Stupid Is as Stupid Does

I read an interesting article at The New Disease blog. It seems our esteemed president has given the NRA a parting gift. For the last 20 or so years there has been a ban on having concealed weapons in National Parks which our fearless leader has seen fit to repeal. Now personally, it will be a cold day in hell when I actually find myself camping out in the great outdoors. My citified idea of roughing it is sleeping with the window open instead of the A/C. But something about reading this struck a chord with me. It doesn't take a genius to realize that guys throwing back a few (or more) beers around the campfire and guns is potentially a fairly lethal mix and this ban has probably prevented more than a few accidental deaths by shooting. It just boggles the mind that this man went out of his way to rescind that ban. What could his thinking possibly be? When is it GOOD to have a concealed weapon on a camping vacation in a national park? This man is not just stupid, he is evil stupid and that's an even more dangerous combination. Thank God he's gone after a six more weeks. Let's just hope that he doesn't do too much more damage in that time. 

Lee Rogers - Cracked Up Over You

I first discovered "Cracked..." on a Goldmine Soul Supply CD which means that original copies are likely going for highly inflated amounts. And sure enough, a click to my favorite online record seller Gemm Music shows it being sold for prices ranging from $20 for a VG copy from a dealer in the US to $225 for a  NM copy from a dealer in the UK. It's amazing how when a record gets labeled as Northern Soul the price shoots way up.

The Creation - Biff Bang Pow

This record and band need no introduction to most Rock and Roll fans. Next to The Who, these guys were the best and most influential mod/freakbeat bands of the mid-60s. Their guitar pyrotechnics were likely an influence on a young Jimi Hendrix. I saw them a few years ago at a reunion gig they did at Cavestomp and the old magic was definitely still there. 

The Grip Weeds - Rainy Day #3

Back in the 90s I saw The Grip Weeds a number of times and I always liked them a lot. "Rainy Day # 3"  is one of my favorite songs and is from their "Summer of a Thousand Years" CD which you can order from Amazon. 
The Grotesque Mommies - One Night Stand

"...Stand" is taken from the "Sands of Time" comp which can probably still be ordered from dealers like Get Hip and Bomp. This Tacoma, Washington combo may not have achieved much in the way of fame and fortune but surely they deserve some extra points for their unusual moniker.   
Johnny Rivers - Secret Agent Man

I generally shy away from posting songs that were big hits. For one I'd like to avoid copyright issues if I can and for two, almost everyone who'd be reading this has heard the song a thousand times already. But when I was putting this list together I was really in the mood to listen to it, so here it is. 

The E-Types - She Moves Me

These guys put out a number of garage/psych gems back in the mid-60s, all of which can be found on the Sundazed CD "Introducing The E-Types", which I highly recommend. Incidentally, when I went to the Sundazed site to copy the URL I read that in January they are releasing a 2 LP set of all of the Remains material in its original glorious MONO (the way God intended it) mix. Now THAT is news!

The Lyres - Here's A Heart

Boston's Lyres have been mainstays of the East Coast garage scene for going on 3 decades and on their  best nights they can still put on some of the most inspiring live shows you're ever going to see. Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons they have done almost no recording in the last 15 years. A new album would be most welcome but it's highly unlikely at this point. The good news is that while most of their albums are out of print, they can still be found fairly cheaply on places like Amazon (see link above) including "A Promise Is A Promise" from which "...Heart" is taken.

Marianne Faithfull - Come and Stay With Me

With it's folk-pop musical arrangement and lyrics like "I'll do all I can so you'll feel free" this record almost screams 1965. While it does sound rather dated it is still a really pretty song written by Jackie DeShannon.

Matthew Sweet - Sick Of Myself

Matthew is regarded almost like a God in Powerpop circles and, while in my opinion not everything he touches automatically turns to gold, he has written more than his share of bonafide classics, this being one of them from his "100% Fun" album. 
The Pernice Brothers - The Weakest Shade of Blue

Although as yet The Pernice Brothers are not as well known as Mr. Sweet, among their fans they are regarded as no less icon-worthy. As this song shows there is clearly something special going on here and I for one am certainly looking forward to hearing more from them. 
The Plimsouls - A Million Miles Away

Speaking of pop deities, The Plimsouls certainly qualify. "A Million Miles Away" is over 20 years old and it still sounds as if it could've been written yesterday. 
The Shells - Whiplash

I don't know if there was ever actually a dance called The Whiplash but what I do know is that when I used to DJ, this song always got folks up on their feet.  
The Little Bits - Girl Give Me Love

From Jennings, Louisiana, The Little Bits sound young enough that had that girl given them the love they were demanding, one has to wonder if they would've known what to do with it. Nonetheless this is a perfect example of raging teen hormones set to music. You gotta love it.

Gene Clark (with the Gosdin Brothers) - Is Yours Is Mine

As much as I love The Byrds in every phase of their existence, it's their earlier material that they cut with Gene Clark as part of the group that still stands out for me. Although he never attained the same level of stardom that he had with the Byrds, he went on to produce some incredibly lovely music until his untimely death at the young age of 46 in 1991. 

Junior Wells - Little By Little (I'm Losing You)

While he may not be quite as well known as some of his contemporaries, Chicago bluesman Junior Wells had an impressive discography  starting in the early 60s continuing until his death from lymphoma in 1998. "Little By Little" was one of his earlier records with a bit more of a Rock & Roll/R&B edge to it than some of his others. His "Hoodoo Man Blues" album on Delmark is widely regarded as a classic among blues lovers.

The Kinetic - The Train
These guys were one of many young UK bands playing American R&B inspired Rock & Roll in the early 60s. While they never made much of a name for themselves they did produce a handful of very worthwhile recordings.

Looking back over this latest playlist I see that, more than on some of my other posts, there are a number of bands/artists that are either still performing or have CDs out from which they are (presumably) seeing some royalties. So, if you hear something here by an artist you really like that you might want to investigate further, please go out and buy something by them. Like it or not, it's money that keeps things going to a large extent and if we don't support the music and artists we love, at some point it's all going to dry up. And we certainly don't want that.

And as always, comments are not only welcome they are encouraged.

Reaching out to you everyday