PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Otis Clay – That’s How It Is (When You’re In Love)

I always liked the late sixties and early seventies soul and R&B…this one fits the bill.

Otis Clay, born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, started his career in gospel music before transitioning to soul music in the mid-sixties. His move into soul followed a trend among gospel artists of that era, like Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke, who carried over the powerful vocal styles to soul music.

In 1957, Otis Clay sang with several gospel groups, including the Golden Jubilaires, the Blue Jays, and the Pilgrim Harmonizers. However, it was with the Gospel Songbirds that he made his first recording in 1964, Jesus, I Love to Call His Name. Shortly after its release, Clay accepted an offer to join the renowned Sensational Nightingales, with whom he toured until mid-1965. He then decided to cross over into the R&B genre and signed with the One-derful label. “That’s How It Is (When You’re in Love)” took Clay onto the R&B charts in 1967.

The follow-up, Lasting Love, was also a hit, but Clay’s contract was sold to Cotillion Records as One-derful faced bankruptcy. His releases there included She’s About A Mover and Do Right Woman—Do Right Man (both of which were recorded at Muscle Shoals), as well as a searing version of Pouring Water On A Drowning Man.

The song peaked at 131 on the Billboard 100 and #34 on the Billboard R&B Chart in 1967.

His version of Pouring Water On A Drowning Man. He does a great version but my favorite version is by James Carr.

That’s How It Is

Please, somebody take your hand and slap some sense into me
Open my eyes, ’cause I’m too blind to see
I’ve got this woman and she’s messin’ my mind around
She knows that I love her, but still she’s tryin’ to put me down
I know I’m just a fool, someone she can use
But I can’t help myself, ooh, I can’t help myself

Ooh, now listen baby, I know I’m just your fool
But I love you, and for you I’ll break every rule
Now I’ve broken hearts before of the ones that love me
But now I’m in love, too, place no one above you
The Lord knows I love you, always thinkin’ of you
But I can’t help myself, I can’t help myself

Ooh no, please don’t look down on me
Because I’m weak. When you’re in love, it’s easy to be
I know I’m being abused
Misused and confused
But that’s how it is when you’re in love

That’s how it is now
I know that’s how it is now
When you love someone that don’t love you
Oh yeah, keep on being abused
Misused and confused
But that’s how it is when you’re in love

Make you feel so fine, yeah now
All right, oh yeah, keep on being abused
Keep on being misused
But that’s how it is
It ain’t a doggone thing you can do
No, now, oh no
Got to keep on holdin’ on, yeah

…

Mouse and the Traps – You’re Gonna Miss Me

I want to thank Aphoristic Album Reviews for featuring this band in his Nuggets series. I loved the song he posted so I found a few more that I like from this band. I am guilty of having too much trivia in my head, but I never heard of this band, not in reading about obscure bands or their music. I like their music and the sound of their lead singer. I would have liked them no matter what just because of that name.

Mouse and the Traps is an American garage rock band from Tyler, Texas, active mainly during the 1960s. They gained a cult following for their gritty sound that represented garage rock well. The band is best known for their 1966 hit single, A Public Execution, which is really Dylanesque plus some Byrds thrown in.

They began their career releasing “A Public Execution” under the name of Mouse. That was the nickname of their lead singer Ronnie “Mouse” Weiss. Their second single in 1966 was called Maid of Sugar-Maid of Spice and they added “And the Traps.” They have had different members through the years but a constant from their original lineup is Ronnie Weiss, Dave Stanley, and Ken (Nardo) Murray.

Much like Phil from Notes From The Cactus Patch did in the 1960s…Mouse and the Traps toured around Texas, especially Dallas. They toured around the state feverishly, playing clubs, colleges, parties, and even proms. There were occasional touring dates out of Texas, but, for the most part, they remained a very popular regional band.

They have released a bunch of singles and a few collection albums that were released in 1982, 1995, 1997, and 2009. They finally released an album in 2020 called Walking In Dylan’s Shoes. In 1972 they were added to Lenny Kayes Nuggets compilation album of different garage bands.

Graham from Aphoristic Album Reviews wrote: Mouse and the Traps surely hold the record for the longest gap between a debut single and a debut album. ‘A Public Execution’ was released in 1966 (although it was credited solely to their frontman). Their debut album, Walking in Dylan’s Shoes, was released in December 2020.

I’ve listened to their 2020 Dylan cover album Walking In Dylan’s Shoes and I have to admit…it’s really good!

The song I picked, You’re Gonna Miss Me, is off of their Lost Sessions Album released in 2009. I’m not sure which era it’s from although because of the quality…I would guess the 80s or 90s. They were together off and on in the 1960s – 2020. I’m also posting the song that Graham did with Maid of Sugar-Maid of Spice (1966) along with You’re Gonna Miss Me (?).

