Invasion Of The B-Girls
Okay so it's been a week and my tither is finally calming down, so let's talk about how so 1983 a night in Hollywood can really be shall we? It all started with an argument last Thursday as my pal Luther showed up at our house for the Josie Cotton show at the Knitting Factory. Luther found out quickly that all is not always wine & roses in the house of the Jacobson-Leivas'. I was outside finishing a smoke when the Leivas came running out and gave Luther a parking pass - now I didn't know we were in such a hurry so when I told the Leivas I had to run upstairs to get our tickets he started yelling at me! Insisting I do this type of thing all the time - this type of thing would be having to go back in the house and/or the Leivas not being able to find me when he is ready to leave but like Hello!when did the world start revolving around him anyway???
So off we finally went to the show - as soon as we walked in there was
Josie Cotton in all of her glory just hanging out and looking uber fab in a red Chinese style dress with big 60s boots and her black hair adoringly styled in that so Cotton way - she looked great. I wanted to go talk to her but I didn't have a camera and I didn't have anything for her to sign but as a line began to form of boys wanting to talk to her, Luther and I ran up there.
Before we got up there, a nice boy named
Ness offered (i.e. we asked him if he would do it) to take a picture of Luther, Josie and I and email it to me later. What a guy! So as we finally made our way to the big J, I introduced myself as one of her myspace friends "swivek" - she said she thought I looked familiar while Luther informed her that she was one of my all time idols (it's true but did he have to embarass me like that? okay, I'm glad he did) I then told her how excellant I thought the album was and she hugged me, told me her favorite line from a recent review of
Movie Disaster Music, and Luther told her he loved
"Creeps" and confessed to my piracy when he said I sent him emails of some of the songs. I informed her I had found out about the show because of Deborah Foreman's website and she told me,
"Oh yeah she's supposed to be here." No one but me and my aching stomach knew what a major thrill was happening.
Ness took our picture, Josie in the middle, Luther to the right and me on the left sitting on a chair like the diva I am. I looked fab but Luther and Josie need a little photoshop work before I post the picture --- I kid, kind of.
Before we left I told Josie how fabulous I thought she looked and lucky I got another hug from the woman who changed new wave music and still adorns my car stereo...
After that exhuberant experience I was a tad parched so we made our way to the bar. As Luther and I waited for our drink, I didn't notice the couple coming up behind us as we were so busy talking. Luther said he thought Josie looked great and so fit, to which I said
"perhaps she's doing yoga with Deborah Foreman." Can you guess who happened to be standing me yet?
As I turned to look around the room to see if Julie, the ultimate
Valley Girl was anywhere in sight I almost fell over. I turned back to Luther,
"That's her. Right behind us."Luther, turned around and smiled,
"Hey, we were just talking about you," he says to Ms. F - I almost fell over. She looked at us as if we were crazy, so I tried to rectify it,
"You're you know who you aren't you?" okay, I said her name and she did admit she was the one and only, to which I once again went to the myspace drop and said I was on there as swivek - she then introduced her cute companion. She was very nice and very sweet and still cute as all can be; and though I looked good that night I am sure my tongue turning somersalts and spewing out all kinds of illegible words did not impress her at all. I talked a bit of yoga, tried to make it like I was not jumping up and down and inside and then said how nice it was to meet her before excusing my loser self.
As it turns out I probably didn't make as bad of an impression as I thought since she did tell me via the internet that it was indeed nice to meet me in person...
and then it was time for the show - first the opening band played a sort of modern jazz outfit called, oh I forget the name now, but it will come to me and I'll change the post; then
Geza X, who I had been misinformed was Josie's husband - apparantly they are not married and may not have even been a couple as far as I know - apparantly there were a lot of Geza X fans out there and though he vowed it was his last live performance I think he may be back for more...
Meanwhile, Miss Josie obviously is no diva and needs not to prepare herself for the stage for she was waltzing through the crowd during both performances; but alas it was time for the girl to hit the stage and hit the stage she did.
A giant projector behind her played some videos while she whipped through an awesome set including a lot of songs from the new album opening with the ballad "You're The Boss" complete with video screen behind her of the video (you can see the video at
You Tube)
"Rabbit Hole", "Lookin' For Elvis", "Creeps" (my fav), "Beautiful But Deadly" and then a female dancer - this gorgeous creature we had been watching all night - hit the stage and Josie burst into a 60s number that may or may not be from the film
Invasion Of The B-Girls, no matter what the song and the action on stage was hot as the dancer and Josie did all the great moves including what I believe is the either the monkey or the watusi.
Then you better believe the girl broke into
"Johnny Are You Queer?" along with a bulky, though not all that attractive, guy dressed in a jungle outfit that pranced around the stage and ignored Josie's advances; Personally I was kind of offended, but not for the reasons you're thinking.
I was offended that Johnny wasn't hotter - he certainly wasn't the Johnny I pictured...
The whole thing ended with the ultimate surprise when Josie said, "This is an old one but unfortunetly I think it's still relevant today," and then burst into
"No Pictures Of Dad" from the
Convertible Music album. I just about passed out and probably would've if I wasn't so scared that strange Johnny was going to try to catch me...
Way back when I was but a wee tyke in Wisconsin, I watched
Valley Girl over and over again dreaming that it was I who lived in LA and was able to go to the beach, to go to the clubs and have Josie Cotton at my prom; who would've ever guessed that all these years later, I pretty much lived that for it was 1983 all over; if for only one night.
So stay tuned for the pic - once Luther fixes, I mean emails it to me. Remember botox is deadly but photoshop is your friend - just ask Katie Couric.
New Bubbatune!
She's clean, pristine and used to be a Supreme - yes,
the Boss Miss Ross has joined the legions of bubbatunes bands and earned her very own compilation. As much as I love the Supremes, I never thought that much of Diana Ross as a soloist; other than a song here and there I just felt she was too cold, ice cold as it were, but with her more recent bouts of drunken driving and train wreck type of activity, she began to grow on me, and finally when I actually set out to listen to some Diana, I found out she really is incredible - from the very beginning her somewhat thin voice can reach heights never expected and what I once threw to the side as watery ballads are all really quite touching and ingenius - from
"Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)" in 1970 to 1992's
"If We Hold On Together" I put in all the syrup I could find but added a few dashes of pepper to the mix - the excellant beyond belief joy that is 1982's
"Muscles" set to a miniscule bass line with Michael Jackson's backup, the song explodes as Diana delivers her desire for a man with muscles (
she says she wants a man to always understand/ that's all right for her/ still that ain't enough for me/ she says she wants a guy/ to keep her satisfied/ that's all right for her/ still it ain't enough for me/ I don't care if he's young or old just make him beautiful/ I just want a man that I can hold onto / I Want Muscles!"). Also included is the always over looked
"Lovin' Livin' & Givin'" from the
Thank God It's Friday soundtrack, the song is a complete Giorgio Moroder/Donna Summer knock off coming out like
"I Feel Love" and sounding just as good; of course I threw in three Supremes songs just to add some salt to the pepper including my all time fav
"Reflections" (credited to Diana Ross & The Supremes mind you); one of my fav ballads (and one I did like right from the beginning)
"Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" and while listening to these cuts I recalled the utter brilliance of the Chic produced singles
"Upside Down" &
"I'm Coming Out"; I rediscovered how great
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" really is, since it was a song I always thought was way over handed but now I don't think so, and my favorite new found Diana repeat 1973's
"Touch Me In The Morning" with its winning formula of Ashford & Simpson dramatic strings and shifting melody plus the over dubs of Diana and an actual lyric that isn't all about losing at love and dying but rather a brilliant delivery of 'hey, we had our time now it's over'; the disco lushness of 1976's
"Love Hangover" - another song I used to pass over as nothing special (
I was wrong Diana I was wrong!) and 1979's
"The Boss" another dancy ditty that I will now pay attention to forever.
bub63 Diana Ross : Miss RossTrack List:01. I'm Coming Out
(1980)02. Mirror Mirror
(1981)03. Reach Out And Touch
(1970)04. Reflections
(Diana Ross & The Supremes) (1967)05. Love Hangover
(1976)06. The Boss
(1979)07. Theme From Mahogany
(Do You Know Where You're Going To) (1975)08. Touch Me In The Morning
(1973)09. Upside Down
(1980)10. Muscles
(1981)11. You Can't Hurry Love
(The Supremes) (1966)12. Lovin' Livin' & Givin'
(1978)13. Missing You
(1984)14. Chain Reaction
(1985)15. Ain't No Mountain High Enough
(1970)16. Endless Love
(with Lionel Richie) (1981)17. Why Do Fools Fall In Love
(1981)18. If We Hold On Together
(1992)19. Eaten Alive
(1985)20. Baby Love
(The Supremes) (1964)
A Quickie
I need to quit smoking and I need to lose weight - two awful things that both take a lot of committment - I know they are both slowly killing me and with everyone I know seemingly having medical issues, I'm afraid I could be next. Of course this is what my mind says, telling me to quit the sticks and use that money to join a yoga class; however, my body only hears "ooh I think a smoke sounds good, and why don't we stop at that new frozen yogurt place."
