Don't Bring Me Down - The Pretty Things Story...Show # 181

Named after a Bo Diddley song ("Pretty Thing"), The Pretty Things started out in England in 1963. The band was influential on bands such as Rolling Stones, Davie Bowie, and The Who. The band started off by doing a bunch of R&B covers (similar to Rolling Stones) which are seen as being punky and edgy versions of the original songs. The band consisted of Phil May (Vocals/Harmonica), Dick Taylor (Guitar), Brian Pendleton (Rhythm Guitar), John Stax (Bass), and Pete Kitley on drums (he would be replaced by Viv Prince on drums). Another interesting fact is that Dick Taylor was actually in an early version of the Rolling Stones before getting The Pretty Things.

The band became very popular in the UK with their first three singles ("Rosalyn", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "Honey I Need") in 1964/1965. The bands 1965 album Get The Picture? contains their early UK hits as well as songs such as "Midnight To Six Man". This song set the standard for the Mod lifestyle in the UK and is even mentioned in the lyrics to The Clash song "(Whiteman) In Hammersmith Palais". In 1967, the group released the Psychedelic album Emotions, changing their sound. They then released S.F Sorrow, which is seen as one of the first rock opera's proceeding Pete Townshends Tommy. The album itself was recorded at Abbey road studios after The Beatles Sgt. Peppers and Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The album was a commercial failure and the band still was virtually unknown in the USA. It wouldn't be until David Bowie covered two Pretty Things songs ("Don't Bring Me Down" and "Rosalyn") on his album Pin Ups (1973) that people in the US even knew they existed. Just after the release of S.F. Sorrow, Taylor would leave the group. The bands next album was Parachute in 1970 and was named the album of the year by Rolling Stone magazine; The album had a psychedelic sound.

The band would keep going. They recorded a bunch of songs for some low budget movies in the 70s and in the 80s incorporated more heavy metal into their sound. They were even managed by Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant (briefly) and had releases on Zeppelin's Swan Song label. On the album Cross Talk the band added elements of punk and new wave to their music. The band has reunited for live shows/tours and albums since 1990 with and without the original members. The band is known for their early British sound sound that was influential on the likes of the Rolling Stones, as well as some punk bands in the late 70s; Some of the bands early material has been re-issued with bonus tracks.

The Play List:

1. Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog
2. White Stripes - Black Math
3. Albert Hammond Jr. - Postal Blowfish
4. Ugly Ducklings - Hey Mama (Keep Your Big Mouth Shut)
5. Kinks - I"m Not Like Everybody Else
6. Phantom Keys - In The Summer Time
7. Standells - Dirty Water
8. Pretty Things - Midnight To Six Man
9. Pretty Things - L.S.D.
10. Elvis Presley - Let Yourself Go
11. Young Rival - Authentic Child
12. Whitsundays - Loralee
13. Ex-Boyfriends - Spanked By Lightning
14. 222's - Hold On
15. Gentlemen of Horror - Overhead Projector
16. Hot Nasties - Get Away From Me
17. Sonic Youth - Hey Joni
18. The Government - Hemmingway Hated Disco
19. XTC - Ten Feet Tall
20. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - No Action
21. Klark Kent - My Old School
22. Wire - No Warning Given
23. Nirvana - Beeswax (Live Buenos Aires 1992)
24. Dirty Pretty Things - Radio Song
25. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Cool n' Out
26. Iggy Pop - I'm Bored
27. Rage Against the Machine - Tire Me

Pretty Videos:

Midnight to Six Man
On Popside 1966 (Can't Stand the Pain, L.S.D., and Come and See Me)

Show # 180 - The Live Show

This week my show consisted entirely of live recordings from some of my favourite bands. This included official live albums, and rare unreleased recordings. Some of the material I played was:



The Bootleg Series Volume 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert

After years of being bootlegged, Bob Dylan officially released this live concert as part of his Bootleg Series in 1998. This is the concert where Dylan went electric, causing many of his fans to believe him a sellout. Other interesting facts about this double CD set is that Bob Dylan is backed by a group of Canadian musicians then known as The Hawks. Serving as his backing band, The Hawks would later change their name to The Band.

Sex Pistols - Live in Chelmsford Prison (2002 Sanctuary)

This is a live concert featuring the Sex Pistols live at a prison in 1976. On this CD there are all the Pistols classics such as "Problems", "Anarchy in the UK", "God Save the Queen", and a variety of covers "No Fun (The Stooges)", and "Substitute (The Who)". This bootleg recording sounds better than a large majority of the bands live recordings. Recorded by the bands sound man Dave Goodman, the album showcases an early version of the band featuring Glen Matlock on bass. The actual overall performance of the band has been described as the group not at their best, but it is a good sounding live recordings by the legendary Sex Pistols. Earlier releases of this show, have sound man Dave Goodman adding overdubs to the show, sometimes even singing over top of Rotten making the release worthless. If you want to get this bootleg make sure it is the 2002 Sanctuary version.

Talking Heads - The Name of this Band is Talking Heads

Originally released in 1982, This was a double live album cataloguing the bands career from 1979 to 1981. The title of the album originated from the incorrect pronunciation of the band as The Talking Heads (it's just Talking Heads). The first disc contains live recordings from the period of 1977-1979 and the second disc contains live recordings from the period of 1980-1981. When released on CD in 2004, not only was the album remastered, but also expanded with 15 bonus tracks. The album also contains the song "A Clean Break" which was previously unreleased, and is an excellent track. This is a live album that is just as good if not better than the bands other live album Stop Making Sense.

In other news, on January 11th, Mick Jones and members of Carbon/Silicon played live on stage with none other than Topper Headon (former drummer of the Clash). It was the first time in 25 years the two played together and here are two videos of it:

Train in Vain
Should I Stay or Should I Go

Finally, an article was written for the University of Windsor's newspaper The Lance on my radio show Revolution Rock. If you would like to read it, you can check it out here.

The Play List:

1. The Clash - Jimmy Jazz (Live From Here To Eternity II)
2. The Damned - New Rose (Live Paris Theatre 1977)
3. Sex Pistols - Substitute (Live Chelmsford Prison 1976)
4. Teenage Head - Little Sister (Live 1978)
5. Teenage Head - Ain't Got No Sense (Live 1978)
6. Young Canadians - Poison of Thought (Live No Escape)
7. Saints - Untitled (Live London 1977)
8. Saints - Nights in Venice (Live in London 1977)
9. Gang of Four - Return the Gift (Live Ann Arbour, Michigan 1981)
10. The Jam - And Your Bird Can Sing (BBC Session)
11. Bob Dylan - Tell Me, Momma (Live Royal Albert Hall 1966)
12. Sloan - The Lines You Amend (4 Nights at the Palais Royale)
13. Sloan - Iggy & Angus (4 Nights at the Palais Royale)
14. Generation X - King Rocker (Live Sheffeild 1978)
15. Neil Young - Sedan Delivery (Rust Never Sleeps 1979)
16. Pearl Jam - Fuckin' Up (Live Toronto 2006)
17. Modernettes - Rebel Kind (Live on the Vancouver Show 1983)
18. Smugglers - What Do You Want Me to Do (Live Growing Up Smugglers 1998)
19. The Clash - Hate & War (Live Something Else 1979)
20. Buzzcocks - Fiction Romance (Entertaining Friends 1979)
21. Talking Heads - Don't Worry About the Government (The Name of this Band is Talking Heads)
22. Dead 60s - Liar (Live i-tunes Music Festival 2007)
23. The Hives - List of Demands (XFM Session 2007)
24. Ramones - Let's Dance (Live at the Roxy 1976)

Tangled Up in Plaid...Story of Queens of the Stone Age and show # 179

Coming from the remnants of Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age were called Gamma Ray and were a group of revolving musicians that included Josh Homme, Matt Cameron (Soundgarden), and Mike johnson from Dinosaur Jr. They released a series of 7 Inch singles before changing their name and band members. Changing their name to Queens of the Stone Age, Josh Homme (singer/guitar) and Alfredo Hernandez (ex-kyuss drummer) released Queens of the Stone Age . Josh Homme covered not only the guitar and vocals, but the bass as well. The album was a departure from the sound of Kyuss, it was more riff oriented. Josh Homme described it as "Robot Rock", but critics described the music as stoner rock, which is something that Homme doesn't endorse. After the release of their first album, Nick Ovliveri (Kyuss/Dwarves) joined the group as bassist, Dave Catching also joined as second guitarist around this time.