I’m also going to post Mouse and the Traps Lost Sessions album…give a listen to a few of them…they are awesome! Hit The Bricks and Bottom Line got my attention right away.

…

Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down

I first heard Kristofferson as a kid with Why Me on the radio during the seventies. I also remember him on SNL with his then-wife Rita Coolidge. You could tell Kris had been having some fun but it sounded good. Then I found Janis Joplin’s Me and Bobby McGee and I found out that Kris wrote that song…I became a fan. Plus he was one of the Outlaws in country music that I really liked.

In the sixties, Kris was working as a janitor in Nashville while living in a run-down tenant house. He was also a janitor at Columbia Records at the same time. This might seem normal for a songwriter who was trying to make a mark but the man had something else as well. He was a Rhodes Scholar who studied at Oxford University earning a master’s degree in English language. He also served as a captain in the U.S. Army, where he became a helicopter pilot, in addition to having completed U.S. Army Ranger School. The guy was highly talented and very smart.

He befriended Johnny’s wife, June Carter. June liked Kristofferson, and would often sneak demo tapes of his songs in her purse to bring home to Johnny. At night, she’d play the tapes for him in their bedroom above Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee. Every night Cash would listen and throw them out the bedroom window into the lake below.

There are many stories about how Johnny got the song…but this is the version that Johnny told. At the time, Kristofferson was also working part-time as a helicopter pilot for the Army Reserve. On a routine flight training mission, Kristofferson veered off his course and headed for Cash’s home. After landing the chopper on Cash’s lawn, he walked up to the home with the demo of “Sunday Morning Coming Down” in hand. Cash said he heard the chopper land and walked out to find Kristofferson walking up to him.

“As I approached, out stepped Kris Kristofferson, with a beer in one hand and a tape in the other,” Cash said. “I stopped, dumbfounded. He grabbed my hand, put the tape in it, grinned and got back into the helicopter and was gone, a bit wobbly, but almost straight up, then out high above the lake where all his songs lay on the bottom. He disappeared through the clouds. I looked at the tape of “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and “Me And Bobby McGee.”

The first version of this song was not by Johnny Cash. Ray Stevens did the first version of the song. Ray’s version peaked at #55 on the Country Charts in 1969. Johnny Cash did the most successful version releasing it in 1970. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts, #1 on the Canada Country Charts, and #30 in Canada on the RPM charts.

Kris passed away on September 28, 2024.

Sunday Mornin’ Comin’Down

Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head, that didn’t hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast,
Wasn’t bad so I had one more, for dessert
Then I fumbled through my closet,
For my clothes and found my cleanest dirty shirt
And I shaved my face and combed my hair,
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day

I’d smoked my brain the night before on cigarettes and songs
That I’d been pickin’
But I lit my first, and watched a small kid cussin’ at a can
That he was kickin’
Then I crossed the empty street and caught the Sunday smell
Of someone fryin’chickin
And it took me back to somethin’ that I had lost somehow,
Somewhere along the way

[Chorus]
On the Sunday morning sidewalk, wishin’ Lord that I was stoned
Cause there is something in a Sunday, makes a body feel alone
And there is nothing short of die’n, half a lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin’ city sidewalks, Sunday morning coming down

In the park I saw a daddy,
With ‘w(?)’ laughin’ little girl who he was swingin’
And I stopped beside a Sunday school,
And listened to a song that they were singin’
Then I headed back for home and somewhere far away
A lonely bell was ringin’
And it echoed through the canyons like the disappearing dreams
Of yesterday

[Chorus]
On the Sunday morning sidewalk, wishing Lord that I was stoned
Cause there is something in a Sunday, make a body feel alone
And there is nothing short of die’n, half a lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin’ city sidewalks, Sunday morning coming do

Greg Kihn – Roadrunner

This song has a little of everything. Great crunchy guitar sound and an incredible bass that starts carrying the song in the middle. I love the harmonies on “Radio On” and he goes into what sounds like a slight ad-lib that I love. When you listen to it…listen to the complete song…it changes in the middle and it rocks. It’s very loose but that bass keeps it glued together.

I first heard of Greg Kihn in 1981 when The Breakup Song (The Don’t Write ‘Em) was released. This was a power pop dream song. It was catchy, had some good guitar, and was immediately catchy. I just assumed the guy just came out with this on his debut album. I was totally wrong about that. He looked like a guy that would live next door to you but he had some great songs that weren’t heard. CB sent me this song and I had to looked twice at Greg Kihn…I never realized he had so many good songs.

Kihn wasn’t just a musician either. He was also a novelist and disc jockey. He was born in Baltimore Maryland and stayed there until he was 23 and he moved to San Francisco to check out their music scene. He had regular jobs starting out but also formed a band and played in clubs. The guy released an album a year from 1976 to 1986. He would go on to release 12 more after that…he was very prolific.