Random CDs for the Week
I didn't get the chance to post my CDs for last week, as I was, oh how would you say it? Hung over like a banshee in the night! That's right, that crazy ass Captain Morgan took his revenge on me once again; all because I had to mingle and watch JOSIE COTTON! And yes, I got to meet her, and yes Deborah Foreman was there, and yes a full post about the special night will be coming... but for now, let's talk about some albums I'm listening to (and a new feature I'll give out some stars based on a five Bradley rating)
RACHEL SWEET Protect The Innocent (Columbia/Stiff; 1980) This classic 1980 new wave album was released breifly on CD in the late 80s but is now way lost though a new Japanese release came about a few months ago (i.e. lots and lots of money) but luckily last year Bubbatunes made it a reissue album and now all 12 glorious songs are available and I pull this gem out every chance I get - featuring singles
"Spellbound", a little poppy number; its the more rocking tracks I look forward to
"Take Good Care Of Me", "I've Got A Reason" and the riotous one two punch of the openers
"Tonight" and
"Jealous" this is new wave glory and should've been a huge burner on the charts; as it is, we are left with only the memories but what a great delve into the past - I give kudos and
Four Whole Bradleys! (stay tuned for Bradley icons... it'll be faboo)
LILY ALLEN - Alright Still (EMI/Regal; 2006)Can you believe, I not only found a new artist and CD but it's actually one I love as well... A Myspace glory story, Lily started posting songs on her page and become a phenomenon; though I have to think being the daughter of a well known actor in England, probably didn't hurt any promotion pocketbooks - still she deserves what she gets for coming up with not only a brilliant little album but what that is actually fun, catchy, bitter, bitchy and most importantly really original. Combining a rocking pop backdrop, the sugary sweet melodies are the backdrop for cutting and slicing apart ex-lovers, arch rivals and complete towns - all done in a slight Cockney accent and boisterous delivery. The first single
"Smile" hit the #1 spot in the UK
("At first when I see you cry/ it makes me smile...I feel bad for a while but then I just smiiiile") but that's only the starting point of
Alright, Still - the sassiness in "Everything's Just Wonderful" where the beaurocrats won't help her get a mortgage, an ode to her pot smoking brother
"Alfie", (set to a hippity little ska beat and sing along lyrics) and a love affair with London seen through the realities of big city life on
"LDN" is probably my favorite on the album - I don't think a domestic release has been done it but if you find a copy of this, buy it.
Four Bradleys...
THE MOTELS Shock (Capitol; 1985)My Martha Davis (and yours if you want) can wrap her big deep voice around any lyric and milk it for every ounce of drama there is. Another classic CD from the 80s far out of print, my vinyl has just made it onto CD so there will be a bubbatunes reissue coming soon with bonus cuts, but for now I listen to this 1985 album in its original glory - the last album by the Motels, our girl and boys dumped producer Val Garay who had taken them to the glossified regions of the top 40 on two prior albums and instead hired Richie Zito, a band behind Cheap Trick and the like, to create a more rock orientated album. What is great about anything that involves the Motels is of course the white shocked face you see - that of Martha. Most lyrics are hers, her voice is obviously the centerpiece of it all and it ends up with a strange etheral sound even if it is still glossy 80s rock and roll. Shock, the album contained their last chart hit,
"Shame" ("Shame on me, shame on you") and it is still a killer single prompted with big keyboard sounds and Martha's glorious penchant for the dramatic. But the album contains other great cuts as well, the title track was a fast paced single,
"Icy Red" plays clever little tricks on the words
("Icy Red/ I see red in me"), "Cries and Whispers" and
"Annie Told Me" are all great gems. Shock, as a whole isn't as great as earlier Motels albums but thanks to the girl with the pipes, it's still a pretty good listen and worth having.
Two and 1/2 Bradleys... 
LITA FORD - Lita (1988; RCA/Dreamland)Producer Mike Chapman appear to have almost identical taste in music; almost every female led band I ever liked ended up being produced by Mike at some point; Blondie, Pat Benatar, Divinyls, Scandal, even Tanya Tucker - and so it was with Lita Ford. Coming off of the Runaways with Joan Jett; Joan headed towards a glam rock fusion while Lita wanted to hit the heavy metal hair band rhythms and did so on two albums before Mike Chapman got hold of her and turned her growl and sexual allure into full on glory. 1988's Lita started with a bang with its single "Kiss Me Deadly" which showed not only Lita crawling around on a floor and straddling her guitar, it also showed a little bit of brilliance for a good hook; With Lita, Mike brought out the more pop side while keeping Lita's crunch guitar sound and growling vocals firmly in tact. The album is only 9 songs but each of them are really quite brilliant (for their form of music anyway) opening with the seething guitar solo of "Back To The Cave" before going into almost speed metal with "Can't Catch Me" and the oozing guitars and drums of "Blueberry" before reaching the inevitable bounce of "Kiss Me Deadly" each song gets better and better - Tommy Lee guest writes on "Fallin' In And Out Of Love" and of course the fucking Prince Of Darkness Ozzy guests on "Close My Eyes Forever" a song which has many haunting and tawdry memories for me ... incidentally, Mrs. Osbourne, Sharon, was Lita's manager at the time. The whole album comes around brilliantly and though Lita recorded one more with Mike and had a few more albums, this is most definitely the best thing she did. Four Bradleys.
ROSANNE CASH - Interiors (1990; Columbia)
I got on a new kick the other day and it's called the Rosanne Cash Blues, I am loving every thing I get my hands on when it comes to this woman. First, her new album is excellant (see past review) and I found this little gem at Amoeba for only $3 (of course there's a new remastered version I have to get) the album is produced and co-written by Rosanne and tells in 10 little songs the disinegration, the rebirth, the doubt, the pain and trials of a relationship falling apart. Starting out with the upbeat sounding
"On The Inside" Rosanne taps into the belief that she and her lover have suffered and excelled on the inside and things will be fine, while in later songs that same (?) relationship is in the thwarts of tearing everyone apart and these are the songs I really like (go figure), the high tension of
"Dance With The Tiger" and
"Mirror Image"; the most terrifying and high tension songs come from a pair of acoustic styled ditties
"This World" makes me want to bawl every time I hear it -
"Read about this baby / she got beat up by her dad/ she was 9 months old and he was a full grown man/ she may have been learning how to crawl/ and he hit a face in her face/ doctor said this baby's gone / she can't be replaced.." and the chorus
"Now you read a lot of things in the daily news/ but I'm laying awake at nights wonderin' what to do/ I pray the Lord her soul to keep/ cause all down here are fast asleep/ but this baby belongs to me and you..." and the closing track with only a piano and violin accompanying her in a waltz,
"Paralyzed" lays more at the ears of the listener than anything someone like Sarah McLachlin could dream of giving us -
"Paralyzed" lets us right into Rosanne's real life as she picks up the telephone and hears the conversation between her husband and his lover; she is left paralyzed but not sure -
"A life time between us just burned down the wire", "footsteps beside me/ phone in my hand/ I can't move/ I can't stand".. it is truly a treasure trove of inner feelings and something everyone should hear; just as long as you can handle it.
Three and 1/2 stars (due to the intense lasting feeling that you just spied on Rosanne Cash at home)
and today's highlight CD is:
THE BEST OF THE SHANGRI-LAs (1996; Polygram)I discoverd the real Shangri-Las, the Shangri-Las beyond the main hit singles while watching the brilliant Stonewall movie, in which the main drag queen will evolve into pseudo music videos of the Shangri-Las songs, and I haven't turned back since. The Supremes may have had their stake on the pop side of brilliant 60s music, but there has never been another group of girls like Shangri-Las - sure have Ronnie & The Ronettes, but even in all their glory, they didn't take the prospect of teenage love and turn into the most melodramatic horrendous tragedies like the Shangri-Las did. Everyone knows the two huge hits "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" and "Leader Of The Pack" - two groundwork setting singles depicting love's endings in all their heartbroken ways including death. But the latter and its motorcycle seem to have fallen into the world of camp all these years later and that's too bad because when you hear it next to the other 24 songs on this set you realize how gripping the drama of the Shangri-Las really is. Every song is a labor of heartbreak and death be it of love or actual people; in fact it may be fun to go through the tracks and tally up how many people actually die in these little pop gems. But of course the Las aren't all about death; there's a bit of fun to be had by all "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" is an awesome 60s single, "The Train From Kansas City", "The Dum Dum Ditty" and the uber appeal of "Sophisticated Boom Boom" are all examples of the pop hooks but it really is the other songs, the songs with the edge, that get me every time - probably my all time favorite ballad of all time "Never Again" - ("You'd better stop playing games/ I've told you once before; it'll hurt you more this time/ if you walk out that door/ you better think it over baby/ remember what I told you baby cause Never again will I love you this way) I've been trying to get the balls to do a cover of this for years - the song has to be one of the first feminist ballads in the pop music field. The death of the poor leads in "Give Us Your Blessings" who were crying so hard when their parents rejected the blessing for their marriage, they crashed through the sign that said "Detour!", the rape and subsequent hell of the lead in the spoken "Past, Present & Future", the poor runaway in "I Can Never Go Home Anymore". Five Bradleys...
