I have heard mostly the 90s music from this band…I recently found this album from 1987 and love it. They formed in 1982 in Glasgow Scotland and are still together today. The only original member left is lead singer Bobby Gillespie. They have shifted in sound through the years. This song was during their power pop period.
This song was on the Sonic Flower Groove album released in 1987. It was met with mixed to bad reviews at the time. The bad reviews caused internal strife within the band. Two members Jim Beattie and Gavin Skinner subsequently resigned. The band then changed directions and shifted to a more rock sound. In the mid-eighties a Byrds sound was not exactly the height of popularity but it would start taking off with bands like REM soon after.
I love the jangling guitar and the overall sound of the song and album. This song, Imperial, Treasure Trip, and many more make this a very good album to me.
Most reviewers now look back on the album with praise. It charted at #62 in the UK charts in 1987. Gentle Tuesday peaked at #87 in the UK charts in 1987.
Gentle Tuesday
Shadow masking matters Can’t conceal the way you really feel It doesn’t fit our souls exist That of they asked me how it is
New morning dew for you Sweet honey hips your lips Hold spells when cast they dwell Like magic in your kiss
Confusion colours cruel designs Unhappy girl, you’re out of time
Gentle Tuesday Sad and lonely eyes Gentle tuesday See yourself tonight
Memories as fat as bees Presents a mess of poison tears A word unkind that tricks our minds We really warned before your time
Happiness, nothing less A universal way Bad seeds but fruit are sweet You choke on empty days Confusion colours cruel designs Unhappy girl you’re out of time
I’ve always liked the Smithereens. They managed to breakthrough to the mainstream with this song and a few more.
Smithereens guitarist and singer Pat DiNizio wrote this as the theme song for the motion picture Say Anything, but DiNizio ultimately withheld the song from the project after he and the film’s producer disagreed on making certain changes to the song. The producer thought it gave away to much of the plot so DiNizio kept it for their next album.
Madonna was originally going to sing the harmony vocals, but failed to show up for the recording session. So the band got Maria Vidal to do the vocals.
This song peaked at #38 in the Billboard 100 and #62 in Canada. It also peaked at #2 in the Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1989. The song was on their third studio album named 11. The album peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100.
The band’s name comes from a Yosemite Sam catchphrase, Varmint, I’m a-gonna blow you to smithereens! They have worked numerous musicians, both in the studio…Belinda Carlisle, Julian Lennon, Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega… and live Graham Parker and The Kinks.
I used to travel in the shadows And I never found the nerve to try and walk up to you But now I am a man and I know that there’s no time to waste There’s too much to lose Girl, you say anything at all, and you know that you can call And I’ll be right there for you First love, heartbreak, tough luck, big mistake What else can you do
I’ll say anything you want to hear I’ll see everything through I’ll do anything I have to do Just to win the love of a girl like you, a girl like you
People talk and people stare, tell them I don’t really care This is the place I should be And if they think it’s really strange for a girl like you To be in love with someone like me I want to tell them all to go to hell That we’re doing very well without them you see That’s just the way it is and they will see I am yours and you are mine, the way it should be
I’ll say anything you want to hear I’ll see everything through I’ll do anything I have to do Just to win the love of a girl like you, a girl like you A girl like you, oh yeah
(Go!)
Now if I seem a little wild, there’s no holding back I’m trying to get a message to you I won’t take anything from anyone I won’t walk and I won’t run, I believe in you London, Washington, anywhere you are I’ll run Together we’ll be Inside, outside, got my pride I won’t let ’em take you from me
I’ll say anything you want to hear I’ll see everything through I’ll do anything I have to do Just to win the love of a girl like you, a girl like you A girl like you, a girl like you A girl like you, a girl like you, oh yeah
I’ll say anything (I’ll say anything) I’ll take anything (I’ll take anything) I’ll say anything, almost anything Except goodbye I’ll say anything (I’ll say anything) I’ll take anything (I’ll take anything) I’ll say anything, almost anything Except goodbye
There was quite a big garage band scene in the 80s from all over the world. These bands stuck close to their ancestors so to speak but with a little more punch in the modern recording. They avoided the dated sound unlike some of their more popular peers.
The Cynics were from Pittsburgh and along with the Chesterfield Kings, the Milkshakes, and the Fuzztones were early founders of the 1980s garage rock revival movement. The picked up from where the garage bands from the 60’s garage bands.