In 2000, Rated R was released. By this time drummer Hernandez left the group two drummers contributed to the album Gene Trautmann and Nick Lucero, Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees also contributed vocals to the album. Rated R was an album that showed off Homme and Oliveri's style, the album is a riffy mix of Black Sabbath type rock and elements of punk, but more so on the metal Sabbath side. The album opens with the track "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", a song in which the chorus is a list of drugs. The song was to be seen as a joke by fans, it was a hit in Europe but not released in the US. The song is used by the Colorado Police Department as the song in their instructional video about the consequences of drunk driving. The second track on the album is "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" is easily one of the catchiest QOTSA songs. The song is a mix of a mellow verses and loud dragging chorus' with the lines "What Would You Do, Don't Tell Anyone" repeated over and over. Another interesting track is "Monsters in the Parasol", a song written after an LSD experience; the song came from The Desert Sessions Volume 3 & 4 (Desert Sessions are songs written by a group of musicians that includes Homme, Oliveri and others). Despite getting good reviews, the album didn't do too well commercially.

In 2001/2002, QOTSA began work on their third album, but were once again without a drummer. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters took the job, post-poning his work with the Foo Fighters, even touring briefly with QOTSA. A Perfect Circle member Troy Van Leeuwen joined as second guitarist, Mark Lanegan once again appeared on the album. Songs for the Deaf showed a step up in song structure from the band. "No One Knows" was the first single, it went to number one. It featured the hard-hitting drumming of Dave Grohl along with heavy QOTSA riffs and a bass solo from Oliveri. "Go With the Flow" was another single, that did the band good. The music video features the band riding on the back of a truck and silouhettes of the band. Other interesting songs include "Hanging Tree", "The Sky is Fallin'", and the southern watery sounding "Another Love Song". Overall, the album is a mix of metal, and garage rock. The band also got another drummer during the touring of this album (because Grohl was involved with Foo Fighters), Joey Castillo (drummer of Danzig) took over the job. Songs for the Deaf was the bands biggest commercial success since its beginnings, it went gold.

Homme got involved in a side project in 2004. The band was called Eagles of Death Metal and Homme played drums. The band was formed with friend Jesse "The Devil" Hughes, their first album was called Peace, Love, and Death Metal. In 2006, they released Death By Sexy, and in 2008 a new album is supposed to come out titled Heart On. The band is not a death metal band, they are a mix of garage rock with bluesgrass slide guitar.

In July of 2005, Oliveri was fired from the band. The band got a new bassist Alain Johannes and released Lullabies to Paralyze in March of 2005. The album showed off the bands new wave and punk side, along with a little Black Sabbath thrown in. Songs such as "Medication", "Everybody Knows that You're Insane", and "Skin on Skin" showed off the bands punk side. Other great tracks include the cowbell dominated, and crunchy guitar riffed "Little Sister" and "Burn the Witch". The song featured Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Mark Lanegan on backing vocals and Homme on bass. "In My Head" is a slower, "Go With the Flow" type track. Mark Lanegan can be heard on the opening track "This Lullaby", he no longer tours with the band. People that were expecting another Songs for the Deaf type album were thrown off, the album did not sell as well as it's predecessor; The album debuted at number five on the US charts.

Coming out in June of 2007, Era Vulgaris was the fifth full length album from Queens of the Stone Age. The album once again took the band and fans into a different direction. It was a more dark album, sounding like a mix of Rated R and Lullabies to Paralyze mixing elements of punk, new wave, metal, and rocking out like Songs for the Deaf. "Sick, Sick, Sick" was the first single. It a fast punky rocker featuring guest vocals by Strokes singer Julian Casablancas. Mark Lanegan once again contributed vocals, to harmonies on the track "River in the Road". "3's & 7's" is another punk influenced rocker, along with the climbing "Battery Acid". Other great tracks include the long, but hypnotising "Misfit Love", "Suture Up Your Future", and the heavy hitting "Run, Pig, Run". Finally, the album contains the heavily pop laced track "Make It Wit Chu", a song that came once again from a desert sessions. Overall, the album threw off fans, but it is just as interesting as any QOTSA release; It debuted at number 14 on the US charts.

The Play List:

1. Rezillos - Flying Saucer Attack
2. Plasticines - Shake (Twist Around the Fire)
3. Pointed Sticks - Somebody’s Mom
4. Diodes - Coma
5. Carboard Brains - Can Stress Kill?
6. Strollers - Let Me Come on in
7. The Griefs - Board Out of My Gourd
8. Gruesomes - No More Lies
9. Tricky Woo - Hot Kitty
10. Marble Index - All That I Know
11. The Strokes - The End Has No End
12. Stooges - I Got A Right ! (Alternate Version)
13. Queens of the Stone Age - Monsters in the Parasol
14. Queens of the Stone Age - Tangled Up in Plaid
15. Queens of the Stone Age - Needles in the Camel's Eye
16. Roxy Music - All I Want is You
17. Only Ones - Lovers of Today
18. Subways - City Pavement
19. Ultravox! - Frozen Ones
20. Compulsive Gamblers - I’m That Guy
21. Ride Theory - Alright
22. Ride Theory - Can’t Get it Right
24. Redwalls - Modern Diet
25. The D4 - Out of My Head
26. The D4 - Feel It Like It
26. Carbon/Silicon - What the Fuck
27. XTC - Statue of Liberty

Download Part One of Show 179
Download Part Two of Show 179

QOTSA Videos:

No One Knows (Live 2002)
Monsters in the Parasol (Live 2007)
Go With the Flow (Music Video)
Another Love Song (Live)
Little Sister (Music Video)
Burn the Witch (Live on Leno - Featuring Billy Gibbons)
Sick Sick Sick (Music Video)
3's & 7's (Music Video)
Misfit Love (Live Henry Rollins Show)
Battery Acid (Live Henry Rollins Show)

Ambition...The Story of the Subway Sect...Show #178

Forming in 1976 around the same time bands such as The Clash and Sex Pistols were starting out came a band named Subway Sect. The first original line up of the band contained Vic Godard (real name Vic Napper) on vocals, Rob Symmons on guitar, Paul Meyers on bass, and Paul Packham on drums. The band was formed upon suggestion from Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McClaren who wanted more punk bands for the 100 Club Punk Festival in September of 1976. After four gigs, original drummer Paul Packham left the group and was replaced by Mark Laff, who would leave shortly after joining the Sect to drum for another punk outfit, Generation X; Bob Ward would be the replacement. Despite being thrown into the punk scene with no experience, the band was received well. They opened for the Clash on their 1977 White Riot tour, and opened for Sex Pistols numerous times. The bands sound was a bit different from the punk that was being turned out at the time, their music was a strange mix of loud guitars (in the beginning) and with pop (example: "Ambition"); The band was also managed by Bernie Rhodes who also managed The Clash.

In 1978, Subway Sect released their first single "Nobody's Scared", backed with the song "Don't Split It", both of which were recorded during a John Peel Session. Around this time the group also began work on their debut album, in London. It was supervised by Bernie Rhodes and produced by Mickey Foote (The Clash's soundman). For some strange reason while recording the album, manager Bernie Rhodes fired the entire Subway Sect band except for Godard. The album never got its release except for the single "Ambition" which was released on Rough Trade Records. Other tracks would see the light of day from these sessions, but not all of them. "A Different Story (Rock and Roll Even)" was the B-side to "Ambition", while the song "Paralell Lines" was released with an issue of NME Magazine. The other tracks from this lost album were released on compilations in poor quality, until recently when Goddard released them on some compilations.

Vic Godard formed a second line up of the Sect, but called it Vic Godard and the Subway Sect and in 1980 released an album titled What's The Matter, Boy? Around this time Vic Godard was changing his direction musically being influenced by music such as rockabilly and early rock such as Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran. In 1982, the members of the Sect disbanded to form their own band titled Jo Boxers. Vic Godard continued as a solo artist briefly before retiring from music to become a postman.