The Sun Always Shines On TV
A few months ago, the Leivas decided to rent the entire first season of the TV series
Veronica Mars, we had watched one or two episodes during repeat season and really got into it, so we spent countless hours hooking up with the kids and their adult counterparts in Neptune, California and believe all the hype cuz this show is really, really good....
set all around teenage Veronica Mars, who's father is the fired Sheriff and now works as a private investigator, Veronica when she's not all sassy and ostresized from the richy rich, also does a little dabbling in the private investigation area - part
Beverly Hills 90210, part
Pasadena, and part
Charlie's Angels - I just love it. There is a continued mystery through out the first season regarding the death of Veronica's best friend Lily, the daughter of the super rich Kane family - whose son was also Veronica's one time love affair; as Veronica spends the season hanging out with her one friend Wallace, and fighting with just about everyone who used to be her friend, she ends up solving the murder and winning my complete adoration... and now just a month before the show returns for the third season, the second season is on DVD - just yesterday good ol Netflix delivered the first two discs; and I can't wait to get back to Neptune....
as for my real life, tonight will be the ultimate in 80s love as I head to the
Knitting Factory to see
Josie frickin'
Cotton live and in the flesh - I'll let you know how that goes...
also we are still cooking up tracks for the new Swivek album - we have 10 definites and while Patrick whips up a smooth ending track, it's my goal to cook up one more big bang for
Darkness + Light, and hopefully we will finally shoot the album cover pics this weekend...
and in other news, it seems my bank account has been raided by Amazon because as I was paying bills and my account kept getting lower and lower, I realized someone has got to take my ATM card away!
It's Still The Word
What a weekend! Yesterday was our anniversary - 6 glorious years with the Leivas and though we didn't too anything terribly special, there was one giant fleeting couple of hours where we had a great big blast. Now get your mind out of the gutter, this isn't that kind of a blog - yesterday playing on the very date that I met the Leivas, the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood was hosting a
Sing Along with Grease showing - a huge screen full of Sandy, Danny, Rizzo, Kenickie, Frenchy and all the other T-Birds, Pink Ladies and 50's high school fun you could want.
It may sound downright cheezy, but to this day
Grease is still the word, and it's still my favorite movie of all time; plus it was so much fun to have everyone around clapping and singing, and loving every minute of it. The only downside was I couldn't pause it when I had to run to the bathroom, but of course the Leivas was there for me, when I sat down he informed me, "Okay to get you up to speed, Rizzo is pregnant and Danny just gave Sandy his class ring." What a guy!
Random CDs
Okay, by now people probably think this is a blog spot for oldies music, but I just can't help it - I keep finding all these really great deals on older CDs of albums that I always wanted and just never bought, so once again we are dipping into the classics pool, with a few remasters of older CDs, a few classics and actually 2 CDs released this year but by artists who are probably known for their input of decades past, but that hardly makes them irrelevant, so let's take a look and listen shall we?
ROSANNE CASH - Black Cadillac (Capitol - 2006)
A few weeks I posted about how I wanted to get this album as the critics were raving; and I had ended up all caught up on a Rosanne Cash band wagon.
Black Cadillac intriqued me, not only cuz a critic on www.allmusic.com called it her crowned acheivement but because it was written and recorded during a 22 month period where first her father Johnny Cash died, then her step mother June and then in May of last year her own mother - but despite the fact that she was eventually left an orphan at 50, and her family isn't your typical Mom & Pop situation, the album delves into pain, remorse, anger and regression; all universal themes and not a single one done with a hint of self pity - you won't find any "I wish we had more time together" type of songs; in fact Rosanne questions and ponders and leaves everything so matter of factly, it's almost ingenius. Opening the set with a taped vocal of Johnny calling for "C'mon Rosanne" before breaking into the title track,
"It was a black cadillac that took you away..." the song doesn't hide any emotion as she calmly and clearly realizes her father is walking in Heaven and this place is lonely, but it was always was. The song jumps in with guitars and drums and ever so slightly background of the melody to
"Ring Of Fire" - a very clever little add I think. In other songs, there are questions and conversions of religion on
"God Is In The Roses" (and in the thorns), "World Without Sound" (I wish I was a Christian/ but I can't believe/ cause no one in the Bible craves my company) and in the excellant
"Like Fugitives" with a chorus that touches on many feelings I have, and could be argued (at least by me) has a sentiment that could defend gay rights -
"it's a strange new world where the church leads us to Hell/ and the lawyers get the money for the lives they buy and sell/ and the only dreams we believe in are up on the screen/ so we live lives as fugitives/ when we were meant to live as queens" - okay, I'm stretching the gay thing but it makes me laugh to think she could be putting that in there... as for the music, like most of Rosanne Cash's stuff this isn't easily classible, part Mary Chapin-Carpenter (though time line would show Mary would've been influenced by Rosanne herself), part pop/ part blues; Rosanne has always made very intriguing albums both lyrically and musically and I have to agree this has got to be one of her best - her second according to the masses is
Interiors, which I also recently purchased and while
Black Cadillac deals with loss and the realization that one has to and will live through it, Interiors is a ten song opus into the deterioration of a marriage, so you can bet that will be reviewed sometime soon. As for this album, the songs are great including
"Dreams Are Not My Home" and
"Radio Operator" both very upbeat little odes - in fact the sequencing is great as there are not all ballads, she can convey all her emotions in any format and does it quite well. As a very striking tribute the 13th track titled
"0:71" is actually 71 seconds of silence - Johnny Cash died at the age of 71.
JOSIE COTTON - Movie Disaster Music (scruffy - 2006)Well, you had to know this was coming - I have to admit I was a little hesitant to listen to it; I had heard snippets of a few of the songs on Josie's website and her myspace page but it's completely different to throw on the headphones and listen. Her last album 1993's
Frightened By Nightingales (released as Josey Cotton btw) , was a foray into strange delerium through violins, high octane banshee wails and the like, it wasn't up my alley, though there were a few points where Josie's old pop princess came in, and actually where the dark lyrics and the streaming guitars and drums actually worked -
"After The Rose" is one of the most beautiful songs ever, and the strange yet appealing
"Deep Dark Hole" still puts me into a great mood. So I didn't know what to expect from
Movie Disaster Music, I knew it obviously couldn't be a retread of
Convertible Music and from what I had heard it didn't seem quite as Jane Siberry as the last album, but with that trepedation came the realization this was frickin' Josie Cotton and I just knew it would be if anything very interesting. What I didn't expect was how good it would be. I mean this album kicks ass - almost every song reminds me of something or someone else yet it's so original it could only be Josie - opening with the type of song I could/would write
"Rabbit Hole" moves in with strange machine sounds and then puts together a great sing along ditty
"in the news today I read/ a girl was found with a missing head/ not far from where are now/ in the ground it's dark and cold/ you could fall into a rabbit hole/ so dark and black / you never get back" and then moves in with a higher octave and a perfect chorus "say you will be the gentle heart/ to feel when I fall apart/ will you? / I will too" - it's a killer track and a great opening.
"Bridget In The Sun" continues on and you'd swear you were listening to a more poetic Jane Wieldin; Josie pulls out a Jill Sobule sound alike or two as well, with all the quirky fun, sarcasm and truth that Sobule usually tucks away in the folds of her albums - a hilarious stompy rocker called
"Lookin' For Elvis" has Josie doing her pseudo Elvis and looking through junk food aisles for the idol; my ultimate favorite song on the entire thing is a song called
"Creeps" (
Creeps on the phone, creeps at the door) with the all too familiar blurred vocals on so many rock songs these days but because of Josie's strong prowess her voice still shimmers and grinds in this very poppy song. It should be noted that Josie worked with a few producers on this new set but most important to me is that Larson Paine is one of those people - he is one half of the Paine brothers team who first cracked Josie onto the radar and wrote/produced most of her early work. Josie really gives a lesson in titling an album when you listen to a few tracks that could/ should be on a film soundtrack -
"Beautiful But Deadly" is awesome - a new wave/gothy take on a James Bond theme, Josie's words and vocal performance are awesome;
"Nikita" sounds like the theme song to a Russian psychological drama and
"Fabulous" is a brilliant little take that reminds me of something so familiar yet is so new and inspiring I can't place it... all in all, I am so glad this album came out. I can't wait to see Josie do some of the songs live and anyone and everyone interested in Josie's music really should buy this - the girl is releasing it independantly and she needs our support and moolah!