This band is not limited to garage rock. I’ve heard everything from power pop to folk from them in songs.
Gregg Kostelich started the Cynics in 1983. The other members were drummer Bill Von Hagen, vocalist Michael Kastelic who joined in 1985, bass player Steve Magee, and keyboardist Becky Smith who debuted with their first album, Blue Train Station in 1986.
Baby What’s Wrong was on their Rock and Roll album released in 1990.
Their first two 45s were released by the Californian Dionysus label, but soon after Gregg had established his own Pittsburgh-based Get Hip Recordings who would release all of The Cynics albums and singles. The label also releases records by fellow garage bands, power pop, and punk bands around the world.
The band is still togehter with members Gregg Kostelich, Michael Kastelic, Pablo González “Pibli”, and Angel Kaplan.
The band released 8 albums between 1986 to 2011 with the Spinning Wheel Motel album.
Gregg Kostelich: “I was maybe 4 or 5 when I started collecting Garage records, and I’ve been listening to that type of music ever since. And I was lucky enough to see a couple of shows I was a little kid…my parents would bring to see bands like THE SONICS and THE BLUE MAGOOS and THE WHO, when I was about 7 or 8! I didn’t know what was going on really, but it was really exciting. I was kinda embarrassed in a way because I was with my parents.” “Yeah, maybe I got brain damage from all the noise!”
I got a lot of info off of their record company’s website…check them out and their music.
You didn’t hear me when I tried to tell you You didn’t see me when I looked so lonely You didn’t answer when I said, “Where you going?”
You didn’t see the way you drive me crazy
Baby what’s wrong with me I can’t seem to turn your head Baby what’s wrong with me I’m always going home to an empty bed
You got my number, you never use it You got my choice, but you never choose it You got those brown eyes, they’re hiding something If I could open up, I’d let you in
Baby what’s wrong with me I can’t seem to turn your head Baby what’s wrong with me I’m always going home to an empty bed
Maybe some day, there will be a full moon We’ll be together, in the same room Open our eyes, see what we’re missing My hard time is maybe they’re dissing
Baby what’s wrong with me I can’t seem to turn your head Baby what’s wrong with me I’m always going home
Baby what’s wrong with me I can’t seem to turn your head Baby what’s wrong with me I’m always going home
Widespread Panic are more known as a jam band who will change tempos and direction when playing live. They remind me of the Allman Brothers Band and The Grateful Dead.
Widespread Panic was formed in the small college town Athens, GA in the mid-1980s. John Bell (guitar, vocals), Michael Houser (guitar) and Dave Schools (bass) all got together with the dream of playing in a rock band, where they experimented with many musicians to find the right fit.
Later on they met Todd Nance (drums), where they officially became a “band” in 1987. Down the road, they would link up with John Jojo Hermann (keyboards) in 1992, and Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz (percussion). Today, Jimmy Herring fills the shoes of the late Mikey Houser on lead guitar, and Duane Trucks, Butch Trucks nephew, has taken reins on the drum kit.
This song was on the Free Somehow album released in 2007.
Up All Night
Well I can’t sleep I’ve been up all night Life here in Savanna the day street moan And that wet smell of sulfur from the cobblestone I’ve been up all night Been up all night And I dream of heaven and I feel like hell The children in their church clothes Sunday morning bells And my head is spinning and taking a toll Been up all night Been up all night (Up all night, up all night) The best thing about New Years is the Christmas lights Hiding in the day, exposed at night Sunrise not sunset Georgia sky I’ve been up all night We’ve been out all night I’ve been out all night Up all night We’ve been up all night Been up all night Been up all night
The Feelies were an inspiration to REM and many alternative bands in the 80s. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008, and most recently released albums in 2011 and 2017.
The band’s name is taken from a fictional entertainment device described in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
The song was released in 1986 on the album The Good Earth with REM’s Peter Buck producing. It was written by members Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. The band toured in support of the album as an opening band for Lou Reed as well as REM that year. The album was one of their most successful albums.
It certainly doesn’t have earth shaking lyrics but it’s a gorgeous over all sound and atmosphere they produce. It reminds me of something that would be on a movie soundtrack…it’s over with before you know it.
Let’s Go
Well alright Well alright Let’s go Let’s go Let’s go Let’s go All night long All night long (spoken?)
Why don’t we ? I know you? Why don’t we ? I know you? Go low (?) Low low (?) Go slow Slow All night long All night long
I love how this song starts off like I Want To Hold Your Hand and then turns into a 60s mild psychedelia that sounds familiar to ? and the Mysterians the 60s American garage rock band.
