August 8, 2009
August 7, 2009
Mod-A-Day: Little Murders
The Little Murders were probably Australia first (and most) bona fide mod band, arriving during the mod revival heyday of 1979. Named after an early 70s Jules Fieffer movie starring Elliot Gould, the band wasn't nearly as quirky as their namesake playing straight ahead, sixties influenced power pop thought of as punk rock by many at the time. 
The lead singer, Rob Griffiths was a Brit, and on a vacation to the UK in '79 fell in love the mod revival already in full force. He brought home a more soulful idea for their sound and the band moved forward producing a handful of hard driving pop singles with obvious sixties roots, all with solid flares of soul, as well. This track, "Take Me I'm Yours",was the flipside of their third single which sold out a 1,000 copies making the band a big local success at the time.
The song is tight, and when you hear the guitar licks and the fast-popping drums it's quite obviously influenced by the Jam. It's a great song, with these trippy horns echoing in the background throughout, and then all of a sudden the chorus sneaks up on you and is both laid back and infectious. C'mon kiss me with your lips/You can touch me with your fingertips/Cuz I'm yours/Yeah I'm yours.
Sadly,the Little Murders never made it big outside of Melbourne. The original band broke up in 1983, although Griffiths revived the band with different lineups a few times in the mid-80s. They never recorded anything other than singles, most of which endedup in the compilation LP Stop released in 1986. It wasn't until 1997 when Griffiths was fronting yet a new version of The Little Murders that they actually released a full CD of new material, ...and stuff like that. A second CD followed a few years later, First Light, which in turn was followed by We Should Be Home By Now in 2001.
The Little Murders -- Take Me I'm Yours
The lead singer, Rob Griffiths was a Brit, and on a vacation to the UK in '79 fell in love the mod revival already in full force. He brought home a more soulful idea for their sound and the band moved forward producing a handful of hard driving pop singles with obvious sixties roots, all with solid flares of soul, as well. This track, "Take Me I'm Yours",was the flipside of their third single which sold out a 1,000 copies making the band a big local success at the time. The song is tight, and when you hear the guitar licks and the fast-popping drums it's quite obviously influenced by the Jam. It's a great song, with these trippy horns echoing in the background throughout, and then all of a sudden the chorus sneaks up on you and is both laid back and infectious. C'mon kiss me with your lips/You can touch me with your fingertips/Cuz I'm yours/Yeah I'm yours.
Sadly,the Little Murders never made it big outside of Melbourne. The original band broke up in 1983, although Griffiths revived the band with different lineups a few times in the mid-80s. They never recorded anything other than singles, most of which endedup in the compilation LP Stop released in 1986. It wasn't until 1997 when Griffiths was fronting yet a new version of The Little Murders that they actually released a full CD of new material, ...and stuff like that. A second CD followed a few years later, First Light, which in turn was followed by We Should Be Home By Now in 2001.
August 6, 2009
Mod-A-Day: Groovie Ghoulies
The Groovie Ghoulies were one of the most prolific garage punk bands around. In the course of little more than a decade (1996-2007) the band released nine full length records. From the very beginning they had a clear predilection for fast, furious, pogo-inducing songs clearly influenced by The Ramones. In 2000 the band released their sixth --and last for Lookout Records-- album. In my humble opinion this was their highwater mark. The production was sharp and smooth, a bit less fuzzified and garagey than their earlier releases, and clearly leaning more towards the pop punk sound than their trashy, heavier garage punk sound. This track, "Criswell Predicts" is short, blistering piece of power pop that warns the boys to straighten up or the girls will be blowing them off for each other. With the posting on their website of a cryptic message about internal strife the band broke up in 2007 days after the release of their ninth LP.
August 5, 2009
Mod-A-Day: The Nerves
The Nerves were thee pioneers of the new wave of power pop in the mid-70s, thanks to one of the most enduring power pop songs of all time: "Hangin' On The Telephone". Even though they penned the song and produced a stripped-down version of "Hangin' On The Telephone" it was Blondie that recorded the definitive version. The band took the power pop sound of the seventies and steered it towards the just emerging punk sound, producing spikey, sharp pop songs that had hooks aplenty. The Nerves short-lived career showed some hint of influence from their 1975/76 classmates Shoes and Cheap Trick and more than a passing nod to the melodic pop of The Raspberries, Bad Finger, Big Star and The Hollies. For all that, the band paved the way for the LA power pop explosion of the latter half of the decade, and set power pop on a collission course with new wave. The collision wrecked the band, and out of its ashes Peter Case founded The Plimsouls and Paul Collins started The Beat.
August 4, 2009
Mod-a-Day: Power To the Pop Videos
Busy, busy, busy. That defines my days this week. So, today, you get a treat. Here's a link to an absof***inglutely treasure trove of power pop videos from The Jam to The Diodes to The Shoes to Wreckless Eric and everything in between. Although, I have to say that the choice of "Her Head's Revolving" by The Three O'Clock was off the mark. By the time they made that video they'd already left their best garage and paisley underground days far behind them. Still, this group of videos will bring back some great memories I'm sure. Enjoy.
August 3, 2009
Mod-A-Day: The Music Explosion
The Music Explosion were a mid-sixties garage rock outfit from the American midwest. In 1967 they scored a huge hit with the catchy, sunny, poppy "Little Bit O' Soul" which finished it's run up the charts just one spot short of the top, but hung in there at 2nd place for 11 weeks and sold a million copies. The band never did manage to repeat that success. However, their first single, "Little Black Egg" from 1966, was in my opinion a grittier, tighter piece of soulful, garage rock. It was a regional hit and helped get the band local notice which led to their being able to record "Little Bit O' Soul."
August 2, 2009
Modcast #136: Kickin' It Old School
I'm kickin' it old school in the mod world this week. Gettin' back to when the gettin' was seriously good, along about 1966 and thereabouts. This week's modcast features a nice set of sixties mod, garage, blues, psych pop from the likes of The Small Faces, Powder, Graham Bond Organization, Alan Brown Set, Mouse & The Traps and more. As hot as it's been in Seattle of late, this is a much needed set of super cool music. Bonus Videos:
Monkees -- Pleasant Valley Sunday
Graham Bond Organization -- Harmonica
August 1, 2009
Mod-A-Day: The School
In the same vein as the Pipettes and a host of other groups bringing back that sweet, Leader of the Pack styled girl group sound, here comes The School. Twee-sters the world over have been atwitter about The School since they dropped their first release "All I Wanna Do", which was soul infused, pop sounding twee through and through. Then last year they released the Let It Slip EP which is less twee like, and more sixtiesish, but not in a been there done that way. It's not truly old school --excuse the pun-- but more of a modern indie sound that owes a debt to the girl groups and pop music of yore. The track here, "I Want You Back" features delicious melodies, catchy hooks, jingle-jangly guitars, and even some great latinesque horn loops.
The School -- I Want You Back
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)