RUHtf gem: New Bad Things - I Suck

Alright...this is a rare gem of the "wow...I never even knew that song existed but it's pretty cool" kind. New Bad Things were a Portland, Oregon band. According to their wiki they formed in order to open for Sebadoh. A Myspace Page set up to honor them could do a better job with giving background. I'll just play this cool song we used to play on The Bro Show.



Oh...this song is also my message to you, my faithful, loyal RUHtf reader for sticking with me and my minimum entries the past few weeks. More cool stuff to come... Chinese Democracy wasn't recorded in a day. :)

A Tribute to GG

Those of you who know Terry's grandmother know her as "GG"...known to the rest of the world as Jean Desmond. ("GG", to the uninitiated, stands for "Great Grandmother"). She also went by "The Matriarch", as she held court over an extended family all over the world. This morning, around 4 AM, GG died peacefully. She was an incredible woman, an inspiration to everyone who met her, and lived a full life that most people would envy and could only wish they could have. She was a person who saw something she wanted to do, so she did it. Her last words of advice to me, which have been her motto for life, were "I didn't know it couldn't be done, so I did it!" (I was considering applying for a job which, on paper, I didn't have some of the important criteria they were looking for).

I have put together a video tribute with music for GG. The song choice is Eurythmics' "Miracle Of Love", a very moving song that 20 years ago was dedicated to me. When I was in the hospital, struggling for my life, my friends at the radio station (KUCI) dedicated a few hours of radio programming to me and called it the "Lar-a-thon". My radio partner, and one of my very best friends to this day, Marian, dedicated this song to me.

When I first met GG, her comment to Terry was "My only problem with him is he is ferociously independent!" GG met her doppelgänger in me, as we refer to GG (who lived alone in her apartment up until the last week of her 89 year old life) as "ferociously independent".

Marian must have known something about me back then, as Annie Lennox use the word "ferocious" in this song. How many songs can you name that use "ferocious"??When I decided to use this song, I hadn't read the lyrics yet, so I didn't even know it was in there.

GG NEVER played the pity card or the "help me i'm a senior citizen" role. Her can-do attitude was an inspiration for all, and will inspire generations. GG was a storyteller of Mark Twain proportions, and you can pick up a copy of her first book here at Amazon.

Visit here for the video tribute.

tribute

GG will live on in our hearts, our minds, our stories...and now on the internet!

RUHtf gem: Swamp Zombies - Chicken Vulture Crow

Never released on CD, I give you the Swamp Zombies classic, Chicken Vulture Crow. Out of nowhere came these Orange County....punks(?) Playing acoustic instruments (acoustic guitars, stand-up bass, single drum) and singing about peace and love in two and three part harmonies, wearing beatnik clothes, and driving around in a truck that advertised a giant alligator inside...these "punks" transcended labels. They were a "big" band in OC, attracting huge crowds at the Sawdust Festival and being able to headline The Coach House. "life" happened for the members, and they broke up. Josh had been doing in-house art for their record label (and the Swamp Zombies art) and stared painting and selling his stuff, soon morphing in to a highly sought after artist, Shag. The Tiki Tones evolved from the ashes of the Zombies, and carried on their tradition.

I'm sure i'm bastardizing their history. For a more complete histoy, you could probably check out wikipedia. There's also a documentary in production.

Hear my interviews with them here.
See my Tiki Tones videos here

And now....Chicken Vulture Crow...digital:

Truly Needy:


Love Zombie:


Swamp Boy:


Open Up Your Eyes:


Pots And Pans


Coffeehouse Ray:


Purple Haze:


Zombie Jamboree:


Chucha:


A Simple Desultory:


Phobia


Rudy The Magic Crow (+bonus ending)

RUHTF: Matt Sorum sings, Slim Jim swings

Alright..here's a couple random treats I found listening to Indie recently.

They are rare in that I doubt you'll find them anywhere else.

First up is Matt Sorum doing an amazing Maggie May:




Thanks to Paul!

Then, Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats hosted Jonesy's Jukebox. He played a song by the Swing Cats, which is Lemmy, Johnny Ramone, and Danny B. Harvey. This is an Elvis cover, Good Rockin' Tonight:

Style Council live in concert

This is cool. Wolfgang's Valut now lets you embed the concerts they are streaming. This makes my job easy (but its then less rare). Anyhow...here's my first: Stye Council. Paul Weller has god-like status in the UK. EVERYONE knows and loves him. He fills stadiums over there. Here...he can barely fill a small theater..and his albums register only a minor blip in the charts, let alone never played on the radio. Then again, one song gets played on "Easy Hits" stations - "My Ever Changing Moods"...his first hit with his second bad, The Style Council. His record company, realizing the American Public has short attention spans, released the UK album 'Cafe Bleu" as 'My Ever Changing Moods"

Here's a King Biscuit Flour radio broadcast:

Happy Birthday Ringo! Ultra Rare Cher (!) track

Well..a day late but not an utra-rare song short. Yesterday was Ringo's birthday. I found this ultra-rare Beatles tribute song by Bonnie Jo Mason. You probably know her by her stage name - Cher. This was produced by Phil Spector with, of course, The Wrecking Crew playing the music. This is "Ringo, I Love You", and it begins with a public service message by Ringo for The Shriners:

RUHtf Gem of the week: Jane's Addiction @ Amoeba for the Lolla 2003 press conference

This was a treat I unearthed on my hard drive (and something that definitely falls in the RUHtf category)...Jane's Addiction performing at Amoeba for the Lollapalooza 2003 press conference. You're going to be hard pressed to find this footage anywhere on the web, so enjoy it in all its lo-fi shaky camera glory. Not bad for a guy who doesn't use his hands.