In the 90's Godard returned to music releasing several solo albums and in 2002 revived Subway Sect,with the album Sansend. Godard has released several compilations featuring material from his career with Subway Sect and as a solo artist. In 2007, the original members of Subway Sect re-recorded their infamous lost 1978 album, and called it 1978 Now. Vic Godard was a musician that went under the radar, Subway Sect had some great material, but suffered constant line-up changes which would lead to their downfall. The band is a unique group that mixed elements of pop music with the energy and stamina of 1970's punk. For more info on Vic Godard and Subway Sect you can visit this site or their myspace page.

Play List:

1. Johnny Thunders – Subway Train
2. MC5 – Highschool
3. Modern Lovers – Road Runner
4. The Action – TV’s On the Blink
5. Teenage Head – You’re Tearin’ Me Apart
6. Zr04 – Gimme Attention
7. Sex Pistols – No Feelings (outtake)
8. Lurkers – Go Go Go
9. 999 – I’m Alive
10. The Fall – Bingo Master’s Break Out
11. Subway Sect - Nobody's Scared
12. Subway Sect – Parallel Lines
13. Scavengers – Violence
14. The Demics – The 400 Blows
15. Forgotten Rebels – Surfin’ On Heroin
16. Young Canadians – Just a Loser
17. Spiral Scratch – Streetfighter
18. Elbow Beach Surf Club – Surf Theme
19. Radio Birdman – You’re Gonna Miss Me
20. Richard Hell & The Voidoids – I’m Your Man
21. Television – Prove It
22. Wreckless Eric – Reconnez Cherie
23. Bamboo Kids – Right On
24. The Go – Mercurial Girl
25. Ramones – I don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement
26. Buzzcocks – I Can’t Control Myself

Some Videos:

Subway Sect - Live at Rehearsal Rehearsals 1977
Subway Sect - Why Don't You Shoot Me? (Punk Rock Movie 1977)
Vic Godard & The Subway Sect - Keep Our Chains

Somewhere Outside - Ugly Ducklings Story ... Show # 177

Coming from Toronto, Ontario in the mid Sixties (1965), Ugly Ducklings were a garage rock band. The band mixed elements of The Kinks, Yardbirds, The Who, and The Rolling Stones into their music, but were know for delivering some songs with a high energetic punk delivery. The band consisted of Dave Bingham (vocals/guitar), Rodger Mayne (Lead Guitar), Glynn Bell (Rhythm Guitar), John Read (bass), and Robin Boers on drums. The five piece garage outfit scored some success with their debut single "Nothin'" on CHUM- AM radio in Canada. The song itself was a distorted, fast energetic song with punk elements. The bands second hit for CHUM-AM was "Gaslight" a more psychedelic number. The band even opened for the Rolling Stones at Maple Leaf Gardens.

In 1967 the band released Somewhere Outside their first full length album. The album contained the bands first three singles and other songs such as the dirty garage riff filled "Just In Case You Wonder", and the instrumental "Windy City". By 1968, the band split up. It was ironic that at this time Mick Jagger had said that Ugly Ducklings were his favourite Canadian band, but they were no more. In the 70's Rodger Mayne would manage the Canadian punk act The Viletones. In 1980, the band reformed for another album Off The Wall. The band would get a new drummer former Diode member John Hamilton. In 1982, the band released another album this time it was self titled.

Ugly Ducklings have been featured on countless garage rock compilations. In 1998, the bands material got released on CD with bonus tracks. Ugly Ducklings have been said to have been an influence on Canadian punk and rock acts.

Play List:

1. Bo Diddley – I Can Tell
2. Chuck Berry – Around and Around
3. Small Faces – Understanding
4. Ugly Ducklings – Just in Case You Wonder
5. The Event – Pop Think-In
6. The Jam – But I’m Different Now
7. Yardbirds – Heart Full of Soul
8. Velvet Underground – There She Goes Again
9. King Beez – Little Girl
10. The Haunted – 8 O’Clock This Morning
11. Free-For-All - Show Me the Way
12. Don Norman & The Other 4 – Low Man
13. Hot Nasties – I’m a Confused Teenager
14. Neil Young – Walk On
15. Johnny Cash – Guess Things Happen This Way
16. Bob Dylan – Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window
17. The Clash – London’s Burning (Live From Here To Eternity)
18. Saints – One Way Street
19. Elvis Costello – Welcome to the Working Week
20. Devo – Don’t You Know
21. Magazine – TV Baby
22. Iggy Pop – Success
23. The Stranglers - (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
24. Undertones – Get Over You
25. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers – Get Off the Phone
26. Ex-Boyfriends - Her Fathers Clothes
27. The D4 - Invader Ace

Some Videos:

Ugly Ducklings - Gaslight (1967)
Ugly Ducklings - Can't Judge a Book (1968)
Ugly Ducklings - Nothin' (2000)

Show # 176 - 2007 Highlights

This week I played a selection of older material with some of what I thought were the best releases of 2007. The Following are some of my top favourites:

White Stripes - Icky Thump

This is the follow up release to 2005's Get Behind Me Satan. This album picks up where Elephant left off and where Get Behind Me Satan never went. Overall the album is a mix of De Stijl and Elephant White Stripes. The White Stripes also cut their tour short. It appears that they might not tour again, but they may still record. They just released The Conquest EP.

Favourite Tracks:
You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)
Bone Broke
Effect and Cause
White Stripes - Conquest (Music Video)

The Hives - The Black and White Album

This album was the follow up to 2004's Tyrannosaurus Hives, which I loved. Overall, the album isn't as good as the previous two, but I still love it. The song is a mix of rock Hives numbers with experimentation. We hear The Hives do disco and funk, as well as play around with synthesizers and piano. The Hives can still rock like nobody else, they just also tried something else to prevent being stale.

Favourite Tracks:
Hey Little World
You Dress Up For Armageddon
Bigger Hole To Fill
The Hives - Tick Tick Boom (Music Video)

Dead 60s - Time To Take Sides

Dead 60s sophomore release shows them jumping into a more new wave and rock direction and jumping out of the dub/reggae direction of their first self titled release. The album produced by David Kahne (The Strokes) is a good album, there are elements of the old and new Dead 60s here.

Favourite Tracks:
Start A War
All Over By Midnight
Liar

  Dead 60s - Stand Up (Music Video)

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris 

This was the anticipated release following 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze. While the last album seems to have more new wave influences, Era Vulgaris drew in elements of punk and old Queens of the Stone Age (Rated R). Upon first listen I did not like this album, but it is really good filled with awesome Queens of the Stone Age style riffs.

Favourite Tracks:

Sick, Sick, Sick

3's & 7's

                                           Make It Wit Chu

                                           QOTSA - Make It Wit Chu (Music Video)

Other interesting releases of 2007 included Your Favorite Worst Nightmare by Arctic Monkeys and Carbon/Silicon (Mick Jones' new band) Last Post. I also played a new song by Pearl Jam "Santa God" which can be found on the recent 2007 Ten Club Christmas single and Radiohead's "Banger's n' Mash" which can be found on the bonus disc of their new album In Rainbows.

Play List:

1. The Who – Out in the Street
2. Standells – Medication
3. Northwest Company – 8 Hour Day
4. Them – I’m Gonna Dress in Black (Version 1)
5. The Kinks – I Need You
6. Neil Young – Spirit Road
7. Stooges – Greedy Awful People
8. White Stripes – Rag & Bone
9. Young Rival – Dead End Scene
10. The Furies – What Do You Want Me To Do
11. Sinners – No Brains Required
12. Extroverts – Living in Poverty
13. Vertical Struts - Stab, Stab, Stab
14. Gruesomes – Whirlpool
15. Generation X – Friday’s Angels
16. Klark Kent – Thrills
17. Arctic Monkeys – The Bad Thing
18. Fiction Plane – Death Machine
19. The Hives – Try it Again
20. Queens of the Stone Age – Battery Acid
21. Carbon/Silicon – The Whole Truth
22. Radiohead – Bangers n’ Mash
23. Pearl Jam – Santa God
24. Dead 60s – All Over By Midnight
25. Dirty Pretty Things – 9 Lives

Show # 175

Hey I returned this week with my show after being on hiatus for 2 weeks. Be sure to tune in next week for yet another show, and the last show of 2007!!!

