Category: Episodes

499. The La De Das

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(6/1/23) Episode 499 is THE LA DE DAS. They gained popularity in New Zealand in the late 1960s by recording the sounds of the contemporary big acts in the UK and US. While their quality never matched that of the bands they mimicked, there are a few cool songs. Their style was standard for the era: blues rock, psychedelic, lots of covers, and even an obligatory concept album (“The Happy Prince”).

Favourite album: The La De Das

Favourite song: How Is The Air Up There?

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: Rather than seek out La De Das albums, buy the fantastic Nuggets II box set, which features “How Is The Air Up There?” – well worth the investment.

498. Sir Lord Baltimore

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(May 2023) Episode 498 is SIR LORD BALTIMORE. They were making heavy metal music and didn’t even know it, as the genre hadn’t been defined yet. A power trio out of New York City recorded two excellent albums of heavy, bluesy, fuzzy, frenetic rock, sort of a blend of Cream and MC5, released in the same years Black Sabbath was getting going (1970-71). Then they fell apart, and reunited decades later for a revival album which was not good.

Favourite album: Kingdom Come

Favourite song: Kingdom Come

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: their albums are in deep dive territory, but have aged like fine wine

497. Fu Manchu

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(Mat 2023) Episode 497 is FU MANCHU, a stoner metal band out of Southern California with a sound that perfectly evokes the skateboard, dune buggy and El Camino on their album covers. The tempo and the vocal style convey a rock-n-roll attitude, with the heavy fuzz of the guitars giving it the stoner label. The later albums come closer to straight hard rock, but still pretty good.

Favourite album: Daredevil

Favourite song: Eatin’ Dust

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: quintessential dude music

496. Violent Femmes

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Episode 496 is the VIOLENT FEMMES. Their first album is the soundtrack to my college dorm years, providing drunken sing-alongs for students trying to get real-life affirmative answers to the questions in “Add It Up.” The Femmes were alt music a decade before we started using that term. They’re labeled folk-punk but I’d call it geeky neo-skiffle. There’s a clear resonance with Jonathan Richman, but I hear parallels with They Might Be Giants (and a bit of Talking Heads, not surprising given their association with Jerry Harrison). I stopped following them after the second album and expected a drop-off from there, so I was pleased to find out they generally kept it fresh and fun over the decades.

Favourite album: Violent Femmes

Favourite song: Add It Up

Special sauce: the bass work of Brian Ritchie

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: The first album is essential, especially for those of us of a certain generation, but it’s worth exploring other stuff too. 

495. The Amboy Dukes

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(May 2023) Episode 495 is THE AMBOY DUKES. Known primarily for the psychedelic gem “Journey to the Center of the Mind” and for being Ted Nugent’s first band, they made some good recordings covering the range of late 60s/early 70s sounds: blues rock, psychedelia, groovy rock, prog. Overall it is an uneven affair, within and across albums, never solidifying a musical identity. They eventually did when, amidst personnel changes, Nugent full took over with his guitar-frenzied boogie rock, with which he transitioned seamlessly to a successful solo career.

Favourite album: The Amboy Dukes

Favourite song: Journey to the Center of the Mind

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: a greatest hits album will suffice, although “Journey” is the only essential thing

494. Radio Birdman

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(May 2023) Episode 494 is RADIO BIRDMAN. An early and energetic punk band from Australia. Their version of punk derived from the garage-band lineage, particularly the proto-punk sounds of the Stooges and MC5, which is not a surprise given guitarist Deniz Tek grew up in Michigan. They didn’t last long (there was one reunion album) but what they did was great.

Favourite album: Radios Appear

Favourite song: Aloha Steve and Danno

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The first album is a bucket of primal, propulsive fun. 

493. Jelly Roll Morton

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(May 2023) Episode 493 is JELLY ROLL MORTON. As a pianist, composer and bandleader, he was one of the original jazz giants, from an era where recordings were a rare thing. His music is a very period-piece invocation of “old timey jazz,” the New Orleans flavor of ragtime and Dixieland.  The music interests me in a historical context but it’s not something I would sit and listen to.  Later in life he sat for Alan Lomax, and these Library of Congress recordings provide an interesting window into his approach and style.

Favorite song: King Porter Stomp

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: of historical interest, mostly

492. Harry Partch

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(May 2023) Episode 492 is HARRY PARTCH.  A composer, music theorist and inventor, he broke ground in the field of just intonation – the tuning of instruments to intervals between the 12 standard tones in Western music.  He composed in a scale of 43 unequal tones and created unique instruments to play such works. To the uninitiated ear, it sounds like a bunch of out-of-tune instruments. It’s not music to chill by.  But spend a little time getting to know the theory and the labor behind it, and it can be fascinating.

Favorite piece: And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The album “The World of Harry Partch” is a good introduction, as it includes Partch describing what, how and why he is doing on various pieces.

491. Katatonia

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(May 2023) Episode 491 is KATATONIA. A band from Sweden named Katatonia should give reasonable assurance of quality death metal.  Alas, not at all.  The first couple albums are decent doom metal. But then the singer had to give up the growl and they adopted a more accessible but rather mundane rock sound, with album after album of mushy prog metal that doesn’t deserve the label “metal.” So boring.

Favorite album: Dance of December Souls

Favorite song: Without God (Jhva Elohim Meth version)

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: Avoid. There are plenty of other alternatives out there.

490. Neu!

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(April 2023) Episode 490 is NEU!. Krautrock!  What Neu! Lacked in output and commercial success, they made up for in influence.  Comprising a duo spun off from Kraftwerk, Neu! is credited with creating “motorik,” a spare yet mesmerizing beat that propels the music forward with German efficiency.

Favorite album: Neu!

Favorite song: Hallogallo

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: the three 70s albums are good for your groove