The Giant Panther

Few bands morph from synth pop to what a friend of mine calls "devil music." He's clueless of course, but Industrial music does have it's detractors. When Ministry released With Sympathy on Arista Records in 1983 I thought it was great. It was so 80's, but it was also very cool. I know frontman Al Jourgensen tries to distance himself from this record, but it's a still a great record. They say Arista took artistic control of the release, much to the chagrin of Jourgensen, but for him to refer to it as "an abortion of an album" is being way too critical. Who knew Ministry could have some nice danceable melodies? Imagine all the folks who thought this band was going to be releasing shiny happy music for the next five or six years only to be hit with "Stigmata" or "Jesus Built My Hot Rod." That probably shocked a few bedroom communities. I know I was a little surprised.

Ministry was formed in 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. The only constant in their entire existence was Al Jourgensen. Original drummer Stephen George was with him long enough to release four 12" singles in on Wax! Tracks Records including "All Day" and the fabulous "Everyday is Halloween" before departing. From then on out it was Al and the somebodies. Ministry's musical assault lends itself to a myriad of recording techniques, but they did tour. There must have been something about that combination because Ministry blew through an awful lot of bodies between 1981-2008. I have to admit I didn't follow Ministry blindly into the abyss. I was disappointed that they chose the path they did, but I respect their right to have chosen it. I have a copy of Greatest Fits on which they fool around with Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay, but as much as I love Nine Inch Nails, I don't think heavy Industrial Rock is the place for me. No offense intended to those who love it of course.

With Sympathy might not have been representative of Ministry's body of work, but it has some great singles on it. I was absolutely in love with "I Wanted To Tell Her" back in the day. I also loved "Effigy (I'm Not An)." This album was also responsible for "Work For Love" and another great tune called "Revenge." Playing it back in full, there are a few weak links, but these four songs are very strong. No need for embarrassment; either on my part or Ministry's. Twenty six years later you rarely hear any of these tunes on alternative rock stations and you can forget about any of the balance of Ministry's catalogue except for an occasional spin of "Everyday is Halloween." I don't think Al Jourgensen cares about terrestrial radio one iota. I'm OK with that. He's got a ton of followers and I'm sure he's not hurting for his next mortgage payment like the rest of us.

I'm leaving you with "I Wanted To Tell Her" even though it sounds so 80's. I used to sneak this one into a number of mix cassette tapes as a youngster. Nobody ever seemed to know who sang it. Now you know once and for all; Ministry. Hopefully this will jog a few memories.

My first exposure to The Moody Blues came when I first heard the single "Nights in White Satin." That song was re-issued in the mid seventies for some reason and was a hit all over again. I think one of the proms I never attended at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, NJ used it as the theme song if memory serves. That's usually enough to turn you off to any song, but I had a history with The Moody Blues. My best friend Jim had three older siblings and they all had Moody Blues records. We used to play the baseball dice game Strat-O-Matic and listen to these records endlessly. Finally, in 1974, The Moody Blues released This is The Moody Blues as a greatest hits package. It didn't catch everything, but it sure was close. For a 14 year old on a grass cutting budget, this was the jackpot. A double album priced at no more than $7.99 at Korvette's on Route 22 in New Jersey was nirvana. I haven't thought about Korvette's in years, but pow, just like that, I'm back in 1974. I guess E.J. (Korvette) declared bankruptcy in 1980 and folded the chain, but he was my music man for a couple of years. I was a Massachusetts resident by then so I didn't get the memo, but God bless that chain.

Note the vinyl marks on the artwork above. You know this baby sat in a heavy pile of records for a long time. It's not my copy, but it might as well have been. I love The Moody Blues. I know it's not very fashionable to say as much these days, but I've always loved this band. I remember a friend of my father's gave me a cassette copy of Seventh Sojourn in 1972. I played that thing like there was no tomorrow. I just loved it. This is The Moody Blues was one of the first greatest hits records I can remember where you didn't get a break between the songs. Nearly every one of them was blended or had a few seconds of silence between the tracks. I didn't mind it when I was playing the album, but digitzing the music is kind of a nightmare. Songs frequently get chopped unfortunately.

Last night The Moody Blues played the Bank of America Pavilion here in Boston. At 49 years young I felt like a toddler in this silver haired crowd. The Moodies released their first record, Days of Future Passed, in 1967. Many of these folks were obviously long time fans like me with the emphasis on the long. Aside from seeing 60 somethings Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge on stage looking every bit their age, it was interesting to see a crowd of folks pushing 60 trying to rock. Maybe this is how I look at a Kings of Leon concert I'm guessing huh? I know many of you folks out there probably know four Moody Blues songs at best, but these guys were pioneers. They mixed poetry and orchestral soft rock and produced some great music. Like Pink Floyd, there has never been anybody like them. Even with three of the original five on stage, it was like I was back in Boston Garden in 1980 or at Concerts On The Common in 1988 minus Michael Pinder and Ray Thomas. When they broke into "Tuesday Afternoon" about five songs in I was in nostalgia heaven. It practically was Tuesday Afternoon to boot. Great symmetry. I'm a sucker for symmetry.

The highlight of the show, for me, though was "Never Comes The Day" from 1969's On The Threshold of a Dream. I sang that thing at the top of my lungs along with everybody else within earshot. I know most of you probably don't even know the song, but it's a great tune. I love Justin Hayward's voice. It's so soothing. I didn't get to hear "Lovely To See You" or "Legend of a Mind" last night, but I didn't really care. I've heard those first seven records hundreds of times. I was just happy to be there last night on a picture perfect late August evening. Our ten days of summer is coming to a close and even I, allergic to weather 80 degrees and above, was comfortable last night. The weather hasn't quite broken yet, but you can feel it coming. I just love the cool weather of the fall season. I knew I was going to the show all along, but I didn't grab a ticket until yesterday afternoon. I found a single in the 12th row center and had a tremendous view of their gorgeous new flute player dressed in black. She might have been talented, but I was too dazzled by her silhouette to notice.

I saw Bruce Springsteen over the weekend, but I felt like writing about The Moody Blues instead. I feel like these guys just don't get their due in rock history. Thirty years from now the band and us fans will probably be gone so I'm doing my part to remind folks what great artists these guys were and are. I could leave you any number of Moody Blues songs and be happy about it, but I'm going to go with You and Me from Seventh Sojourn. Even if you are a reasonably big Moody Blues fan you might not know this one. I hope you like it.

www.moodyblues.co.uk

I have been meaning to write something about Public Image Limited (PIL) for a while now. This is the story of Johnny Rotten. OK, maybe not but I'm not sure Neil Young was right on top of it either as much as I love Neil. I was a late bloomer to The Sex Pistols. I didn't get them or there fan base when I was 17. All that registered with me was the spitting. I hate spitting. That said, today I'm a huge fan of Never Mind The Bullocks (Here's The Sex Pistols). I love the title, I love "Holidays in The Sun" and I love "Anarchy in The UK." In fact I love "God Save The Queen" and "Pretty Vacant" too. For a band likened to The Monkees in terms of their instrumental prowess Never Mind The Bullocks was a helluva record. It still sounds ground breaking and explosive to this very day. Not bad for alleged hacks huh? In fairness the criticism was mostly aimed squarely at Sid Vicious, but it wasn't his exclusive domain. Rotten & Vicious seemed famous for being famous at the time.

Since I didn't follow The Pistols' saga until Sid & Nancy came out in the mid 80's it stands to reason I didn't know the first thing about PIL when they started making records. The fact that the first two PIL records were too artsy and avant-garde for commercial radio didn't help me at all either. After the demise of The Sex Pistols it is rumored that John Lydon, the ex Mr Johnny Rotten, was proffered by Virgin Records head Richard Branson as a potential lead singer for the band Devo believe it or not. Allegedly, Devo wanted no part of that. I can't imagine why can you? Do you ever feel like you've been duped? Well, no, not really. Whether we are talking The Monkees, The Archies, Josie & The Pussycats, The Partridge Family, The Pistols or any other idea/brand before actual musicianship concept all we have to go on is the finished product right? If you liked "Last Train To Clarksville," and I did, who cares who plays the instruments? I wouldn't go around saying a comic strip that produces "Sugar, Sugar" is a rockin' good act, but you get my overarching drift here (I hope). Of course, it could be that Johnny was talking about something completely different like the length of their show that particular night or how badly they had been managed, but hey, these guys were the perpetrators of The Great Rock & Roll Swindle right? There's gotta be truth in advertising no?