The Play List:

1. Elvis Costello & the Attractions – (I don’t want to go to) Chelsea
2. The Diodes – Noise
3. White Stripes – Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine
4. The Saints – No Time
5. Modernettes – Surf City Strangler (Live)
6. Buzzcocks – Boredom
7. Teenage Head – Picture My Face
8. Ugly Ducklings – Nothin'
9. Undertones – You’ve Got My Number So Why Don’t You Use It
10. Dirty Pretty Things – Doctors and Dealers
11. Ramones – I’m Against It
12. Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Blank Generation
13. Dead 60’s – Soul Survivor
14. The Piranhas – Green Don’t Suit Me
15. The Shades – New Clientele
16. Enigmas – Teenage Barnacle
17. The Scavengers – True Love
18. The Features – City Scenes
19. The D4 – Exit to the City
20. The Clash – Car Jamming
21. Iggy Pop – Tell Me a Story
22. The Hives – No Pun Intended
23. Ride Theory – Great White Sharks
24. Television – Guiding Light
25. The Rapture – Crimson Red
26. Pointed Sticks – What Do You Want Me to Do
27. Gang of Four – Damaged Goods

Show # 174

This week I had yet another fill in for the radio show. Chris White host of the show I Am Collecting Beautiful Things did a really good job, playing a lot of new and obscure bands this week; His show is on Thursdays at 2:30-4:00 PM. As for me I should return after next weeks show.

The Play List:

1. Beowulf - Taste The Steel
2. Audionom - And You Said I Was the Only One
3. Fake Cops - Schimatar Fight
4. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - '78 Style
5. Fatal Flying Guilloteens - Charts
6. Backyard Babies - UFO Romeo
7. Bamboo Kids - Caught In New York City
8. The Ex-Boyfriends - 9:30 In The Afternoon
9. Flash Bastard - Street Fight Summer
10. The Black Halos - B.S.F.
11. New Town Animals - Acme Rebel
12. Bell - 12:48
13. The Horrors - Little Victories
14. Verbena - Submissionary
15. Sick Of It All - Insurrection
16. Raincoats - Fairytale In The Supermarket
17. Madcowboys - Rock n Roll
18. Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome - Davidian Branch
19. Sixty Stories - Bails
20. The Pop Shove-Its - Off The Rails
21. Simply Saucer - Little Sally (demo)
22. Small Faces - E To D
23. Hot Snakes - Past Lives
24. Big Black - Bad Penny
25. Zeke - Daytime Dilemma
26. The Rebel Spell - Bring Em In

Show # 173

Hey this week I had a fill-in for my show, Robin of Stage Diving Live! She did an excellent job, her show is on CJAM Thursdays from 6-7 PM. Next week I will have another guest host.

The Play List:

1. Modernettes - Barbra
2. Iggy Pop - Knocking 'Em Down
3. Iggy Pop - Drop A Hook
4. Talking Heads - Sax And Violins
5. Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome - 2 Many babes
6. Diodes - Behind Those Eyes
7. Pixies - Planet Of Sound
8. Flaming Lips - It Overtakes Me
9. LCD Soundsystem - Disco Infiltration
10. Teenage Head - Picture My Face
11. The Cramps - Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?
12. The Cramps - Bikini Girls With Machine Guns
13. Pointed Sticks - Real Thing
14. The Ex-Boyfriends - Chinese New Year in Vancouver
15. The Blind Shake - Been Young
16. Wire - I Am the Fly
17. Ramones - I Wanted Everything
18. Tanore El Pande - Coda Duo
19. Sex Pistols - EMI
20. Primus - John The Fisherman
21. Primus - Golden Boy
22. Magneta Lane - Mare of the Night
23. Electrelane - Spartakiade
24. Polaris - Hey Sandy aka Pete and Pete Intro
25. Magazine - Model Worker
26. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Moods For Moderns
27. Nick Lowe - Heart of the City

I Get Along ...The Libertines Story... Show # 172

The Libertines formed in 2001 and came from England. They were seen as another garage rock band, being lumped into the garage rock revival bands at the time (The Strokes, Vines, Hives), but were a little different. The two main writers of the band were Carl Barat (guitar/vocals) and Pete Doherty (guitar/vocals). Other members joined too, John Hassell (bass) and Gary Powell (drums); Initially the band had a much older drummer, Paul Dufor who was replaced by Powell. The band initally was called The Strands, then considered being called The Albions before settling on The LIbertines; The name came from Marquis de Sade's Lust of the Libertine. The band received critical acclaim from the UK from NME when their first single "What A Waster" entered the UK top 40 Charts, they were labelled the next big thing.

In 2002, Up The Bracket was released. This album was produced by The Clash's Mick Jones. The album also did well chartwise, in the UK. The band would go through numerous fights and arguments, due to Doherty's on going drug problem, which would get more publicity than the bands music. Up The Bracket displayed the Libertines musical style, which was a mix of Brit Pop, Punk, and Mod music. The band came out with an original sound, before they got way over hyped. Barat and Doherty shared song writing credits Ala Lennon and McCartney or Strummer and Jones. Barat's style was more punk and garage influenced while Doherty's was more pop influenced.

As the band toured Doherty's drug problems increased, creating more problems within the band. While in New York in 2003, the band recorded what was known as the Babyshambles Sessions. During this time Barat would leave during the sessions, which were intended to be for the bands second album. The sessions were made available for free via the Internet on a fansite, which was a request made by Doherty himself. The band would then release the single "Don't Look Back" into the Sun", which would reach number 11 on the UK charts. Tensions rised and Doherty broke into Barat's apartment, resulting in his arrest. After serving some time in jail, the band got back together and played a few shows, they would also begin working on material for their second album.

In 2004, The Libertines was released. Again produced by Mick Jones this album would be the last from the band. Doherty proved to be unreliable due to drug related issues and his other band Babyshambles. The band had scheduled gigs, but would have a replacement guitar player for Doherty to make up for his absence, Anthony Rossamando. The band still did well in the UK with the single "Can't Stand Me Now" reaching number 2 on the UK charts, but the band was essentially over. After fulfilling tour commitments, the band called it quits in 2004. Doherty had his other band Babyshambles and Barat would eventually form his new band Dirty Pretty Things in 2005.

The Libertines were a band that could have broken in America, but when the time came they were no more. Dirty Pretty Things released Waterloo to Anywhere in 2006 and Romance At Short Notice in 2008. Babyshambles Doherty's band, has two full length albums Down in Albion, and most recently Shotter's Nation. Barat and Doherty have spoken since the break up and even played a one off gig in April of 2007, but have not reunited. In October of 2007 a best of Libertines compilation was released titled Time For Heroes. For more information on these bands you can visit the Libertines website, Babyshambles website, or the Dirty Pretty Things website.

The Play List:

1. MC5 – Baby won’t Ya
2. Normals – Almost Ready (78 Demo)
3. Undertones – So Close
4. Shades – New Clientele
5. Young Canadians – Well, Well, Well
6. Spys – Underground
7. Sturgeons – Punk Rock Virgins
8. Gun Club – Run Through the Jungle
9. Richard Hell & The Voidoids – You Gotta Lose
10. Television – Elevation
11. Ramones – Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World
12. The Wipers – Let’s Go
13. Ride Theory – the Piper
14. Gruesomes – Hey!
15. Evaporators – Tellin’ Youth the Truth
16. Hentchmen – Psycho Daisies (Alternate Version)
17. Raconteurs – Teenage Kicks (Live)
18. Kasabian – Too Much Too Young
19. Hater – Fever Saint
20. Buzzcocks – Raison D’Etre
21. Libertines - Up the Bracket
22. Libertines - What A Waster
23. Libertines – I Get Along
24. Babyshambles – Delivery
25. Babyshambles - You Talk
26. Dirty Pretty Things – Radio Song
27. The D4 – Little Baby

Libertines Vids:

Up the Bracket (Music Video)
Time For Heroes (Music Video)
I Get Along (Music Video)
Can't Stand Me Now (Live)
What A Waster (Live in Japan)
Don't Look Back into the Sun (Music Video)
In the Studio - Making of Libertines

Carbon/Silicon...Show # 171

In 2002, former Clash guitarist Mick Jones, and former Generation X bassist Tony James formed a new group called Carbon/Silicon. Jones and James previously played together in the London SS in 1975, which spawned three different punk bands (The Clash, Generation X, The Damned). Carbon/Silicon was started due to Internet file sharing, one of the first songs Jones/James wrote was "MPfree" which was available for free online. The band began using samples similar to Mick Jones post Clash band Big Audio Dynamite and had two albums worth of material by 2003. Instead of getting clearance for samples for official release Carbon/Silicon made the songs available for free via a fan website. The releases only available through the Internet were titled, Sample This - Peace, and Dope Factory Boogie.