Oh...on this day....I got a parking ticket cause I failed to read the signs that said there was street sweeping. Has anyone ever really figured out what those street sweepers do, besides give a reason to give people tickets for parking on the third Thursday between the hours of 8:30 AM and 12:30 PM (you need a scientific calculator to figure out those parking signs sometimes)? I think I had to pay $50 for the ticket...it was worth it.

And now..for your enjoyment (and cause you probably weren't there)...Jane's Addiction at Amoeba Music Hollywood:

The Introduction:


The Lollas (Jane's Addiction's dancers):


Wrong Girl (a new song at that time...Strays hadn't been released):


Jane Says:


Oh...Incubus and Audioslave were there too.

RUHtf concert recording: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at Hotel Cafe

So i'm looking through the latest Spin, and U saw an advertisement for the MLB 2K8 video game....with a spotlight on BRMC. I've got nothing against commercialism in music...selling your music for profit. I mean, heck..even the most stringent by-the-book anti-commercial bands like, say, Fugazi or The minutemen sell their albums and need to make a profit to stay in existence. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with selling your songs for use in movies, commercials, video games...whatever. These days, that's the only place your music is going to be played anyhow.

So...anyhow..this has got to be one of the most blatant examples of corporate misunderstanding of alternative music.

They have a big picture of MLB 2K8, and on the right side it says:

Featuring Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC)
Their latest LP, Baby 81, and MLB 2KB gives them just that - at least in a video game. On the soundtrack to 2K Sports' latest MLB installment, BRMC's driving, gritty guitar licks will have you hearing the crack of the bat and rounding the bases like a pro.

Yeah...o.k...

Well, here for your enjoyment, and to get you hearing the crack of the bat and rounding the bases like a pro, is a recording of BRMC at Hotel Cafe. Alright...In the tradition of any great bootleg, it's not the greatest recording. But at least it is...

The Wedding CD of our Love

Well..yes it says July 3..but it was written on July 3 and posted the 4th.





Well, here we are, July 4, 2008, our 8th Anniversary. In case you didn't make it to the 2000 celebration, I am putting up the CD (which all guests received), so you can share in our love.

The CD cover is rendered above.
To see the inside booklet and liner notes, click here. That will take you to another site, and you can magnify the picture.

The link on the booklet is no longer valid. It is now: http://www.larrysinger.com/Singerfamily.html.

To see the virtual photo album go here.

We purposefully programmed the CD so it was in alphabetical by artists' name, so neither of us, nor a song, would get priority...but I think it flows rather nicely.

And now, for the songs:

The Beatles: In My Life


Tracy Chapman: Wedding Song


The Church: Glow-Worm


The Cure: Lovesong


Bob Dylan: Wedding Song


John Lennon: Grow Old With Me
>

Joni Mitchell: Night Ride Home


Van Morrison: Real Real Gone


Paul McCartney: Calico Skies


Prince: Forever In My Life


Collin Raye: My Kind Of Girl


Santana: Everything's Coming Our Way


Santana: Samba Pa Ti


Squeeze: By Your Side


Style Council: You're The Best Thing


Velvet Underground: I'm Sticking With You


The Waterboys: Trumpets


Zoey's Trip: I Still Feel The Same

A Couple RUHtf trax from Rodney On The ROQ

Here's a couple rare 4th of July/Summer themed tracks compliments of Rodney on the ROQ which you probably can't find many other places. I'll be posting more tracks throughout the year.

Enjoy Pleasant Gehman's awesome spoken track Red Devil:



Drifting Sand's cover of Beach Boy's All Summer Long:

Rock and Roll Hall Of Shame

Tis is kinda of a delayed reaction, but I had written this months ago when the last Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame broadcast was shown.

Anyhow...these are things I think about every year that the Rock Hall comes and goes and makes a mockery of Rock and Roll. Your thoughts, comments discussions, e-mail are welcome.
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The Rock’n’Roll Hall of fame is losing relevance. The annual industry circle jerk has come and gone (only to be re-broadcast on VH1 over and over to reap all the advertising revenue) and thus commences my annual bitch session over who shouldn’t be in and who should. It has already been well documented about the Hall’s oversight never to induct the Stooges. This year, nine artists were nominated for consideration amongst the hundreds of potential artists who have been active more than 25 years. From those nine, five were chosen to be inducted. One could do the math and realize that eventually, if it has not happened already, they will run out of room for deserving artists because there's so many that have already been passed over in previous years. Granted, taking a look at the list of past inductees, many of the "essentials" have been included. Still there are many more who have been overlooked and given time will be continued be overlooked. Furthermore, one can only speculate how other future deserving artists the will be treated in ceremonies to come.