THE DOORS - The Best Of The Doors (Elektra - 1985)I live just down the street from the Whiskey and I swear when you walk in that place you still feel Jim's presence, I also take everyone who ever comes to visit to Venice Beach where there is a giant mural of Jim painted on the side of an apartment building and I drink Strongbow's at Barney's Beanery where Jim planted his hot ass night after night - to me Jim and the Doors represent a very interesting part of LA history, but for some reason this is the first time I've actually owned a Doors CD - and I can't not even fathom what I was thinking. The strangest part is I owe it to Wal Mart who had this double disc remastered version for only $9.72 I picked it up immediately and can't stop listening to it. 2 full discs of ballsiness, organs, long guitar interludes and oozing sexuality. This disc has it all - the full 6 minute
"Light My Fire," "Break On Through", "Hello I Love You", "Love Me Two Times", "LA Woman", the oozy appeal of "
Riders On The Storm," "Touch Me" - all of it. One of the best $10 spots I ever spent.
RICK SPRINGFIELD - Working Class Dog (RCA 1981)Finally, this great and I mean that in all sincerity CD has been given the remaster treatment. I believe every album and cassette I owned in the early 80s should be given such a treatment, and I mean the kind of styling this album got not that schlock job Chrysalis did on my Benatar CDs. On top of all 10 glorious songs from this 1981 album, the powers that be (and Ricky boy included) conjured up the
"Jessie's Girl" demo, and two other songs from his orignal demo including a rocking little ditty called
"Easy To Cry" - the CD even has a song by song description by Rick and two of the producers Keith Olsen & Bill Drescher. I found out some interesting stuff like Keith was called in from his sessions on Pat Benatar's
Crimes Of Passion to work on 2 songs for
Working Class Dog, but because Pat's album was so important he could only do it on the weekends, of course he grabbed Pat's hubby Neil Geraldo and he played on a few of the songs, and
"I've Done Everything For You" a Sammy Hagar penned tune was given to Rick by Keith because Miss Patty Patty declined it saying it was too macho. But that is all petty trivia compared to the pop/rock genius that is this album - the singles need no real explanation;
"Jessie's Girl", "Love Is Alright Tonite", the aformentioned
"I've Done.." were all roller skating staples when I was but a wee tyke - but the other tracks are so great as well - all 3 minute pop gems
"Hole In My Heart" (though I'm stil partial to Lisa Hartman's faster cover -- sorry Jen!),
"Carry Me Away", the reggae twinged
"Daddy's Pearl", hilarious
"Everybody's Girl" (
it isn't nice, no but they call you everybody's girl/ they say, here she comes, here she comes, here comes everybody's girl), the jam blues punch of
"Red Hot & Blue Love" and the sinister but sexy
"Inside Silvia." A great pick up and a great remaster.
ELLEN FOLEY - Night Out (Cleveland International; 1979)
A lost treasure that I was really hoping to fall madly in love with - Ellen Foley was the voice heard (but not seen) on Meat Loaf's opus
Bat Out Of Hell album, and while Karla DeVito did the actual lipsynching in the videos Ellen went on to a couple acting gigs like
Night Court and the film
Married To The Mob, she also hung out and either married or just slept with Steve Jones of the Clash - but it was
Night Out which was her first solo album and only scoring album. At the time a few other women rockers were making their debuts including one Miss Pat Benatar who was a tad pissed to find out that Ellen also put a radiator on the cover of her album, both
Night Out and Pat's
In The Heat Of The Night seemed to go for the same type of mood - the ethereal, moody, sexy and sisnister inner city. Pat's
If You Think You Know How To Love Me, In The Heat Of The Night, Heartbreaker, all had that feel, as did the cover of her album but Ellen, well not so much. Sure the ideas are there - the title cut is exactly that mood and
"Young Lust" and a version of
"Stupid Girl" has the idea patented in their rocking form but the problem is the songs just aren't as catchy as they could be. The single
"What's A Matter Baby" is an exception with its nod to 60s girl pop with Ellen's independant late 70s bitchiness and the arrangement ready for the 80s - a theme addressed also in
"Sad Song" which is a song Rachel Sweet also did the same year - but some of the others just fall flat and it's not Ellen's fault - her voice is strong and proud - anyone familiar with the Meat Loaf album knows that, but something was lacking. The opus opener
"We Belong To The Night" is powerful but even with its wall of sound, I don't think the lyrics are very strong. It's really too bad too cuz I wanted to love this one so much and every once in awhile I pull it out again just to see if there's something I'm missing and even if I don't find the brilliance I've been informed is there, it's still a nice nod to the female rocker phenomen that was bearing its stiletto in 1979.
Le TIGRE - This Island (Universal; 2004)This album causes quite a bit of a stir with die hard Le Tigre fans who thought Le Tigre had lost their feminist edge and thought the production was too glossy. Miss Hannah has said the reason the sound was the way it was on earlier albums is because they didn't have the equipment to gloss up thier songs, believe me, I know how that feels. Still, the first Le Tigre albums are brilliant but for me, this one is just as good. In fact, this is the one that gets the most play - call me a glossy production whore I guess but I like it. I think
This Island still has the power and punch that make Le Tigre who they are
"TKO" rocks, and every time I hear it, I just get up and punch the Leivas - just kidding, but I do get up and jam. A crazy and very inspired cover of the Pointer Sister's
"I'm So Excited" works well right along with the sometimes witty, sometimes bitchy themes the band has to offer. I can't believe this album is 2 years old, but I can tell you it still gets plenty of rotation on the Bubbatunes burners.
CARLY SIMON - Anticipation (Elektra; 1971)By now I know you are probably getting tired of me reviewing albums by the same artists, but when I get on a kick, I'm on a kick damn it! My Carly Simon kick was withering away when I stumbled upon this gem at Amoeba for only $6. I love
"Anticipation" and
"Legend In Your Own Time" - the singles from this album. I think they are brilliant - presented in an acoustic style with the guitars and rad drums in the foreground. I had read that Carly went to London to record this, her second album, with a live band and put it together exactly as she had envisioned it. So I thought I'd really get into it. Slowly, but surely I'm making my way through this. Carly has always kind of confused me, I'm either not as poetic or as educated as Miss S, or she is just in her own world - I love the two singles, then I love
"The Girl You Think You See" but in the song I can't figure out if she's being sarcastic declaring she can be whatever or anybody her lover wants her to be just
"to please you," but does she really mean it or is she just saying that to show what a moron you are not to love what you have in front of you? She's shock full of contradictions I think, but that makes it all the more appealing, if what you are listening to are different aspects of her life, is it wrong for her to have a moment of vulnerability and compromise to her, who hasn't offered to change for someone? Okay, I haven't but that explains why I have my first long term boyfriend - ever. Also on the album is an opus of a ditty called
"Share The End" about a group of people getting together to celebrate the end of the world - I love the concept and the lyrics. Anticipation, like a lot of Carly's albums is made up of mostly acoustic ballads songs of self awareness and love, but with her very sincere delivery and the "live" feel of the whole album I think with repeated listens I'll end up really loving it. But I'll keep you posted, I'm sure you're on the edge of your barcelounger....
Way To Go HoMo
Well just like I predicted Benji, the HoMo (homosexaul mormon for those who are new) won the top spot as America's favorite dancer on last night's finale of
So You Think You Can Dance? - it was a damn good show which had me dancing, curled up in a ball crying and the like - you know just like a really good episode of Knots Landing - well actually even a bad episode of Ellen has the same effect; but I digress.
The show brought back all 20 of the top 20 dancers and the judges would pick routines they wanted to see while the top 4 -
Donyelle (my girl!), Heidi, Travis "Spike" and
Benji picked their favorite routines and they were all great - Heidi chose a contemporary routine she and Spike had done to a very subdued Celine Dion tune
"Calling You" where they used a bench and a bunch of flowers as props - it's a very great routine that leaves everyone teary eyed - my gal Donyelle chose to dance with her old pal Benji to their Broadway high energy fest routine to
"Can't Stop The Beat" from the Broadway
Hairspray Soundtrack; and they got all 20 dancers to do my very favorite group dance which is this insane and fun
Night Of The Living Dead routine to
Roisin Murphy's "Ramalama" (
which if anyone has an mp3 of this song I will love your 4evah! I don't want to pay the $18 an import CD will set me back)...
Donyelle got a little emotional when she was informed she wasn't the favorite dancer but only because (as she told us all and put a tear in all of our eyes) that she had given up dancing but at the beginning of this year she asked the big G upstairs for some direction in life, she took the audition and
"I'm still here so I've come too far to stop now" which prompted even pushy pushy Mia, the choreography to tears ... and my ultimate fav Mary Murphy, the ballroom choreography got her last loud scream in, and I was so happy! ... By the end of the show, they kept teasing us with who was the winner, it of course ended up between Benji and Spike (who by the way has pix posted on the web of him in slutty drag and high heels - I love it!) I had to endure the awful new song "Get Up" by some chick I can't remember and the absolutely horrendous "London Bridge" single by Fergie - I can't believe this song is so popular.. Ugh! It's just too typical and nothing new (kind of like that Fuckerlake dude and his call to SexyBack) but before I digress too much, I hope all my fav dancers fare well, and I can't wait to spot the back drops of the next few years of video for these guys and gals I love so.... and so there you have my very last little post about the dancers - I'm off to cut the rug... literally, there's a snag in there.