In 2004, the band made their own official website to distribute their recordings. The band also began playing live shows and encouraged fans to record and share the material. The band also released The Grand Delusion and The Homecoming in 2004; Along with the first two releases these were seen as demo recordings. The band then started functioning more as a rock band and less of a band that used samples. In 2006 came A.T.O.M. (A Twist of Modern) and Western Front. Both releases were the first official releases from the band and they featured new recordings as well as re-recordings of older Carbon/Silicon songs. The band then released The Crackup Suite, which was a mini-album featuring new recordings in March of 2007. A series of EP's came next, The News EP, was the band's first physical released which meant you could actually buy it instead of just downloading it, the same for The Magic Suitcase EP.

Finally recently in 2007, the band released it's first official full length album The Last Post. This was twelve tracks, eleven previously available in different forms on their website, and one new track; The tracks were all remixed by Engineer Bill Price (who worked on London Calling, and Nevermind the Bollocks). Carbon/Silicon is still touring, and the band sounds like a mix of Big Audio Dynamite and The Clash, a different kind of rock not exactly the same as Jones and James previous punk bands, but still good. Also around this time the band got former B.A.D. bassist Leo "E-Zee-Kill" Williams, and Dominic Greensmith of the band Reef on drums. From 2004-2005 William Blake played bass for the band, and Danny The Red played drums. For more info on the band as well as free mp3 downloads visit Carbon/Silicon Inc.

What was played:

1. XTC – Science Friction
2. Rezillos – Top of the Pops
3. The Skids – Into the Valley
4. The Perks – Escape
5. The Sinners – In With the New
6. Spiral Scratch – Jimmy Was a Virus
7. The Saints – Lipstick on Your Collar (One Two Three Four EP)
8. The Saints – One Way Street (One Two Three Four EP)
9. The Saints – Demolition Girl (One Two Three Four EP)

10. The Saints – River Deep Mountain High (One Two Three Four EP)
11. Replacements – I Will Dare
12. 63 Monroe – Media Junkie
13. Lowlife – Thinking Naturally
14. Animal Kingdom – Tension
15. Public Image Limited – Swan Lake
16. Klark Kent – Office Girls
17. Subway Sect – Ambition
18. Elvis Costello – Welcome to the Working Week
19. Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World
20. Redwalls – Hangman
21. The Charms – Don't Let Me Down
22. Neil Young – Dirty Old Man
23. The Hives – Won’t Be Long
24. Dead 60s – Prime Time
25. Carbon/Silicon – The News
26. The Clash - What's My Name

Download Part One of Show 171
Download Part Two of Show 171

Carbon/Silicon Videos:

The News
What The Fuck?
Tell It Like It Is
Mpfree
Gangs of England
Soylent Green
Why Do Men Fight? (Live Isle of Wight Festival 2007)

Disgusteens - The Teenage Head Story ... Show # 170

Teenage Head was a band that formed in 1976, in Hamilton, Ontario. The band took their name from Flamin' Groovies song. The band consisted of Frankie Venom (real name Frank Kerr) (vocals), Gord Lewis (guitar), Steve Mahon (bass), and Nick Stipanitz on drums. The band is often called the Canadian Ramones or Canada's answer to the Ramones, but in fact they had more of a rockabilly and 50's/60's rock influence than Ramones. Their influences ranged from punk bands and CBGB's bands, to Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Elvis Presley, and Rolling Stones. The bands first single was released in 1978, it was titled "Picture My Face". The song itself was a jittery punk influenced track. The band's first self titled album was released in 1979.

Teenage Head showed off the band's different style with influences ranging from Ramones-type punk to 50's/60's rock and roll. The album was recorded and produced by Teenage Head and Alan Cady, it was seen as a rough sounding recording. Despite what many people saw as a poorly recorded album, it contained excellently crafted songs and did get some airplay on radio.  It is seen as a Canadian punk/new wave classic. It was the band's live shows that drew in more of a fan base. In 1980, the band released their second album Frantic City, they also signed to a new label Attic Records. The album generated more airplay for the band with songs such as "Let's Shake" and "Something On My Mind". In June of 1980, the band played a concert at Ontario Place in Toronto, that turned into a riot due to fans being denied access to the concert. This little incident in turn gave the band publicity, which resulted in better sales of Frantic City, driving the album to go gold. During this time with all this publicity surrounding the band, Attic Records set up some shows in New York City in hopes of getting an American record deal.

Two days before the band was to head to New York for their series of shows, guitarist Gord Lewis was injured in a car accident, resulting in cancellation of the shows. He would be replaced during his recovery by guitarist David Bendeth. In 1982, Lewis returned and the band recorded and released their third album, Some Kinda Fun. The album featured the catchy "Let's Go To Hawaii", and songs that reflected their early days lyrics-wise such as "Teenage Beer Drinkin' Party". In 1983, The Tornado EP was released on the American record label MCA. The EP showed off the band's rockabilly roots more than any of their previous releases. MCA forced the band to change its name to Teenage Heads, in hopes of bringing in more of an American audience; it did not work. The band would release Trouble in the Jungle in 1985, after this release the band would gain a new singer Dave Rave (Dave DeRoches) who joined the band as a fifth member around 1985. Can't Stop Shakin' EP came in 1987, and the full length Electric Guitar in 1988, which spelled the end for the band. Dave Rave would form his own group after this the Dave Rave Conspiracy. Three of the original members of Teenage Head, Venom, Lewis, and Mahon returned in 1995 for a tour and a new album in 1998 (Head Disorder); Their new drummer was Jack Pedler. The band has continued to tour, and in 2004 re-recorded some material with Marky Ramone on drums. On October 15th, 2008 Frankie Venom (real name Frank Kerr) passed away after a battle with throat cancer. For more info on the band visit Teenage Head's Official website.

You can also check out the show I did entirely on the band Teenage Head here.

Canadian Play List:

1. Ugly Duckings – nothin’
2. Vindicators – hate
3. Demics – the least you can do
4. 49th Parallel – citizen freak
5. Modernettes – suicide club
6. Danko Jones - bounce
7. The Action – TV’s on the blink
8. Bureaucrats – she’s an American
9. Zr04 – gimme attention
10. Slander – petticoat junction
11. Gruesomes – I’m searchin’
12. Pointed Sticks – nothing else to do (1980 demo)
13. Pointed Sticks – part of the noise (1980 demo)
14. Scramblers – solitary man
15. The Government – fire escape
16. Diodes – burn down your daddy’s house
17. The Vapids - capguns and comic books
18. Teenage Head – top down (new alternate version)
19. Teenage Head – infected
20. Teenage Head – fist to face
21. Marble Index – anytime
22. Ride Theory – Genghis con artist
23. Ride Theory – dead radio love
24. Young Rival – dead end scene
25. Neil Young – song x
26. The Pack AD - goldrush
27. Sloan - On the Road Again/Transona Five (Canned Heat/Stereo Lab Cover)

Teenage Vids:

Some Kinda Fun
Luv for Sale
Infected & Teenage Beer Drinkin' Party
Interview from the 80's

Your New Favourite Band, The Hives...Show # 169

Coming from Fagersta, Sweden, The Hives formed in 1993. Getting their name from a random page in the dictionary, The Hives consist of Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (vocals), Nicholaus Arson (also the brother of Pelle) (guitar), Vigilante Carlstroem (guitar), Dr. Matt Destruction (bass) and Chris Dangerous on drums. They are also believed to be under the guidance of Randy Fitzsimmons (who is rumoured to be Nicholaus Arson). Fitzsimmons is said to be the one who got The Hives to form a band. The band who is known for their high energy punk/garage sound, started off more in the hardcore direction of punk. In 1994, a demo tape was made called Sounds Like Sushi. The band then got signed to Burning Heart Records, and in 1996 released their first official release, the Oh Lord! When? How? EP. The EP still sounded hardcore influenced, but the band was still finding their sound. The songs had peculiar titles such as "Some People Know All Too Well How Bad Liquorice, Or Any Candy For That Matter, Can Taste When Having Laid Out In The Sun Too Long - And I Think I Just Ate Too Much", and "Bearded Lady", but it had it's moments.