They were formed in 1979 in Rochester, New York by the former singer of the Distorted Levels, Greg Provost, an underground music journalist, with Andy Babiuk and keyboardist Orest Guran, the Chesterfield Kings offered their own version of psychedelia.
This song was released in 1984 with the B side I’ve Gotta Way With Girls. She Told Me Lies was written by Andy Babiuk, Cedrick Cona, Doug Meech, Greg Prevost, and Orest Guran.
The band, named after a defunct brand of unfiltered cigarette, was instrumental in sparking the 1980s garage band revival that launched many bands with a heavy 60’s influence that ignored the current trends.
The band was active from 1979 to 2009.
In 2000 they made a movie! From IMDB here is the description:
Its Ed Wood meets A Hard Days Night when Greg, Andy, Mike, Ted, and Jeff, together The Chesterfield Kings take on the evil Andro, a maniacal extraterrestrial bent on world domination. The cosmic showdown sends The Kings racing around the globe, from London to Rome, Las Vegas, and Honolulu in a desperate attempt to reclaim drummer Mike whose held hostage by the deranged alien. Can The Chesterfield Kings find their drummer, halt Andro’s master plan, and save the world, all in a brisk seventy minutes? You’ll have to see it to know for sure, but you can count on some killer tunes along the way including The Chesterfield Kings’ new single “Yes I Understand” and “Where Do We Go From Here” featuring lead vocals by Mark Lindsay formerly of Paul Revere and the Raiders in a cameo appearance.
I really want to see that movie.
Greg Provost:“Even when we were doing the garage stuff, we ended up sounding like the Stones. I love bands like the Sweet or Queen, but we could never sound like them. I can’t sing that good! So, we’re just going to capitalize on the kind of stuff we can sound like.”
She Told Me Lies
She told me lies She left me on my own She told me lies I’ll drive away and hide Yeah she cheated, she lied
She told me lies She hurt my pride She told me lies I’ve got tears in my eyes She told me lies I ain’t got nothing to say Yeah she left me today
She went walking to the door I won’t ever see her face no more I don’t know why she treated me bad She’s the only true love I ever had But now she’s gone
She went walking to the door I won’t ever see her face no more I don’t know why she treated me bad She’s the only true love I ever had But now she’s gone
She told me lies But now she’s gone She left me on my own I’ll drive away and hide Yeah she cheat, she lied
Yes Joe you can…When I first heard this in the early 80s on MTV it was such a relief to hear a guitar playing a rock and roll riff. It’s a simple comedic Joe Walsh song… and sometimes that is just what we need.
This is not Joe’s finest work but it’s fun and brings back memories. . After being restrained somewhat with the Eagles it was good to see him let go. This song was on the album You Bought It You Name It. The album has varied styles from reggae, new wave, and rock and roll. The song peaked at #13 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay list.
The video of Joe trying to kill a fly in a hotel room was burned into my brain as this was on heavy rotation on MTV for a little while. Joe had a deadly aim with the Fender Strat to the television…years of practice I would guess.
In the middle of then current songs such as Safety Dance, Mickey, and Mr. Roboto this minor hit was a welcomed relief to me on MTV and the radio.
I Can Play That Rock and Roll
Well that disco thing can sure get funky All them pretty songs seem too slow I like to sit and pick with them good old boys Maybe New Wave’s in, I just don’t know When the critics try to analyse the current trend I just sit back and watch ’em come and go Cos I can play that rock and roll Oh, now I can play that rock and roll Hey now, I can play that rocking rock and roll
If you, if you wanna party at the next election Only one way to go Put on a rocking rock and roll selection Turn up and vote And you can check out anytime you want Just call me Joe And I can play that rock and roll for ya… Yeah yeah yeah yeah I can play that rock and roll Yeah, now now, I, I, I, well I can play that rock and roll Well I can play that rock and roll I can play that rock and roll
I came across Otis’s youtube channel and I think some of you would be interested. He is a singer songwriter but on his channel he has conversations musicians who have played or worked with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Waylon Jennings, just to name a few, and his own stories about different musicians. For you music fans it’s worth your time. The guy doesn’t interview people…he lets people talk and tell their stories. He is also a good story teller. I’m hooked on his channel.