Initially John Lydon formed PIL with bassist Jah Wobble, guitarist Keith Levene and drummer Jim Walker. Naturally that lineup lasted about two clicks, but such is the nature of rock & roll I guess. The band has been officially on hiatus since 1992, but John Lydon is probably the only one who thinks that. The thing is, I really liked these guys. I think "Seattle" from 1987's Happy? and "Rise & Home" from 1986's Compact Disc flat are brilliant. I love John's snarling vocals. I played "Disappointed" from 1989's 9 ad nauseum back when it came out and I think another half dozen of their songs are highly listenable. PIL might have been a bit ahead of their time. They got by on next to no radio airplay until their fifth record named Album, Compact Disc, Cassette or Digital Download depending on your preferred format. And even then it was restricted to "This is Not a Love Song" from 1984's This is What You Want...This is What You Get. Today maybe a half dozen combined tracks from The Sex Pistols and PIL might consistently turn up on WFNX & Julie Kramer's Leftover Lunch, but for the most part Public Image Limited is just that; a band with a limited public image. I could care less. I think they were great and tell anyone that bothers to ask as much and I was never a punk (no, really).

I grappled with which track to post because I only get one crack at it you know? I have a thousand bands to blog about and PIL won't be back anytime soon at The Giant Panther I'm sad to say. I just listened to several of my favorites and just decided "Rise" is the only way to go. Anger is an energy don't you know. If you say it enough times it sticks I promise. Until the next time...

Public Image Limited - Rise.mp3

Public Image Limited - Rise.mp3 YSI

One of the hotter bands the 80's will be remembered for is an English rock band called The Cult. They formed in 1983 and released their first record called Dreamtime in 1984. You can file them under Alternative Rock, Post Punk, Goth Rock, Hard Rock or Heavy Metal, but just make sure you file them. Between 1985's breakthrough Love right up until 1991's Ceremony The Cult rocked my world. I never played in a band, got a tattoo or had hair down to my arse, and maybe that's been a mistake, but the first time I heard She Sells Sanctuary I was on the bandwagon lock, stock and barrel. They just hit my AC/DC sweet spot between Classic Rock and Alternative Rock. I couldn't get enough of them once upon a time. That just happens sometimes doesn't it?

At their inception, The Cult were known as Southern Death Cult before shortening it to The Cult. I think they made the right move. The word "Cult" is quasi off putting as is let alone adding some Southern Death to it no? 1984's Dreamtime was no slouch of a record, but their sophomore record Love was a smash. The first track was called "Nirvana." Hmmm. "She Sells Sanctuary, Rain and Revolution" were all great songs. The record went on to sell over 2 million copies and I'm betting the lion's share of those sales were to U.S. based upstanding citizens like myself. Or maybe not...I'm just guessing. What we can safely say is that The Cult were best described as vocalist Ian Astbury, guitarist Billy Duffy and "Friends." And I'm not talkin' Jennifer Aniston. Pretty soon these two guys weren't even friends if the stories are true. Over on the always helpful, but taken with a grain of salt Wikipedia I count 21 ex-band members. Think those guys are tough to work with? Just sayin'.

Beggar's Banquet was the label that bankrolled these guys and even though they were undeniably successful with Love, the label was apprehensive about their next release back in 1987. They say that their followup to Love was originally called Peace, but I didn't even know that until ten minutes ago. Some rock historian I turned out to be huh? Apparently The Cult were not happy with the sound of the record and they turned to none other than Rick Rubin to remix their new single "Love Removal Machine." The label wanted no part of re-recording or remixing anything, but Rubin's presence can be very persuasive. He produced a minor hit record by a little known act called The Beastie Boys the prior year you might recognize as License To Ill. Holy game changer Batman. How many times have I heard No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn you ask? Don't even go there. Suffice to say, at whatever the cost, The Cult and their label did the right thing letting Rubin talk them into re-recording the entire record and renaming it Electric. I played the vinegar out of this record back in the day.

My favorite Cult tune has got to be "Wild Flower," but "'Lil Devil" and "Rain" or "Revolution" are in the conversation. They have at least ten others that get me going as well. It's funny, you almost have to apologize for liking metal anymore. People get so worked up with genres. I just know what I like and I have no problem saying Joni Mitchell and Carole King are supreme talents. None. I'll be blogging about them when you least expect it. I'm endlessly curious, but I write mostly about what I know cold because I'm still trying to digitize my music library. I don't know if I see a light just yet, but my hard drive has about 65,000 songs on it as we speak. I'm guessing I'm about 2/3 of the way there, but when (not if) I cross the 100,000 mark I'll make a formal announcement. As if anyone cares right?

As for The Cult, they imploded around 1991 after releasing Ceremony in an acrimonious legal haze, but have resurrected, to coin a Resurrection Joe type phrase, a couple of times since. I haven't really followed them since 1991 even though I did buy their last two records. I don't know that The Thrill is Gone, but the rocket fuel sound of their music in the 80's hasn't quite been matched since. "Wild Flower" is still a song that puts a smile on my face every time I hear it. Maybe it'll work for you too.

I love Grace Jones. Sometime in the 80's I discovered her and I don't think I've stopped listening since. There's nobody like her. I'd love to see her perform some day, but I'm not sure I'll get the chance. Grace Jones was born in Jamaica in 1948. Her parents moved to Syracuse, NY in 1965. I don't know the details of Grace's height, but she's got to be close to six feet. She was a model working NYC and Paris before scoring a recording contract with Island Records in 1977. I don't know her sexual preferences either, but she was androgynous looking and had a huge following in the gay community. I could care less about that stuff. I'm not much of a dancer, but Grace Jones makes it happen for me. Sometimes she speak sings, especially when covering acts like Flash and The Pan, Iggy Pop, The Pretenders, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers or Roxy Music, but she can sing too.

In the late seventies she began being seen around New York City with one Andy Warhol, who liked to photograph her, after he got done toying with Edie Sedgwick a couple of years prior. I never quite got the appeal of Andy Warhol, but it's clear he gave the wild ones a place to congregate (The Factory) and he did have one foot in the art world and one foot in the world of movies. That can make a very big impression on young women (or so I'm told). Come to think of it, wish I had been him give or take 90 eccentricities and that pasty mug. Anyway, Grace used to stroll into Studio 54 with Warhol and create quite the stir they say (you know...the people who say she created quite a stir...how hysterical is that line of advertising? They say you should wait to buy a home...who is they?...You know...the ones who say you should wait...makes me laugh every time...I'm such a simpleton). A tall African American woman wearing a flat top haircut dressed in the wildest outfits ever taking over the dance floor. That's one way to raise your profile I guess.

Grace did one last album for Island Records in 1985 called Slave To The Rhythm before moving on to Manhattan Records. In 1986 she released Inside Story on her new label and the song "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect For You)" was her final charting single. In fact, 1989's Bulletproof Heart, the recording of which allegedly saw major clashes with dance music producer extraordinaire Nile Rogers, signaled a twenty year break from recording for Grace Jones. No matter, she still had relative bit parts in movies like Conan The Destroyer, A View To a Kill, Vamp and Boomerang to fall back on. Last year she released a critically acclaimed CD called Hurricane that seemed to put her back on the rock & roll map, but I have yet to digest that one fully. I'll have to get back to you on that one...

Jones had many dance floor favorites, but "Pull Up To The Bumper" is probably her most well known number. Unfortunately this single has about twelve remixes on the market so I'm not even sure where this one comes from. The version on Nightclubbing is only 4:41, but the one I'm posting is 5:47 and to me is the definitive remix. Hopefully you will agree. Break out the Warm Leatherettes...