In 1997, The Hives released their first full length album on Burning Heart Records, Barely Legal. Named after an early stage name for guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem, It was a high energy fuelled cocky, punk inspired album. Songs such as "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T" showed off the Hives new emerging style, but influences such as The Misfits, Circle Jerks and other bands of that nature seemed to have influenced the band greatly. The album is as good as any Hives album, it is raw, fast, energetic, it lasts just a little over 27 minutes long and there are 14 songs on it. Other interesting tracks include "Well, Well, Well", "Hail Hail Spit n' Drool", and "Here We Go Again". The band then went on their first US tour and in 1998 released another EP, the A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T EP. This EP contained five songs including "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T". Some US pressings of the album contained a version of the song "Numbers" (originally done by The Adicts). It also contained an early version of the song "Outsmarted", a song that would appear on the bands next full length album.

In 2000, Veni Vidi Vicious was released; The title is a play on the words "Veni Vidi Vici", from Julius Caesar, which meant, I came, I saw, I conquered. The album was different from its predecessor, it featured a more garage rock sound, but at the same time maintains a punk energy. The band gave a quote to describe it as "A velvet glove with brass knuckles, both brutal and sophisticated at the same time". The album generated interest and after seeing the "Hate to Say I Told You So" music video, the band was offered a deal with Poptones in 2001. A best of compilation was released in the UK titled Your New Favourite Band in 2001. The compilation featured songs from the bands first two albums, B-sides, and songs from the A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T EP. It went to #7 on the UK charts. The band then re-released their singles "Hate To Say I Told You So" and "Main Offender"; the album Veni Vidi Vicious was also re-released in the US in 2002. It is also important to mention the Hives uniforms. The band wear a combination of black and white suits, which they started to take more serious around Veni Vidi Vicious, it helped created more of a stage presence for the band.

As for the actual music, the album was 28 minutes long featuring 12 songs. I got the album for $2 used at a record store in 2002 and have been hooked on the band ever since. The album contained songs such as "Main Offender", "Die, Alright!", "Supply and Demand", and many other great tracks. It also features a cover song "Find Another Girl" a slower song, originally by Curtis Mayfield. Following a tour and success due to "Hate To Say I Told You So" (#23 in the UK, and # 6 in the US), the band would re-enter the studio in 2003. They also signed a deal with Universal (said to be around $12 Million), which got them involved in a legal battle with their previous label Burning Heart, who still said they were on contract for one more album.

In 2004, dressed in old fashioned black and white southern suits, The Hives returned with their third album Tyrannosaurus Hives. This time The Hives took on more of a Devo inspired edge to their song writing, creating an excellent album lasting 29 minutes and 59 seconds, containing 12 songs. When making the album the band said they wanted it to sound like Kraftwerk meets the Sex Pistols. The sound of the album is more refined, and in a more new wave atmosphere, but that doesn't mean it doesn't rock. The album contains songs such as "Abra Cadaver", "No Pun Intended","Dead Quote Olympics" and "Missing Link", which are easily some of the best songs the band has ever recorded. The first single for the album was "Walk Idiot Walk" a short and snappy song that can be compared to The Who's "Can't Explain"; The song itself debuted at # 13 on the UK charts and # 19 on the US modern rock charts. The second single from the album "Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones", is more fast paced track than "Walk Idiot Walk", it cracked the top fifty, putting the band in the charts yet again. The song itself featured the double guitar attack of Vigilante Carlstroem and Nicholaus Arson along with the hard hitting repetitive drumbeat supplied by Chris Dangerous. Other great songs include the slower, but equally as good songs "Diabolic Scheme", and "A Little More for You"; The songs can be described as being new wave and soul inspired.

Tyrannosaurus Hives also spawned many B-sides some just as good as the songs on the actual album such as "Hives Meet the Norm", "Gene Pool Convulsions", "Keel Hauling Class of 89", and two cover songs "Little Lil'", and "Born to Cry". It is also important to mention that on the back of the album cover of Tyrannosaurus Hives there are six pairs of legs, indicating that Randy Fitzsimmions is there. In 2004, Your New Favourite Band was released America, it had the same track listing as the 2001 UK release, but it also came with a DVD. On this DVD there are various full live performances such as MTV $2 Bill, and some Music Videos. In 2005, the band released a DVD Tussles in Brussels which was a live performance of the band, featuring music videos and UK TV appearances. The band also released a new mixed version of "A Little More for You" featuring an organ. After extensive touring the band would begin to work on material for their next album.

Despite making some appearances at various festivals The Hives focused on recording for much of 2006/2007. Deciding not to record the whole album in Sweden the band worked with different producers, mostly American. The band worked with Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse), Jacknife Lee (U2, Green Day, Bloc Party), and Pharell Williams. The band was said to have 20-30 songs recorded, and hoping to release the extras as B-sides. The band also worked with rap artist Timbaland and released the collaboration "Throw It On Me". Their newest album titled The Black and White Album, was released in the UK on October 15th, 2007, and on November 13th in the US/Canada.

The albums first single is "Tick Tick Boom" a fast stop and start song similar to the classic Hives format. The second single from the album is "Try it Again" a rocker that has a breakdown in the middle similar to the "Hey Mickey Your So Fine" song (originally by Toni Basil), with cheerleaders. The album is much more produced than the bands previous efforts, and shows the band expanding their sound with synthesizers, organs, piano, and funk; It is also the longest Hives album to date clocking in at just over 45 minutes. "You Got It All...Wrong" is a catchy track that can be compared to a song from Tyrannosaurus Hives. "Well Alright!" (a song with a swing to it) and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S" (disco and funk) were produced by Pharrell and shows a of change in attitude for the band. "It Won't Be Long" can be compared to the Ramones song "Pet Semetary", and is easily one of the best songs on The Black and White Album. Other great tracks include "Hey Little World" (a song premiered live in 2006), "Square One Here I Come" (a riffy masterpiece) and The Richard Hell-ish "You Dress Up For Armageddon". The album also contains strange material such as the glitchy, Devo-ish "Giddy Up!", the haunting "A Stroll Through Hives Manor Corridors", and "Puppet on a String" a piano track with creepy vocals. The album ends with the catchy "Bigger Hole to Fill" that leaves you wanting to hear more.

The Hives influences range from punk Sex Pistols, Misfits, Stooges, to James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Devo, Kraftwerk, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Sonics, and The Kinks. They are a great energetic interesting band from Sweden, and a band that still show that Rock no matter which way describe it, is still alive and kicking.

Hives Playlist:

1. Howlin’ Pelle Talks to the Kids (Veni Vidi Vicious B-Side 2000)
2. Cellblock (Oh Lord! When? How? EP 1996)
3. A.K.A I-D-I-O-T (Barely Legal 1997)
4. Barely Homosapien (Instant Assholes Compilation 1999)
5. Hey Little World (Black and White Album 2007)
6. Stop and Think It Over (Compulsive Gamblers Cover) (Live Rock Am Ring 2003)
7. Abra Cadaver (Tyrannosaurus Hives 2004)
8. You Got it All…Wrong (Black and White Album 2007)
9. Here We Go Again (Barely Legal 1997)
10. Black Jack (Barely Legal 1997)
11. Die, Alright! (Veni Vidi Vicious 2000)
12. Main Offender (Veni Vidi Vicious 2000)
13. No Pun Intended (Tyrannosaurus Hives 2004)
14. Missing Link (Tyrannosaurus Hives 2004)
15. You Dress Up for Armageddon (Black and White Album 2007)
16. Uptempo Venomous Poison (Barely Legal 1997)
17. The Stomp (Barely Legal 1997)
18. B is for Brutus (Tyrannosaurus Hives 2004)
19. Love in Plaster (Tyrannosaurus Hives 2004)
20. The Hives – Declare Guerre Nucleaire (Veni Vidi Vicious 2000)
21. Find Another Girl (Veni Vidi Vicious 2000)
22. Keel Hauling Class of 89 (Tyrannosaurus Hives B-Side 2004)
23. Lost and Found (Saints Cover) (Veni Vidi Vicious B-Side 2000)
24. Hives Meet the Norm (Tyrannosaurus Hives B-Side 2004)
25. Well Alright! (Black and White Album 2007)
26. T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S (Black and White Album 2007)
27. Supply and demand (Veni Vidi Vicious 2000)
28. Uptight (Tyrannosaurus Hives B-Side 2004)
29. A Little More for You (new mix) (Tyrannosaurus Hives - A Little More For You Single 2005)
30. The Hives are Law, You Are Crime (Your New Favourite Band 2001)
31. Bigger Hole to Fill (Black and White Album 2007)