He has stories about Jerry Reed, The Replacements, Dan Baird, Merle Haggard, Ry Cooder, Towns Van Zant, Bill Monroe, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, John Prine, Mike Campbell and more.
He lives in Indiana but interviews many Nashville connected musicians. Check this guy out…His music is VERY good as well. I’m just checking that out more as I go… his music is classified as alt-country.
I just picked a few random youtube videos from his page below.
This song kicked off Brucemania in 1984. Born in the USA along with Thriller and Purple Rain ruled in the 80s.
This one is not my favorite off the album but I did like it. Considering the times it was the best sounding song to lead off with. All together Born In The USA had 7 top ten singles….I didn’t know what to think at first…I liked this and Cover me but it was when the title track was released…that is when I was sold when I heard Springsteen sing Born in the U.S.A..
This song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #28 in the UK, and #2 in New Zealand.
This was the last song written and recorded for the Born In The U.S.A.. His manager Jon Landau didn’t hear a lead off single from the album at the time and asked him to write something that could be that song. Bruce was not in the mood for hearing this…he said “Look, I’ve written 70 songs (he had written 70 songs for the album). You want another one, you write it.” After giving it a while he sat in his hotel room and wrote about himself at that time…about the isolation that fame had given him since The River.
The next day Landau had the song he was looking for…so for the first time Bruce set out to make a video. It was directed by Brian DePalma, the video was filmed during Springsteen’s concert at the St. Paul Civic Center in Minnesota on June 29, 1984. Courtney Cox, who was planted in the audience, got the role of the adoring fan in the front row who gets to dance on stage with Bruce. Many Springsteen fans were upset that he didn’t get a true fan from the audience.
Springsteen did “Dancing In The Dark” midway through the show, so by that time he was warmed up and the crowd was worked into a frenzy. To get the shots, Springsteen did the song twice, with DePalma repositioning his cameras after the first take.
This song won Springsteen his first Grammy. In 1985, it got the award for Best Male Vocal… also in Rolling Stone reader’s poll, this was voted Single of the Year in 1985.
From Songfacts
Springsteen wrote this about his difficulty writing a hit single and his frustration trying to write songs that will please people. His struggles pour out in the lyric, where he feels like a hired gun dying for some action. He even addresses an industry trope, which he surely heard many times before:
They say you gotta stay hungry hey baby I’m just about starving tonight
Ironically, the song was a hit single – the biggest of his career in terms of US chart position. (Although Manfred Mann’s cover of Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light” made #1.)
Springsteen was doing just fine, with six successful albums in his discography and an unparalleled concert reputation. He had over 70 songs written for Born In The U.S.A., but Landau wanted a guaranteed hit to ensure superstar status for Springsteen. “Dancing In The Dark” provided just that spark; released as the first single (the only one issued ahead of the album), it started the fire that was Born In The U.S.A. Springsteen’s songs were soon all over the radio, and he found a whole new audience. Unlike many rock artists who are accused of selling out when they hit it huge, Springsteen’s star turn was welcomed (for the most part) by his faithful, who had spent many years spreading his gospel.
The video was Springsteen’s first to get heavy airplay on MTV, and it introduced him to a new, mostly younger audience. As for Cox, a few years later she landed a role on the sitcom Family Ties, and went on to star in the wildly popular TV series Friends.
The lyric is rather bleak, as Springsteen sings lines like, “Man I ain’t getting nowhere, I’m just living in a dump like this.” It doesn’t have a happy ending, but by the end of the song, he seems intent on taking some action, looking for just a tiny bit of inspiration to set him on his path – after all, you can’t start a fire without a spark.
By the last verse, there’s a touch of existentialism, as he puts things in perspective: “You can’t start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart.”
The deep, philosophical message was lost on most listeners who were entranced by the catchy beat (the video didn’t exactly push a deeper meaning either). Springsteen got a similar reaction to his song “Born In The U.S.A.,” where the message was lost in the music. That one bothered him, as the song is about the plight of a Vietnam veteran returning home to hostilities and disregard.
