Nice show today with new music from California’s Crocodiles, Londoners Embrooks, Sunfruits of Australia, Les Lullies from Frnace and Turkish band from Netherlands Altin Gun. We introduce Moonlight Benjamin from Toulouse France, originally Haitian. We also welcome legendary Iggy Pop, Julie Christensen and Jody Stephens with new tunes. Jody is with Luther Russell in the third installment of Those Pretty Wrongs. At the tail end of the show we pay a tribute to David Lindley, who started his career in sixties with Kaleidoscope and continued contributing to important solo records, most notable Warren Zevon’s.
Zlatni akordi – My Generation
Crocodiles – Degeneration
The Embrooks – In The Sky
Babaganouj – Stay Up For Me
Sunfruits – End Of The World
Those Pretty Wrongs – Scream
Popular Creeps – Wait & See
Iggy Pop – Strung Out Johnny
Les Lullies – Dernier Soir
Robert Forster – Always
Eamon McGrath – Fireworks
Julie Christensen – How He Lost Her
Moonlight Benjamin – Taye banda
Moonlight Benjamin – Salwe
Altin Gun – Kalk Gidelim
Kaleidoscope – Pulsating Dream
Warren Zevon – Detox Mansion
Warren Zevon – Something Bad Happened To A Clown
Today we start off with the retro 50s sound of Crystal & Runnin’ Wild from Belgium. We follow that up with another retro band, Fever Feel lead by two brothers from Canada Landon Franklin and Logan Gabert. They are inspired by the 70s sound. Luther Russel is probably the most faithful keeper of Big Star fire. After his excellent project with Jody Stephens, Those Pretty Wrongs, he is back with te new solo record. Hedvig Mollestad is a guitar virtuoso from Norway and Crows are a new band from London. Two old-timers are back. Legendary Robin Trower has an excellent new record and so does the legendary psychedelic magicians Chocolate Watchband. Today’s show is dedicated to Boris Popović, the leader of Croatian band Running Party who passed away recently.
The best news for this show is that Jody Stephens from Big Star and Luther Russel of Freewheelers formed a new band called Those Pretty Wrongs (after a Shakespeare’s poem). Their new record is made in Memphis Ardent Studios with the old Big Star equipment and while it definitely draws on that sound, it’s definitely not a cheap nostalgic take on a beloved band. It underlines on just how much Jody was integral to this band. We also have new music from Fort Wayne’s Left Lane Cruiser, and Pat Todd. We have no less than two supergroups today. Hard Working Americans are Todd Snider and Dave Schools from Widespread Panic together with and Neal Casal. Hard working Canadians are Tuns with Chris Murphy of Sloan, Matt Murphy of Super Friendz and Mike O’Neill of The Inbreds. We also check out Fifty Foot Combo from Belgium and The Hunches from Portland OR.
Another international edition of the Little Lighthouse. We have new music from Italy, Ireland, Russia, Sweden, Iowa, Louisiana and Texas. Legendary Michael Doucet and his Beausoleil have a new record called From Bamako to Carencro. Then, Radio Moscow from Iowa have a new single. Talking about Moscow in Russia, I just recently heard about a cool garage band from over there called The Cavestompers. Forget Pussy Riot – Cavestompers are a truly spicy rock’n’roll serving. More garage hits come from Austin – new band Loteria and Sweden – The Most. Also based in Sweden is a new band called The Crunch which features former members of Cockney Rejects, Sham 69 and Clash. Five good looking ladies from Ireland are also pretty good songwriters – they called themselves September Girls, after that great Big Star tune. And finally – the title of the most fun record in this year so far goes to Italian glam rock band Giuda.
One friend of mine classifies albums that he likes into big and small records. Not according to the dimensions, but according to impact and depth of a concept laid out on the record. According to that classification, Games is a small record. Simple three minute love songs, no impact or concept whatsoever. Still, simple can sometimes be really great. In this case, Games reached a near perfection in my mind. Every song is super catchy and fun. Simplicity of the overall delivery here is disarming.
The last Little Lighthouse for 2010 is dedicated to wonderful rock musicians and rock personalities that left us in the past year. We have a practice at the show where we give small tributes whenever someone leaves this ugly world we live in, but we missed to pay a proper tribute to Andy Hummel, bass player of Big Star who had died in the summer while the show was on the break. We correct this omission now with two Big Star songs that Andy wrote. Of course, Alex Chilton from Big Star also died this year, which leaves the drummer Jody Stephens as the only surviving original member of this amazing band. Then we go on and pay tribute, one by one, to the other great musicians who died this year: Bobby Charles, Jay Reatard, Mark Linkous, Kenny Gethway, Captain Beefheart, Ari Up, Solomon Burke, Vic Chesnutt, Predrag Ivanovic and two rock’n’roll sidemen: Malcolm McLaren and Billy Ruane. To all of them, rest in peace and to all of us – happy new 2011.
Just a few short months ago we lost Jim Dickinson. And now another Memphis rock’n’roll legend left the planet. Dickinson and Chilton are actually much more than Memphis rock’n’rollers. They are an epitome of a true rock’n’roll star anywhere in the world. Beautiful, uncompromising, larger than life but at the same time. Alex Chilton also epitomizes a sad, defeated rock’n’roll star, enormous talent that had difficulties finding its audience. When Chilton was 16 he had an early success with The Box Tops, but that was a little too much, a little too early. Â Alex simply did not feel free to do his own thing. When he was ready to conquer the world in his twenties with The Big Star, he created a musical landscape that audience did not understand – as it was at least twenty years ahead of its time. Then Alex battled addiction to drugs and alcohol and recorded albums that were about to de-construct the very fabric of rock’n’roll – his solo albums were a diary of a man who’s sending signals from some other reality and his work with Tav Falco we all about striping the pop music from all the glitz and glitter to something rugged and rough, but much more honest and longer lasting. He then became an in-demand music producer, moved to New Orleans and eventually left all his vices. In New Orleans, after Katrina, he went missing for awhile and luckily he resurfaced. But just four and a half short years after, in Chilton got a heart attack in his home in New Orleans and that was it. He was only 59 years old, but his music is some of the most inspiring ever laid on tape. This is a two hour tribute to this great man. Even this double deck of Chilton’s music is not enough, so please check out another tribute to Chilton below, Igor’s Sympathy for Rock’n’Roll (look for the Panther on fire logo).
As you probably know by now, every Thursday, Zagreb radio staion