He was first on the 1976 compilation album of many bands called Beserkley Chartbusters Vol. 1 with the songs All The Right Reasons and Mood Mood Number. The last track mentioned is very Nick Lowe sounding and I really like it. After that, he released his self-titled debut album in 1976. He kept releasing albums…in 1977 with Greg Kihn Again, Next of Kihn came in 1978 and was his first album that charted. It charted at #145 on the Billboard Album Charts. In 1979 it was With A Naked Eye that peaked at #114, and in 1980 Glass House Rock that charted at #167.

The next album, RocKihnRoll would do much better thanks to The Breakup Song. That album peaked at #32 and the song peaked at #15. He had his most successful release in 1983 with the album Kihnspiracy which peaked at #15 and the smash single Jeopardy which peaked at #2. His albums were a mix of original and cover songs. He covered Springsteen (Rendezvous and For You), Buddy Holly, Curtis Mayfield, and many more. Kihn was a good songwriter as well.

This song was written by Jonathan Richman of the band Modern Lovers. Their version was released in 1976. I like the Modern Lovers version but it doesn’t have the kick Greg puts into this song. This song was on Greg Kihn’s 1979 album With The Naked Eye.

I’m going to post a bonus song…Kihn covering For Your Love live…

Roadrunner

one, two, three, four, five, six
Roadrunner, roadrunner
Going faster miles an hour
Gonna drive past the Stop ‘n’ Shop
With the radio on
I’m in love with the modern world
I’m in love with the modern girls
Massachusetts when it’s late at night
I got the radio on
Just like the roadrunner

Said welcome to the spirit of 1956
Patient in the bushes next to ’57
Well the highway was my girlfriend cause I went by so quick
Suburban trees were out there it felt like heaven
So I said
And I say roadrunner once
Roadrunner twice
We’re in love with rock & roll so lets be out all night

(Radio On!)
I got the AM
(Radio On!)
I got the modern sound rock and roll
(Radio On!)
I got the power I got the magic now
(Radio On!)
Fifty thousand watts of power now
(Radio On!)
Going faster miles an hour, Lets Go

(Bass carries the song here)

Alright
Can’t you hear out in Cleveland now?
USA when it’s late at night
Out on Route 128 down by the power lines
It’s so exciting at midnight
It’s cold here in the dark
I might explode nowhere near
I feel in touch with the modern world
I feel in touch because

(Radio On!)
I’m in love with the AM
(Radio On!)
Cause I’m feeling so alone at night
(Radio On!)
I got the power I got the magic now
(Radio On!)
Fifty thousand watts of power now
(Radio On!)
I’m alone in the cold of night
(Radio On!)
I feel in touch I feel alive I feel alone I fell so alive, alive in love
(Radio On!)
I’m in love with rock n roll
(Radio On!)
I got the, I got the, I got the
(Radio On!)

…

Max’s Drive-In Movie – Kentucky Fried Movie

The reason I thought about this movie again was I was reading a Quentin Tarantino interview and he mentioned how much he liked it. It is in his favorite movie list. I hadn’t seen it since around 2012 or so. I rewatched it and enjoyed it a lot.

I read about this movie a lot and finally got to see it in the 1980s. It’s close to a rated R Saturday Night Live episode set in a movie with no audience. They have fake newscasts, commercials, movie trailers (Catholic High School Girls In Trouble), and almost everything else. It’s 1970s skit humor very close to SNL with the first cast. Some skits work really well and some skits don’t…just like most skit-based shows. I also would compare some of the humor with Airplane! and Naked Gun. This movie does include nudity and dark humor.

The film was directed by John Landis and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (who later created The Naked Gun series). You will see familiar faces but not well-known except for a few cameos by Donald Sutherland, Bill Bixby, and George Lazenby. Tony Dow also makes a cameo playing his old character Wally Cleaver in the skit Courtroom.

The Zucker brothers (David and Jerry) and Jim Abrahams were the creative team behind the film. They had originally been performing a live comedy show called “The Kentucky Fried Theater” in Madison, Wisconsin, in the early 1970s. The success of their live sketches inspired them to translate that format into a film. This was going on across the nation along with the National Lampoon Magazine which inspired a different kind of skit comedy than the Carol Burnett Show.

I really hate the word “dated.” This goes back to a modern movie critic saying “Vanishing Point” was dated. Hmmm, a movie set and filmed in the 1970s with a 1970s theme and style…who would have thought that? When you watch a movie like this one…you have to put yourself in that mindset of when it was made. I understand that some comedy styles change but some things are funny…and some are not… regardless of when they were made. In other words, it’s not “politically correct.”