All Growed Up
For anyone who really knows me, seeing me in a long term relationship is probably as alien to you as it is to me, yet here I am and this Sunday it will be 6 blissful years with the Leivas - and I'm not even being sarcastic. Even more surprising to me is how much I seem to have grown up in the last 6 years; okay in all honesty, what has brought this on is the fact the Leivas and I just bought ourselves a sectional sofa! I know can you even believe it? I was almost having the dry heaves four months ago when we bought a mattress together - I mean, I didn't think I'd ever be sharing a bed with the same person for so long let alone actually buying a piece of furniture together, but we did and it all turned out okay; and now with a sectional on its way to our home, should he ever dump my ass I will always have part of a sofa to take with me.. it's a far cry from sleeping on the carpet at Brian's house which is what I did for the first six months I lived in LA - oh but Brian did have one piece of furniture, the stereo but really that was all we needed, back when I wasn't such a domestic goddess.... for those of you interested in this type of thing - here's a picture of the sectional we bought --- I know, you're jealous.
Foiled Again
Today the announcements for the winners, semi-finalists, quarter finalists and pseudo finalists were announced for the TV
Scriptapalooza contest - as you can guess by the title of this post,
Carlton Heights was not on any of those homophobic bastards lists! Okay, they probably aren't homophobic but they are obviously retarded. But before the 2 or 3 people who actually do read the
Carlton Heights scripts, don't worry, this will not deter me. I am going to finish what I started and write the final 3 episodes (including a scary/thrilling/hilarious cliffhanger) of what would/will be season 1 of the little soap about gay husbands and their endless trials. In fact, I have to finish them in order to move on to another project. But still, damn, damn, damn!
You Want Service? Go F**CK Yourself
It has come to my attention that the terribly dwindling art of customer service has officially died and been buried in an unmarked grave. This weekend I finally went to Best Buy to buy me that brand new car stereo I so desperately needed. I had gone a few days before and knew just the one I wanted and then the Leivas, being the Leivas that he is, handed me a coupon for FREE INSTALLATION if you bought a CD player over $99 and bought it M-F before 6 pm. Not a problem for most people but if you live in West Hollywood and work until 5 pm, you're really pushing it if you are trying to get into Hollywood by 6.. but I did it.
Of course there were a few snags once I got there. First, the salesman called the installation guys to see if they could put the stereo in for me. They told him to tell me to bring my car up for them to look at, before I even bought the stereo. So I descended the two stories of parking, pulling my Escort out of the bowels of LA, and brought her up to the level where the installation people lived, it was all very CHUDS really. Once I was able to maneuver into their strange ass blue cones, that would be ten times around the parking lot, I pulled in. They informed me if it was just a matter of pulling out and plugging in, the installation would be free. Can you guess whether or not it was free? That's right! $45 and another trip up to the store to buy the stereo.
The fairly nice salesman got me my stereo, took me to the cashier and she rang up my charges and then handed me the stereo and receipt. "Can't someone bring this up to the installation guys?" I asked so Midwest naive. "NO," was the snotty bitch's response.
So after I beat the bitch with my new stereo, I ran back down to the installation department and gave them the stereo. The nice boys there told me it would be an hour, so at 6:25 I ventured back up to Best Buy to check out every single item they sold. By 7:35 I still had no phone call and I knew the stock better than the dumb asses working there. So I ran back to the stereo department and asked the salesman to call up to the installation guys to see if my car was done. Well, what do you know? It was done, when exactly it had been done I'll never know because they never called me on the cell phone number they insisted they needed, and I insisted that they had.
But alas I do have a stereo (and a grudge) but it doesn't end there, instead I went to that devil bin of a store called Wal Mart on Saturday. I found some wonderful photo paper which is apparantly only sold at old Sam's retail rotunda of oppression, but there was only one packet of it, and that packet had been opened. So I, feeling ever so cheeky, went to a store employee. A man behind the counter in a tie looking at a cell phone. I said, "Hello," he stared at his phone, I said, "Hey!", and he looked at me. I told him my predicament regarding the paper and he pointed across the room to the gaggle of girls in the photo department, "That's photo paper right?" he said, "That's the photo department."
So after beating him with his cell phone and my ream of photo paper, I went to counter of the photo department where the three female employees were all leaning over and talking to some woman, who did not have an immediate Wal Mart problem as I did, but instead was entertaining them all with a story of her latest off time shenanigans.
After I bitch slapped the line of girls with the ream of paper, I put it back and declared that even when I was crabby at my many, many past customer service jobs, it seemed I still had time to provide, oh what the hell is that called? Oh yeah, frickin' customer service.
Well, I'm off to write a letter on paper I did not buy at Wal Mart....
Swivek's New Single
FROM THE OFFICIAL FLEXIBLE RECORDS WEBSITE:
Swivek's "Darkness + Light" set for September
Bradley is once again buzzing with ideas and laying down tracksfor a new Swivek album titled Darkness + Light, which he says has a bit of a "grunge feel" so far. We've heard it and it rocks, quite.He will be collaborating in various ways on several tracks withOrange Television's Patrick English. Keep your eyes and earspeeled for the latest twisted megadose of Swivek's uniquebubblegum punk in early September.
Also currently available for
free download is the new single"You're Not The One", which drips with attitude and is backed with an exclusive Orange Television remix of "Pissed."As if that weren't a big enough dip into the hot Swivek fondue,you can sneak a listen to the new Swivek album track "Auto 54"by pointing your browser to
Flexible Radio. You're soaking in it.
Random CDs
It's been awhile since I actually bought a brand new release, and every time I go through the list of New Releases, I'm immediately sick to my stomach, plus I refuse to drive to Amoeba to buy new music until I get a new CD player in my car - mine died and I CAN'T, I mean I really CAN'T fathom driving to Hollywood without a CD playing, buying a bunch of new music and not being able to drive down Sunset Boulevard listening to them.. so until (hopefully this weekend) when I get a new stereo, we are going into the back catalog of my CDs... today, we visit the biggest Attitude in Country Music, the biggest Voice in 80s Rock, a sitcom star turned Rriotttish girl, an alterna girl and her boy geniuses, a legend and a few pop masterpieces...
PAT BENATAR - True Love (1991 - Chrysalis)
Let's start with my ultimate fav, it's been quite awhile since I pulled this CD off the shelf and gave it a listen - anyone not in the know True Love was Benatar's blues album - no hard rock, no heavy handed rock ballads, just blues. Though I must add most of the blues she chose to do is more in the upbeat Chicago jump blues type. When the album came out, she insisted she wanted to do something different, these were the songs she listened to at home and wanted to do a fresh album, the critics blasted her, fans weren't particularly thrilled and the album was deemed a disaster, but I've never been sure who deemed it that way, as it still went gold and hit the top 40. Personally, I wasn't expecting much when it came out but it would be about three years later that the whole damn world jumped on the jive bunny/Brian Setzer thrill so actually my girl was ahead of her time. As for the songs, these are all really good; she takes a lot of blues songs made famous by the mysoginist male voice of the 50s and turns them on their back by singing in a female perspective - "It Don't Happen No More" ("there used to be a time when a woman wouldn't folk/there used to be a time a woman didn't folk/ she'd just sit at home while her man went out to play/ she was satisfied with life any old way/ it don't happen no more"), a hilarious jumpy song "Bloodshot Eyes" (well it's plain that you're lying when you say you've been crying/ don't roll those bloodshot eyes at me/ .. your eyes look like two cherries in a glass of buttermilk), a few BB King covers are thrown in, Pat husband Neil and their drummer write three new bluesy numbers including the straight up bluesy rock of the title track; and the ballads get you - her voice has never sounded so good as on "So Long" and "Evening" and the inevitable attitude song "I Get Evil" fits both her blues album and her rock attitude - if anyone ever (and would really) question Benatar's vocal abilities, just one listen to True Love would change that. Plus the album was recorded as a live band set, like they used to do back in the day.. so really if you ever find this one on the used bins (and you will) pick it up, I think you'd be impressed.
TANYA TUCKER - Tanya (2002 - Tuckertime/ Capitol)
Of course from the powerhouse of rock to the powerhouse of country, I love me my Miss TT - The Texas Tornado if you will (and I know you will). This was her first album in 5 years and actually her last album of new material since, but it's worth the listen for sure. After a huge, huge comeback in 1986, Tanya spent almost 8 years charting hit and after hit then as the OTHERS moved in (i.e. Faith, Shania etc.) Tanya seemed to once again fall out of favor, her record company changed hands, forced her to hire a new producer and made her release an album that just wasn't very good, she sued for lack of promotion and they gave her her very own subsidary label and executive producer control hence bringing about this album of 12 perfectly suited country numbres for her. Though she doesn't write much (about 2 songs her entire career) Tanya has the ability to hire really, really good songwriters; plus the beeatch could sing the phone book and chew it up without any problem; but this album has some of her best - the bitchy "Shoulda Thought About That" (she co-wrote), the sad and touching "We Had It All" (back when we had nothing at all), and the lead off single "A Memory Like I'm Gonna Be" (that dream you're chasing is only a high heeled illusion/ but you'll never get over a memory like i'm gonna be), Tanya has always impressed me with her voice, and I love everything she has ever done, but this is as a whole album probably one of her best. Incidentally, while watching all 26 episodes of Tuckerville this past year, Tanya was in the studio in a few episodes and it was really amazing to watch - she'd walk in completely unprepared (she runs on what is called 'tuckertime' which is essentially 2 hours behind real time), will rehearse a lyric and leave you wondering, "oh my gawd, she's lost it, she can't sing" and then in two minutes, she will return to the mike and rip the shit up... now that's talent.