P.S. For those of you who play before you download rest assured that the whole song is there for downloading. I don't know why, but for some reason my host doesn't want to finish this track. I checked it twice and downloaded it myself to make sure it works.

I saw The Replacements just once. It was March 22, 1989 at The Opera House here in Boston. The building has been completely refurbished since that broken down venue was hosting the likes of hard partying bands like The Replacements. Nowadays it looks gorgeous, but in the late 80's The Opera House was about to implode on itself. I don't know the history of the building at 539 Washington Street, but it was hosting vaudeville and all kinds of acts decades before I was born. It's got a nice legacy. I saw The White Stripes there a couple of years ago and was impressed. My ticket stub to that Replacements gig, which was probably one of their last 'round these parts, says I paid $17.75 (a 25 cent restoration fee was attached...well, restoration was in order). Increasing ticket prices really shock me now and then. I don't let them deter me, but sometimes it's staggering no?...

Last night I saw a 40 year old band called Mountain (with Leslie West and Corky Lainge still going strong) and that show cost me a reasonable $30. Next Tuesday I'm seeing The Moody Blues for $60 and though there seems to be only three of the original members touring that seems reasonable too. Bruce Springsteen brings his army to the edifice formerly known as Great Woods this weekend and I paid $95 for that ticket. Hey, he's got to pay ten or twelve people right? I'm thinking about Peter Frampton (Showcase Live, as I've mentioned in past posts, is so intimate that it's really hard to pass up legends like Mountain and Frampton playing there) on September 1st and those ducats are going for $62.50. Man, if only he never released "I'm in You" huh? I know he's fallen way out of favor since 1977, but Frampton Comes Alive! is still in the top ten discussion of the best live albums ever recorded and I've never seen him. Hiss if you must, but the man can play guitar.

The Replacements were a Minneapolis, MN band formed in 1979. Disciples of Alex Chilton led bands like The Box Tops and Big Star, The 'Mats even wrote a song about the guy called, amazingly enough, "Alex Chilton." You may have heard it on your local Alterna-Rock station. They were a very enigmatic band in their heyday. Led by Paul Westerberg, The Replacements were known for their uneven live performances. If drinking were a spectator sport, their only rock & roll rival, at least on stage, would be Guided By Voices. God I love those guys, but that's another post for another day...promise. The Replacements were originally comprised of vocalist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson and drummer Chris Mars. Bob Stinson wasn't much of a fan of the Sire Records version of The Replacements (they were signed by Sire after releasing three studio albums in 1983...and in doing so became one of the first "underground" bands to graduate to a major label) that began with their fourth studio album Let It Be in 1984. They began to play softer, more commercially viable music and as Bob's drinking took on a life of its own he was let go after 1985's Tim. Their And Then There Were Three...(how about that Genesis reference right there huh?) record, Pleased To Meet Me, contained two of their most famous songs ever in "Can't Hardly Wait" and "Alex Chilton." The softer version of The Replacements was definitely a commerical hit.

Each of their final five studio records had something great on them. Let It Be had "I Will Dare" and the gorgeous "Unsatisfied" to go along with their cover of Kiss' "Black Diamond." Tim had "Kiss Me On The Bus" and "Here Comes a Regular" plus "Left of The Dial." Post Pleased To Meet Me record Don't Tell a Soul had "Talent Show" and "I'll Be You." The final CD, some say essentially a Paul Westerberg solo effort, called All Shook Down at least had "Merry Go-Round." I became a Replacements fan the very first time I heard "Can't Hardly Wait." It's still probably my favorite 'Mats tune. Minneapolis gets overlooked as a hot bed of music fairly often, but Replacements contemporaries Husker Du and Soul Asylum were from there around the same time period. And we don't even need to mention Prince do we? I'm not going to count the legendary Bob Dylan here as he made his musical bones elsewhere, but Minneapolis should be proud of their output. The Replacements had a couple of memorable disastrous tours with R.E.M. and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers that only added to their problems. Infighting, personnel changes, alcohol abuse and turmoil ultimately led to their demise around 1991, but they have a better greatest hits package than many bands and "Can't Hardly Wait" is a masterpiece in my book. Maybe they'll reunite one day, but if they don't I'll still be playing their records. There is just something about them. I hope you feel the same way...

The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait.mp3

The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait.mp3 YSI

I have to admit to not getting Devo for the longest time. I didn't much care for "Whip It" and I didn't like it much when they screwed around with (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction as I will go to my grave a huge Rolling Stones fan. It seemed like music for geeks and shut ins. Well, I guess I'm both these days. Today I'm a pretty big Devo fan. I went to see Devo last summer and got pulled into the 2nd row by a friend of mine. I had a god damn blast. I was singing "Mongoloid" at the top of my lungs like some teenager. Sci-Fi Rock? Newer than New Wave? Synth Kings? I don't really know, but nobody sounds like Devo. When you hear Pink Floyd's Animals there can be no other band in the history of rock that sounds like that right? What greater compliment is there? I've done a complete 180 on Devo.

My two favorite Devo songs are probably "Girl U Want" and "Beautiful World," but I've come to embrace their funky catalogue. I'm Through Being Cool you might say. Those yellow space suits, red hats and crazy eye wear is all part of their schtick. Their fans are inclined to wear all of that stuff to their shows and it's hilarious. Again with the comedy in my rock! I love to laugh while I'm enjoying my music. A good sense of humor is tremendously valuable in rock. No need to take yourself so seriously all the time I say. If you can mix the two (good music and humor) you have me. I really believe that is what made Van Halen such a good time and I know for a fact it makes AC/DC. It's a great combination. Hey man that suit is you!...you'll get some leg tonight for sure...tell us how you do...

Devo were complete pioneers who formed in Akron, OH in 1973. They started out on Stiff Records and graduated to major label Warner Brothers when David Bowie and Iggy Pop got on their bandwagon. Brian Eno produced their first record, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo!, and off they went. They scored a gig on Saturday Night Live in 1976 and became a bit of a sensation as a result of the exposure. They appeared on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert in 1979 as well. Any young rock fan in the 70's was keenly aware of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and The Midnight Special because in those days that was the only way you could see your favorite bands perform live, especially at 13 or 14 years of age. American Bandstand or Ed Sullivan didn't really count because they weren't real concerts. And you knew your parents were not going to let you go to NYC (in my case) and see a rock band. Not with all that Mary Jane in the air. Geesh. Talk about Reefer Madness. I remember I got my first glimpse of Kiss on one of these shows (I can't remember which one unfortunately). They did Strutter, Firehouse and Nothin' To Lose and your friend Johnny had seen enough and had to have that debut album. C'mon...Cold Gin...Deuce...Black Diamond...yeah man! All that makeup melting all over the place...it was MTV before MTV. Too bad I wasn't smart enough to invest my allowance...

In 2000 Devo put out Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology. I'm not sure this is the definitive collection, but it's got a lot of covers on it. They covered many songs including Are You Experienced?, Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Secret Agent Man, Satisfaction, Working in a Coal Mine and the song I came to post today; Nine Inch Nails' Head Like a Hole. All of their covers feel like they've been fed into a blender and synthesized, but they come away with that distinctive Devo stamp on them. I understand this cover was done specifically for the film "Supercop," but I've never seen it. In fact, if I wasn't screwing around on the Internet one day I probably never would have heard this cover. I've long been a fan of Nine Inch Nails so I was curious when Devo took a crack at their signature tune. I'm strangely OK with it, but then I already admitted to being a fan...

I'm not only stuck in the 80's, I'm stuck in 1980 it seems. I don't care. I was jamming (to intentionally coin a phrase) along on my Sony iPod like device this morning at the gym and one of my all time favorite Jam songs popped up. Oh baby, I'm dreaming of Monday, Oh baby, will I see you again...man I love that song. I think I'm the only one because I haven't heard it on the radio since, well, 1980. Yet Town Called Malice from 1982's The Gift seems to get all kinds of airplay to this day.