I have seen some “first reaction” videos of this movie from young people who were watching it for the first time. They were very positive which surprised me. Of course, they gave warnings because of the darkness but liked it.

The budget was $600,000 and it made 7.1 million dollars at Drive-Ins across America. I won’t include a plot since it contains different skits.

..,

Walter Cronkite

When I grew up in a small Tennessee town, every afternoon at 5:30 pm…the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite would grace our living room. I didn’t understand half the news he was talking about but I liked him. He didn’t scowl, growl, throw a fit, cry, or visibly pull for one thing or another. He was a newscaster who was for the most part unbiased (yes they did exist).

Cronkite conveyed fairness and honesty with actual integrity. You felt like you could trust Uncle Walt with your news to have it fair and factual. He started off as a radio announcer and newspaper reporter in the Midwest. He joined United Press, where he became a war correspondent during World War II, covering battles in North Africa and Europe and witnessing historic moments such as the Normandy landings.

1962, Cronkite became the anchor of the CBS Evening News, which he led from a 15-minute to a 30-minute format in 1963. Cronkite took us through the Kennedy assassination, the Moon Landing, the Vietnam War, Watergate, Jimmy Carter, and finally ending as Ronald Reagan became our 40th president.

He did have a moment where he did open up about something in a commentary. After his trip to Vietnam in early 1968, anchorman Walter Cronkite broadcasted his coverage of the Tet Offensive. Cronkite concluded his report with a personal commentary, voicing his skepticism of official assertions of military progress.

“To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. . . . But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.”

Lyndon Baines Johnson (The then President): “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.”

This wasn’t something he did regularly at all. He was human and I have no doubt that at times he might tilt one way or another on issues…but when I go back and watch some of his old newscasts…they stuck pretty much to the cold hard facts. That seems so hard to do today.

And Thats the Way It Is…November 14, 2024.

Beatles – Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg …album review

When I got this album I loved it but at first didn’t understand why the quality was so low but the music makes up for it. The recordings are from 1962 in their last engagement in Hamburg and they didn’t want to be there. I have mentioned this album with some posts but never really went over it.

These are the punk Beatles. Raw and relentless playing fast and furious. The Beatles before the world was paying attention to them. This was recorded on an old reel-to-reel recorder at the slowest speed to conserve tape. It was not meant to be an album or anything commercial. A friend named Ted “King Sized” Taylor the leader of a band called the Dominoes, put a microphone near the stage to record them. The quality is poor, to say the least.

Peter Jackson has mentioned that he would love to work on this album. He could improve the sound a lot using modern technology and I wish they would let him try it. It was released in 1977 and the record company sunk 100,000 dollars just to make the audio listenable. Ted Taylor did ask the Beatles before he recorded and they had no qualms with it. Later on, they tried to sue to block its release but obviously were unsuccessful. I’m glad they were…this is a fun and historic listen.

The Beatles were playing to an audience of sailors, prostitutes, drunks, and gangsters. They would rip through songs at such a speed that only 2 songs on this double album are over 3 minutes long. It was like the Beatles doing a future Ramones imitation. They were “enhanced” by prellies (Preludin) that sped them up quite a bit.

They are a great band here. You catch them with their guard down and acting completely natural. The Beatles were on their last club dates in Hamburg. They had already recorded Love Me Do and it was on the charts. They did not want to be back in Hamburg but they honored a previous agreement and were there. They didn’t mail the performances in but they were loose and relaxed.

It contains mostly cover songs with very few originals. The track listing is at the bottom of the post. This is close to what Brian Epstein heard when he first saw them, this is why they took over Liverpool and this is why they got signed.

Casual fans will not want this album but serious Beatles fans will love it. This is more than a low-fidelity album…it is history. John Lennon always said that the world didn’t hear the best of the Beatles live…I agree. By this time in Hamburg they were getting lazy as well. They didn’t want to be there because they were sitting on Please Please Me waiting for it to get released in the following year.

After they became THE Beatles…they could not hear themselves play because of the long constant ~~jet taking off~~ screaming. On this album, you hear them as they were before the screams. I was 11 when I bought this and I didn’t get the importance until a few years later.

This is out of the book Tune In… Without a doubt the best book out on the Beatles. It’s the first of three volumes.

Their playing is adept and hyper-energetic, and the microphone catches many important moments. The tape’s value has been downplayed on the basis that the Beatles are musically sloppy and perhaps even lazy, knowing they’ve one foot out of the door, but this is to ignore its virtues. The Beatles did hate being in Hamburg this last time … but the recording shows them still cutting the mustard on stage. They’re sloppy because, here, they can be, but they’re not lazy, and they’re not playing with extra care because they’re being recorded: this is an authentic eavesdrop on their club act, not something fizzed-up for the tape machine.

