La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special "Sorry John, It's NOT Getting Better All the Time" Edition

Fun historical facts:

Wednesday just past was the anniversary of the Reichstag Fire (which happened way back in 1933)!!!

Also -- today is Don't Buy Anything day!!!

Hats and horns, everybody!!!

But seriously, I don't have to tell you that we live in troubling times. And it's not like I've made a secret of my disdain for the current Pee-Wee Hitler© Administration (don't even get me started on the drug-addicted megalomaniac who actually IS the President).

Also -- DBA day refers almost exclusively to the usual fascist Predatory Big Capitalist assholes, a la Amazon; you can (and should) still buy from local small business mom-and-pop good people. I, for one, plan to have lunch at my Forest Hills watering hole The Keuka Kafe, and you should absolutely go over and buy some vinyl from Friend of PowerPop© Sal Nunziato at his invaluable Burning Wood blog over here.

That being said, let's move directly to the business at hand. To wit:

...and the post-Elvis pop/rock/folk/soul/country/hip-hop song that strikes you as the most appropriate to our current national situation is...?

No arbitrary rules whatsoever -- I mean, isn't anarchy kinda the point at the moment?

Anyway, in case you're wondering, my two nominees are...

...and

I should add that, as long-time readers are aware, I am not even remotely a fan of Frank Zappa or the Mothers, but the specific song in question here is quite brilliant and obviously relevant.

As for Steppenwolf, who I adore (and really need to write about at length one of these days) I will simply say that, beyond the obvious reasons, I chose their song in part because a) lead singer/band auteur John Kay will turn 80 in a couple of weeks and b) I appreciate the irony that both he and the rest of the band were of German/Canadian origin. 😎

Okay, all that out of the way -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend if possible.

"Now You're Back to Mother Earth, You Fucking Hippie Twat!!!"

Okay, how did I miss this 2018 short film?

Words fail me.

Seriously -- isn't this always kinda how you thought the whole thing really actually happened? 😎

BTW -- here's a link to the complete flick.

You're welcome very much.

Show Biz is My Life

From the letters section in the current issue of the New Yorker:

Safe Hands

In Michael Schulman’s account of meeting up with the actor Monica Barbaro, who plays Joan Baez in “A Complete Unknown,” the recent Bob Dylan bio-pic, there is some discussion about the guitar that she uses in the movie, the very same guitar that we, at Lark Street Music, in Teaneck, New Jersey, agreed to rent—it was a 1923, not a 1929, Martin 0-45—when the movie’s props department came knocking (The Talk of the Town, January 13th). We were assured that, when Barbaro was not using the instrument, it would be guarded like a nuclear football. What a shock, then, to read that Edward Norton—who plays Pete Seeger, once the moral conscience of American music—frequently grabbed the guitar from Barbaro on the set, and even intimated that she might just hold on to the Martin after filming, as, he supposedly said, he does with props all the time. We are glad to have the guitar back.

Buzzy Levine
Teaneck, N.J

I love Lark Street Music BTW, and not just because it's on Cedar Lane, i.e. the cruising strip of my long-ago youth.

More pertinently, back in the 'aughts (when I was still living in the Teaneck area) the folks at Lark did a fabulous job setting up the Korean (Rondo Agile) knock-off of my (long departed) genuine 1957 Les Paul goldtop...

...that the living saints in my old '70s band bought for me when they found out I hadn't touched a guitar since 1980. 😎

Anyway, I'm delighted that the store is still there and thriving; if you're ever in Teaneck (AKA the Paris of the suburban Northeast) be sure to check it out.

[h/t Tony Jannelli]

And Speaking as We Were Yesterday of Lothar and the Hand People...

...from their 1968 debut album, please enjoy the aforementioned L&THP and their just wonderfully touching sort of folk-rock ballad "That's Another Story."

These guys were the first real synth-pop band (it's no accident the aforementioned debut album was produced by Robert Moog collaborator Robert Margouleff), but -- as you can hear from the above -- their music was more than just space-age noodling; at heart, they were an old fashioned sort of good-timey outfit in the manner of The Lovin' Spoonful, and just as charming.

I actually saw them open for The Byrds(!) at the Village Gate(!!) in 1966(!!!), and it would not be an exaggerration to say they stole the show. They were beyond tight, charismatic (snazziest dressed band I ever saw) and (more important) had tons of great original songs.

They also did a sort of bouncy remake of "It's All Over Now" that was actually better than the Stones' hit version; to this day, I can play the piano part from their arrangement, and sometime before I die I swear I'm either gonna record it solo or teach some friends to play it in front of an audience.

Bottom line, it made an indelible impression on the then-teenaged me, to the point that years later, I contacted Paul Conly, the band's ace piano and synth guy, via their (still active today) band website, to ask if any live tape of the band performing it had survived. (The answer, alas, was no.)

Incidentally, a very good recording of a full Lothar set, live at Amherst College in 1969, was eventually released on a 2020 CD (titled Machines, after their cover of the Manfred Mann hit of the same name) and I highly recommend it; you can hear the entire thing for free over at YouTube HERE.

And Then He Met Lothar and the Hand People and They All Went Out for Drinks at Their Local Hooters!

From just now in 2025, please enjoy Stephen Hamm -- the charmingly yclept "Theremin Man" -- and what appears to be the entirety of his just released new album Live From Planet Earth.

