Thursday, July 10, 2014

Your Thursday Moment of Power Pop Heaven

Okay,put your headphones on, kids, and enjoy an absolutely transplendent live version of perhaps my all time favorite Marshall Crenshaw song.

You'll thank me.




I found this on a certain Shady Dame's computer the other day -- I assume I must have downloaded it there at some point in the dim dark past, but I have no idea where I got it or when.

Of course, Letterman's intro clearly indicates that Marshall was plugging his 1994 live album, so that would seem to nail down its provenance. But I haven't been able to find it on YouTube, and thus I can't confirm whether or not Crenshaw is backed here by the Letterman band.

Sounds like Will Lee on bass, I'll grant you, but it's a great performance despite that.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The version that served as the 'B' side to "Someday, Someway" was actually a demo Crenshaw cut at home. The record being credited to Marshall Crenshaw and the Handsome, Ruthless and Stupid band was a joke, as he played all the instruments, including the toy drum used.

Crenshaw said that he wanted the intro to sound like the bass drum break on "The Best Part Of Breaking Up" by The Ronettes. He wrote it while touring in "Beatlemania".

Elroy said...

Excellent, thanks! And with this song having been covered by the Divine Miss M., the method behind your madness is revealed!

steve simels said...

You found me out.
:-)

Jai Guru Dave said...

I saw him play solo at an outdoor festival in Rockland County, NY on June 29th of this year (2 weeks ago) and was really disappointed! I've seen him before, and been really impressed. But this time, he really seemed like he was phoning it in. Maybe because it was a small venue, and he may not have been getting paid much.
Interestingly, the way that he dealt with not being able to hit the high notes anymore (a common problem for those of us who have entered geezerdom) was to play a few of the songs on a baritone guitar. A novel solution, but I felt that the lower sonorities of the guitar took away the sparkle from his guitar playing.

Anonymous said...

This song also ties in thematically with the daydreaming longing of "Just My Imagination." The kind of yearning that takes your starry eyed reverie to a warm and tender place where no one will turn you away or disappoint.

Crenshaw's early stuff is amazing. It's almost too much perfection to handle. That may be its only fault. Perhaps he bows at the altar of Phil Spector a bit much, but it isn't distasteful or always obvious.

I like the harmonies and tempo on the Letterman version. The original demo drags a bit and sorta smells of an awkward one man band. It was an obvious choice for Sid and Susie under the covers. I'd like to see Roger McGuinn put his spin on it. Or TP.

I really love what Lou Ann Barton did with what I considered a minor song on his debut, "Brand New Lover." Talk about re-inventing it! Wow! Leave it to a girl to give it a good kick in the balls.

Vickie Rock - I got no use for the real world