Have I Mentioned That Bob Lefsetz is a Huge Idiot?

From 1968, please enjoy Johnny Rivers' gorgeous -- and surprisingly post-modern -- "Summer Rain."

"All summer long we spent grooving in the sand
Everybody kept on playing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

Mr. Rivers speaks for me in this regard.

A Few Words on the Sgt. Pepper 50th Anniversary Remix Package

I got my copy on Friday. I'd like to thank the EMI Group of Companies for sending me the actual original master tapes for review.

I kid, I kid.

That said, I've listened to the new stereo version of the album, which is, as today's youngsters say, the bees knees. Haven't heard any of the bonus material yet, but the Making Of documentary is pretty cool. George Martin -- you were the greatest.

And I should add that -- yes, it's official.

Bob Lefsetz...

No one listened to “Sgt. Pepper” and immediately pronounced it a classic, it was just too different.

...is a fucking idiot.

Seriously, read his piece at the link above. There's clueless, there's Clueless, and then there's him.

Long Weekend Listomania: Special No Climate Change Deniers Aloud! Edition

[Okay, it's Memorial Day, i.e. the official kick-off to summer, so I'm recycling this (I originally posted it in 2009) for obvious reasons. I should add that I've changed a couple of the song selections, and re-written it slightly, just so as not to appear an even bigger slacker than I am. -- S.S.]

Best or Worst Post-Elvis Summer Song -- Which is To Say Either a Song About Summer or One With the Word Summer in the Title!!

Self-explanatory, I think, and in the interest of holiday comity, I'm imposing absolutely no arbitrary rules of any kind.

And my totally top of my head Top Nine would be...

9. Two Live Jews -- Oy, It's So Humid



"Doesn't Myrtle have air conditioning?" "What -- you mean Octagenarian Mutant Ninja Myrtle?..."

8. Graham Gouldman -- Bus Stop



"Bus Stop, wet day, she's there, I say, please share my umbrella...All that summer we enjoyed it, wind and rain and shine..."

And don't tell me about that Rihanna "Umbrella" shit, because I don't want to hear about it.

7. Smashing Pumpkins -- Summer



It occurs to me that Billy Corgan's pretentious cueball noggin has been absent from these precincts for far too long; unfortunately, it's not on display in this particular video. Actually, a pretty nice song, though.

6. The Jamies -- Summertime, Summertime



An arifact that has irked me since the late 50s. It's like a Chimpmunks record, but done straight. Or something. In any case, words can not express how annoying I think those harmonies are.

5. Billy Stewart -- Summertime



The Gershwin song, of course. This is the uncut version of Stewart's soul glossolalia hit, which I had never heard before yesterday. Kudos to whoever the drummer is, BTW.

4. Eddie Cochran -- Summertime Blues



No better rock-and-roll song has ever been written, and no cooler rock singer/guitarist has ever worn shoe leather.

3. Chad and Jeremy -- A Summer Song



I only found out relatively recently that they actually played all the beautiful guitar stuff on this one themselves. Just as sweet and lovely a pop song as there is, so naturally, my crappy high school rock band used to sing it as "Planes, crashing into mountain sides, with the loss of many lives...."

2. Bananarama -- Cruel Summer



Because, frankly, you just can't have too much Bananarama, even with crappy synth drums.

And the most memorable summer song -- summer being defined as hot, sweaty and fly-infested -- obviously is....

1. Mick Farren -- Let's Loot the Supermarket Again (Like We Did Last Summer)




Typical first generation 70s Brit-punk snarl, although Farren himself had been through one or two too many youth cultures by the time he conned Stiff Records into releasing this. Not in itself a particularly fabulous record, but you gotta admit -- the title's brilliant.

Awrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

It's Friends of Mine Week: Special From Jersey It Came Edition

Going to see the incomparable Smithereens tonight at B.B. King's.

Which will probably be the zillionth time I've seen those guys in a club, but this is obviously a good thing. Especially as original bassist Mike Mesaros will be rejoining the band for the show.

That's him on the right of course. He was always the 'Reen with the most teen appeal.

Well, with the possible exception of drummer Dennis Diken, seen here back in the day with some asshole whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels.

Meanwhile, have I mentioned that, on top of everything else, The Smithereens are the greatest cover band of all time?



Have a great weekend everybody!

It's Friends of Mine Week: Special Whaling Songs Were Invented in New Jersey Edition

From (we think) 1974, please enjoy Belleville, New Jersey's finest, The Hounds -- featuring lead vocals, Rickenbacker 12-string and songwriting by my old college chum Tony Forte -- and their remarkably Byrds-ian "Dirge of the Wayward Seafarer."





In case you're wondering, this also features inadequate rhythm guitar by that guy on the right in the photo wearing the Wings t-shirt (whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels).

But don't hold that against Mr. Forte. I think this is a genuinely great song and a terrific performance overall.

Of course, it still kinda cracks me up that a bunch of mooks from the land of Tony Soprano would be performing sea chanties, but hey -- rock 'n' roll.

POSTSCRIPT: The cutest thing about all this? Check out the tall guy in the photo looking down at the beautiful blonde. After the band broke up, they wound up getting married, having a fabulous life, and being responsible for some incredible kids. The next person who tells me that rock is the devil's music, swear to god I'm gonna take a hostage.

Tomorrow: More music by people I actually know personally, and yes, they're ALSO from New Jersey.

It's Friends of Mine Week: Special Ars Gratia Pecuniae Edition

From 2014, please enjoy Foglizard (featuring pal of PowerPop and frequent commenter buzzbabyjesus)...