Obviously, Hamm's brand of space rock/electronica/whatever the kids call it these days doesn't quite fit the mission statement of this here blog. But as attentive readers are aware I am a huge fan of people who play the theremin (hence the Lothar reference in the title above).

And in any case, in our current troubling times, anything that helps us all chill is alright with me.

BTW, Hamm himself is, as they say, an interesting couple of guys. From the official version:

Hamm’s career began in the 1980s as a pivotal member of the legendary Vancouver proto-grunge band Slow. Their 1985 album Against the Glass and its influential EP are credited with helping to ignite the grunge movement, with their raw, abrasive sound leaving a lasting mark on the Pacific Northwest music scene. Slow’s hit "Have Not Been the Same" became a MuchMusic staple, inspiring a generation of musicians, including Kurt Cobain and Sloan. In 2021, the documentary "Exposition Demolition" celebrated Slow’s impact on Canadian rock, cementing Hamm as a key figure in the evolution of grunge and alternative rock. Beyond Slow, Hamm’s career flourished in bands like Tankhog and Jungle, where he earned further recognition for his musical versatility. Tankhog’s 1991 tour with industrial music pioneers Skinny Puppy and Jungle’s European tour during the 1990s conflict in the Balkans are just a few examples of Hamm’s broad influence on the global music scene. As a member of Nardwuar the Human Serviette’s band, The Evaporators, Hamm helped create a chaotic and irreverent blend of garage rock and punk, continuing his commitment to pushing the envelope with unconventional, energetic performances.

Whew. 😎

Anyway, you can (and should) find out more about Theremin Man, and download more of his hand-rock(!) music (including 12 other albums), over at his Bandcamp page HERE.

You're welcome.

La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special "I Thought Career Day Was Usually in November" Edition

From 1970, please enjoy the extremely rich Norman Greenbaum and "Canned Ham" -- the song that DIDN'T add to the fabulous sums of money he's made over the years off of "Spirit in the Sky."

"Canned Ham," of course, was the follow-up; I thought it was brilliant myself (owned a copy of the single), but apparently it lacked that certain je ne sais quoi for the rest of the record-buying public.

That said, let us attend to the weekend's business. To wit:

...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis pop/rock/folk/soul/country One-Hit Wonder solo artist or group is...???

No arbitrary rules whatsoever. In fact, if somebody (like Greenbaum) had more than one record on the radio but is still generally considered a OHW, and that's who you want to nominate -- that's cool.

I should add that no, to my surprise, I've never done this category before (something similar, yes, but not OHW's specifically). I should also add that, upon hearing "Canned Ham" again for the first time in ages, I am struck by the possibility that Erik Jacobsen (who also helmed most of the Lovin' Spoonful's stuff, and all of Chris Isaaks') may very well have been the greatest producer in the history of both rock and roll. And why isn't there a bio-pic about him yet?

Alrighty, then -- what would your choices be?

Discuss.

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Nancy's Record Collection (and Mine): Special "Great Lost Singles of the I'm Not Sure When" Edition

From the classic 1999 Yellow Pills (Vol. 1), please enjoy the incomparable Adam Schmitt and his shoulda-been-a-smasheroo "Speed Kills."

I can't recall if that was newly recorded for the aforementioned compilation, but in any event it sounds timeless.

Which is to say -- has there been a better power pop song by anybody ever?

I suspect not. 😎

Ready, Steady, Go Already!!!

From just this week, please enjoy The Jette Planes, and their sublimely Brit-pop-1965-ish new single "5:55."

Seriously, and pardon the cliche, but I didn't know they made 'em like that anymore. What a cool record/song.

In case you're wondering who those guys are (I must confess to being previously unaware of them), let's let them clue us in. Take it away, fellas.

Formed in 2018 The Jette Planes are a Philadelphia based rock band with elements of power pop, garage rock, alternative, and much more intertwined into one sound. With their 2021 debut album “In The Movies'' in their back pocket, they continue to create music and perform as a staple of the Philadelphia underground music scene.

Makes sense to me.

Meanwhile, you can (and should) sample their sizeable discography (six previous releases!) over at their Bandcamp page HERE.

Have I mentioned those guitars just kill me? 😎

Great Lost Singles of the Sixties: Special "Folk Rock!!!" Edition

From 1967, please enjoy L.A. stalwarts The Grass Roots and their brilliant (and a song I've always wanted to cover) "Things I Should Have Said."

In case you haven't guessed, I'm a huge fan of the early version of that "band," despite the fact that they were basically a manufactured construct rather than an organic musical entity. The song in question, of course, was written by the genius Sloan (as in P.F.) and Barri team, who were responsible for more great singles than you've had hot meals, but the aforementioned Grass Roots incarnation were wonderful second-tier pioneers of the immediate post-Byrdsian esthetic that made our AM radios sound so good back in the just pre-psychedelic/San Francisco band days.

Later, of course, with slightly different personnel, they had a run of hits -- like "Midnight Confessions" -- which made them a lot of money but didn't do much for their critical reputation. In any case, the above is just fucking fabulous.

Tomorrow: one of the coolest new songs to have crossed my desk in ages. And from Philadelphia, of all places. 😎

Today's Cartoon Chuckle

I think at this point we can agree that pretty much most contemporary commercial pop hits originate in this way.

Sad, really. 😎