At least three sets were recorded, and because the Beatles rarely repeated themselves in Hamburg, there are only five duplicates among the thirty-seven songs. The repertoire is a real surprise. The only self-written pieces are “Ask Me Why” and “I Saw Her Standing There” (twice), so there’s no “Love Me Do,” “PS I Love You,” “Please Please Me,” “One After 909” or any of several other possibilities, and there are few of the songs from the spine of their all-conquering 1962 stage sets—no “Some Other Guy,” “Soldier of Love,” “Please Mr. Postman,” “Don’t Ever Change,” “A Shot of Rhythm and Blues,” “Devil in Her Heart,” “Baby It’s You,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody,” “Hey! Baby, A Picture of You,” and so on. What’s here is an idiosyncratic selection of old rock numbers all played at breakneck speed—Prellies pace. The nights of half-hour “What’d I Say” marathons are past: everything is high velocity, only three numbers tipping into three minutes.

Side one

Introduction/”I Saw Her Standing There” (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 0:34/2:22
“Roll Over Beethoven” (Chuck Berry) – 2:15
“Hippy Hippy Shake” (Chan Romero) – 1:42
“Sweet Little Sixteen” (Berry) – 2:45
“Lend Me Your Comb” (Kay Twomey, Fred Wise, Ben Weisman) – 1:44
“Your Feet’s Too Big” (Ada Benson, Fred Fisher) – 2:18

Side two

“Twist and Shout” (Phil Medley, Bert Russell) – 2:03
“Mr. Moonlight” (Roy Lee Johnson) – 2:06
“A Taste of Honey” (Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow) – 1:45
“Bésame Mucho” (Consuelo Velázquez, Sunny Skylar) – 2:36
“Reminiscing” (King Curtis) – 1:41
“Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey” (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Richard Penniman) – 2:09

Side three

“Nothin’ Shakin’ (But the Leaves on the Trees)” (Eddie Fontaine, Cirino Colacrai, Diane Lampert, John Gluck) – 1:15
“To Know Her Is to Love Her” (Phil Spector) – 3:02
“Little Queenie” (Berry) – 3:51
“Falling in Love Again (Can’t Help It)” (Frederick Hollander, Sammy Lerner) – 1:57
“Ask Me Why” (Lennon, McCartney) – 2:26
“Be-Bop-A-Lula” (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis) – 2:29
- Guest lead vocal by Fred Fascher, Star-Club waiter
“Hallelujah I Love Her So” (Ray Charles) – 2:10
- Guest lead vocal by Horst Fascher, Star-Club manager

Side four

“Red Sails in the Sunset” (Jimmy Kennedy, Hugh Williams) – 2:00
“Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby” (Carl Perkins) – 2:25
“Matchbox” (Carl Perkins) – 2:35
“I’m Talking About You” (Berry) – 1:48
“Shimmy Like Kate” (Armand Piron, Fred Smith, Cliff Goldsmith) – 2:17
- Based on The Olympics’ arrangement of “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate”;^[32] sometimes misidentified as “Shimmy Shimmy” or “Shimmy Shake”
“Long Tall Sally” (Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell, Penniman) – 1:45
“I Remember You” (Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger) – 1:54

Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend

When I first heard this song I thought of Jimi Hendrix a little with the intro and then it dissolved into one of the best power pop songs of the 1990s. The song has a little of everything… noisy guitar, loud drums but with a pop melody. Just like I thought with Lone Justice and some others…I just knew he would be cranking out hits for the rest of his career. He has cranked out some great songs but not many hits…but that is ok.

Great power pop song by Matthew Sweet. The song reached #4 on the US Alternative Chart in 1991. This was the title cut-off of his 3rd album…it was Sweet’s breakthrough album.

The song and the album were written during a bad period in Sweet’s life, following his divorce. The themes of longing, heartache, and new beginnings pervade the lyrics, reflecting his personal struggles and growth.

The video featured scenes from the 1980s anime Space Adventure Cobra, which caught viewers’ attention and became famous in its own right. The success of Girlfriend helped establish Matthew Sweet as a power pop alternative figure in the 1990s.

A trivia question…who is that girl on the album cover? I know it because I watched a certain older show recently.

Here is some sad news about Sweet right now from https://variety.com/2024/music/news/matthew-sweet-stroke-tour-gofundme-1236187225/

Singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet suffered a debilitating stroke while on tour in mid-October, it was revealed on Tuesday, when a representative for his management company posted a fundraising appeal on GoFundMe to support his recovery.

Sweet had been out on tour opening for the group Hanson when he was stricken in Toronto Oct. 12, in advance of a date that was to have taken place there the following night.