Sound Affects is a great record. It has Pretty Green, Monday, Start! and the granddaddy of all Jam songs; the brilliant "That's Entertainment." Whoa. The Jam catalogue is full of great songs like "This is The Modern World, The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow), Beat Surrender, Just Who is The 5 O'Clock Hero?," etc, but I favor "That's Entertainment" and "Monday." The irony here is that only die hard Jam fans would even know the song "Monday." It was one of those songs for me that you loved initially, but didn't buy. The Jam were an English Mod Rock band that had been around awhile when they released Sound Affects. I lost track of the song for a number of years, but came across it again around 1986 or so and by then I was flat nailing down every track or album I ever wanted as I built my collection. Today it's kind of embarrassing to be honest. All my friends my age seem to have left their rocking days behind them and even the youngsters I pal around with these days, The Giant Panther excluded of course, just don't seem to get the same charge out of seeing live concerts that I always have. Not only that, listening to music seems to be on the wane too. I know that sounds absurd with the surge of iPod Nation, but it seems like that listening is reserved for the gym and commuting to and from work. I can't remember the last time a buddy of mine and I sat down and listened to the new record by one of our favorite artists and had a couple of beers. It's pretty sad.

I know folks have better things to do and families and everything else, but I still love checking the list of new releases on a given Tuesday. I've been to about fifteen concerts this summer. I don't tell you folks about every one (that takes work!), but trust me when I tell you I'm out there. I've got three warhorses on the docket over the next six weeks in Bruce Springsteen, Mountain and U2, but I'm always a threat to locate smaller shows. I solo most of them now. I used to always buy two tickets and now I just buy one if I buy anything at all in advance. Usually I just show up on the night of event. It's great not having to unload tickets if plans change too. Me & Craigslist. Hello, I'm Johnny Cash...what do you have? The Pretenders and Blondie, among others, just blew through here and I took a pass. Have seen them both and just wasn't feeling it that night. Sometimes you risk the final curtain when you pass. Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde are five to ten years older than me, but they both can still sing. It's just a matter of if they want to. And then it's just a matter if I want to listen on a given night right? Most of the time I'm in The Mood for a Melody believe me.

Back to The Jam...They released six studio albums and one Live album between 1977 and 1982. They had Punk Rock leanings, but they were very musical and had great harmonies. The Paul Weller led outfit wore suits as opposed to shredded jeans and safety pins, but that didn't stop them from being talented angry young men. After the band broke up Paul Weller went on to form the critically acclaimed band The Style Council, but I never loved them like I loved The Jam. I hope somebody out there goes "Oh yeah!" after I post "Monday" and puts it in their iPod. After all, I live for just that.

The Jam - Monday.mp3

The Jam - Monday.mp3 YSI

I'm sort of stuck in the 80's for the moment, but I'll work my way out of it; I promise. I remember hearing about Robin Lane & The Chartbusters on WCOZ in about 1980 if memory serves. They used to broadcast entire records late at night and I used to use my tape deck to record them in my Emerson College dorm room. My memory isn't what it used to be, but I'm pretty sure I recorded Robin Lane & The Chartbusters debut album on one side of a cassette and Heart's Bebe Le Strange on the other. I'll bet if dug deep around here I could locate that exact TDK cassette complete with faint static in the background from the radio station signal. It probably has a recognizable DJ introducing what was new music at the time. I remember playing this particular cassette ad nauseum for months. I loved the Wilson sisters back then and The Chartbusters' first album was solid as well.

In 1980 I lived on the 8th Floor at 100 Beacon Street in Boston in an area we dubbed "Centerville" because we had set up a living room in the hallway that served as community property. It was surrounded by five or six double occupancy dorm rooms that we all lived in. We'd order Domino's pizza and watch Saturday Night Live and make god awful drinks out of anything we could cobble together. I think we used to call them "Smashers" for obvious reasons. It was an innocent time and I don't remember doing all that much studying to be honest about it. We would all share our music with each other and, of course, we'd be in tune with what was being played on the radio. Robin Lane's single "When Thing Go Wrong" was a monster hit back then and we all just loved it.

I was probably the only one who just kept playing the record all the way through though. I'm sure there is a science to releasing singles as it relates to their placement on a full length LP, but if I was in a band I'd never want the first song on a record to be my lead single; particularly if you are in an unknown band. It's just too easy to play the first song and change the record at a party. Do that enough times and you never get to the rest of the album. Buy more records and that first track only record is now associated with being a one hit record in your mind and you wind up never playing it at all. I was never that kind of music listener, but I've seen it happen with friends of mine. I always played B sides of singles and the entire album if I bought it. Part of that was because I couldn't afford more than four new albums every two months or so in those days. I had to listen to everything to get my money's worth. If only that were true today...

That time in my life came and went faster than I could have ever imagined, but my love for Robin Lane's first record, and "When Things Go Wrong" in particular, has never waned. I had mentioned 'Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry" in an earlier post and these two songs are in the same league for my money. Both were female fronted bands and both of these songs should be on any Top 50 list of Boston's greatest local songs. I used to play it at parties decades later and invariably someone would bolt forward to ask me who the artist was. Here are some fun Wikipedia facts regarding Robin Lane I didn't even know. Did you know she was married to future Police lead guitarist Andy Summers for two years? Did you know Robin sang backup on the song "Round & Round" from Neil Young's epic 1969 release Everybody Knows This is Nowhere? And Apparently "When Things Go Wrong" was the eleventh video ever played on MTV's very first programming day back on August 1, 1981. Now that's pretty cool no? I'm sure Robin is so sick of this song by now that she might distance herself from it, but that'd be a shame if that were true. It has held up amazingly well and still sounds like a million bucks.

Yet another Boston band from the 80's was a band called The Del Fuegos. In the late eighties an artist named Juliana Hatfield immortalized The Del Fuegos in her song "My Sister" by name checking them as the warm-up act for a potential Violent Femmes show her sister might have taken her to if she'd stuck around. Before they had a record out, before they went gold...and started to grow. I always liked that line. In 1985 The Del Fuegos released an album called Boston, MA. WBCN was squarely behind them and the first single was "Don't Run Wild." It took me a few spins to warm up to it, but I was soon a huge fan of this single.

I wasn't really sure what to make of The Del Fuegos when they released their first album in 1984. Yeah, they were a garage rock band, but aside from "Longest Day" and "Backseat Nothing" there wasn't much to write home about relative to radio airplay. Led by brothers Dan and Warren Zanes, the band had an awful lot of hype around the station, but I didn't really get the feeling they were headed for big things at the time. If memory serves they were toppled by the Aimee Mann led 'Til Tuesday in the 1983 WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble (a battle of the bands for the unfamiliar). In fact the runner up was The Sex Execs of "My Ex" fame. Talk about where are they now huh? And I'm dead certain none of the judges were dazzled by Aimee's drop dead good looks either. In fairness "Voices Carry" was and is a tremendous song and The Del Fuegos had yet to unleash "Don't Run Wild." The Fuegos were left behind with the likes of Digney Fignus and their hit "The Girl With The Curious Hand." I'm sure they were hoping for more as good as that song was.

After "Don't Run Wild" became a WBCN staple the world was The Del Fuegos' oyster. They had another track called "I Still Want You" and "The Sound of Our Town" that did some minor charting, but "Don't Run Wild" was a killer track. I don't know what exactly happened to these folks after 1985, but it was all over by 1989 for The Del Fuegos. No matter. Every time I hear "Don't Run Wild" I think very fondly of this time of my life. And to name their record Boston, MA was pretty ballsy even though it guaranteed some airplay with a title like that in this town. I hope you like this track as much as I do. I love the whole feel of it. Great tune.