...with a live in the studio performance of their not-at-all prog-rock "Pigs on a Cracker." That's BBJ with the hollow-body guitar, BTW.



And here's the almost pop "Almost July," the lead-off track from Viva Le Foglizard. Pretty snazzy, I think.



A word from the auteur:

"I posted "Viva Le Foglizard" as a weekend mix over at Burning Wood. Someone posted anonymously "No, Thanks". I wrote back that out of 7 billion people on the planet that weren't interested in my music, only one needed to point it out. I promised his brave honesty would be rewarded by his being the subject of our next song. It became a blog post."

I should add that you can hear more Foglizard tunes and read BBJ's complete history of the band over HERE. Pretty funny stuff.

Tomorrow: some more interesting if not world-renowned music, only this time from a friend I have yet to buy a drink for.

It's Friends of Mine Week: Special It Takes a Village Edition

From (originally) 1972, please enjoy power pop legend/old chum Mark Johnson and his haunting "Rainy Dues"...



...a track from the just released reissue of his 1972 Vanguard LP Years.

Short version of a very long story: Mark all but ruled the Greenwich Village music scene in the late 70s/early 80s; about fifty percent of the reason The Floor Models got it together was our seeing Mark's band The Wild Alligators tear it up at Kenny's Castaways on numerous occasions (the other fifty percent was seeing The Smithereens do the same thing at the same venue).

In any case, at that time, I kept hearing from various Village types that Mark had this earlier album to his credit, but for some reason, nobody -- not even Mark -- would make me a cassette dupe of it. I eventually chanced across it, a few years ago, at some obscure download site via a vinyl rip. And was surprised at how different it was, stylistically, from the kick-ass pop/folk/New Wave rock he was doing when I met him. Years, in fact, was more or less the last flowering of the whole post-Sgt. Pepper baroque/orchestral/psychedelia album esthetic of the late-60s; think early Tim Buckley or something that could have been produced by Van Dyke Parks.

Oh well. Moving right along, let me just mention that this reissue -- splendidly remastered with bonus tracks -- on Real Gone also features definitive liner notes (including an extensive interview with Mark) by yours truly...

...and that you can (and should) order this remarkable artifact over at Amazon HERE.

You're welcome.

Tomorrow: More interesting music by somebody I've actually shaken hands with.

It's Friends of Mine Week! No, Seriously -- It's Friends of Mine Week! I Really Mean It This Time!

From a 2003 tribute to The Who, please enjoy Seattle legend Jim Basnight and an absolutely wonderful cover of "I Can See For Miles."



I've never actually met Jim, but he's been a Facebook friend for a while now, and I always loved his work.

In case you;ve never heard him before, among other things, he used to be the front man of two absolutely fabulous and influential New Wave/power pop bands called, respectively, The Moberlys and then The Rockinghams.

That being the case (and it is), you can -- and very definitely should -- order a retrospective of 25 years of his music...

...over at Amazon HERE.

You're welcome. Oh, and incidentally, Jim informs me that Pete Townshend was pleased by the cover of "Miles." Much cooler than that it does not get.

Tomorrow: More interesting music, but by someone I actually HAVE met.

Your Friday Moment of I'm a Little Choked Up

Attentive readers may recall that I posted tracks by The Sevens -- aka The Rolling Stones of Switzerland -- a week or two ago, which I found at a terrific download site (from Germany) called All We Need is Pop Music.

Anyway, by way of saying thank you, I sent the proprietor of the site copies of The Floor Models CDs (featuring some asshole whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels on bass), figuring he might get a kick out of them.

And this is the note I just got in response.

Hello Steve, this morning your gift arrived. And it's a little difficult to describe (also because my not so well english language) the emotions because of your gift. At first, you have paid ten bucks only to send two cds to a guy you don't know personally 5000 km across the ocean. That was the first time where i asked myself consciously: What kind of man is Steve and why he do this? And than i began listen to the album and after the first time i was very impressed. Naturally it meets my taste of music.But some songs have (imho) an extraordinary good songwriting and wonderful fitting arrangements. What i also like is the difference of the tracks.The whole album never sounds like one song cutted in 10 or 15 pieces. And it always sound very much agile (or alive?). One critical point is S.O.S in original by swedish band ABBA. To me it sounds a little weak without the particular kick.
The whole album is a great Pop rock/Jangle/Power Pop album and i think if the band had it released in the early eighties who knows what had happened. Steve you can be very proud of your band The Floor Models and the musical legacy of the band. I make music myself for more than forty years and know the meaning what particular experiences in music and making music with friends are really worth.(I hope you understand despite my english language try to say)
And now i come back to the question i asked myself: why do Steve this? I began to read the liner notes by you. And there is a lot what touches my feelings. After i read the liner notes completely two times i believe i have the answer for my question. The kind how you write about the times then, the band, friends, people you've met and the experiences you've made tells me that you are a human being who do the things he like with passion. And passion is an important characteristic for artists of any kind. Okay Steve i stop here my hobby psychology :-). I just can say that i thank you very much for the gift that you've gave me. I really appreciate it! And i want quote an sentence by you from the liner notes where is a kind of humour inside i really love. ''...I look back on the whole experience these days as pretty much the most fun i've ever had with my clothes on.''
Thanks for all and i hope we stay in touch from time to time

Kind regards,
Frank

I honestly don't care that we never sold a million records and got big rich and famous. Stuff like this makes the entire thing worthwhile.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Chris Cornell 1964-2017

Swear to god, I was just listening to the album that song is from when I heard the news.