Mod-A-Day: Mooney Suzuki

Loud. Bluesy. Rawkin. That could describe any number of bands from The Doors, to Zeppelin to even Jet and Lenny Kravitz. But, add in huge, overwhelming doses of garage punk, a sixties sense of how to balance soul with screaming, and you get something totally different. Mooney Suzuki.

If you like drums pounding, guitars crunching, and a vocal driven band that knows both how to mix it up, and how to play by the rules, then you will love Mooney Suzuki. Mooney Suzuki? Where the hell do you get a name like that? Apparently like this.

"Their name is taken from the first two singers of the 1970s German Krautrock band Can: Malcolm Mooney and Damo Suzuki."

(As much as I detest Wikipedia [a public written info source? really? you're kidding right?] I have to say that on this occassion they delivered a couple of tidbits that were otherwise unavailable. Of course this means they could be total bullshit like a lot of wikipedia, or they could be undiscovered gems of info. I'll let you decide how I categorized these nuggets. Now, back to our post.)

Mooney Suzuki have produced a fisftul of serious releases including a fistful of singles and EPs and four full-length releases that back in the day would have been called LPs or long players. They're earlier sound was rawer, more closely associated to a sixties power pop type of sound. Later releases were bother bluesiers and more elaborately produced. So comparisons to the British Invasion ala Kinks and Stones, and to early metal ala Sweet and Led Zeppelin are all appropriate and completely justified. Through it all, the band keeps a steady focus on sixties based R&B, and on a more modern sort of crunchy rock and roll blues not unlike Jet, though much harder. For me the earlier stuff is the best stuff, but the later stuff is addictive with it's aggrssive approach and unashamed grasping for something a little more mainstream. Too bad the mainstream never grasped back, had they done so we'd be enjoying a modern day Rolling Stones.

The track here, "Yeah You Can" is from their 2000 release People Get Ready. It's a great piece of garage rock with just enough injection of sixties psychadelia to give it the perfect garage rock edge.  Later tracks lost some of the raw energy, but kept a great focus on blues and pure rock-n-roll. 

Mooney Suzuke -- Yeah, You Can

Modcast #119: Direct From Mr. Suave's Swingin' Cocktail Lounge

This week on the modcast you can get lost with some swingin' suave songs of yesteryear, as well as some smooth, cocktail tracks right out of the the now sound of the lounge music revival.  Welcome to Mr. Suave's Swingin' Cocktail Lounge. Step up to the bar, place your order and prepare to be charmed by some of the swinginest singers to ever accompany a martini.

• Chet Baker -- Let's Get Lost
  
• Mel Torme -- Midnight Swinger
  
• Bobby Troup -- Snooty Little Cutie
  
• Frank Sinatra -- Bim Bam Baby
  
• Madame Mame -- I Blew Louie (in St. Louie)
  
• Blossom Dearie -- Give Him the Ooh-La-La
  
• Dinah Washington -- Baby, You've Got What It Takes
  
• Jeri Southern -- An Occassional Man
  
• Love Jones -- Paid For Lovin'
  
• Last of the International Playboys -- I Want My Old Life Back
  
• Earl Grant -- House of Bamboo
  
• Nicola Conte -- Karma Flower

Bonus Videos

Bobby Troup -- (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66



Frank Sinatra -- Fly Me to the Moon



Nicola Conte talks about Rituals his 2008 release(takes a while to get going)

Like that? Then check out this clip.


Chet Baker - Time after Time



Download

Mod-A-Day: The Plimsouls

Soul-punk is the appropriate and oft used term to describe 80s power pop wonders The Plimsouls. Fronted by singer songwriter Peter Case, the band was formed on the heels of the breakup of his first, and legendary, power pop trio The Nerves (famous for Case, and Paul Collins, and the original recording of "Hanging on the Telephone").

The Plimsouls hit the LA scene in 1978 when power pop was starting to explode into the club scene. Their niche was a sixties and soul infused style of power pop that helped them to stand out in the crowd. The band released a single in 1980 -- "Now" backed with "Dizzy Mizz Lizzy", but didn't hit it big until KROQ's Rodney Bingenheimer started spinning their single "Million Miles Away" on his weekly show. The song became a big regional hit and was all over So Cal radio stations throughout the early 80s. It landed in the Nicholas Cage's cult classic teen romp Valleygirl (She's cool, he's hot, she's from the valley, he's not) and along with a notoriously frenetic live show reported to be one of LA's best, cemented the bands alternative street cred.

