Tag: garage rock

688. Iggy Pop

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(October 2025) Episode 688 is IGGY POP. This provides a case study (as with Lou Reed) into whether an extended solo career derives from evolving musical creativity or riding on the fumes of fame earned as frontman with an iconic and seminal group (and image cultivation). With Iggy Pop it’s both. Arguably the strongest are the first two albums done with David Bowie on retreat in Berlin. But that’s followed by a decade and a half of weak offerings including an attempt at new wave. But 1993’s American Caesar was a return to raw power (!) sound that continued through the Stooges reunion in the 2000s. The 21st Century saw experimentation with spoken word and European pop. Overall I’ll say Iggy Pop has proven his stature.

Favorite album: The Idiot

Favorite song: Lust for Life

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The Idiot and Lust for Life (Bowie years) and most of the 90s albums

664. The Electric Prunes

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(August 2025) Episode 664 is THE ELECTRIC PRUNES. After the disappointment of the falsely labeled “psychedelic” music of Episode 662, I needed some OG psychedelia. Thus the Electric Prunes. Their first two albums are quintessential psychedelic garage band material. Their path from there got weird. They were handed over to a producer who had them record a psychedelic Latin Mass, which strangely works, and another religious album released in the band’s name only. They issued one decent late-60s hard rock album before calling it quits. “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” was Lenny Kaye’s apt choice to lead off his original Nuggets compilation, setting the tone for that landmark box set and for a genre I adore. Some original members came together in the 21st century for four albums which, by the normally very low standards of decades-later regroupings, weren’t that bad.

Favorite album: The Electric Prunes

Favorite song: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The first two albums are delicious psychedelic garage rock.

575. Paul Revere & the Raiders

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(June 2024) Episode 575 is PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS. I had long thought Paul Revere and the Raiders were a plastic contraption trying to ride the wave of the British Invasion, largely due to their Revolutionary War-era costumes. I was very wrong. They had their origins in Boise, Idaho, of all places, as an instrumental rock band, but were able to capitalize on the emerging popularity of guitar rock with a version of “Louie, Louie” as other Pacific Northwest bands were doing the same. This sound, led by the semi-snarling vocals of Mark Lindsay, helped define what we now call American garage rock. Moving to Los Angeles and absorbing its influences, the Raiders’ seven (!) albums recorded between 1966 and 1968 are all really good, with a fair number of original compositions (although their best songs tended to be written by others). They transitioned well into the 1970s with more earthy songs, before fading off into the nostalgia circuit. One knock on their status (for me) was frequent lineup changes, with Lindsay and the eponymous Paul Revere Dick being the only constants.

Favorite album: Midnight Ride

Favorite song: Kicks

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: A compilation of their hits will be good, but you can dig in further with any of those 1966-68 albums from Just Like Us to Something Happening.

509. The Sorrows

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(July 2023) Episode 509 is THE SORROWS, a British beat band of the mid-60s. They were mod and had an edge, a style known as “freakbeat,” with some dabbling in psychedelia which was customary at the time.  I love all things from that era. They had only one hit in the U.S. (“Take a Heart”) and fell apart after a few years.

Favourite album: Take a Heart

Favourite song: You’ve Got What I Want

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: Probably too niche unless you’re obsessed with that era (like me), so I’ll make another pitch here for the Nuggets 2 box set which includes “Take a Heart”

508. Shonen Knife

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(July 2023) Episode 508 is SHONEN KNIFE, a reminder of the simple joy of uncomplicated rock-n-roll.  That they are a trio of women singing in Japanese or accented English adds to the charm and shows the universality of the rock idiom. Their style is labelled pop-punk, but I’d also say garage rock.  It’s apt to call them the Ramones of Japan, and they own it, putting out an excellent cover/tribute album. They broadened their sound over four decades (including a good album released this year), but they always keep the core approach, including silly lyrics as odes to ordinary things (“Banana Chips,” “Rubber Band,” “I Am A Cat,” “Spicy Veggie Curry”).  It’s spunky fun.    

Favorite album: Pretty Little Baka Guy

Favorite song: Twist Barbie

Favorite fast tempo song: Economic Crisis

Favorite ballad: Sunshine

Favorite covers album: Osaka Ramones

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: Highly recommend. It puts you in a good mood.

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.

443. The Vines

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(October 2022) Episode 443 is THE VINES.  I see them as the garage band version of the classic rock-stomping Jet, both emerging out of Australia 2002.  The garage hooks were good but too few. They developed a lush, overproduced sound that presaged that of fellow Aussies Pond and Tame Impala.

Favourite album: Highly Evolved

Favourite song: Get Free

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: a few of their songs do slay

433. The Woggles

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(September 2022) Episode 433 is THE WOGGLES. I can’t think of a contemporary band that embraces the garage rock sound more than this Atlanta-origin band. The early albums excel at irresistible guitar hooks and frenetic energy, with some rockabilly retro, although it can sometimes come off as bar band fare.  Later albums get more sophisticated, expressing a range of guitar rock sounds present in the Bible of the genre, the Nuggets box sets, with grit, fuzz and British inflections. No wonder they are heroes of Little Steven’s Underground Garage.  Fun stuff.

Favorite album: Rock and Roll Backlash

Favorite song: Blasting Cap

Favorite British Invasion homage: Porridge

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: three out of four stars

366. Gore Gore Girls

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(November 2021) Episode 366 is GORE GORE GIRLS. Nothing quite refreshes the palate like good garage rock. I so present Gore Gore Girls out of the Detroit garage rock revival, so named after member Amy Gore and a 1970s slasher film of the same name, highlighting their retro kitsch vibe.

Favorite album: Get the Gore

Favorite song: Casino

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: if you listen to Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius XM, you’ve heard Gore Gore Girls, and by definition, you like Gore Gore Girls

255. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(March 2020) Episode 255 is KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD.  As I continue prospecting Australian psychedelic bands, I hit the friggin’ gold mine with KG&tLW (out of Melbourne, not Perth, this time). They are My New Favourite Band!  Strong prog-rock elements here, so I label their sound “Progadelic” (if no one else has coined the term).  Each album has its own personality and offers its own experience: melodic acoustic ballads, psych freak-outs, jazz fusion, thrash metal, microtonal tuning, garage rock, and a sci-fi concept album featuring vomit.  Their output is as prolific (15 albums and 2 EPs in less than a decade) as their music is propulsive, which often feels like skydiving after downing a case of Red Bull. Try it!

Favourite album: Nonagon Infinity

Favourite song: Head On/Pill

Possibly a Reincarnation of Olivia Tremor Control: Paper Mâché Dream Balloon

Special sauce: whoever’s on bass guitar

Compared with expectations: ↑↑

Nonagon_Infinity