What is Mod? Mr. Suave's Mod, Mod World is one of the web's original modcasts celebrating mod music, and mod-influenced music from past eras including soul, ska, garage, sixties R&B power pop, punk, britpop, acid jazz, lounge, easy listening and more. SEARCH
How do I like my music? Long, hard and fast like my . . . . modcasts. This week's show has a lot of little gems from my musical gold mine. Please enjoy.
Welcome to the show. The 236th show. And a show where you're gonna get some new sounds mixed with a few oldies. I've even got a set of live tracks from The Jetz, The Plimsouls, and Agent Orange. There's also a little taste of new band Grandma's Boyfriend who is offering a free download of their debut EP. so, sit right back, fix yourself a cold one, and enjoy the show.
The Rainyard -- Beneath the Sun (1989) Mr. Day -- Let Yourself Go (2012) Monophonics -- Sure is Funky (2012) Hansi -- Cocaine (2012) Marty Graveyards -- Do You Really Wanna Dance (2012)
Statues -- Living in Lines (2005) Grandma's Boyfriend -- Not Your Boyfriend (2012)
The Jetz -- Thrift Shop (1984)
The Plimsouls -- Time Won't Let Me (1984) Agent Orange -- Tearing Me Apart (1991) The Posies -- Saying Sorry To Myself (1990)
Put your dancing shoes on, DJ Dean Stickley of the Mod Soul Review Podcast is spinning this week's modcast, and it's a scorcher. If you don't know Mod Soul Review you should, Dean mixes his own weekly mod podcast of great music including northern soul, sixties, garage, power pop and more. You can connect with Dean on Facebook, as well.
1. The walk - Mayer Hawthorne
2. Lean on me - Al Supersonic & the Teenagers
3. Promise not to tell - the Moons
4. Local boy - the Rifles
5. Love that girl - Raphael Saadiq
6. Don't mess up a good thing - Eli Paperboy Reed & the Pepper Pots
7. Strife - Twisted Wheel
8. Every inch - the Broken Vinyl Club
9. Tracing paper - Stone Foundation
10. Hanging on/hanging up - New Street Adventure
It is the best of days when you've got a mix like this one to keep you company. From to new to old with a few stops in between, I think you'll dig this week's modcast.
And it only gets better when you add a delicious summer cocktail. This week's concoction: Italia Libera
Ingredients
1 ounce overproof (150 proof alcohol) white rum
1 ounce amaro
1/4 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup
Chilled seltzer
1 lime wedge, for garnish
Combine the rum, amaro, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice, top with seltzer and garnish with the lime wedge.
The New Pornographers -- Mutiny, I Promise You (2007)
Early Hours -- Happenin' Kid Today (1997) The Dbs -- Love is for Lovers (1984) (free downloads) The Gents -- Tommorow Never Comes (1985) The School -- That Boy is Mine (2012) The Primitives -- Panic (2012)
Andy Lewis & Wesley Doyle -- The Best of Days (2012) Oingo Boingo -- Ain't This The Life (1980)
Easy Cure -- I Just Need Myself (1977) The Mannequins -- Shiver (2012) (free downloads)
Tony Orlando and Dawn -- Knock Three Times (1970) The Guess Who -- These Eyes (1969) The Beau Brummels -- Just A Little (1965)
Rachelle Spring -- Stayin' Alive (2009) The Offspring -- One Hundred Punks (200?) The Wonder Stuff -- Save it for Later (2012) Sparks -- Over The Summer (1977)
The sound of the sixites is addictive and the primary reason I got into the mod scene in the 80s. Then sixtiesque bands were either mod groups blending soul and power pop or garage rock revival groups pounding out the primeval sound of sixties garage rock. For as long as I can remember I've been stuck on that sound, and so stuck in the sixties. So, this week I've a got a full dozen bands all doing their best to emulate the great sounds of the sixties from the original garage punk bands like The Standells, The Sonics, The Seeds, The Yardbirs, Love, The Creation and many more. If you dig the sixties sound you'll wanna stick around for the whole show.