GARBAGE - Beautifulgarbage (2001 -Interscope)This is my all time favorite album by Shirley Manson and the boys; from the very beginning of the power punch
"Shut Your Mouth" through the angst, anger, humor and drama to
"So Like A Rose" there isn't a bad song on this set. I'm sure other Garbage heads would go for the first or even the second album, both of course are dynamite but this is the one that does it for me. By this time, I was of course a fan, having the first two albums and loving them up, but along came
Beautifulgarbage, a sort of homage to all the music that proceeded it,
"Can't Cry These Tears Anymore" is an electro take on the girl group songs of the 60s,
"Cherry Lips" is a throw back to the 80s new wave trips we've all taken, a 70s singer/songwriter turn on
"Cup Of Coffee" while other songs define Garbage as the new heroes of alt rock.
"Androgyny" and
"Til The Day I Die" stand out as well. If
Garbage was your bag, this one will probably let you down in its brightness, if you liked
Version 2.0 and the direction you could hear the band was headed for, then this might hit your wet spot, or if you just like a pastiche of cleverly disguised nods to all things pop, then
Beautifulgarbage might please you as much as it pleases me.
P.S. A Bubbatunes compilation of Garbage is in the works, making the band the very first band that formed post 80s to get a bubbatunes work out..
DANIELLE BRISBOIS - Arrive All Over You (1994 - Epic)Like most people, I completely forgot all about this album, but decided to track it down and thanks to those Amazon folks, I found a copy for only $3! For anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of a bubbatunes compilation you probably know the single
"What If God Fell From The Sky" (notably years before Joan Osbourne's "One Of Us"), a manic bag of aggression and questions. I had the single when it came out and loved it, and the flip side of the cassingle,
"Ain't Gonna Cry No More" so it was inevitable I wanted the album. But on a more Bradley like level, I like Danielle because she was once a child actress, starring for like 10 years as Archie Bunker's obnoxious neice on
All In The Family/Archie Bunker's Place and more importantly starred for the 83-84 season of
Knots Landing as Greg Sumner's daughter Mary Francis, making my loveable Eric all a tither in teenage lust - but she left all that behind to pursue a music career hooking up with Gregg Alexander - the two would inevitably form New Radicals in the late 90s and scoring a fairly big album, but this was their first foray into the music world. A strange yet very appealing piece of early 90s pop/rock - the musical stylings and Danielle's delivery and lyrics make it something a bit more than the typical blandness of the day. In fact, it could be argued this was the pre-cursor to Alanis Morrissette's
Jagged Little Pill - songs of woe, lost love and a strange ethereal way of writing lyrics. In fact Danielle's vocals and strange annunciations is kind of a hybrid of Morrissette and Rachel Sweet. The songs are incredibly well put together despite an obvious attempt to be something a tad more pretentious. The ending
"who's afraid of the big bad wolf" lines on
"Ain't Gonna Cry No More" seem pointless yet somehow work, a duet with Alexander on
"Promise Tomorrow Tonight" sounds like its based on those cheesy 80s movie duets only done with a big back drop of sound and some serious singing by the two of them - its as if Danielle & Gregg took everything they learned from the 80s songs and put their own twist on them - umm is that Swivek does? There's even a cover of 60s gem
"Gimme Little Sign" that is remarkably close to the original considering the source. By and large, I liked it on the first listen and I think once I listen to it more and more it's going to end up being one of my favs. Now if only I could track down an elusive second album Danielle made, that was pressed and released as promos but then for some reason pulled before a release. Guess I'll hit Amazon again!
RONNIE SPECTOR - She Talks To Rainbows (1999 - Kill Rock Stars)
Oh Ronnie, how I love thee! And while looking for a picture of this little EP to post on here, I discoverd Ronnie has just released a new album Last Of The Rock Stars (the cover has a picture of her just smoking on a cig and acting so teenage cool) and you can bet I'm going to get that cuz well, this beeeatch is the best. It's no wonder Eddie Money rang up the girl to sing her famous "be my little baby" line on his song back in the 80s and it's also no wonder this album is produced by Joey Ramone and the Ramone's producer Daniel Rey, everyone is in awe of this scratchy voiced chanteuse. Here are 5 songs that prove what a great singer she is. The title track is a Ramones song and it is one of the best songs I have ever heard - of course it's this version that makes it so, I have put it on numbers of compilations because it's just so frickin' good. Also included is a cover of the Beach Boy's "Don't Worry Baby" which Brian Wilson actually wrote for Ronnie back in the 60s but she wasn't allowed to sing it, now she can and she rips the lid off, there's a live version of her old band the Ronette's "I Wish I Never Saw The Sun" plus killer versions of "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" and "Bye Bye Baby." Five songs by one of the greatest talents of the rock era... it's so great. Now I can't wait to track down that new album!
and finally, you had to know this was coming, since one of my last post talked explicity about how a dream from 1982 is actually coming true - so here it is the highlight of today's Random CDs - a pair of albums by one brilliant 80's girl who should've been the next big thing: JOSIE COTTON!
JOSIE COTTON - Convertible Music (1982 - Elektra)
Other than the Go-Go's, I don't think there is another performer who to me personofies the 80s new wave LA surfing fun style music like Josie Cotton. Both of them took a new look at music by taking their immediate tunes from the 60s, Josie & The Go-Go's didn't so much rely on the synth style and keyboards that were happening in new wave as they did take the old 60s girl groups and the 60s organs and put them into music that deserves to be played loud and while driving a convertible to the beach - no doubt I'm sure how Josie came up with the title to her debut album. After the localized success of Johnny Are You Queer? on the Bomp label (note: Go-Go's were performing Johnny Are You Queer? before Josie got a hold of it), Josie signed to Elektra and with her brought Bobby & Larson Paine, the brothers who wrote and produced that immortal single; what the boys and Josie came up with is one bright number after another - 11 songs that interestingly enough don't sound dated at all; perhaps the likes of bands like OK Go etc. listened to their fair share of Josie?? No matter what song is played, you turn it up just a tad louder, you sing along, you want to be in LA in 1982 and head to the beach - the keyboards and Farfisa organs are perfect, the driving surf guitars, the drum breaks, Josie's almost hiccup vocals, it's really too incredible for words. "He Could Be The One" (#5 on my Top 100 Singles of the 80s) leads off the album and as you bounce and sing, you just get more and more glorious results - "I Need The Night Tonight", "Another Girl" (it looked like you/ with another girl) "Systematic Way", "Bye Bye Baby" - it's sassy, (do what you do/ that's okay cuz I'm through with you/ bye, bye, bye baby say goodbye/ I can't feel sad cuz I feel so free), it has backing boy vocals (we got a good thing going girl) - and it's an all out jumpy little ditty wrapped around hooks so big you'd think it would've been the biggest thing of 1982 but when released as a single it didn't go anywhere! There is even a very heart felt little ballad "No Pictures Of Dad" (she's alone and it's hard to accept/ in this world it's keep or be kept/ No pictures of dad/ and she doesn't want to do what her mother did, oh no) but not in the ballady way of say Ms. Diana Ross but more like the Go-Go's "Everything But Party Time", I love it of course. Josie even covers one of my fav 60s songs "Tell Him" and let me say does it just that new wavy way it should be, try not to sing and dance to this one.. I dare ya! As I think about it, I really can't think of a much better album at the moment and when/if I ever get around to coming up with my all time favorite albums of all time, you can bet this will be very high on that list. Unfortunetly the album isn't on CD as itself but in a rash of pure CD genius, the folks at Oldies put the CD out as a two-fer with Josie's next album:
JOSIE COTTON - From The Hip (1984 - Elektra) For some reason,
Convertible Music was not the stellar seller one would have expected it to be, so Josie came up with some more songs and in 1984 launched
From The Hip, a more synthy new wave set than the predessor, it didn't however mean that Josie had lost any of her power or ear candy. The lead off single
"Jimmy Loves Maryann" is almost as ingenius as anything on the first album, telling the story of a hoodlum and the good girl, it was Josie's precursor to (and much better)
"Skater Boi" (etc. including perhaps Swivek's own
Johnny Misunderstood), the album also includes what is probably my all time favorite Josie song
"Gina" (Gina don't you run with him/ I'm talking to you like a friend); some of it doesn't work as well as the first album, a rockabilly
"Straight Talk" and
"Come With Me" are too produced to be fun, and though the doo wop ode of
"Life After Love" is fun, it sounds too early 80s synth produced like Diana Ross (why do I keep mentioning her?) on
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love?"... but it's still a great piece of music and though it's not as good as
Convertible Music, I really can't expect that. I mean that album is pop fun personified.