This song sent the Born In the U.S.A. album on a Thriller-like run of chart success, with the next six singles all reaching the US Top 10. The tally, in order of release:
“Cover Me” (#7) “Born In The U.S.A.” (#9) “I’m On Fire” (#6) “Glory Days” (#5) “I’m Goin’ Down” (#9) “My Hometown” (#6)
The original concept for the music video was to have Springsteen literally dancing in the dark – shot against against a black background. Jeff Stein was the director, and Daniel Pearl, famous for his cinematography on “Every Breath You Take,” was the director of photography. Pearl and Springsteen got in a kerfuffle over how he should be shot, with Springsteen wanting a filter and Pearl insisting on hard lighting. Bruce walked out after a few takes, and ended up shooting the video with Brian DePalma. A few years later, despite his efforts to avoid Springsteen, Pearl found himself working on the “Human Touch” video. Pearl says that Springsteen apologized for the “Dancing In The Dark” debacle and asked to work with him again, as he realized Pearl was right about the lighting.
The single was released on May 3, 1984 and reached its US chart peak of #2 on June 30, which was before the video hit MTV. That week, “The Reflex” by Duran Duran held it out of the top spot; with MTV support, “Dancing In The Dark” looked like a sure bet for #1, but then Prince and his crying doves showed up, ruling MTV and the airwaves, and keeping Springsteen’s song at #2 for the next three weeks.
In 1985, Tina Turner performed this on her Private Dancer tour. Her version appears on the album Tina Turner – Live in Tokyo.
A rather intriguing cover of this song was by the group Big Daddy, who hit #21 UK with their version. The concept behind Big Daddy is that a band crash landed on an island while out on tour in the late ’50s or early ’60s, and when they were rescued in the early ’80s, tried to revive their career. Music had changed drastically by then, so they started covering ’80s music in the only style they knew how to play. The result is a kind of modern Pat Boone sound.
According to Rolling Stone, this is is the only Springsteen song that Bob Dylan ever covered, and he only did it once: at the club Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut, on the night of January 12th, 1990. Dylan flubbed most of the words and the performance was so rough that most people in the audience didn’t seem to realize what song it was until the band hit the chorus.
Dancing In The Dark
I get up in the evening and I ain’t got nothing to say I come home in the morning I go to bed feeling the same way I ain’t nothing but tired Man I’m just tired and bored with myself Hey there baby, I could use just a little help
You can’t start a fire You can’t start a fire without a spark This gun’s for hire even if we’re just dancing in the dark
Message keeps getting clearer radio’s on and I’m moving ’round the place I check my look in the mirror I want to change my clothes, my hair, my face Man I ain’t getting nowhere I’m just living in a dump like this There’s something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is
You can’t start a fire you can’t start a fire without a spark This gun’s for hire even if we’re just dancing in the dark
You sit around getting older there’s a joke here somewhere and it’s on me I’ll shake this world off my shoulders come on baby this laugh’s on me
Stay on the streets of this town and they’ll be carving you up alright They say you gotta stay hungry hey baby I’m just about starving tonight I’m dying for some action I’m sick of sitting ’round here trying to write this book I need a love reaction come on now baby gimme just one look
You can’t start a fire sitting ’round crying over a broken heart This gun’s for hire Even if we’re just dancing in the dark You can’t start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart This gun’s for hire Even if we’re just dancing in the dark Even if we’re just dancing in the dark Even if we’re just dancing in the dark Even if we’re just dancing in the dark Hey baby
A nice guitar riff to start this song off by Throwing Muses.
The band was formed in 1981 by step-sisters Kristin Hersh (vocals/guitar) and Tanya Donelly (guitar/vocals), who were both at high school at the time. Initially called Kristin Hersh And The Muses, the line-up was completed by bassist Leslie Langstons and drummer David Narcizo.
They lived close to Providence, Boston and New York and so they could play a club quite often in both places. They had a lot of colleges and some local newspapers, magazines, and radio stations to promote them.
They were the first American band signed to the British 4AD label. An eclectic blend of jerky guitar pop and songwriter Kristin Hersh’s eccentric vocals, the early work by Throwing Muses was quite different than their peers. A year later 4AD would sign Pixies based in part on the band’s connection to Throwing Muses, and by the mid-1990s much of the label’s roster was made up of American bands.
This song was on their self-titled album Throwing Muses in 1986. The song was written by guitar player and singer Kristin Hersh. She wrote every song on the album except one.
Their latest album Sun Racket was released on Fire Records on September 4, 2020.
Kristin Hersh: “We didn’t mean to ever be strange. I guess we were because everybody says we were,” “It’s almost like speaking your own language. I find we kept people out of our world by doing that.”