So, with WBCN officially dead and gone, I figured I'd post a song by a Boston band called The Lyres. The only consistent Lyres lineup has Jeff Connolly (who goes by Monoman) on vocals and organ; after that it was just a matter of what era you are talking about. The single I came to post today, "I Want To Help You Ann," was released on Ace of Hearts records in 1981. According to their web site the lineup for this single was Jeff Connolly, Peter Greenberg on guitar, Mike Lewis on bass and Howie Ferguson on drums. It is referred to as Lineup #6 spanning June 1980 to January 1982. The Lyres were a trip to see live, but their buzz exceeded their catalogue for the most part. The artwork I post here was originally from a four song 1981 EP known as AHS: 1005, which I'm guessing is the Ace of Hearts catalogue number. It has since been expanded to include "I Want To Help You Ann," but the lead track on this piece of vinyl was "What a Girl Can Do." They also had minor hits with "Don't Give It Up" and "She Pays The Rent" which I always thought were pretty good tracks, but by and large The Lyres were never much of a household name outside of Boston.

The Lyres were a garage rock band. "I Want To Help You Ann" is a big time cut. It comes at you like a freight train. The Lyres were descendants of an earlier garage rock band called DMZ. Apparently DMZ, Connolly's prior band, was signed to the awesome Sire Records label only to have their initial release tabled due to a poor mix (allegedly by Flo & Eddie of Turtles fame). It is said DMZ eventually morphed into The Lyres. They finally got their debut record, Lyres On Fire, released in 1984. It is a garage rock classic if you read the reviews on Amazon.com, but I'm going to have to go back and listen to it again. I was right there (in Boston, working at WBCN...the radio station that helped break them) when this all went down and I can't recall it being a game changer, but I don't mean to disparage The Lyres in any way. I love garage rock and I love a handful of their tracks, but I would probably place them on a par with a band like The Del Fuegos. The Del Fuegos were another Boston band with at least one monster track in "Don't Run Wild." I wish I had written both of them to be sure, but neither of these acts went on to live in infamy. In fact, I think I'm going to post "Don't Run Wild" in a few minutes for fun. "I Want To Help You Ann" rocks. Simple as that. I hope you add it to your iPods and look fondly on The Giant Panther as a result.

I had been in Boston maybe two years when I first heard Human Sexual Response on the radio in 1980. The song was Jackie Onassis and to this day I still like that single. I immediately had to investigate. Human Sexual Response was a Boston band that lasted, give or take, maybe five years from roughly 1977-1982. That isn't a long time for a band as good as HSR was, but they definitely made their mark here. I have always found their sound interesting for some reason. They had four hits, mostly on the local level; Jackie Onassis, Andy Fell, Land of The Glass Pinecones and the song I came to post today "What Does Sex Mean To Me?" They also did a cover of a 1966 song by The Capitols called "Cool Jerk" which got a little airplay early as well. Making a great song like Jackie Onassis about an American icon just about guaratees this band will never be forgotten. It's not a great Christmas song (meaning it'll get played at least once a year for decades), but it's the next best thing isn't it? They say even Jackie O liked it. Does it get any better than that?

The origins of HSR are fairly typical, but it's kind of surprising to note that they have a background that includes the kazoo and Country & Western music. These folks defy a musical category, but they got lumped into the New Wave category because nobody knew where to put them. Fig. 15, their debut record, was released in 1980 and it definitely made a splash on both local college radio and local rock stations. They had a titillating name, which always helps, but they had some shock value going for them as well. In addition to "What Does Sex Men To Me?" they included a song called "Butt Fuck" on this record. Today the Butthole Surfers are announced by DJs like it is nothing (they only play "Pepper," but that is another story), but in those days I'm kind of surprised it passed the smell test. Needless to say, it was not going to get any airplay. The thing is, this record is really very good. I like the way it was recorded and I love the way lead singer, Larry Bangor, kind of stuttered his vocals. He had a slight quake and quiver to his vocal delivery which adds to their sound. Some may not agree, but I think it has a touch of David Byrne to it. Very artsy. I'd have posted "Land of The Glass Pinecones," because I love that song too, but that doesn't quite illustrate what I'm having trouble describing here. You can find that one on their 1981 release In a Roman Mood. Do check it out if you've never heard it before. The CDs are fairly hard to find these days, but worth the hunt.

Human Sexual Response broke up in 1982. They turned into the The Zulus and what seems like half a dozen other bands over the years. It's kind of hard to explain how much impact HSR's two records had on my listening tastes over the years, but suffice to say they opened up my ears to new sounds. "What Does Sex Mean To Me?" was the first song in which I ever heard the word "vagina" used, much less rhyming it with "China." I thought that was pretty cool way back when and I haven't changed my mind since. This song is well written, it rocks and it's wonderfully irreverent. Hats off to Human Sexual Response, wherever they are. I remain a big fan almost three decades later.

The first time I heard the British band Sweet was when a song called "Little Willy" was played on the radio station I was listening to in 1972. It had a fun cadence and it was right on the Bubblegum fault line. Sweet had a lot of trouble extricating itself from the Bubblegum label and it's not hard to understand why with the name they chose. In fact, they tried very hard to distance themselves from their bubblegum tag by intentionally doing heavier music on the flip side of all their singles. It drove label executives a bit crazy, but it definitely opened some eyes on the other end of the equation. In the days when you only had an "A" and "B" side to make a decision about a band that second song always got played. Maybe not always on the air, but if the "A" side was listenable the "B" side got a couple of revolutions to make sure nobody was missing anything. When you make songs like "Ballroom Blitz," "Little Willy," and "Fox On The Run" you're gonna get pigeon-holed to a degree. The truth is Sweet had more in common with Glam rockers like Queen, Gary Glitter, T-Rex and Slade than U.S. Bubblegummers like The Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Company or The Monkees.

Back to "Little Willy" for a moment; I still don't exactly know what the song was about, but I did know that I kind of liked it. Sweet had that way about them. Sometimes they sounded like a gang of people singing to you as opposed to just one voice. I never much cared for "Ballroom Blitz," but an awful lot of people did. Sweet had the party vibe about them. They sounded like they were having fun. Everybody wants a piece of the "Action" right? I did know that Willy wouldn't go home, but I never did figure out why. The lyrics are vague, but Willy seemed to like to dance and he had an attitude. I gathered at least that much, but the song was a blast and fun to listen to nonetheless.

Well, I didn't pay them all that much mind until the summer of 1978. It was my senior year of high school and we were all preparing for that trip off to college that would change our lives forever. We still had a couple of months to work a summer job and goof off and listen to the radio and that's just what we did. I was painting houses that summer and one of the songs in very heavy rotation was Sweet's masterpiece "Love is Like Oxygen" from their 1978 album Level Headed. It is often mistaken for belonging to the Electric Light Orchestra catalogue, but it represented a new direction for Sweet as they tried to distance themselves from their old sound. Plagued by lead singer Brian Connelly's alcoholism, several personnel changes and RCA's attempts to shape them, Sweet switched to Polydor Records and scored their final Top Ten Hit in "Love is Like Oxygen." Guilty Pleasure or not, I'll always love "Love is Like Oxygen." So consider me outed in a manner of speaking...

Then Sonic Youth came along, added about 20 seconds of classic SY feedback, and turned it into an ethereal hazy alternative remake. Clearly they liked the song, which is very important in doing a different sounding cover. Groupie songs are always kind of sad I figure. Even though "What's Your Name" by Lynyrd Skynyrd will never be my favorite Skynyrd song, at least it has something to say, good or bad. I didn't do any research on groupie songs, but I bet I could really come up with a healthy list with a little digging. Anyway, I present to you Sonic Youth's version of The Carpenters' 1971 hit "Superstar." Hope you like it even as you find it a little bit creepy (the way I do).

So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star? Then listen now hear what I say. Knowing full well The Giant Panther is going to find this post cringe worthy, I wanted to tell you how much fun I had at the Kid Rock show last night. As most of you know, rock & roll is about attitude nine times out of ten. There is no shortage of attitude in Kid Rock's world. There are plenty of acts out there that are potentially better than Robert James Ritchie in all aspects of musicianship, but Kid Rock is an entertainer. He's An American Bad Ass. He is having fun up on that stage and the packed house at the Mansfield, MA venue formerly known as Great Woods was all over it. They can sense his humor and energy. They got what they came for and they loved it. It's hard not to get caught up in his schtick.