Catherine Lyons, who represents Sweet at Russell Carter Artist Management, posted the GoFundMe on Tuesday afternoon, with a stated goal of raising $250,000 for the rocker’s medical care. The effort got off to a good start. As of 6 p.m. PT Tuesday, about 770 individuals had contributed almost $50,000, and by 8 p.m., it was up to $85,000 from 1,400 donors.

Girlfriend

I wanna love somebody
I hear you need somebody to love
Oh, I wanna love somebody
I hear you’re looking for someone to love

‘Cause you need to
Be back in the arms of a good friend
And I need to
Be back in the arms of a girlfriend

I didn’t know nobody
And then I saw you coming my way
Oh, I didn’t know nobody
And then I saw you coming my way

Don’t you need to
Be back in the arms of a good friend?
Oh, ’cause, honey, believe me
I’d sure love to call you my girlfriend

Alright

Don’t you need to
Be back in the arms of a good friend?
Oh, ’cause, honey, believe me
I’d sure love to call you my girlfriend

‘Cause you got a good thing going, baby
You only need somebody to love
Oh, you got a good thing going
You’re only looking for someone to love

‘Cause you need to
Get back in the arms of a good friend

And I’m never gonna set you free
No, I’m never gonna set you free

Ride – Chelsea Girl

I just found this band a while back when I heard Twisterella, a great power pop song.

This song is one of the early tracks by the British shoegaze band Ride, from their debut EP titled Ride, which was released in January 1990. It reached #71 on the UK singles chart. The song helped establish Ride as a pioneer in the shoegaze genre, which combines elements of power pop, post-punk, and rock. The band consists of Mark Gardener (vocals, guitar), Andy Bell (vocals, guitar), Steve Queralt (bass), and Loz Colbert (drums).

Ride was formed in 1988 in Oxford by school friends Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, before recruiting drummer Loz Colbert at the Oxfordshire School of Art & Design and local bassist Steve Queralt.

They broke up in 1996 because of differences between Andy Bell and Mark Gardener. Gardener wanted to go forward in a more dance style of music…Bell didn’t but both wanted to go more contemporary style. Bassist Steve Queralt said: The band had two future directions open to them, and they chose the wrong option.

They reunited in 2014 and released their first album in 21 years in 2017.

Chelsea Girl

Take me for a rideAway from places we had knownIf I stay around, I’ll just remember I’m aloneThere’s someone in my memory making me move onWhat was grey and hazy, is black and white, now I have gone

Drive me up to LondonNow it’s got too dark to seeMy waiting is over, there’s no visitor for meNever let me talk to youDestroy the frozen pastIt’s a different time, now things are moving much too fast

Float by today, now it’s turning to greyRaining my doubtsLet my thoughts slip awayYou must have something andWhat it is, I don’t knowYou must have something ’cause I can’t let you go

…

Bruce Springsteen – Growin’ Up

But when they said, “Sit down” I stood up

I’ve been thinking of the Kinks marathon we did and the next one will be on this man…Bruce Springsteen. I’ll wait til after the new year to give everyone a rest.

When I heard this song I could relate because I lived parts of this song while growing up. The rebellion and the misadventures of the teen years resonated with me. But when they said, “Sit down” I stood up and sounded like Max in high school. The album leans that way as well and that was probably the reason I connected with Greetings From Ashbury Park right away. This song is one of my many favorites on the album. He captures teen rebellion perfectly with lyrics that ping pong everywhere.

The song was on his debut album Greetings From Ashbury Park, which happens to be my favorite Springsteen album. It was released back in 1973. Springsteen was signed to Columbia Records in 1972, largely thanks to the efforts of legendary talent scout John Hammond, who had previously discovered artists like Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, and Aretha Franklin. Hammond was blown away by Springsteen’s songwriting and performance and decided to sign him. He played his songs that ended up on this debut album.

The album received some great reviews from critics, but it wasn’t an immediate commercial success. However, the album grew in stature over time, especially after other artists began covering its songs. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band covered “Blinded by the Light,” which became a No. 1 hit in 1977, bringing more attention to Springsteen’s early work.

Bruce Springsteen: “I come from a boardwalk town where everything is tinged with just a bit of fraud. So am I. In 1972 I wasn’t any race-car drivin’ rebel, I wasn’t any corner street punk, I was a guitar player on the streets of Asbury Park, but I held four clean aces: I had youth, I had a decade of hardcore bar-band experience, I have a great group of musicians and friends who really knew my playing style, and I have a magic trick. Now, I’m here tonight to provide proof of life to that ever-elusive, never completely believable, particularly these days, us. That’s my magic trick. And like all good magic tricks, it begins with a setup.”