Here's comes the Ice Cream Man, Rick N. Baker from the excellent blog Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More (Ding Ding) is at the helm for this week's modcast. He's sailing you into some familiar and not so familiar waters. Check the track list and you'll see right away that it's going to be smooth sailing.
Len Price 3 - After your'e gone
Thee Brandy Hips - Wayne
Stanley Road - Street Fighting Mods
The Allusions - Gypsy Woman
The Turnback - What she said
Baby Scream - Suddenly
Phenomenal Cat - Ramshackle Heart
The Eyes - I'm rowed out
The Routes - Do what's right by you
Les Fleur De Lys - Circles
Jonathon Richman and The Modern Lovers - Ice Cream Man
The School is one of the leaders among indie bands that are keeping sixties pop and soul alive in contemporary music. The
Cardiff band's sound hasn't evolved, because it didn't need to, as much as it has been sharpened. Their first single was 2008's All I Wanna Do a dreamy, shimmery bit of indie pop. After that it was the EP Let It Slip which was a strong step forward and helped put the band on the map. They followed that two years later with their debut full lenth album, Loveless Uneliever. The music in those early releases was heavily sixties influenced, and rather twee with the girlisly lilting vocals of lead singer and keyboardist Liz commanding full attention. The songs seemed to circle her vocals which put her at the heart of the band. And not just musically, the album cover for Unbeliever was a rose tinged closeup headshot of the blonde chantreusse.
Now here we are in 2012 on the brink of another new release from The School. The band --and it's a big band, eight people strong, half male and half female-- is set to release on Monday their sophmore album, Reading Too Mucn Into Things Like Everything on Elefant Records. The album picks up in many ways where Loveless Unbeliever left off, but like I said with a sharpened focus. That focus has a more soulful, girl group feel to it than even Unbeliever did. Ths songs themselves are sharper. Where Unbeliever had a more innocent carefree feel and a lovelly simpleness to the songs, Reading Too Much shows maturity in both the arranging and the wrting.
The opening track Never Though I'd See The Day is a jaunty bit of pop that opens the door onto an album that brought to mind for me all of my favorite things. At times you can almost think they're playing Burt Bacharach arrangements, especially on Where Does Your Heart Belong with it's mellow trumpet solo and soft strings. Elsewhere you are reminded of other girl vocal focused groups like She & Him, such as on Stop The Boy, with it's soft, melodious vocals. The album is packed with strong songs like the lush, richly arranged It's Not the Same. Someday My Heart Will Beat Again has lavish girl-group type vocas, a very sixties styled approach and is the sort of song that could have been on the Quadrophenia movie soundtrack, like The Cascades Rhythm of the Rain. The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side with its jaunty, almost doowop sound shows off the happy sixties influence that The School incorporates into all of their music so pitch perfectly.
Throughout there is an obvious deep seated love of the sixties girl group sound, The Chiffons, The Shirelles, The Shangri-Las, which is no different than The School's previous releases. This is enhanced by the swirling and dreamlike keyboards, the trumpet flourishes, and the overal musicianship of the group. In Reading Too Mucn Into Things Like Everything you have a dozen of the best sixties songs written and produce in teh 21st century. The only thing missing is a male vocal. I thought one of the strongest songs on Loveless Unbeliever was the closing track, I Don't Believe In Love.
Still, overall this an album that fits nicely with other groups keeping the revival sound around such as The Like's Release Me, Lucky Soul's The Great Unwanted and The Red Button's As Far As Yesterday Goes. You won't be disappointed in this one, in fact you're more likelly to overplay it -- but you won't mind.
How do I like my music? Long, hard and fast like my . . . . modcasts. This week's show has a lot of little gems from my musical gold mine. Please enjoy. 
