August 23, 2009

Modcast #138: The Mod Time of the Night

Welcome to Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World. It was a good week to put this particular show together. I got to dig out some old friends, like The Untouchables and Madness, and make some new ones like The Brigadier and Tony Cox.


Madness and The Untouchables were two of the first mod/ska bands I discovered in the early 80s when I started getting into the mod scene. At the time there were prescious few local mod bands, even in Southern California, and there was little or no general awareness of mod/ska from around the world, in particular the UK. It was quite the effort to unearth the records, requiring long drives to Hollywood or Orange County to indie record shops. There was something special about having to expend such effort.

Now days you hop online and in seconds you know the history of most bands, you've downloaded practically their entire discography, and you have more pictures and videos than you even want. And still, if you asked any member of the general public about The Untouchables they'd think you meant the movie, and if they remember Madness at all it's only because of the constant radio play that "Our House" got in 1983.

So, I'm hopeful that when people hop online they stumble across this site and hopefully are introduced to some interesting music that they can then track down more of elsewhere. This modcast is packed with fantastic tracks, if I do say so myself, so listen in and enjoy. Then take a drive down the information superhighway for more.

The Brigadier -- This, Is Why . . . (2008)
The Untouchables -- Soul Together (1985)
The Higsons -- Run Me Down (1983)
Makin' Time -- Stop This Cryin; Inside (1985)
Madness -- Rainbows (2009)
Tony Cox -- Jamelia (2009)
The Elements -- Caught In A Storm (2009)
Skypark -- Secret Hideaway (1988)
The Primitives -- Crash (1988)
Acid House Kings -- Mrs. Green (2000)
The Last Shadow Puppets -- The Age Of The Understatement (2008)

The Untouchables -- Free Yourself



The Elements -- Deep Freeze