Two shows ago we had new music from the sixties bands. Today we have new music from the eighties bands! Boston was one of the big music centers at the end of the 80s with Lemonheads and Blake Babies. Two bands shared members too. They are all back! Lemonheads have a new single and it’s their first original song in many years. It’s Evan Dando’s tribute to Dan Lardner of QTY who passed away in June this year. John P. Strohm drummed in Lemonheads and in Blake Babies. Now he’s back with a brand new solo record as a singer songwriter. Juliana Hatfield made a tribute to Jeff Lynn and ELO. Fuzztones are back with a strange album of what sounds like remixes of other bands. Divine Horsemen have a second album together after Chris D and Julie Christensen reunited. Peter Case of The Nerves and Plimsouls has a new album and so does Jon Dee Graham of Austin’s Skunks. Ska legends Madness are also back. All that in today’s show.
Association – Windy
The Fuzztones – Windy with The Association
Divine Horsemen – Dirty Like An Angel
Divine Horsemen – Devil’s River
The Plimsouls – Zero Hour
Peter Case – Downtown Nowhere’s Blues
Jon Dee Graham – Where It All Went Wrong
The Skunks – Cheap Girl
QTY – Living Things
The Lemonheads – Fear Of Living
John P. Strohm – Troubleland
The Lemonheads – Clang Bang Clang
Blake Babies – Swill And The Cocaine Sluts
Juliana Hatfield – Bluebird Is Dead
Madness – Beginners 101
Madness – Mad Not Mad
Electric Light Orchestra – Bluebird is dead
The Fuzztones – We’re Pretty Quick
Today we hear some new music from the kings of lo-fi rock, Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices. He is as productive as ever. Following his footsteps in lo-fi, we introduce City Yelps from Leeds UK and Honey Radar from Indiana. Paul Kelly is back with a set of Shakespearean sonnets. Plastic Pals form Sweden have a new single. San Mikulec, a one-man band in Croatia is back with the new project called Snooze in Motion and we close everything with John Doe of X with his new album. Bob Hillman is a new name in show, he recorded an albums with the help of Peter Case. We pay respect to Jadranka Stojakovic, probably the greatest female character that ever came out of the Yugoslav pop and rock scene. She passed away yesterday.
Jadranka Stojakovic – Zivot je jednosmjerna cesta;
City Yelps – Light & Classical;
Honey Radar – Postcard Target;
Honey Radar – Scorpions Bought Me Breakfast;
Robert Pollard – Little Pigs;
Guided By Voices – Glittering Parliaments;
Guided By Voices – The Caterpillar Workforce;
Paul Kelly – O Mistress Mine (Clown’s Song from Twelfth Night);
XTC – Melt The Guns;
Kim Simpson – Melt The Guns;
Jadranka Stojakovic – Putovanja;
Jadranka Stojakovic – Ko zna reci;
The Plastic Pals – Wouldn’t Change a Thing;
Bob Hillman – Bad Business;
Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds – Chicano Studies;
Disciplin A Ktchme – Nepokolebljivost pokazi ti uz neophodnu dozu neozbiljnosti;
Snooze In Motion – Agnes OM;
John Doe – Get On Board.
Booker T. Jones of the MG’s fame continues a streak of new records with The Road To Memphis and once again he is in the great shape. This time he collaborates mainly with the Roots, but there are also other great contributors. Thee Oh Sees from San Francisco also have a new record, called Castlemania and a new compilation of singles. Peter Case also has a new compilation, this time consisted of rare recordings and it’s called The Case Files. Our good friends at Vacilando ’68 sent out another package and this time we pick out a new name for us, band called the Pocket. This is a project of another guy from that label, John Bisset. Check out our bonuses, both Mystery Train and Sympathy for Rock’n’roll offer fantastic tributes to Bob Dylan, who is sweet little seventy since yesterday!
Booker T. & The MGs – Mrs. Robinson;
Booker T. Jones – Hey Ya;
Booker T. Jones – Down In Memphis (Featuring Booker T On Vocals);
T. Rex – Electric Warrior – Woodland Rock;
Ty Segall – Woodland Rock;
Thee Oh Sees – Carol Anne;
Thee Oh Sees – A Wall, A Century;
Timothy Bracken Three-Way – Everyday things;
Peter Case – Banks of the River;
Peter Case – Anything (Closing Credits);
Lil’ Band o’ Gold – Shirley;
John Fred – Shirley;
Hawkwind – Urban Guerilla;
Mudhoney – Urban Guerilla;
Ron Jetson – Mrs. Van Saker;
Pocket – Ready To Go;
Angst – Colors.