This track "Lie, Beg, Borrow, and Steal" appeared on their 1983 major label release Everywhere At Once, and features the band at their most garagish. It's a sixties R&B stomper that would have been right at home on a Standells LP circa 1967. The Plimsouls reunited in the mid-90s with Blondie drummer Clem Burke bangin' the sticks, and recorded a rather forgettable album, Kool Trash. They still play on occassion and the live shows are reportedly as good now as they ever were.

The Plimsouls -- Lie, Beg, Borrow and Steal

Mod-A-Day: Madness (now)

More than any other band of the two tone era Madness have managed to hold their fanbase together -- and even grow it in some ways. Over the years from their biggest hits, from the time of their most popularity, the band has managed to hang on to their ccre fans and once again build upon that.

It doesn't hurt to be a sort of British hometown fave, a group that Brits just seem to love. And boy do they ever. These days Madness is as popular or more so than they were thirty years ago at the birth of the whole two tone movement. And that is saying something when you realize that from 1980-1986 Madness "spent 214 weeks on the UK singles charts" holding the record with UB40 of all groups. According to Wikiepdia, which means it has to be true, "the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK singles charts."

But this is about how great Madness are now. During the first part of the century they performed and recorded under the name "Dangermen" -- treating audiences to ska an reggae hits of past and present, as well as covers of pop songs done in a rock steady, ska sort of vibe. And it wasn't just recording, they found their live sets more and more popular. So much so that every year in the UK now there is something called Madstock. That's right, they got their own ridiculously outrageous musical festival. And they record new stuff now and again -- now being now, but again being their 2005 CD. So it was new covers on the 2005 release they did. That's okay, when they're good covers! In addition, this spring their slated for an all new release of original material. So far, so good.

One of the recent singles was "Sorry." So "Sorry," indeed. "Sorry" is reportedly one of the first songs from the forthcoming album (coming in March, the single forthcame last year!) The song doesn't know whether it wants to be a cool ska song, or some sort of aging skanksters attempt at hip hop. While it isn't a bad song, it's hard to see it inspire a new generation of ska fans. But the last release by the band, The Dangerman Sessions, was definitely inspirational, and one of those that aging bands should do more of. They don't necessarily have anything new or relevant to say, but you just have to love how they sound when they say something we've heard before. So, why not a really cool covers album. And there you have it. One of the best covers albums of all time (and there have been some good ones by The Ramones, The Dickies and The Postmarks), The Dangerman Sessions. It includes a number of interesting and unique covers like "Lola," "John Jones," "Taller Than You Are," and "Isrealites." But none fit Madness more than one very quirky song with a clever twist.
This song here was one of the faves from that release, a Calypso favorite for years and years before that. And then Peter Tosh made it a reggae favorite as well. "Shame and Scandal" is the perfect sort of song for Madness to cover. It has family quirks, societal taboos, a clever hook, a memorable melody, and is just catchy enough for everyone to remember. All that adds up to Madness.

Madness Shame and Scandal

Mod-A-Day: Madness (then)

Madness was one of the earliest of the two-tone bands of the ska revival in the late 70s, having been formed in 1976 by Mike Barson, Chris Foreman and Lee Thompson and going under the name The Invaders. By 1978 the band was seven members strong and called Madness. They were growing in popularity both with the mods and the skinheads as their music was much more than just ska, incorporating a lot of sixties soul, reggae, and power pop (and even some lounge and jazz) elements. Because of that the mods were especially enamored with Madness more so than other ska bands of the era.

Their first single, released by the new Two Tone label, "Prince Buster" was a runaway success breaking into the British top 20. Likewise their sophmore single, the ska instrumental "One Step Beyond" rose to #7, and their third "My Girl" topped that by going to #3. The trend became commonplace after that with the band's first 13 singles hanging around the tops of the charts. Madness were enormously popular in England right through the mid-80s, with maybe only The Jam being more loved by Brits.


Always the core of the group, Mike Barson's songwriting and keyboards gave the band an edge, as well as a different sound that set them apart from the rest of the two-tone movers and shakers like The Specials and English Beat. Barson left the band in '83, and while Madness still did well throughout the rest of the decade, the highest of heights were being left behind.

Here's a great sample of their quirkiness, cleverness, and overall musical genius. "In The Middle of the Night" dabbles with crime and fetish, something many of their songs touched upon though they also sang about politics and culture a fair amount. The keyboards, the trumpets, the guitar, it all just works so well. And the nuttiness of it all makes a song about an underwear theif more charming than creepy.

Madness-- In the Middle of the Night

Modcast #118: Go for Mod Groovy

Now's your chance to swing with Mr. Suave. Set up the cocktail shakers and make sure you've enough ice to cool things down when the going gets hot. Tune in the modcast, then take off on a wild ride through some super cool, exotic and effervescent sounds of the cocktail kind. Slice it how you will, no matter how groovy the core is the sweet sound of soul music. That's right, these are super soul songs, made to get your feet moving and your backside shaking along with your martini. From Mel Henke to Burt Bacharach, from Combustible Edison to 101 Strings, it's all here for you to love. What to do now? Go. Go. Go baby go. Go for mod groovy.