I would not have been there, having witnessed AC/DC and Steely Dan perform over the past four days, but my friends Mark & Melanie suggested I tag along with them and I'm glad I did. My back to back concert going skills have eroded over the past decade or so. There was a time when I could do four or five live shows in a week and be no worse for the wear. No more. After six hours of celebrating amongst the 46,000 who saw AC/DC perform at Gillette Stadium the day before, I didn't have much gas left in the tank. We showed up four hours before the concert for fun and games two days ago, but last night we did a mere 45 minutes of tailgating prior to the Black Stone Cherry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kid Rock triple bill. I haven't seen three bands perform on the same day in years so Black Stone Cherry, hailing from Edmonton, KY, had no chance of being witnessed by us as the evening's first act. Don't take it personally men. Next time. It was pretty painful for me to watch what is left of Lynyrd Skynyrd run off their no surprises set list as Kid Rock's fluffers though. They only have one original member remaining plus Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother Johnny on the vocals. It's not the musicianship that makes it painful for me though; it's the overdone hamming it up for the crowd and the time honored mentioning of the local city and state to get a rise out the audience. It feels so staged to me. Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the greatest and most important bands of the 70's. They are a top three all time southern rock act. You want An American Bad Ass? Try Ronnie Van Zant. There was a Whiskey Rock A Roller and a Street Fightin' Man...

The band we watched on stage last night felt like a souped up cover band. I don't mean to offend anyone here, but it's how I felt. My favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd songs are nowhere to be found when I see this version play. No Saturday Night Special, No On The Hunt, No I Ain't The One, No Ballad of Curtis Loew, No Poison Whiskey, No Searchin', No Cry For The Bad Man, No Every Mother's Son, No Things Goin' On and No I Never Dreamed. I understand they have to play the hits and they are now a warm up band at best with a finite hour long set list, but it seems a shame to carry on in a way. They did do a nice tribute to everyone who has ever played with them, both dead and alive, during their encore (please don't make me tell you what song) which was touching, but I'm kind of hoping I never have to see them play again and I mean that in the nicest possible way. The original lineup were true legends, but this lineup kind of reminds me of Willie Mays circa 1973 and I really hate myself for saying as much. I truly loved this band and I respect their right to make a living.

As for Kid Rock, I would identify myself as a casual fan. I did buy Devil Without a Cause back in 1998, but mostly it was because I was buying everything in sight and the buzz on Kid Rock was pretty strong in those days. Bawitdaba seemed like more of the same rap-rock-metal I wasn't very fond of in the early 90's so that was not the song that got me to buy the CD. That had to be Cowboy. My local bar played it every time I was there back then and after being literally bludgeoned over the head by it 300 times or more I finally decided I liked it. Again, the humor involved was the big draw for me. Kid Rock is the David Lee Roth of this generation. Both of these devil may care rockers represent excess in rock & women and they thrive on your characterization of them as such. They are both caricatures of an ideal and persona that may or may not even really exist. Both are maligned and derided for any number of things, but neither one of them ever cared. That stuff was our problem, not theirs. Kid Rock seems like a very nice man having a blast to me. He was seen at a local club called Wally's Cafe on Massachusetts Ave in Boston's South End the night before the show. Wally's is a no nonsense color blind jazz club that has been there for what seems like 100 years. There are absolutely no frills and it's a neighborhood bar to boot. As it happens, Monday night Peter Wolf was in the bar, ostensibly to meet up with Kid or vice versa, and they apparently hobnobbed with the locals. The club's capacity MIGHT be 100 if the Fire Marshall is appropriately greased so it's a tiny venue. I wasn't there, but a friend of mine was and got a picture of himself with Kid Rock as a keepsake. Pretty cool.

The Peter Wolf thing was curious to us (Mark, Melanie & I that is) because our friend said The J. Geils Band was rehearsing there. We figured it was Magic Dick or J. Geils minus Peter Wolf or something and kind of dismissed it. It stood to reason our friend was a bit confused not knowing the music of either act. He was more than likely stopping by to take in some jazz on a typical Monday night. Then, about halfway through the Kid Rock show last night, our skepticism was eradicated. Out strolled Peter Wolf to sing Centerfold with Kid Rock (I immediately thought it was a perfect opportunity for them to play Detroit Breakdown seeing as Kid is from there and The J. Geils Band's second home was absolutely Detroit, but sometimes I outsmart myself). Centerfold will never be my favorite J. Geils cut, but it was a cool thing to have witnessed and I'm glad I did.

Kid Rock's catalogue could be considered to be a bit thin to some, but I like an artist that isn't afraid to do covers. Last Night's show included The Rolling Stones' Tumbling Dice, Sly & The Family Stone's Everyday People and The Georgia Satellites' Keep Your Hands To Yourself. We got a couple of bars of another Detroit icon in Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever as well. One of the highlights for me was Kid taking over the turntables from his DJ Uncle Kracker (I'm assuming that was him, but don't quote me) and doing some quality scratching while a full bottle of Jim Beam and a glass rotated on the second turntable. Naturally he poured himself a monster belt and the crowd roared. Tremendously charismatic, Kid Rock can't stop smiling as he soaks in the crowd's adulation. Everyone had a blast and I don't care who thinks this guy is White Trash (all due respect to Edgar Winter). There had to be close to 15,000 people there that were thinking the very same thing. Women love him and men want to be like him. The very definition of rock star no? Whine away if you don't like his music, his musical ability, his voice or Pamela Anderson, but give this guy his due; he has a huge following.

Dada was a three piece California band that surfaced in 1992. They hit the airwaves with a fun song called "Dizz Knee Land" that some of you may recall. It actually reached number 5 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts if you can trust Wikipedia to deliver the facts. Their CD "Puzzle" actually moved half a million copies based on this song for the most part. Not bad. Unfortunately for these guys their label, IRS, was under financial duress and folded just after they released their third CD and they descended into relative one hit wonder status. They immediately signed with MCA, which was usually a mistake (see Skynyrd, Lynyrd for a little background on working with those guys...hey, that gives me an idea for a future blog...Mercury Poisoning by Graham Parker...EMI by The Sex Pistols...I could probably cobble together a list of pretty decent songs by artists disenchanted by their label...I'd probably run out of labels though...nobody was happy it seems), just before they were sold.

Dada went on to record for seven more years before calling it a day in 1999. Naturally they re-surfaced again in 2003 and seem to be still kicking around. The more I look into the history of bands I respect, the more I find they are still trying to make a go of it in a music industry absolutely crushed (kind of like a Wav file condensed into an MP3 file ironically huh?). I guess since I'm not out every night of the week anymore I am just not noticing just exactly who is playing The Paradise in between the quarterly shows I seem to find interesting enough to withstand the aforementioned bad sight lines over there. Who is sneaking into Harper's Ferry when I'm not looking I wonder. Where is Dada playing and who is playing them? Beats the heck out of me, but I did want to post a song from Puzzle that I really liked. I hear them at the gym and then I forget to post them, but not this time...

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow has a great old school story telling feel to it. It's part rockabilly, part surf and part rock. It doesn't rock as hard as Face The Day in the post directly below this one, but it winds its way through an interesting tale of picking up a hitchhiker named Tina and robbing a bank, but it's the music that I really like. I sometimes don't look at song lyrics because when I see them on paper I'm ultimately disappointed in the brevity or the seemingly nonsensical story line. I used to argue with myself when I was young about whether it was the lyrics or the music that moved me, but now I understand the music has always been the draw for me. I like a well written line on top of it, but without the melody forget it. Just my two cents. OK, without further ado, I present Dada's Greatest Hit as voted on by me. Take a listen and hopefully you'll have a new tune for your iPod.