Dance, Dance, Dance
Okay, it's official, I am now a reality show geek - Last night after
So You Think You Can Dance, I did it. I hopped on the horn and I voted. I don't care who knows it, it had to be done. I mean there are only four dancers left and only one person can win. I just know it's going to be that
HoMo Benji, and though you know I do love that boy, I just had to vote for his ex-partner and my favorite gal with the badonkadonk to boot
Donyelle Jones. It didn't sway my vote in the least when the judges were rather harsh with her performances, though a contemporary dance with
"Spike" made them all see the errors of their ways - but I know the American public who is doing the voting and ultimately decides the winner is going for Benji who is thwarted with screams every time his skinny white ass hits the stage - his cousin
Heidi, I have discovered is probably the most limber woman I've ever met, and I have a lot of girlfriends who are quite slutty; and of course
"Spike" is just as limber and when the two boys did a hip hop dance together - that's right two boys on the stage at once - they acted like it was so ceeeraaazy but I've seen plenty of men on a stage together so I wasn't perplexed at all, though when I see the men on stage they are usually a little more masculine that these two... but alas all things must come to an end, and next week is the two hour finale with two performances by what the kids call today's "hit music" and a lot of dancing, if only they could dance, dance, dance all night for me, then I wouldn't be forced to go back to my DVDs of
Gimme A Break! and
Police Woman... oh who am I fooling, I love those shows too...
for the recount - our four dancers left are Donyelle, Benji "HoMo", "Spike" Travis, and "High Heeled" Heidi... and the dancers have danced two 2 Pat Benatar songs - one solo to
"We Belong" (I loved that Allison girl) and one couple swing dance to
"It Don't Happen No More".. next season I'm sending them Swivek songs!
I'm Queer Tooooo
Oh my gawd, how I love the internet! So I was going through
www.imdb.com as I was a tad bored at work when I decided to once again look up my favorite cutie gal from the 80s Miss
Deborah Foreman, well I discoverd that
Valley Girl is making a new movie and if that wasn't enough I discovered, like other celebrities, she has a myspace account, so I ran to her myspace, saw her location as West Hollywood and stalked her! No, I'm totally kidding, I'm not like that. What I did was try to get her to be my friend but the biggest news is while looking through her page I discovered one thing on her calender is an August 24th stop at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood to attend the
Josie frickin' Cotton album release! I just about fell over at work, ran to the Knitting Factory website got my tickets for me and the Leivas and came back onto blogspot to tell you all that I am feeling just like its 1982 all over again - only this time I'm old enough to go to a Hollywood club and see Josie Cotton, just like I did all those years ago.... and did I ever mention back in the day the Leivas and a group of his pals including one very noticeable large boned gal used to follow Josie Cotton's shows from one venue to the next. I wonder if she'll recognize him? I wonder if she'll be myspace friend, I wonder if Josie will change the words to
"Bradley Are You Queer?" I wonder why I'm still so stuck in the 80s? Ah, who the hell cares, it's fun in my little world!
oooh, I almost forgot, you too can buy the new Josie Cotton album, which is available online at CD Baby at
www.cdbaby.com/cd/josiecottonand here in LA at Amoeba Records. There are also links through her website at
www.josiecotton.com - buy it! You'll love it.
Gimme A Break
Gimme A Break, I sure deserve it; it's time I made it to the top
Gimme A Break, I'm looking forward, look behind me pull out all the stops
I want a happy ending, I'm tired of pretending
won't let them get the best of me
Gimme A Break - the game is survival
Gimme A Break - and plan my arrival
Gimme A Break for Heaven's sake
what happened to my piece of the cake?
Gimme A Break, ah Gimme a break
As I ponder those immortal words of Nell Carter, the ever exciting yet sadly demised matron of the series
Gimme A Break! I realize I too wonder what happened to my piece of the cake? Was I just never intended for all the great and glorious things I thought I'd have? Or did Nell just eat my piece of the cake? Or perhaps I ate my own piece of cake, after all like Nell, I too am heading to the portly side of life.
But before you all think I've suddenly slipped to the Leivas side of pessimism, I am not giving up on any of my big dreams. I will have it all, I will have that piece of cake if I have to grab it out of someone's hand!
In the works is the latest Swivek album
Darkness + Light, coming ever so closer to being unleashed upon the world (September), and now Flexible Records has announced a new single to lead off the album - it looks like we're debating over the title cut and a jaunty garage rock attitude song
"You're Not The One" with the added bonus of a new remix by Orange Television for the song
"Pissed" which will appear on the album - not to brag or anything but I really think you will all see this is the best work I've done...
in other news, my drinkenest gal Amy has landed in Portland - long gone are the days of Margarittas at the Cantina, but never fear I will always have Amy in my life, whether she likes it or not...
also I'm quite concerned about Tori Spelling and her mother. It seems the little Spelling just can't catch a break - first she's told via email that her father is dead, then she gets a measely $800,000 in the will and now a planned tribute she was making has been scrapped because Miss Candy won't let Tori use any of Aaron's tv show clips. Something is aghast at the manse isn't it?
but I'm sure Tori will recover after all by my calculations if one makes $30,000 a year and works for say 28 years, they will have the money Tori earned just by her genes, now if Tori continues working and adding to her money, she should be fine. I, on the other hand am having trouble scraping the cash together to buy that Crystal Gayle compilation I want from Amazon - but alas, my time will come.
I'm off to spend a little time with the Kanisky family and their pal Nell Harper...
Rock & Roll Picture Show
Well, today I'm a bit hungover - I know all of you who really know me are probably quite stunned, thinking to yourself, "How can you be hungover? I thought you were just always drunk." But the truth is, I do get hung over and today is one of those days where I sit pondering why oh why did I think I needed that last drink and why can't I have a really fat and greasy cheeseburger right now?
Last night, I opted out of the normal routine of watching the double hitter of Wednesday and Thursday's
So You Think You Can Dance? to instead head over to the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood with my pal Luther. As a part of Luther's birthday celebration we paid $9 whole dollars to watch a double bill of rock and roll films, the main event was
Everyone Stares - The Police Inside Out; not really a documentary so
much as a home video of the band The Police taken by drummer Stewart Copeland from 1979-1983 - Stewart was there to introduce the film and take questions from the audience after and let me just say the movie is really really good. It's hilarious and fun and (my favorite part of film) fairly short. He films it from his point of view almost the entire time and you actually feel like you're a part of the band experiencing their lives as they go from travelling together in a car for gigs to the height of fame. Very much recommended, and it's coming to DVD soon! Plus I believe Showtime will be showing this month.
The second film was from 1981 and it was really something to see -
Urgh! A Music War is a concert film put together by Stewart Copeland's brother Miles who was the runner of IRS Records - the concert shows bands performing all over the world doing one song and sometimes intercut with one or two little quips about where they are but to see these bands in their earliest incarnations and live is a hoot and a half -
Gary Numan with what at the time was surely an expensive and innovative light show, he comes out in a giant chair and moves around the stage all dramatic and when they do a close up we see he moves the chair by using a giant metal stick shift conveniently located between his legs, The
Cramps are in it with a way over the top performance, some insanity named
Klaus Nomi dressed in space age pleather who goes from gothic growl to Beverly Sills soprano in one second flat,
The Go-Gos back when Belinda was the chubby punk girl and with their original guitarist,
Joan Jett,
The Police open and close the film (of course),
UB40, Orchesteral Maneuvers (before they were in the dark - and incidentally very very cute),
Steel Pulse, Jools Holland,
Echo & The Bunnymen and a ton more - it's great to see things like this in LA because people cheer and clap and stand up and get into it. I was more than pleased to hear the big whoops when Miss Jett appeared on the screen, but have to say the biggest kudos seemed to have gone to Gary Numan and of course the Police, after all this was their event.
I'm not sure if
Urgh! is on DVD but if not it looks like its on VHS and it really is something to see and according to Luther, who has it - there was an album released to go with it. I'll let you all know what's on it when he burns me a copy.
After the movies, we headed into Silverlake and into Eagle, which used to be Gauntlet or Gauntlet II or something, basically the leather bar, where a few months ago I was talked into entering the wet underwear contest, and did quite well I might add - this time it appeared all the boys were too gun shy to do anything and they only had one contestant of all the men there! (no it wasn't me) so Luther didn't get the ultimate wet undies birthday present but there's always tonight!
6 Random CDs
It's that time of the week again - the time to look over some interesting random CDs that I picked through my collection and took to work - this week we have some 80s gems (of course), a few singer/songwriters, a classic even if its from 1999 and a little punk pop to get your weekend started off right!