In out past seasons we had four shows where we featured songs that we identified as anthems of rock’n’roll. Those are the songs that bands keep turning to through the entire history of this music, tunes that define the very fabric of rock music. Previously we featured Louie Louie, I Fought The Law, Tobacco Road and Train Kept A-Rollin’. Today we have Money (That’s What I Want). The song originally came out in 1959. It is not completely clear who is the author. Around the same time, two nearly identical songs came out, one by John Lee Hooker and the other one by Barrett Strong, written by Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford. The latter version is definitely more famous and also it’s the earliest hit single on Tamla (which soon became Tamla Motown). It’s possible that song is neither Gordy/Bradford or Hooker’s, maybe it’s something that has traditional roots in early rhythm and blues. In any case, fantastic piano riff and material lyrics became one of the main inspirations and many various bands made covers, and it’s a rock standard that was covered both by Beatles and The Stones. Most recently, Peter Case reused this riff on his latest record and retooled it as I Ain’t Got No Dough. All in all, today we go through no less than 20 different versions of this fantastic songs that spans the entire history of rock.
Barrett Strong – Money (That’s What I Want);
Johnny Lee Hooker – I Need Money;
Backbeat Band – Money (That’s What I Want);
The Beatles – Money (That’s What I Want);
The Rolling Stones – Money (That’s What I Want);
Georgie Fame – Money (That’s What I Want);
The Sonics – Money (That’s What I Want);
Alarm Clocks – Money (That’s What I Want);
Buddy Guy – Money (That’s What I Want);
Etta James – Money (That’s What I Want);
Ike And Tina Turner – Money (That’s What I Want);
Dwight Twilley – Money (That’s What I Want);
The dB’s – Money (That’s What I Want);
John Belushi – Money (That’s What I Want);
The Stooges – Money (That’s What I Want);
Kingsmen – Money (That’s What I Want);
The Trashmen – Money (That’s What I Want);
Waylon Jennings – Money (That’s What I Want);
Jerry Lee Lewis – Money (That’s What I Want);
Johnny Lee Hooker – I Need Money;
Peter Case – Ain’t Got No Dough.
Peter Case is a long standing figure in the history of rock’n’roll. He indebted us with bands like The Nerves and The Plimsouls, plus his rich solo recording career and occasional production work. This year he returns with Wig!. Somewhat surprisingly (although pleasantly), Peter Case reinvents himself on this one as an uncompromising blues-man. Hallmark of this reinvention is the song New Old Blue Car, which artistically defines this record. Melancholic folk-blues tune Old Blue Car from his first solo record now has a very different taste. Let us also mention that this record is also embellished with several subtle quotations from rock’n’roll standards – for example Money in I Ain’t Got No Dough. That’s a wonderful trick that creates an immediate bound for a true rock listener. A hired gun on this album and someone who definitely left a strong mark on it is DJ Bonebrake with his rough beats. Another one who must be mentioned here is the guitarist Ron Franklin who even co-authored some songs on Wig!. I only wish the same line up was out there to tour with this record, as this kind of gritty blues is best consumed live.
Here we are again after a summer long hiatus. Students are back to school, cold days are here and hot rock’n’roll selections too. This show is filled with some of the most exciting music that came out while we were gone. We have Eamon McGrath from Canada for the first time in our show. Interesting character who recorded tons of music alone in his bedroom for years until last year when his album 13 Songs of Whiskey and Light broke out internationally. Eamon is unusually talented songwriter that has a great future. We hope that his new album Peace Maker is just as good as 13 Songs. Another new songwriting name in today’s show is Pat Hull. He also wrote a number of songs back in his old hometown of Chico in California, until he moved to New York City recently. He has a new album called Fable Names. Spampinato brothers, Joey of NRBQ and Johnny of The Incredible Casuals recorded a new solo album called Pie In The Sky together with another Incredible Casual Aaron Spade. They are touring USA and keep your eye on the events in your town. Their shows are outstanding. Endless Boogie, blues gods from Brooklyn are also here with a new album Full House Head. Limes, Memphis band fronted by Shawn Cripps is also back with the new album Rhinestone River, which comes a few years after their Internet-only album Tarantula, which we loved five years ago. We love the new one too. One of the most exciting album this summer was the new album for Peter Case, who teamed with DJ Bonebreak from X to record Wig!. Case reinvented himself as a hot rocking bluesman and it totally works. Come tune in next week after you hear this one and don’t forget our bonuses!
NRBQ – I Want You Bad;
The Incredible Casuals – College Girls;
The Spampinato Brothers – I Say Good Day Goodnight;
Aaron Spade – Selfish;
Eamon McGrath – Big River;
Eamon McGrath – Cold Alberta Nights;
Pat Hull – The Builder (live at The International Folk Bazaar);
Pat Hull – The Builder;
Tav Falco – Sympathy for Mata Hari;
Endless Boogie – Gimme the Awesome;
Endless Boogie – Tarmac City;
Limes – Do You Mind;
Limes – Merrilly;
Peter Case – Old Blue Car;
Peter Case – New Old Blue Car;
Ronnie Spector – Try Some Buy Some.
Podcasting from Cleveland, Ohio. Broadcasting on Radio Kragujevac, every Sunday from 4-5pm (Central European Time). Streaming on Rock XS every Thursday at Midnight (Eastern European Time).