Growing Up

Well, I stood stone-like at midnight
Suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair, it was just right
And commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain
And I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone
And came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd
But when they said, “Sit down” I stood up
Ooh, growin’ up

The flag of piracy flew from my mast
My sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for a first mate
She couldn’t sail but she sure could sing
And I pushed B-52 and bombed them with the blues
With my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school
Never once gave thought to landing
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd
But when they said, “Come down” I threw up
Ooh, growin’ up

Work it back now

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere
And you know it’s really hard to hold your breath
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared
I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
But my feet they finally took root in the earth
But I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe
In the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the mother breast of the crowd
When they said, “Pull down” I pulled up
Ooh, growin’ up
Ooh, growin’ up

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – The Shootist

When I watch this movie I marvel at the talent on the screen. John Wayne, Ron Howard, Jimmy Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Scatman Crothers, John Carradine, and more. I watched it as a teenager in the 1980s at some point. The movie was released in 1976.

I really, really like this movie a lot and have liked it from the first time I saw it. Along with Wayne, it is fun seeing Ron Howard in his role here. No, it’s not the Clint Eastwood trilogy or John Wayne’s own The Searchers but a really good film.

This film has John Wayne at the end of his long career and Ron Howard at the beginning of his adult career. This was John Wayne’s final role before he died later. Wayne was battling cancer in real life during the film’s production, adding a poignant parallel to real life.

It was directed by Don Siegel and is based on the 1975 novel by Glendon Swarthout. The movie is set in 1901 and follows the story of J.B. Books (played by Wayne), an aging and ailing gunfighter who learns he has terminal cancer. Determined to face his final days with dignity, Books seeks peace but becomes embroiled in conflicts that challenge his desire for a quiet end.

James Stewart had not made a film for five years. He agreed to play the doctor as a favor to John Wayne and his hearing was getting bad by then.

Don Siegel was a very successful director. Some of Siegel’s huge movies came with Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), Dirty Harry (1971), and Escape from Alcatraz (1979). Siegel was known for his direct no-nonsense directing and ability to draw performances from his actors. Clint Eastwood said he was one of his mentors.

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Nick Lowe – So It Goes

I always liked Nick Lowe and his brand of power pop. I first heard of him with Cruel To Be Kind and then Rockpile who I wish would have made more albums as Rockpile. When I started to blog, Brinsley Schwarz came on my radar and I really then realized how talented this guy is.

This was Lowe’s first solo single following the split of the pub rock band, Brinsley Schwarz. It was also the first single released on Stiff Records, a label formed by the music managers, Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman. The single bore the catalog number BUY 1, establishing Stiff Records as a pioneering label in the UK punk and new wave scenes.

Although So It Goes failed to chart, it still earned a profit for the young Stiff Records. It was on the American album Pure Pop For Now People. The album in the UK was called Jesus of Cool. It peaked at #127 on the Billboard 100 in 1978.

Lowe got the title from a recurring line (So It Goes) in Kurt Vonnegut’s 1969 novel, The Slaughterhouse-Five. It is used every time a death occurs in the book. Steve Goulding (drums) and Nick Lowe were the only two musicians on this song. Lowe and Jake Riviera produced the album.

Nick Lowe: “It’s not my favorite, it’s a bit too much like Steely Dan. I think I must have got it from something they’d done.”

So It Goes

Remember on night the kid cut off his right arm
In a fit to save a bit of power
He got fifty thousand watts
In a big acoustic tower
Security’s so tight tonight
Oh they’re ready for a tussle
Gotta keep your backstage passes
‘Cause your promoter had the muscle

And so it goes and so it goes
And so it goes and so it goes
But where it’s goin’ no one knows
And so it goes and so it goes
And so it goes and so it goes
But where it’s goin’ no one knows

In the tall buildings
Sit the head of our nations
Worthy men from Spain and Siam
All day discussions with the Russians
But they still went ahead
And vetoed the plan
Now up jumped the U.S. representative
He’s the one with the tired eyes
747 for the midnight condition
Flyin’ back from a peace keepin’ mission

And so it goes and so it goes
And so it goes and so it goes
But where it’s goin’ no one knows
And so it goes and so it goes
And so it goes and so it goes
But where it’s goin’ no one knows

In the air there’s absolution
In the wake of a snaky Persian
On his arm there’s a skin tight vision
Wonder why she admires she is hissin’

And so it goes and so it goes
And so it goes and so it goes
But where it’s goin’ no one knows
And so it goes and so it goes
And so it goes and so it goes
But where it’s goin’ no one knows

But where it’s goin’ no one knows
But where it’s goin’ no one knows
But where it’s goin’ no one knows

…

Detroit Cobras – Ain’t It A Shame

CB sent this band to me and they are raw and powerful with a unique singer. I really love garage type bands. Bands like this were big in the sixties and turned toward punk in the 70s. They made a comeback in the 80s against the synth based mainstream at the time. The alternative rock scene was born which I liked more than the then top 40 with The Replacements, REM, The Dead Kennedys, and more.