This record, Darkroom, actually had a bigger hit than the song I came to blog about today way back in 1980. WCOZ and WBCN in Boston were both playing "No Secrets" around that time by a band (then) called Angel City. "No Secrets" had a great refrain and melody and it was ultra radio friendly. Today it has to be considered a true lost classic from the early eighties. As opposed to a "lost classic" you hear 95 times a year on your local classic rock station. Angel City was an Australian band that apparently was recommended to their local label by none other than Bon Scott and Malcolm Young of AC/DC in 1975. Nice endorsement. They were formed in 1970 and it took nearly a decade before they hit the big time and major label executives at Epic took a chance on them. I don't know about album sales, but this was a fun record and a rockin' good time...at least in my tiny slice of the world.

I think by now you all know I have a problem with bands that change their names, most of the time by legal force or record company pressure, after their initial surge into the marketplace, and then try to change it back after the conflicting band disappears. Today this band apparently goes by The Angels, but you'll never hear me refer to them as anything but Angel City. I made the transition from "California" to "Anaheim" regarding baseball's Angels, but I'll be damned if I'm going to call the current Angels the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim." Who are they kidding? Anaheim was so much cooler and the city that actually houses the ballpark deserves sole billing in my book. Geesh. Back to Rock & Roll; if I understand the situation this band only went by Angel City to avoid confusion with the Washington, DC area glam rock band Angel who were famous in the late 70's. You may remember Angel as the band that had that great holiday classic "The Winter Song" from their 1978 album White Hot. No offense to either band or their respective fan bases intended, but they both ended up being a footnote in rock history. Apparently they are still both recording in various personnel configurations to this day, but I don't think they are getting much in the way of terrestrial radio airplay.

Angel City's Darkroom had a cut called "Face The Day" that some of you might remember was eventually covered by the band Great White, who are famous for being the band that had the misfortune of performing the night of the deadly 2003 fire that killed 100 people at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, RI six years ago. That's kind of ironic because Angel City and Great White have both had a myriad of personnel changes that make you wonder why they still want to use their respective band names. I'll give Great White props for covering Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten Twice Shy" as well as "Face The Day" though. These are two great tunes. "Face The Day" is a blitzkrieg of awesome driving sound. I love the guitar work and it's on my own personal list of great forgotten one hit wonders (yes, I'm aware that "No Secrets," at the very least, disqualifies them from that distinction, but I'm going with it just the same). Every time I load someone's iPod or change the music on my gym device "Face The Day" seems to get the nod. It may sound dated to some of you, but I've always loved this track to death. It kicks some serious butt. In my own personal band rating criteria all you need is one great song to take your place in rock history. Since my vote is the only one that counts relative to this blog; welcome aboard Angel City. Job well done.

Angel City - Face The Day.mp3 YSI

As I get over the demise of WBCN, I'm going to feature bands that the radio station had a hand in breaking way back when. The Jim Carroll Band was something of a red hot meteor that bounced off my twenty year old noggin' back in 1980. Their debut album Catholic Boy was one of those records that came out of nowhere for me. I didn't know much of anything about who Jim Carroll was back then and what separated truth from fiction, but "People Who Died" was a tremendous track that instantly put this album on the map. People wanted to know who these guys were. Not exactly Punk Rock, but the urgency was incredible. It seemed so tongue in cheek that it had to be more funny than vicarious right? Apparently wrong. Legend has it that Carroll was a bonafide heroin addict at 13. 13! And here I was thinking I was a bad ass stealing a Budweiser from my father's beer only refrigerator located in our garage at 14. Guess again rookie. Can you imagine Waiting For The Man at 13?

Jim Carroll was also a basketball junkie and apparently played in the National High School All-Star Game in 1966. Twelve years later he wrote The Basketball Diaries which was made into a movie in 1995. Who played Jim Carroll you ask? Try Leonardo DiCaprio. Whoa. That young man has the world by the tail no? Oh and did I leave out that Jim Carroll was allegedly a male prostitute to support his habit? The Basketball Diaries was said to be excerpts from his own diary between the ages of 12 and 16 detailing his world of drugs, sex and basketball. They say he worked for Andy Warhol and received encouragement from Patti Smith regarding his band. I would imagine that connection comes from the fact that they were both poets, but I'm only guessing. The Band came and went inside of three years essentially (though there was a late 90's comeback of sorts), but they had a lot to say.

"People Who Died" has been on numerous lists of great 80's songs and still gets a little radio airplay every now and then, but "It's Too Late" is the song I came to talk about today. The first line is a killer, no pun intended...It's too late to fall in love with Sharon Tate. You'd instantly think this was going to be a song about the beautiful actress who appeared in 1967's Valley of The Dolls, but was later murdered by The Charles Manson "Family" in 1969. It wasn't, but the lyric is ingrained in my brain forevermore. "It's Too Late" is three minutes and four seconds of hard driving frustration. I've always been a big fan of this tune. The Jim Carroll Band never again reached the heights of their debut record, but I have a feeling the Catholic Boy is getting by just fine these days. If I had to hang my hat on two songs, these two would be just fine by me if I were him. Enjoy.

Wow. 41 years. March 15, 1968. That was my eighth birthday. I don't know where to actually start so I'll do my best to keep this as brief as possible. Short version? WBCN-FM is going off the terrestrial dial for good on August 13, 2009. It was born on March 15, 1968. The Boston Concert Network is taking a powder. Its valuable real estate right of the dial is going to be assumed by sister station WMBX, better known as Mix 98.5, and it's god awful "Hot Adult Contemporary" format (what is THAT exactly? Tried and true hits distilled down to the very bone over the past four decades and repackaged as new to the clueless casual music fan masses until they change the channel?) are Movin' On Up in classic George Jefferson style. Hoo-ray for them. My periodontist listens to Mix 98.5. I can't tell you how much I miss hearing The Spiral Starecase or The Sanford Townsend Band between cleanings. The mid dial 98.5 frequency will be handed off to talk radio. Psyched! Another talk show in Boston! This is a very sad day for those of us who worked at WBCN in one capacity or another. The station had vacated its long time 1265 Boylston Street address behind Fenway Park sometime ago, but what a history. I was only there four years, but I can tell you some wild stuff went down inside those walls. It was never boring. What it was could be described as exhilarating.

I was a 22 year old line cook at TGI Friday's on Newbury Street when I got the call up to the big leagues. I had filled out paperwork to answer the vaunted Listener Line early in 1982 after graduating from Emerson College. Having wondered what happened to the fastest four years I've ever experienced, I thought it might be a good idea to work at the local rock station since I had visions of being a DJ once upon a time. What a rocket scientist huh? The position was strictly volunteer, but I felt like I was on my way. Silly rabbit. As fate would have it I was assigned a four hour shift during the Mark Parenteau show. Mark was a tall, lanky, golden voiced fun loving guy that worked the afternoon drive show. Mark had jumped ship from rival WCOZ in the late seventies to join a stellar WBCN lineup that included Charles Laquidara, Ken Shelton and Carter Alan. I got to know these people pretty well during my time there. I lived and breathed the station nearly 24 x 7. Mark invited me, after a couple of weeks of working the Listener Line to join his intern staff.

Over the next four years I worked with about five or six other interns until I was the senior guy on his staff. Trust me, that wasn't anything to write home about. He had his share of turnover, but that wasn't the issue. I was too happy to come in and work for free and watch the stars come and go. I'd work two of the five shifts and maybe more depending on the schedules of others. I had a couple of crappy paying jobs, but generally I just loved being around The Rock of Boston. I was paid to work remotes and edit comedy tape for Stitches Comedy Club, but it was peanuts. Larry "Cha-Chi" Loprete, one of the nicest men you'll ever meet (he still does Breakfast With The Beatles every Sunday morning at 8 AM which you can listen to live or stream later on via the web at www.wzlx.com), used to throw me a bone every now and then with a free ticket or poster or whatever he could. There were plenty of personalities in that building who looked down on young "college" kids like me, but Larry wasn't one of them. I didn't dwell on the ones that did. I just loved the radio. I still do even though it doesn't resemble anything remotely to what I grew up with. Even so, the news that WBCN is leaving the airwaves hits the psyche hard.