Hives Videos:

Tick Tick Boom (Music Video)
Abra Cadaver (Music Video)
A Little More for You (Music Video)
Walk Idiot Walk (Music Video)
Die, Alright! (Music Video)
Hate To Say I Told You So (Music Video)
A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T (Music Video)
Stop and Think It Over (Live Rock AM Ring 2003)
Two Timing Touch and Broken Bones (Live in New York)
Try It Again (Live)
You Dress Up for Armageddon (Live August 2007)
Hey Little World (Live August 2007)
Genepool Convulsions (Live Hurricane 2006)
Main Offender (Live Jules Holland)
Supply and Demand (Live Paris 2004)

The EP Show, Show # 168

This week my show consisted of me playing some of my favourite EP's in full. I played seven in total, I will talk about each of them briefly.

Spiral Scratch was a four song EP released by the Manchester band Buzzcocks in 1976. This was the original line up of the band featuring Howard Devoto on vocals. He would leave shortly after this EP and eventually lead the band Magazine. Spiral Scratch was also one of the first independently financed releases without the help of an official record company. In turn it influenced thousands of bands to make the their own music, bringing the punk do-it-yourself motto to different levels.

Undertones released the Teenage Kicks EP in 1978. The Irish, Derry band did it initially hoping to release nothing else, emulating the Buzzcocks to a degree. The EP did so well they were offered to record further albums, which they did. It contained four fast energetic compositions, including "Teenage Kicks" which can be called their own version of "Blitzkrieg Bop".

The Demics were a band from London, Ontario. In 1979 the Talk's Cheap EP was released containing five songs including, "New York City" one of the their signature songs and voted as one of the best Canadian songs of all time. Invasion of the Tribbles came from the Calgary band, The Hot Nasties in 1980. The band split in 1981. Warren Kinsella (one of the members) is now a politician.

The Cost of Living EP was produced and recorded by Bill Price and The Clash in 1979. The 7" EP came in between the US release of their first self titled album, and London Calling. It featured "I Fought the Law" (a cover song), "Groovy Times" (an acoustic track), "Gates of the West" ( a song originally written by Mick Jones, but the lyrics were re-written by Joe Strummer), and "Capital Radio Two (a re-recording of the song "Capital Radio"). It showed a direction the band would be going into, a more American rock oriented one.

The Yellow EP was released by the new wave/post-punk British band, Gang of Four. Coming out in 1980, the songs were politically charged and some of them would appear re-recorded for their next full length album Solid Gold. The last track on the EP was a B-side to the single "Damaged Goods". The album had no name, but since it was yellow, it became known as the Yellow EP. The D4 EP was originally released in 1999 by the New Zealand band The D4. It featured four high-energy rock and roll numbers ("Come On!"would appear on the first full length album, 6twenty). The EP also featured drummer Rich Mixture, who would leave shortly after this release to be in the band the Rock and Roll Machine; Vaughn Williams would be his replacement for the remainder of the bands career. The band went on hiatus in June of 2006, it is a shame that band this good is no longer around.

Next week I will be doing a show dedicated entirely to the Swedish punk outfit, The Hives. I plan on playing songs from every album, B-sides and rare Hives stuff. Also, I plan on playing some new tracks from their newest release The Black and White Album. If you are a Hives fan, leave a comment and make a request, I will play it.

The Play List:

1. Buzzcocks – Breakdown (Spiral Scratch 1976)
2. Buzzcocks – Time’s Up (Spiral Scratch 1976)
3. Buzzcocks – Boredom (Spiral Scratch 1976)
4. Buzzcocks – Friends of Mine (Spiral Scratch 1976)
5. Undertones - Teenage Kicks (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
6. Undertones - Smarter Than U (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
7. Undertones - True Confessions (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
8. Undertones - Emergency Cases (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
9. The Demics – I Wanna Know (Talk's Cheap 1979)
10. The Demics - You Tell Me (Talk's Cheap 1979)
11. The Demics - Talk’s Cheap (Talk's Cheap 1979)
12. The Demics - New York City (Talk's Cheap 1979)
13. The Demics - Oh Well (Talk's Cheap 1979)
14. The Clash - I Fought the Law (Cost of Living EP 1979)
15. The Clash – Groovy Times (Cost of Living EP 1979)
16. The Clash - Gates of the West (Cost of Living EP 1979)
17. The Clash – Capital Radio (Cost of Living EP 1979)
18. Hot Nasties – I Am a Confused Teenager (Invasion of the Tribbles 1980)
19. Hot Nasties – Invasion of the Tribbles (Invasion of the Tribbles 1980)
20. Hot Nasties – the Secret of Immortality (Invasion of the Tribbles 1980)
21. Gang of Four – Outside the Trains Don’t Run On Time (Yellow EP 1980)
22. Gang of Four – He’d Send in the Army (Yellow EP 1980)
23. Gang of Four – It’s Her Factory (Yellow EP 1980)
24. Gang of Four – Armalite Rifle (Yellow EP 1980)
25. The D4 – Girl (The D4 EP 1999)
26. The D4 – Come On! (The D4 EP 1999)
27. The D4 – Outta Blues (The D4 EP 1999)
28. The D4 – What U Want (The D4 EP 1999)

Some Videos:

Buzzcocks - Breakdown 1976
Undertones - Teenage Kicks
The Clash - I Fought the Law (Live 1979)
Gang of Four - To Hell With Poverty (1983)
The D4 - Out of Control

Album Enders Show # 167 & CJAM Pledge Drive Show

Hey this week is CJAM's annual pledge drive. As for my show I gave it a theme, album enders. I intended every song played to be one that ended an album, but I actually played one song that didn't end an album by mistake, but it all worked out pretty good. The next couple of shows will all have themes as well. Next week I will be doing what I'm calling an EP show. I will be playing some of my favourite EP's in full.

Back to the CJAM pledge drive. CJAM does a pledge drive to raise money for the station, because it is a non-profit radio station. We are calling this years pledge drive the "drive for hard drives". CJAM needs to upgrade their out of date computers, so it will benefit you the listener, especially if you listen online it will be to your benefit. I managed to raise $150 for my show last night!, but you can still make a donation, it would benefit the station greatly (until October, 29th 2007). Also, in return for your donation you will receive a variety of incentives such as CD'S, mugs, T-shirts, toques, and more. You can call us at (519) 971-3630 (in Windsor) or Toll Free (313) 963-6112 ext.3630 (in Detroit) or you can donate online. For more info on how you can donate visit CJAM's website.

The Play List:

1. Ride Theory – hey sugar (In This City 2005)
2. Buzzcocks – moving away from the pulsebeat (Another Music in a Different Kitchen 1978)
3. Radio Birdman – hit them again (Radio's Appear 1978)
4. Buzzcocks - orgasm addict
5. Damned – smash it up pts 1 & 2 (Machine Gun Etiquette 1979)
6. Queens Of The Stone Age – run, pig, run (Era Vulgaris 2007)
7. Iggy Pop – Billy is a runaway (New Values 1979)


Since I really didn't have any music related history this week, I updated two of my older posts. You can check them out here:

White Stripes Update
Stooges Update
Generation X Update

Paranoid Androids...The Radiohead Story & Show # 166

Coming from Oxford in England, Radiohead formed in 1986/87 and were originally known as On A Friday. The band was a band of friends that formed while students in school. Tom Yorke would serve as the vocalist/guitarist, Jonny Greenwood on the guitar (also a multi-talented instrumentalist), Colin Greenwood took on the bass, Ed O'Brien on guitar as well, and finally Phil Selway provides the drums. Various members of the band would attend University and upon completion they would get more involved into their music. In 1992, the band released the Drill EP. The four track EP was their first major release for EMI; Also the band would change their name to Radiohead, which came from the title of a Talking Heads song of the same name. Two of the songs from the Drill EP were re-recorded for the bands first album Pablo Honey.