Hate My Way
I could be a smack freak And hate society I could hate God And blame Dad I might be in a Holocaust Hate Hitler Might not have a child And hate school I could be a sad lover And hate death I could be a neuro And hate sweat No I hate my way
I make you in to a song I can’t rise above the church I’m caught in a jungle Vines tangle my hands I’m always so hot and it’s hot in here I say it’s all right
My pillow screams too But so does my kitchen And water And my shoes And the road
I have a gun in my head I’m invisible I can’t find the ice
A slug I’m TV I hate
A boy, he was tangled in his bike forever A girl was missing two fingers Gerry Ann was confused Mr. Huberty Had a gun in his head
So I sit up late in the morning And ask myself again How do they kill children? And why do I wanna die? They can no longer move I can no longer be still
We are gonna lighten up today with a song from Mojo Nixon. Hope all of you are doing well on this holiday weekend… look around…Elvis is everywhere.
I was commenting with Paul and he brought up Mojo Nixon and it’s probably been since the 1980s that I heard him. A popular Nashville rock station WKDF in the 80s would play this song and a few more by Mojo.
Mojo Nixon (Neill Kirby McMillan, Jr) started in the early eighties and he teamed up with Skid Roper (Richard Banke). Mojo and Skip Roper wrote this song.
This song was released in 1987 and it was on his album Bo-Day-Shus!!!. Mojo has some fun music. I forgot about his songs until Paul pointed me toward him again and they came back to me. I’ll post one tomorrow also.
Nixon announced that he retired from the music business in 2004, playing his last live show in Austin, Texas. In 2009 he announced his “unretirement” and for a short time let anyone download his albums for free with this statement:
Can’t wait for Washington to fix the economy. We must take bold action now. If I make the new album free and my entire catalog free it will stimulate the economy. It might even over-stimulate the economy. History has shown than when people listen to my music, money tends to flow to bartenders, race tracks, late night greasy spoons, bail bondsman, go kart tracks, tractor pulls, football games, peep shows and several black market vices. My music causes itches that it usually takes some money to scratch
Elvis Is Everywhere
When I look out into your eyes out there When I look out into your faces You know what I see? I see a little bit of Elvis In each and every one of you out there
Lemme tell ya… Weeeeeeeeeellllllll… Elvis is everywhere Elvis is everything Elvis is everybody Elvis is still the king
Man o man What I want you to see Is that the big E’s Inside of you and me
Elvis is everywhere, man! He’s in everything He’s in everybody…
Elvis is in your jeans He’s in your cheesburgers Elvis is in Nutty Buddies! Elvis is in your mom!
He’s in everybody He’s in the young, the old The fat, the skinny The white, the black The brown and the blue People got Elvis in ’em too
Elvis is in everybody out there Everybody’s got Elvis in them! Everybody except one person that is… Yeah, one person! The evil opposite of Elvis The Anti-Elvis
Anti-Elvis got no Elvis in ’em Lemme tell ya
Michael J. Fox has no Elvis in him
And Elvis is in Joan Rivers But he’s trying to get out, man! He’s trying to get out! Listen up Joanie Baby!
Elvis is everywhere Elvis is everything Elvis is everybody Elvis is still the king
Man o man What I want you to see Is that the big E’s Inside of you and me
Man, there’s a lot of unexplained phenomenon Out there in the world Lot of things people say What the heck’s going on?
Let me tell ya!
Who built the pyramids? ELVIS! Who built Stonehenge? ELVIS!
Yeah, man you see guys Walking down the street Pushing shopping carts And you think they’re talking to allah They’re talking to themself Man, no they’re talking to ELVIS! ELVIS! ELVIS!
You know whats going on in that Bermuda Triangle? Down in the Bermuda Traingle Elvis needs boats Elvis needs boats Elvis Elvis Elvis Elvis Elvis Elvis
First of all…Happy 4th of July to those that celebrate it! I also want to thank CB for bringing this song up last year on July 4th. I have posted the X version as well as Dave Alvin’s (who wrote the song) solo version of this song…I also threw in a live version from the Blasters.
This song was released in 1987 on X’s See How We Are album. The album peaked at #107 in the Billboard Album Charts.
This was written by the guitarist Dave Alvin, who had recently replaced Billy Zoom in X. Alvin still had ties with his former band, the Blasters, when he wrote the song, and in early 1986 he recorded the song with the group, with Nick Lowe producing. The sessions when downhill when Lowe decided that Dave should sing the song, not the group’s lead singer, his older brother Phil Alvin. The Blasters album was never released, and it ended up being an X song, with their vocalist John Doe singing it.
