Welcome to the first ‘regular’ edition of The Little Lighthouse in 2019. Today we play a tune from the new ESC Life album, out soon on Ill In The Head records in North America. ESC Life come from Croatia, and so does Tena Rak. She used to play drums in Vlasta Popić, but that band no longer plays together. So we check out her solo act dubbed Å ećer and quartet Mi Nerve with three other ladies, Ivana PuÅ¡nik , Tea OvniÄević, and Ivana LjubiÄić. Back in the USA, Terry Six and Louie Bankston (ex Exploding Hearts) are back with an excellent new album together. Eugene Chadbourne teamed up with The Sunwatchers and recorded an album tribute to Minutemen, Doug Sahm and Henry Flyn. Paisley Underground legends Bangles, Three O’Clock, Dream Syndicate and Rain Parade made a record together covering each other’s songs. It’s almost a follow up to the legendary Rainy Day album. John Petković and Dave James of Death of Samantha have a new synth pop duet, Metrolight and we check out one of the songs recorded live in Cleveland recently. Holly Golightly has a new English solo album out and lots of folks included it on their lists of best albums last year. Yes, it’s that good. Outrageous Cherry are back with their final album entitled Meet You In The Shadows completed before the passing of founding lead guitarist Larry Ray.
Calibro 35 – Pragma;
ESC Life – Song of the Weak;
Terry and Louie – (I’m) Looking For A Heart;
Exploding Hearts – Thorns In Roses;
Thee Melomen – Freight Train
Bad Sports – Ode to Power;
Vlasta Popić – Trziste;
Å ećer – Zalogaj;
Mi Nerve – Moji planeti;
Texas Tornados & Sir Doug – Give Back The Key To My Heart;
Eugene Chadbourne & Sunwatchers – Give Back the Key to My Heart;
Eugene Chadbourne & Sunwatchers – Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing;
Minutemen – Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing;
Outrageous Cherry – Self-Made Monster;
Outrageous Cherry – Complicate Me;
Holly Golightly – Love (Can’t You Hear Me);
Holly Golightly – Time Will Tell;
Brian Olive – It’s A Lie;
The Three O’Clock – Jet Fighter;
The Bangles – Jet Fighter;
Metrolight – Molecules (Live in CLE).
In our year end review (part 3) we hear exceprts from some really good albums that somehow didn’t make it to our top 25 list and we also hear samples from singles, 45s and downloads that did not end up on any album. Still, we enjoyed them a lot! Next week – new stuff!
We continue our countdown to the best albums in 2018 and in this episode we announce two albums which share the title of the best one at The Little Lighthouse in the past year. I Am The Polish Army debut album My Old Man struck us with its great enthusiasm, musicianship, songwriting and playful performance. Harlan T. Bobo finally put out his record The History of Violence out on Goner, which just might be his greatest yet. Chip Kinman, along with the help of his son on guitar and his brother behind the knobs created a post-modern patchwork of an album with an astonishing amount of historical and rock references under the Ford Madox Ford moniker. Two ladies, Bat Fangs brought us a quick and powerful rock’n’roll album with hits going steady. Tony Molina on his Kill The Light is even more brief, but the brevity just makes you play the album over and over again. Bad Sports brought an excellent barrage of love punk rock tunes worthy of the greatest examples in the past. Patsy Gelb and her Rats compiled all those perfect singles from their inception on a single record, seriously contending Singles Going Steady as one of the strongest compilation records in the history of rock music. Schizophonics with their amps turned to the max gave us an album that floats like a perfect MC5 tribute. Mama Rosin teamed up with Mick Collins on a collection of cajun and zydeco chants. Ty Segall is as active as ever, but his main release this year entitled Freedom’s Goblin is one of the deepest he recorded yet. Krist Novoselic is back with Giants In The Trees. And that’s our top 10 this year! Looking back at that top 10, this was a really good year and we can only wish 2019 can be at least as good as this one.
Every year around this time we look back. This year is again. We begin the new 2019 with a retrospective of best albums in last year. Next week I will present the lest top 12 albums last year. This week we focus on positions 25-12.
It’s the last show of 2018! Today we start a little heavy. Machine comes from The Netherlands and Biblical is from Toronto, Canada. Both bands play hard rock. Then we introduce a humorous new band from Knoxville, TN, Ex-Gold. Constant Mongrel are new to us, but we know Kill Devil Hills really well. Both bands come from Australia and have new records out. Over in Macedonia, Bernays Propaganda is back with a new EP, featuring Mike Watt. And also on the same label, Balkan Veliki, we introduce Rade Jordanovski. We close the show with three new acts from UK: Broken Soundtracks and Laish. Groovy Uncle is back with a new record.
We are reaching the end of this year in a steady beat of Cakefight from Melbourne, Australia. The Marked Men come from Denton Texas, and we introduce them for the first time today. Also, The Berries are new to us as well as Irish singer songwrter Paul McCann. Andrew Combs makes a cover of Strokes and survives it. Gentle Cycle had a record over a year ago and it fell through the cracks so we check it out this time. Ohio singer-songwriter Chris Butler is back with two brand new albums out on Smog Veil and we sample a song from each of those records.
Today we open with the new tune from Bevis Frond. They are still putting out great dense albums. Bob Mould will be back with the new record next year, but the advance single from it is already there. Thee Melomen over in Zagreb Croatia have a new single and the new album is out too, both titled Disappear. Also in Zagreb, San Mikulec keeps cranking up great songs. Further sough down the Brotherhood and Unity Freeway, in Macedonia, we have Vasko, always extremely productive, with a new single for his project 21 vek. UK singer Elisa Zoot teamed up with Calibro 35 on a new single. We also have to obituaries. Seid 1st Karajlić, keyboardist of Zabranjeno PuÅ¡enje passed away on November 9th and Pete Shelley, the legendary leader of Buzzcocks passed away last week. This episode is dedicated our fallen rock’n’roll heroes.
Today we check out the new music from John Hiatt and Sarah Borges with her Broken Singles. Tim Lee and Susan Lee Bauer are back with a new single for their duet Bark. KT Tunstall has been around the scene 15 years now, but we introduce her for the first time here at The Little Lighthouse. We also introduce Madeline Kenney from Durham NC, Jeremy and The Harlequins from New York City, Exit Group from Berlin and Les Envahisseurs from France.
We reported earlier this year that Porcupine over in Minneapolis had recruited Greg Norton from Hüsker Dü as a bass player. Their new album is out and there’s a cover of a Hüsker Dü song Standing By The Sea among other really good originals. Tav Falco also has a new record out. Thalia Zedek is very productive this year. After an album with her new band E, there’s also a new one of her own. We introduce Dee Rangers from Sweden, Grip Weeds from New Jersey, Caddy from Norway and Warm Drag, a duet from Los Angeles. We pay a tribute to Tony Joe White who passed away on October 24th this year.
Today we continue listening to the stuff we found on Roadkill records over in UK. We check out Muertos and Sly Persuaders. The Fadeaways over in Japan have a new record. We introduce All-Seeing Eyes, a boogie band from Cincinnati, OH, Gabriella Cohen from Canada, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs from Newcastle, UK and Tommy and the Commies, also from Canada. Gabriella Cohen is also in our Live in Cleveland segment.