• Burt Bacharach -- Bond Street
  
• James Clarke -- Blow Up A Go-Go
  
• Mike Vickers -- On The Brink
  
• Esquivel -- Que Vas A Hacer (Question Mark)
  
• Fantastic Plastic Machine -- Bachelor Pad
  
• Roberto Pregadio -- Iena Sequence
  
• Ursula 1000 -- Kinda Kinky
  
• Mel Henke -- The Lively Ones
  
• 101 Strings -- A Bad Trip Back to' 69
  
• James Taylor Quartet -- Beat club
  
• Combustible Edison -- The Checkered Flag
  
• Stan Getz -- What The World Needs Now Is Love

Bonus Videos
Ursula 1000 - Kinda Kinky


The Cocktail Nation

Mod-A-Day: The Free Design

From the where are they now file, or maybe the how couldn't they have made it file, it's The Free Design. More Cowsills than the Cowsills, more harmonizing than the Beach Boys, and just ever so much and more so than The Hi-Los or the Lemon Pipers, and yet, The Free Design went hitless and largely unheralded throughout their seven year existence. Never mind that they released an album every year.

The brother/sister combo oozed talent. The vocal harmonies were spot on and the arrangements near perfect. The group's blending of jazz with sunshine pop had them riding the edges of two very popular musical genres of the day, but without ever getting the proper accolades they deserved for each. They had a musical complexity that somehow was lost under the sugary surfaces of their pop vocal stylings. Their originals were more folksy then the covers they did, most of which had layers and layers of jazz stylings. Take for instance their cover of Summertime, with the overall jazz arrangement, the jazz riffing trumpets, and a dusky, jazz tinged female singer that wouldn't be out of place on a Portishead album, and a Georgie Fame-like male vocal as well. Really a thing of beauty when you hear it.

It wasn't until the rebirth of easy listening within the cocktail music revival of the 90s that The Free Design began to be noticed. A number of bands and artists were either clearly influenced -- such as Stereolab, Pizzicato Five, and Pink Martini -- or claimed The Free Design as an influence -- such as Moby, Portishead, or even Dressy Bessy -- and the band's hipster cachet went through the roof. As did the prices of their used vinyl.

"Kites Are Fun" the band's only "hit" song wasn't much of a hit at all, not even breaking into the pop charts top 100. Even with production help from the likes of Enoch Light, and distribution on his elite Project 3 label they just never managed to garner much of a following. Interestingly, this wasn't lost on the band at all and in 1969 for their Heaven/Earth album they actually wrote a song about their growing desperation for a chart hit "2002 - A Hit Song."

Promotion will cause a big commotion
So, deejay, teenie bopper answer me this:
How can this hit miss?
We’ve done it all right and sealed it with a kiss.
There’s just one fact that we can’t quite shirk:
We did all this last time, and it did not work!

But! this time we’re sure to have a hit, hit, hit.
Sure to be a hit.

Alas, so much for the power of positive thinking.

The Free Design-- 2002 - A Hit Song

Mod-A-Day: Fishbone

For four years, from about 1985 to 1989, Fishbone were a mainstay on the So Cal mod scene, which at the time was increasingly obssessed with ska. No Doubt got their start at the time, and other young ska bands like Let's Go Bowling, Sublime, the Skeletones and others were challenging The Untouchables reign over California as the ska kings of the era. Only Fishbone was able to really make a go of it at the time.

Whenever they took the stage raw agression was unleashed and it wasn't uncommon for fights to break out during one of their many shows at Fenders, The Golden Bear, The Country Club or whichever venue happened to be the unlucky locale of a Fishbone onslaught. The music was raw, and sprang forth from as unruly a group of musicians as had ever been in the mod scene. It had a solid ska and rock steady foundation, but more and more funk and soul were seeping into the show -- much to the audiences delight.

This particular track, "Ugly", first appeared on their 1985 self-titled debut EP along with other faves of mod scenesters at the time, "Party at Ground Zero" and "Lyin' Ass Bitch". "Ugly" seems to be about Ronald Reagan, and indeed I seem to remember Fishbone's lunatic leader Angela Moore donning a Reagan mask at a gig in the late 80s while frantically skanking around the stage. Ah, the good ol' days. Sadly, in the 90s Fishbone melted into a mediocre party band who's schtick of heavy metal mixed wtih funk was never as interesting as their early ska beginnings.

Fishbone -- Ugly