Nick Lowe told Dave Alvin something in these sessions that was interesting and career changing. Dave Alvin wrote the song but didn’t think he could sing it but Nick wanted him to. Lowe told him “I can’t sing either, but I’ve somehow made a living doing it.”
Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Blaster’s music. Dave Alvin seems to cover everything from blues, rock, rockabilly, country, Americana and more. Here is a quote from him
I’ve always considered myself as basically a blues guy
but I don’t want to limit myself to what some people define as
blues. The “blues form” and the “blues scale” is a constant
in just about all American folk and roots music as well as jazz
and pop. Because of that, I can hear the blues in country music
as well as in the loud garage band down the block.
As a songwriter, if I feel like writing a polka one day,
I’ll write a polka. If I feel like writing a country song
or a rockabilly song, then I’ll do it. It’s hard enough
writing songs to have to bother yourself with somebody’s
categories.
Dave Alvin: “I wrote a long poem is how it really started,” Alvin said in the Zoo Bar’s upstairs dressing room before his latest show there last month. “It’s based on a true story in my life, back when I was a fry cook in Downey (California). Everything in the song is true,” “There was this little cul-de-sac and there were all these beat-up duplexes. We lived in the upstairs duplex. She didn’t want smoking in the place, so I’d sit on the top of the stairs and just stare at the cul-de-sac.”
“I was just trying to capture that moment. This is long before I even thought of being a songwriter. I was 21, 22 and I looked at the Mexican kids shooting fireworks and I looked at everything and I thought, ‘This is a song.’ Eight years later, I finally wrote it.”
From Songfacts
Alvin wrote a third verse, but decided the song had more impact without it, as it leaves the ending up to the listener. He told us: “When X wanted to record the song and we recorded a couple of demos for Elektra, one of the producers, who is a notable musician who shall remain nameless, said, ‘I’m not getting enough. It needs more.’ So, I thought, well, maybe I should pull that third verse back into it? But then I thought, no, it’s getting the point across. They’re either breaking up or they’re staying together.'”
This song is beloved by the band’s fans and has grown in popularity, but it was never a hit. A victim of timing, the late ’80s found X out-of-favor at radio stations, as anything perceived as “Punk” had a hard time getting airplay (Billy Idol excepted). A few years later, Nirvana knocked down that wall, but it was too late for “4th Of July.”
Live Blasters
Dave Alvin’s version
X 4th of July
4th of July
She’s waitin’ for me When I get home from work Oh, but things ain’t just the same She turns out the light And cries in the dark Won’t answer when I call her name
On the stairs I smoke a Cigarette alone Mexican kids are shootin’ Fireworks below Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July
She gives me her cheek When I want her lips But I don’t have the strength to go On the lost side of town In a dark apartment We gave up trying so long ago
On the stairs I smoke a Cigarette alone Mexican kids are shootin’ Fireworks below Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July
What ever happened I Apologize So dry your tears and baby Walk outside, it’s the Fourth of July
On the stairs I smoke a Cigarette alone Mexican kids are shootin’ Fireworks below Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July Hey baby, Baby take a walk outside
After hearing the song and seeing the video you would think 1965 NOT 1985. I would have loved to hear this in the eighties. This I could have gotten into a lot.
They debuted in March 1984 and released a series of independent records on Sydney’s Citadel Records. Each release made it to number one on the Australian alternative charts.
The Stems were a garage punk band formed in Perth, Western Australia in late 1983. They were hugely popular in Australia. They released this song in 1985 with a song “Cant Resist” as the B side. They would release 7 singles, 2 albums, and 2 EP’s between 1985-1987.
They broke up in 1987. Guitarist Dom Mariani explained: “I was not very happy with the way things were going towards the end of The Stems. We got quite big, and there are the usual problems that happen with that. People tend to drift apart, there are internal conflicts, egos going wild, and bad management was probably the major factor that contributed to The Stems breakup.”
The Stems regrouped in 2003 and played to packed houses across Australia and Europe. They disbanded again in 2009 and regrouped in 2013 and still play from time to time.