Nothing ever came of my affiliation with the station, but I don't regret working there. I had a ball. The station held off WCOZ (Kick Ass Rock & Roll) and later Classic Rock Station WZLX to hold its own in a tough market, but the peak of the station was probably 1980-1986. Nobody could touch them and all the artists surfaced there at one time or another. On any given day I would see somebody famous. I'm not much of a stargazer though it might not sound like it. I refused to mug for photos (i.e. pop into the outskirts of a group photo at the last minute) or ask for autographs. I was just happy to be there. I figured something good would come of knowing these folks eventually. It never did. It's hard to describe without airing dirty laundry, but suffice to say they don't call it the go go 80's for nothing. It was a good time. The death knell, for me, for WBCN was when they farmed out The Big Mattress morning show in favor of The Howard Stern show. WBCN used to be about the underground and free expression. It was never about strict playlists either. It was all about personalities, current events, breaking new bands, promoting comedy, controlled mayhem, attitude and (mostly) new music.

I know I shouldn't be surprised when stuff like this happens. There have been so many changes in the world since I was a kid (including this here blog to name just one), but there are institutions and then there are institutions. Nobody that I know was left at the present day WBCN (which is scheduled to soldier on in digital format only on the web...thanks alot...can I please pay for that too?) and I couldn't name a single on air personality. I stopped listening in the late eighties, which I'm well aware is part of the problem, but a listing WFNX is lucky nobody has come along to knock them off their perch as well. They seem to have more freedom, but they are also victims of tired programming. It just seems like no station has its autonomy anymore and the FM dial has been rendered all but useless. Computerized playlists and repetitive programming is what really Killed The Radio Star. We survived MTV. The decision to allow companies to own more than one radio station in a single market was a crusher too. Mega conglomerate ownership ruined the individuality of programming. DJs loathe to be told what to play as a rule, but with no latitude whatsoever? Why be a DJ at all? Classic Rock stations are what's left behind after other stations like WBCN take all the risks. Now what? Who breaks future Classic Rock in Boston? It won't be WFNX, though I have noticed they've been sneaking Classic Rock into their format without so much as an announcement lately. Their alternative/Indie bread and butter is not going to change too much. This should be very distressing to rock artists as well. WBCN was a shell of its former self at the end, but it still had the most famous call letters in Boston's long and explosive rock history. Rest in Peace.

That was REAL short huh? Oh well. I'm leaving you with the very first rock song that was ever played on WBCN as it began its 41 year run. It's from a little known power trio called Cream.

Cream - I Feel Free.mp3

Cream - I Feel Free.mp3 YSI

www.wbcn.com

My third consecutive night of live music had me face to face, for the third time overall, with a Led Zeppelin cover band called Lez Zeppelin. Aside from having arguably the best cover band name in the history of the genre, this band is damn good. The first time I saw them was at The Middle East in Cambridge about two or three years ago. I want to say early March of 2007, but don't quote me. The place was stifling hot and I was at least twenty yards from the stage. I saw very little and didn't really make the connection of just how good this band actually was at the time. I recently saw them at The Paradise maybe three months back and came away very impressed. I made a mental note that if I wasn't doing anything the next time they showed up I'd go see them again. That day was last night. Lez Zeppelin performed on a boat cruise that toured Boston Harbor for roughly three hours. The fact that my friend Adam Klein was promoting the show (www.rockandbluescruise.com) didn't hurt, but I would have gone anyway. A lot of folks balk at being trapped on a boat for three hours at functions like this with the usual bad beer and bad food, but I didn't give it a second thought. Well, that's not entirely true; if it had been 80 degrees or hotter I probably would not have gone. The weather was very manageable last night for this Irish boy. There is always a wind chill factor on the harbor and a light jacket did the trick. It was hot right in front of the band, but if you needed to cool off you had an option. It did rain the final half hour of the cruise, but nobody really cared by then.

I have seen my share of cover bands over the years for sure. The late Brad Delp (Boston) led Beatlejuice was probably my favorite. I saw this AC/DC cover band called Black Angus at Fat Boy Bill's Blues Bar in Milford, MA that I was sure I would hate, but I ended up loving. I even got to sing Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap...actually just "Done Dirt Cheap" into the microphone as the band worked the tables in the joint. If you drink enough whiskey you figure you can do a passable Brian Johnson (in your mind anyway) right? That was a blast, but I tend to shy away from cover bands. It can get a bit embarrassing and too nostalgic at times, no offense to anyone who makes a living doing that type of thing. Lez Zeppelin is a whole different ball of wax. They take great pains to preserve the integrity of the original music and it shows up in spades. If they didn't I probably wouldn't have seen them a second time. They'd be just another cover band making a buck. They aren't.

First, the crowd is highly entertaining. Diplomatically speaking, there is definitely a cross section of lesbians at each show, but that is not the big draw (at least for me). Led Zeppelin had a predominantly male audience back in the day, but I like to see what straight women show up at these things. Any woman who likes Led Zeppelin is a friend of mine. There was a lot of dancing on the high seas last night and I love to see who is moved and at what age. Led Zeppelin is such a musical brand that generations of young folks catch up to their greatness via their parents and older siblings that you end up seeing a lot of people up to 25 years younger at these types of shows. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that one of the prettiest girls on the boat within shouting distance of my 49 years got so hammered that she wore a black thong OVER her jeans by the end of the cruise. I noticed her earlier because she was using one of the steel poles holding up the second deck as a mock stripper pole. Her friends thought it was hilarious and frankly so did I. She looked like a lot of fun and was having a blast. I lost sight of her and when I caught up to her later in the cruise she was clearly One Toke Over The Line. They sell underwear at the Lez Zeppelin concession stand so I even though I was kind of hoping she had made a conscious decision to out her own thong, that thing could have come from anywhere. I'm sure she regrets, or maybe doesn't remember it all, walking around like that for over an hour, but rest assured some of us got a kick out it. She was a chocolate mess by the end of the cruise (swearing like the drunken sailor she was), but the entertainment value was very high. I hope she feels OK today, but she looked like she skipped dinner for sure. She wasn't the only one having a good time either. The whole cruise was a digital photography smorgasbord.

Back to the music; Lez Zeppelin rocks. Plain and simple. If you love Led Zeppelin you should make it a point to go see these women perform. They did a great cross section of songs last night, but my favorite was Custard Pie from Physical Graffiti. They are very tight and well rehearsed and they don't just play Black Dog and Rock & Roll (mercifully). If you are familiar with Led Zeppelin chances are you have heard the Wilson sisters (Ann & Nancy of Heart fame) cover Zeppelin as The Lovemongers. This is right in league with that....oooh, it's Sunday Morning as I type and I'm listening to Carter Alan's Sunday Morning Blues (www.wzlx.com) as I do every week. Tea For One by Led Zeppelin just came up as if on cue (thanks Carter!). The thing is, Lez Zeppelin doesn't take the easy route; they tackle No Quarter and Since I've Been Loving You as well. I was just on their web site and it looks as if the band is in a bit of transition. The last time I saw them they had a different lead singer and only lead guitarist and founder Stephanie Paynes has a bio presently. I'm pretty sure Leesa Squyres (excellent) was drumming the last time I saw them, but after that I can't be sure. The bass player, MeGan X, was also exceptional. This isn't some muddy mix (and a boat has got to be the worst place to engineer decent sound) with a passable Robert Plant imitation here at all; these are tremendous musicians and they have Led Zeppelin down pat. I highly recommend going to see them.

OK, back to back to back nights means this old codger is going to have to take a break for a few days. I'm leaving you with Lez Zeppelin's cover of The Ocean from Houses of The Holy. By the way, these studio recordings don't do any justice to their live performances. You'll have to trust this concert going veteran on this. If you like Zeppelin, you'll love these gals. They're impressive.