, specifically.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous1/07/2010 6:29 PM

    Re: Greatest Rickenbacker guitarist - Simels, Andy's great, but better then Tony Forte: no way!

    Songs about feeling lost in your life.

    ROTP(lumber)

    ReplyDelete
  11. steve simels1/07/2010 7:11 PM

    Okay -- it's something specific in the lyric.

    In the lyric AFTER the instrumental break....
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. MBowen1/07/2010 7:40 PM

    Songs with references to wheels or going around?

    (Nice song, needs a little production work)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Unknown1/07/2010 8:52 PM

    Songs with Smiles?

    ReplyDelete
  14. steve simels1/07/2010 9:29 PM

    Something specific in the lyric IMMEDIATELY after the insrumental break...


    God, I'm being so good to you folks...
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous1/07/2010 9:53 PM

    Songs about moonlight?

    "Fade into Grey" is one of my all time favorite Floor Model songs.

    ROTP(lumber)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous1/07/2010 10:01 PM

    Is it about...open field farming ?
    GB

    ReplyDelete
  17. dSmith1/07/2010 10:55 PM

    Songs about wheels?

    ReplyDelete
  18. dSmith1/07/2010 11:10 PM

    Songs about wheels rolling

    ReplyDelete
  19. steve simels1/07/2010 11:24 PM

    They have ears but they will not hear....
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous5/12/2010 10:21 AM

    Amazing to hear this again without cracks and hiss. There had been a film around this time called Fade into Grey starring the actor from Breaking Away, and I somehow always associated the two. Someone must have lost their job letting us use WBAI's studio, but I think Lynne Samuels played these tracks on a show during the next few weeks. I played the solo on a Hagstrom 12-string which recorded better than the Rick. On the solo, I'm definitely in Byrdsville but I was also aspiring (in my mind, that is) Tom Verlaine's solo in There's A Reason. - AP

    ReplyDelete