Tears Me In Two
All those things that you never said All those words going through my head Time after time I let her cry I laughed and I laughed And she waved goodbye
She waved goodbye She waved goodbye She waved goodbye She waved goodbye I said my prayers and shed my tears All my dreams have become my fears I wrote her letters that I could not send My memories are my only friend
She waved goodbye She waved goodbye She waved goodbye She waved goodbye Everyone thinks that I am crazy I can’t stand the things that they say Think that I’ve been oh-so-cruel Commit me with lies I did not do I didn’t do them You know I didn’t do them Don’t tell me that I did them You know I didn’t do them I didn’t do them
I couldn’t stand it for a second more I turn it down for, I want love for Why can’t my heart leave me be Tears me in two, can’t you see I can’t stand it for a second more I turn it down for, I want love for Why can’t my heart leave me be Tears me in two ways, can’t you see Tears me in two ways Come on baby Take an look down there Tears me in two ways
I posted a song called Watusi Rodeo by Guadalcanal Diary a while back and I got a great response. I’ve been listening to these guys and it gets better and better. This band had a sophisticated and spiritual bent to the band’s lyrics.
This song is off of the EP Watusi Rodeo released in 1983. The songwriting in this band was a step above many of their peers…clever lyrics with a mixture of jangle and country. When you start listening to this band later on you can see a lot of eclecticism as they could bounce from one style to another.
They did get picked up by a major label after this release. Their LP Jamboree released in 1986 was on Elektra. They unsuccessfully attempted a commercial breakthrough, adopting the style of a country-rock band with some religious sentiment.
Jeff Walls and singer Murray Attaway were friends in high school in Marietta, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. Along with bassist Rhett Crowe and drummer John Poe, they formed Guadalcanal Diary.
In 2011, Guadalcanal Diary briefly reunited to play Athfest, and celebrated their 30th anniversary there. Jeff Walls died, May 29, 2019, of a rare pulmonary disease.
Trail Of Tears
The Sun hangs low in the Western sky I bow my head and remember now Someone’s lips pressed close to mine Her cool hand upon my brow
Hell burns hot for a killer ‘s heart A shallow grave in an unmarked plot Crack of gunfire in the dark Hand in hand we’ll walk at daybreak
One wore black One wore black One wore black
The trail of tears is winding on Many pass along the road Dusty soldiers march along As they file one by one
One wore black One wore black One wore black
Trail of tears is winding on Frightened soldier run no more Arm and arm with lovers gone No one passes on the road
Two girls wait at the railroad track For their soldiers to come back Knowing this will be their last One wore blue and one wore black
This is a perfect song to remember alternative radio with today. This is Paul Westerberg’s tribute to college radio in the 1980s. Of all the bands I’ve covered on Mondays…this band is my favorite of them all. They were more straight rock and roll with some quirks thrown in for good measure.
Left of the Dial celebrates the spirit of the eighties American indie rock scene and was a tribute to the tiny watt college stations populating the far end of the FM radio band—many let the Replacements crash after shows at campuses. Westerberg had said that is where they got most of their airtime…“We ended up going to college in an odd kind of way.”
The song is also about Westerberg’s infatuation with Lynn Blakey, singer-guitarist for North Carolina’s Let’s Active. They’d met when the bands shared a bill at San Francisco’s I-Beam in the fall of 1983. “He followed me around and bummed cigarettes off me,” recalled Blakey. The following night, after a show in Berkeley, the two spent hours walking together. They would exchange calls and letters as Blakey moved to Athens, Georgia, where she joined Michael Stipe’s sister Lynda in the band Oh-OK.
“I figured the only way I’d hear her voice was with her band on the radio . . . on a college station,” said Westerberg. “And one night we were passing through a town somewhere, and she was doing an interview on the radio. I heard her voice for the first time in six months for about a minute. Then the station faded out.” The moment provided the song’s lyric “If I don’t see ya, in a long, long while / I’ll try to find you / Left of the dial.”
The song was on the album Tim and it was released in 1985.
Left of the Dial
Read about your band in some local page Didn’t mention your name, didn’t mention your name The sweet Georgia breezes, safe, cool and warm I headed up north, you headed north
On and on and on and on What side are you on? On and on and on and on What side are you on?
Weary voice that’s laughin’, on the radio once We sounded drunk, never made it on Passin’ through and it’s late, the station started to fade Picked another one up in the very next state
On and on and on and on What side are you on? On and on and on and on and
Pretty girl keep growin’ up, playin’ make-up, wearin’ guitar Growin’ old in a bar, ya grow old in a bar Headed out to San Francisco, definitely not L.A. Didn’t mention your name, didn’t mention your name
And if I don’t see ya, in a long, long while I’ll try to find you Left of the dial Left of the dial Left of the dial Left of the dial Left of the dial Left of the dial Left of the dial Left of the dial
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