Let's start with the most blatant omission: the Stooges. Their sound set the blueprint for punk rock, hard rock, glam rock, and alternative rock decades ahead of its time. If the nuclear blast of their debut album was not proof enough of their influence to come, then the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame finale of "Now I Wanna Be Your Dog" (performed by Patti Smith and REM) and Madonna and asking them to cover her songs for her induction should seal the deal. They have been nominated 9 times already, and how they slipped away one will never know. Since an artist could conceivably be inducted twice (for solo and group effort), Iggy Pop (who became eligible in 2002 as a solo artist) could be inducted before his group. This is not a perfect world, however. Not all the Royal Carribean and Nike commercials, movie soundtracks, and sound-alike bands could change that.

Where would modern rock be without Joy Division? Apparently just fine, according to the nominating committee, since they haven't been nominated in the five years they have been eligible. The recent acclaim for the biopic "Control" and the Grant Gee documentary coud possibly change that, but it remains to be seen. Legend has it that Joy Division formed after seeing the Sex Pistols show that inspired many other british youths to join bands. The same could be said of the few dozen youths who saw or heard Joy Division in the beginning and were inspired to start the own band. Their influence remains to this day, as bands like Interpol, Killers, and The Bravery co-opt and modernize the sound. (Bauhaus falls in to this category and begins their eligibility this year)

What about bands like the minutemen, Husker Du, and Black Flag, all held in equally high regard for their influence in the underground movement of yesteryear and today? Not a snowball's chance in Pedro. And the thing is - they probably don't care. Industry acceptance is something that never really mattered to them, so being honored by the industry probably wouldn't appeal to them. Some of the players have gone on to have multi-album careers in the majors, but their initial indie output is what cemented their status as legends. Husker Du actually jumped to a major but inner band squabbles ended the band. The DIY ethic practiced and preached by these bands could have laid the groundwork for the current distribution model. The minutemen's credo was always "The album is a flyer for the show", and the same could be said today, as a band's Myspace page and e-mail list are "flyers for the show" (and mp3s, hoodies, and toddler tees). It could, however, be argued that since these artists didn't play by the industry's rules, the industry won't honour them. Besides, what kind of crappy job will they do on the retrospective film that is played, and will Paul Shaeffer's band be able to play the music?

Another band that has been criminally overlooked is The Replacements. They did it all: went the indie route (creating a landmark testament to their greatness in the album "Let It Be"), played the major game and released two stellar albums out of four (having a few hit singles, to boot), and had a lead singer with a lucrative solo career. Their induction to the Hall could be a longshot, but not based on the merit of their work. It could be speculated that the voting panel just don't know who they are. They didn't make much of a mainstream splash, and their hits were substandard compared to the rest of their material (cause that's what it takes to get played on the radio) and they didn't make the indie to major jump as commercially acceptable as their college rock peers (and Hall Of Fame inductees) REM. One could only guess that the title of their recent Rhino retrospective "Don't You Know Who I Think I Was" is a reference to being overlooked by the industry.

Two bands that should have whole wings in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named after them (but will probably suffer the same fate as The Stooges) are Sonic Youth and Pixies. Both had an astounding "ripple effect" influence on modern music and both have had incredible careers playing by the industry's rules, under their own terms. Both groups had an immense impact on a formative-years Nirvana, as it has been said they signed to Geffen because Sonic Youth was on it, and Kurt Cobain has been quoted as saying he was trying to rip off the Pixies. Sonic Youth has been eligible since 2006, Pixies will be eligible in 2012. Whether either band will even make the shortlist of nominees remains to be seen. Especially considering so many other worthy bands before them have been overlooked.

It could be argued that the problem with the Hall Of Fame is in its name: "Fame". One must attain a certain level of fame to even be considered worthy of membership. It's almost like a Fraternity or the "popular" group in a high school. The "cool" people deem who is "cool" enough to join their group and keep the others out so the group stays pure. People hold this group in high regard, and consider those who were shunned as "flawed". Since the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame is supposed to be the highest standard of excellence, those who are passed over could be branded as "not worthy". However, the longer the Hall overlooks such worthy artists as The Stooges, the more it will be seen as being flawed. It is uncertain what changes could be made to improve the legitimacy of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Changing the voting pool every year to reflect who was listening to music during the 25 year eligibility period could be a start. Having music fans do the voting could possibly be a solution, though one look at the Billboard chats showing what the masses prefer demonstrates that there could be a quality control issue. Mabye the drastic solution would be to do away with a Hall of Fame altogether and just let the artists' work stand on their own merit. Of course, this is a "cut off the nose" solution, and with he amount of capital that pours in to the Hall and VH1 each year (not to mention the revived careers of, and renewed interest in, inductees, see: Dave Clark Five, Van Halen, Leonard Cohen), it is something that would never happen. Therefore, I'm left with my DIY solution, which is to every year create my own Hall of Fame playlist on my iPod of MY inductees, and create a shrine on my counter of their CD cases and memorabilia.