In late 1992, the group released the single "Creep" which would be found on their first full length album Pablo Honey. Written while at University by Thom Yorke, the song tells the story of a man who follows a woman around and then thinks he is her. The actual song would become a huge hit for the band in America, but was initially not favoured in the UK (it was removed from BBC 1's play list twice; they said it was too depressing). The song would help make the album Pablo Honey a success. Coming out in 1993, the album itself was a heavy rock album with lots of distortion. It came off sounding like a mix of the Pixies, REM, and The Smiths. The success of "Creep" caused some critics to label Radiohead as another one hit wonder. They would also write a reaction to this in song form for their next album, the song would be called "My Iron Lung". For a while, the band would refuse to play the song at their live, shows, they begin to play it again starting in 2001.

In 1995, The Bends was released. This album saw the band reinventing their sound, but still keeping its edge. This time the band would draw in further influences such as Pink Floyd and U2. The band would bring in more acoustic guitar and keyboards. The album at first, did poorly but would pick up after the video for the single "Just" was released. The song was seen as a tribute to the post-punk band Magazine who the band was largely influenced by at the time. The album also showed off the bands experimental side (which would be a taste of the direction the band would lead in the future) with songs such as "Planet Telex"(originally titled "Planet Xerox"), "High and Dry" (originally recorded during the Pablo Honey sessions, but wasn't used), and "Street Spirit (fade out) (inspired by the novel The Famished Road)". The actual album titled The Bends, is reference to a form of depression sickness. It would be a theme prevalent on the album, and pertaining to the bands career at the time. A B-side recorded during the session for the song "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", is regarded as one of the best B-sides ever released by the band. "Talk Show Host" was Radiohead experimenting and being produced by Nigel Godrich, someone who would take on producing duties for the rest of the bands albums. After touring, the band would enter the studio to record OK Computer, which is regarded by many as the best album from the band.


Ok Computer debuted at # 1 in the UK and # 21 in the US in 1997. The album would be produced by Nigel Godrich and was recorded in Oxford away from the city. The album showed yet another direction for the band one they would continue to build on and it would also give them a more unique sound. Musically the band stripped down their rock sound and experimented with weird atonal, and electronic textures, that can be compared to the likes of the strange material found on Beach Boys Pet Sounds and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and post-punk music. Songs such as "Paranoid Android" which was influenced by The Beatles "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and DJ Shadow, showed the bands new innovative style. Other great tracks include "Karma Police" which came from a inside joke within the band, "Electioneering" influenced by the writings of Noam Chomsky, and "Airbag". The album was a stand out album in the 90's and still is today.

The band would then take a little break in 1998, and regroup in 1999 to begin work on their next album. During this time Yorke would go through writers block and the band and him would argue over the direction to take the band in next. During the sessions the band came up with 30 songs, which would be spread out over two albums and through B-sides. Musically the band would reinvent themselves jumping in the experimental ambient electronic direction and not sounding rock at all really; The band would cite influences such as Can, Miles Davis, and Remain in Light era Talking Heads. The album Kid A debuted at # 1 in the US and had no singles or videos. Some of the interesting tracks included "How to Completely Disappear" about the struggles of the acclaim that came with OK Computer, "National Anthem" an electronic and jazz influenced track, the ambient and jazz themed "Everything is in the Right Place", and "In Limbo" which makes reference to the writings of Dante, while featuring complex guitar rhythms and textures.

In 2001 Amnesiac was released. Debuting at #1 in Canada/USA and # 2 in the UK, Amnesiac contained tracks that were created at the same time as Kid A. Some initially mistake the album as leftover outtakes or B-sides from Kid A, but as the band stressed, it was a different album. Amnesiac featured the same strange ambient electronic influence of Kid A, but also brought in more guitar on the songs and featured more of a jazz influence. The band released a single this time, "Pyramid Song". The song was a piano ballad seemingly influenced by the Charles Mingus song "Freedom". "I Might Be Wrong" was a more guitar oriented track in drop D tuning, and was released as a radio only single before the album was released (it was also recorded live and released with other songs on the I Might Be Wrong EP in 2001). "Knives Out" was more pop oriented and said to be influenced by The Smiths. Other interesting tracks include "Dollars & Cents" which makes reference to the Seattle protest against the World Trade Organization, and "Life in a Glasshouse".

After embarking on a tour, in 2003 Hail To The Thief was released. This album was a mix of the electronic influences of the band with the more rock influences creating a unique album. Months before its release it leaked onto the Internet, but when it was released in stores people noticed differences in the songs. For example, "I Will" featuring no introduction and "The Gloaming" was shorter than the leaked version. Many confused the title of the album to be a political knock at the George W. Bush campaign, but in fact made reference to John Quincy Adams which was heard in a discussion on BBC Radio 4 by Yorke. "2 + 2 = 5" is obviously a reference to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the actual music builds up to an excellent rock fury. The album's first single was the Can influenced "There There" that lyrically was inspired by the kids TV show Bagpuss, as was it's music video. "Go To Sleep" was an acoustic track that was influenced by Talking Heads, while "Myxomatosis" was a heavy distorted track that breaks off and slows down with the drum beats. The lyrical reference of the song is about a disease that was introduced to help control the rabbit population in Britain. Hail To The Thief turned out to be mixing the old with the new, while Yorke sang with the fury and anger of a British punk.

n 2005, the band began work on a new album even playing a large majority of the new songs at live shows in 2006, but they no longer had a record contract with EMI. Initially starting with producer Mark Stent, the band would switch to their usual producer Nigel Godrich in late 2006. The band took their time recording this album, they had no contractual obligations to worry about. On October 10th, 2007 the band released the album digitally via their website and nowhere else. Also fans could pay whatever they wanted for it, even if the price was nothing. In December of 2007 fans can get what is known as a discbox which features a CD and vinyl version of the album as well as a CD and vinyl version of a collection of bonus tracks. Known as In Rainbows, the album is an experimental album that sounds like a mix of Kid A with OK Computer at times.

The album starts off with "15 Step" a song that has a dancy drumbeat, but guitar work that sounds like it is from OK Computer. "Bodysnatchers" is a rock track that sounds like it could be from The Bends era Radiohead. Other cool tracks include the odd "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" which features backwards harp, "Jigsaw Falling into Place" an acoustic "Paranoid Android" type song, and the piano ballad "Videotape" which ends the album. Radiohead have come a long way from being an alternative British band that sounded grungy, they have become a unique sparse sounding group who have kept all original members since starting out. The bands influences range from Elvis Costello, The Smiths, Joy Division, Magazine, The Pixies, REM, Miles Davis, Public Image Limited, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys to name a few.

Next week CJAM will be doing it's annual Pledge Drive. For more info please visit the CJAM website.

The Play List:

1. Cheap Trick – he’s a whore
2. Diodes – red rubber ball
3. Young Canadians – where were you?
4. Crash 80's - waiting for the heat
5. The Dogs – john rock n’ roll Sinclair
6. Stooges – I’m fried
7. Sex Pistols – did you no wrong
8. Collectors – we can make it
9. Northwest Company – hard to cry
10. Lou Reed – I’m so free
11. Gun Club – she’s like heroin to me
12. Unknowns – teenage terrorist
13. Gentlemen of Horror – overhead projector
14. Skids – the saints are coming
15. The Clash – pressure drop (alternate version)
16. Pointed Sticks – waiting for the real thing
17. Subway Sect – ambition
18. Stranglers – sometimes
19. XTC – science friction
20. Talking Heads – psycho killer (take 1)/can’t you hear my heartbeat )
21. Radiohead – bodysnatchers
22. The Hives - square one here I come
23. The Hives – fall is just something that grownups invented

Radiohead Videos:

High and Dry (2 Meter Session)
Just (Music Video)
Street Spirit (Fade Out)(Music Video)
Airbag (Live Jools Holland 1997)
Paranoid Android (Later with Jools Holland Live 1997)
Paranoid Android (Music Video)
Karma Police (Music Video)
2+2=5 (Live on Letterman)
Go To Sleep (MTV 2 Dollar Bill)
There There (Live Jools Holland)
Bangers n' Mash (Live Amsterdam 2006)
Down is the New Up