The hardest part about this post was picking out which song to highlight. The album I’ve listened to is The Detroit Cobras: The Original Recordings which rocks. All of their covers are loud raw and catchy like garage rock is. I loved how they picked the songs they covered. Songs that went under the radar when they were originally released.

This song…not to be confused with Ain’t That A Shame was originally recorded by Question Mark and The Mysterians. The song was written by their drummer Robert Martinez and released in 1969.

The Detroit Cobras were known for their reinterpretations of classic R&B, rock, and soul songs. Guess where they are from? They emerged in the mid-1990s and added to the garage rock revival movement of that era. They came out of the same Detroit scene as the White Stripes did.

The band was formed in 1994 by guitarist Steve Shaw and drummer Jeff Meier but lead vocalist Rachel Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez would become the core of the band. The Cobras set themselves apart by reimagining lesser-known songs from the 1950s and 1960s rather than writing their own original material.

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Max’s Drive-In Movie – The Truman Show

When I saw this 1998 movie I did with trepidation because of Jim Carrey. There is only so much of his comedy I can take at once but this was completely different. He did more of a serious turn in this movie and I must admit he was great. I’m not the world’s biggest Jim Carrey fan at all but this movie is brilliant.

Carey plays Truman Burbank, a man who unknowingly lives his entire life in a meticulously crafted, 24/7 reality TV show, with his every move broadcast to a global audience. I try to find themes in movies and this one explores themes of manipulation, personal freedom, commercialism, and the power of free will that wins out.

This movie was like looking into the future…a bleak near future. The Kardashians and others followed showed “real life” (heavy sarcasm) and delivered Warhol’s 15-minute fame theory in the worst possible way. To be honest…I’m honestly amazed that this movie’s plot hasn’t been tried.

Truman Burbank lives a seemingly perfect life in Seahaven, a fictional island town somewhere that is mixed between the 1950s and the 1990s. He was unaware that his entire existence was being broadcast to millions around the world. Every person he interacts with, including his wife, best friend, and co-workers, is an actor playing a role. As Truman begins to notice inconsistencies and strange events like a stage light falling from the “sky” and his wife advertising products mid-conversation…he starts to question his reality.

The film builds towards a powerful climax as Truman embarks on a journey of self-discovery and challenges the artificial world he has been confined to, sailing across the set’s ocean (which he is scared of) in search of freedom. Funny, he wanted to see the world but didn’t know the world was watching him being born, his first step, his first kiss, his marriage, and his escape.

This is a SPOILER but the most poignant thing about the movie to me is when he decides to go to the real world and the show ends. All of those people who bought Truman merchandise and tuned in through the years applauded and said hmm… what’s on another channel? They moved on quickly without a thought or care…and hopefully, Truman did the same.

I have so many feelings about this movie. After I watched it for the first time I took a second look in the mirror and the consistent things in my life and thought hmm what if? And you know what? There IS something called The Truman Syndrome… Psychologists later identified a phenomenon called “The Truman Show Delusion” where individuals believe their lives are being staged and broadcast.

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Lemon Pipers – Green Tambourine

When I first started to blog, mostly all I did was older hits and pop culture. I then started to experiment with album cuts and they seemed to go over pretty well. I’m surprised that I never blogged this song at the beginning. I’ve always liked it… it’s a mixture of pop, bubblegum, and a little psychedelia. What stuck out to me is the sitar…which I love to hear.

Bubblegum has a bad name but there is good bubblegum and I do like some of it. I never cared for The 1910 Fruitgum Company and The Ohio Express but some I did like. Crazy Elephant’s Gimme Gimme Good Loving and songs like that…I’ve always been fond of.

The Lemon Pipers were formed in 1966 in Oxford, Ohio, by students from Miami University. The band played harder psychedelic and blues rock. Buddah Records had different ideas. They pushed The Lemon Pipers into more bubblegum-type music. The tension between the record company and The Lemon Pipers eventually broke the band up in 1969.

You could probably consider The Lemon Pipers a one-hit wonder. They had some other charting songs but none in the top 40 on the Billboard 100 except the song Rice Is Nice which peaked at #6 in New Zealand.

This song did well here and everywhere. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand, and #7 in the UK in 1967. The song has appeared in various films and television shows and made its place as a symbol of 1960s pop culture.

Green Tambourine

Drop your silver in my tambourine
Help a poor man fill a pretty dream
Give me pennies, I’ll take anything
Now listen while I play
My green tambourine

Watch the jingle jangle start to shine
Reflections of the music that is mine
When you toss a coin, you’ll hear it sing
Now listen while I play
My green tambourine

Drop a dime before I walk away
Any song you want, I’ll gladly play
Money feeds my music machine
Now listen while I play
My green tambourine

Listen and I’ll play

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