BECK - Midnite Vultures (1999) By far my all time favorite Beck album, Midnite Vultures brings in hip hop, soul, funk and every other genre this little genius can wrap his words around. The double punch of Sexx Laws and Nicotine & Gravy is just the beginning as we are melted in Beck's ever increasing tongue in cheekness and fun, deliberate or not. This is one of those must haves.
DEBBIE HARRY - Koo Koo (1981)
An album that had me and the masses very confused in 1981 - after the enormous success of Blondie and the latest album 1980's
Autoamerican, Debbie went solo and at the time it was a bit of a disappoint for a great number of people. Listening to it all these years later, I can't believe how overlooked this album can be. Utilizing Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, Debbie went funk and at the time I didn't understand it, but now, boy do I get it. A deeper more urban version of Diana Ross'
Diana ("Upside Down", "I'm Coming Out") which Chic had done a year earlier. Debbie kept her New York cool and her attitude, and most importantly her delivery of strange and etheral images. Sure there's a few lackluster numbers, the closing number
"Oasis" does remind you of a Sci fi film soundtrack but so did
"Europa" from Blondie's
Autoamerican album. The production is minimal but that's the Chic brilliance, funk guitars, a few horns and a lot of Debbie's cool voice at the forefront.
"Backfired" is still one of her best solo songs while my favorite the funk/rock fusion of
"Under Arrest" and the uber fabulousness of the rap/white funk/hippity hop
"Military Rap" is so humorous it's completely serious.
GO-GOs - Vacation (1982)If you were to believe all the critiques of the Go-Gos albums you would have to believe that
Vacation, the band's follow up to their debut
Beauty & The Beat is a complete waste of vinyl and CD, but then you'd just be stupid. The drama and Hollywood/Beach scenerios of the first album may not be as defined but with most of everyone's debut album, those are songs the band had done over and over again, the songs that got them signed and the songs they could do with their eyes closed. After that, it's coming up with the next step - an album of new stuff to keep the masses and your own artistry in check and for that I think the girls did it - no one thought the single
"Vacation" was a let down, in fact, I recall how excited everyone I knew was when that single hit the airwaves and the video along with it. This was a band about fun and surf and the whole album captures that very well.
"Get Up & Go" should've been a huge hit with its big nod going to 60s California surf music, it's jumpy, it's fun - even the pseudo ballads
"It's Everything But Party Time" and
"Worlds Away" still rock in that oh so 80s fashion, sure the place to start with the Go-Gos is
Beauty & The Beat but don't skip this one ever, it's an excellant little summer pop album that will make you pull the roof off your SUV and head to the beach.
BRIGHT EYES - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)
I discovered Bright Eyes after the Leivas informed there was a video he liked and had taped it off of Logo. A dreamy little acoustic ballad called "First Day Of My Life" it quickly became our song, and I ran out to buy the CD. As I began some research I discovered I was probably the only person who hadn't heard of Bright Eyes as he was deemed some kind of indie musical genius around the time of this album's release, being compared to Dylan and the like, and always being known as having recorded since the age of 13, Conor Oberst, the man behind Bright Eyes (it's just him and a revolving door of musicians) released this album in early 2005. A set of acoutstically driven sometime country flavored songs, its ten songs of wordy poetics and longing - my favorite things. With Emmylou Harris showing up for some harmony there's a lot to really gather in these ditties - "Another Travelin' Song" reminds me of some Dylan while the awesome words of "Poison Oak" and the drama of "At The Bottom Of Everything" reminds me of old story songs of the 60s and the cool calm collective of people like Joni Mitchell and Emmylou. It's an interesting little bit of musical poetry for sure.
BOUNCING SOULS - How I Spent My Summer Vacation (2001) I love my pop/punk fun fast, furious and full of life, not cool produced and prepared in a studio like Avril or the influx of boys hitting the MTV circuit. Luckily Bouncing Souls is one of a handfull of bands that not only continues to record new CDs but actually seems to have fun doing them. Combining all the young angst of boys younger than them, they still manage to come up with songs about BMX bikes, girls and music, all the elements of the fun side of punk pop. How I Spent My Summer Vacation was my first foray into the bouncing world of Bouncing Souls and being released on May 22nd in 2001, (one of my birthdays) adds a little something to it - but most importantly it's just fun, fast and schock full of melody. "That Song" is catchy, "Lifetime" is melodic, "Manthem" is fun; and I love songs about music and its influences on one's own youth - and Bouncing Souls addresses this idea a lot particularly in the closing number (and my fav) "Gone". As a whole, it's all kind of like Blink-182 but with a little less production and it's always fun.
BILLIE MYERS - Growing, Pains (1997)
I love this album - in fact it is probably one of my favorite albums ever released. Starting with the infectious and so sad it's fun
"Kiss The Rain" - a haunting tale of jealousy and longing for a lover whose far away,
"go outside, kiss the rain.. whenever you need me/ if your lips feel empty and tempted/ kiss the rain and wait for the dawn/ keep in mind we're under the same sky/ and the nights as empty for me as for you/ hello? do you miss me? I hear you say you do but not the way I'm missing you/ would it mean anything if you knew what I'm left imagining..." the album moves into more of this territory as Billie's sexy soulful alto takes you through every aspect of her heart and soul - the lyrics point more to a poetry than a standard pop song lyric and she pulls it all off beautifully - the heartbreak drama of
"A Few Words Too Many", (
wait a minute what did you say/ did you say there's no real reason for you to stay/ I hear you talking but you're just not making sense/ I've been waiting for a happy ending/ now I know that there won't be any/ just a few words too many in my head) and "Please Don't Shout" (please don't shout/ it's only anger that you're waking/ please don't shout/ can't you see I'm not listening), the hilarious love triangle of
"Having Trouble With The Language" ("she looked better in her black dress but you looked better dead..") and the sex filled
"Tell Me" which has such clever lyrics you completely forget they're borderline dirty - "
Tell Me, how would it feel to be me/ I wanna crawl under your skin/ I want to know how it feels in me, yeah, yeah," and set to an Egyptian type background melody. This is the ultimate break up album, though if you are going through one you may put this one with a little trepedation, it may leave you slightly satisfied knowing someone else can conjure up the words you're thinking or it may just push you over the edge and leave you a huddled blubbering mass on the floor, but then you could always just put the Go Gos back on. Either way it leaves you feeling, it leaves you feeling something and that's fairly rare in music these days so if you don't have this album, I can't recommend it enough.
Block Party Brou ha ha
Last night I went to my very first cul-de-sac block party, now before all you
Knots Landing knuts get too excited, it wasn't really at Seaview Circle or anything and the "cul-de-sac" as they dubbed it is really just a place where they blocked off the road to through traffic but it was a block party none the less.
Every year the city of West Hollywood hosts
"Night Out" a little block party that runs from 6-8 pm at the "cul-de-sac" above Trader Joe's. Seeing as how I wanted to take the Leivas out for dinner, we walked over to the block party which was full of our neighbors, their pets and their kids, barbeque was a cooking, burgers flipping, Jamba juice flowing and music was playing.
It may not have been
Ciji Dunne up there but a new discovery to me was this Euro dance duo called Glycerin. I first laid eyes upon singer Anna Song as she danced to the trip beats of the DJ only to discover this fabulous vision in elevated black boots and thigh high net stockings was the singer to the band. You absolutely have to check them out (Patrick!) at
glycerinmusic.com where you can download for FREE all their music.
If only I had my autoharp with me I couldn't ran up on stage and performed "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" like Lilimae did with Ciji all those years ago. Oh well, there's always next year.
Retro Hottie
Ugh! What a week and it's only Tuesday, I believe I'm in a bit of a funk - I get bored so easily and am on the very verge of crabdom, but that doesn't mean you all have to suffer, so here's a look at a retro hottie - oh, sigh Mr. Corey Hart, unfortunetly I never dated/slept/kissed or even talked to anyone who even look liked Corey, but alas that would've made a hell of a story huh? Oh and to prove what an eternal hottie Corey is, the black and white is a fairly recent pic - oh once again sigh...
In more pressing news, this morning I was attacked by my face sponge in the shower - it's one of those almost loovah type of dealios that are meant to scrape off the years of blemishes and blackheads that accumulate on people even as fresh faced and young as I. But for some reason my sponge decided to attack me and I now have a giant scrape down the lenght of my nose. I have no idea why this happened - you have to believe it was completely unprovoked on my part. I didn't even drop the thing on the shower floor or anything, or perhaps I have it all wrong, I mean with this giant scar I will have for the rest of my life, no new blackheads will come along; maybe that's how the thing really works.
I'm off to try and try and try to get my Swivek songs together for their final cuts - truth be told I'm a little tired of hearing my voice and that's not something you'll hear me say very often. But in just a few short weeks, a brand new Swivek CD should be upon you all and I know you're just itching to hear it and of course to look at my new scar which will probably be gracing the cover now that I'm the poster child for strange sponge attacks.
