Leonard Cohen Radio Special & Show # 636

Montreal singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen initially started out his career as a poet and novelist. He released several books of poetry and novels, his first being Let Us Compare Mythologies in 1956 prior to being known as a musician. Although he had always loved and became involved in poetry, Cohen played guitar and was even in a country and western band called the Buckskin Boys in his youth. In 1967, Cohen moved to the US in order to pursue a career as a folk singer due to his lack of financial success as a writer. He became involved with the Andy Warhol factory crowd. His song “Suzanne” was the song that started him on the course to be a musical artist in a more serious capacity. Judy Collins covered this song and it became a hit for her. This brought Cohen to the attention of John Hammond, who initially was going to produce Cohen’s first album for Columbia Records, but when he got sick during the recording sessions, Hammond was replaced by John Simon to produce the record. Songs Of Leonard Cohen was released in December of 1967.

Songs Of Leonard Cohen contained songs such as “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye”, “Master Song”, “Sisters Of Mercy” and “So Long, Marianne”, Cohen’s next album Songs From A Room featured a slightly different approach. Released in 1969, this album would feature one of his best-known songs “Bird On A Wire”. The song was inspired by his time living in Hydra, in Greece. At the time he was living there, telephone poles were being installed for the first time there and birds would sit on the lines. This is part of what inspired the music to this song. It was also inspired, along with a few other songs such as “So Long, Marianne”, by his Marianne Ihlen, Cohen’s girlfriend while living in Greece and his muse. The version of this song that appears on 1969’s Songs From A Room features a simple production style and does not feature drums. The songs on this album are notable for their simple production style, which differed from the recordings of Bob Dylan, who had also been produced by Bob Johnston. In 1971, Johnston once again produced Cohen for his album, Songs Of Love & Hate. This album was grittier, lyrically and musically and featured compositions such as “Avalanche”, “Joan Of Arc”, “Famous Blue Raincoat” and the dirty rock oriented track “Diamonds In The Mine”.

Leonard Cohen continued to record albums and even write poetry. In 1984 he released Various Positions. Initially declared as not good enough by his record company, Various Positions would contain not only one of Cohen’s most famous compositions, but a song that has been covered by too many artists to name. That song was “Hallelujah”. He worked with Phil Spector on 1977’s Death Of A Ladies Man and in 1988, he released the synth rock oriented album I’m Your Man. Leonard Cohen returned to the live stage after not performing for many years in 2010. Live and studio albums followed. In October of 2016, at the age of 82 Leonard Cohen released You Want It Darker. An album produced with his son Adam Cohen.

Cohen’s songs resonate with people on a different level in a similar way that the music and lyrics of Bob Dylan do. The comparisons between Cohen is something that does come up often, but their music stands on their own as both separate and unique in their own ways. Leonard Cohen’s songs have been said to focus on themes of sadness. Dylan himself in a recent New Yorker article said that he sees “No disenchantment in his songs” and while there are definitely elements of the macabre found in Cohen’s lyrics that is not all that is there in the music. There is much more than that. Like a story that can be re-read and new details found, Cohen’s music is much more than music that focuses on sadness. Other subjects that often pop up in Cohen’s lyrics are religion, sexuality, isolation and politics among other things. The lyrics feature layers that demand repeat listens, and this is something that has stayed constant in all of Cohen’s albums, regardless of when they were released.

For this episode of Revolution Rock, along with my co-host Adam, we did a program that featured the music of Leonard Cohen. One song is played from each of his studio albums, some live recordings and other nuggets. We also expand on many of the themes in the above article and elaborate more on certain elements of Leonard Cohen’s music. You can download/listen to this episode in the link below the playlist.

Leonard Cohen Playlist:

1. Leonard Cohen - Thousands (Book Of Longing - 2006)
2. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker (You Want It Darker - 2016)
3. Leonard Cohen - Story Of Isaac (Songs From A Room - 1969)
4. Leonard Cohen - There Is A War (New Skin For The Old Ceremony - 1974)
5. Leonard Cohen - Blessed Is The Memory (Songs Of Leonard Cohen Outtake - 1967/2007)
6. Leonard Cohen - Memories (Death Of A Ladies Man - 1977)
7. Leonard Cohen - Diamonds In The Mine (Songs Of Love & Hate - 1971)
8. Leonard Cohen - Dance Me To The End Of Love (Various Positions - 1984)
9. Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows (I'm Your Man - 1988)
10. Leonard Cohen - There For You (Dear Heather - 2004)
11. Leonard Cohen - Slow (Popular Problems - 2014)
12. Leonard Cohen - Different Sides (Old Ideas - 2012)
13. Leonard Cohen - The Future (The Future - 1992)
14. Leonard Cohen - That Don't Make It Junk (Ten New Songs - 2001)
15. Leonard Cohen - The Guests (Recent Songs - 1979)
16. Leonard Cohen - Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye (Songs Of Leonard Cohen - 1967)
17. Leonard Cohen - Bird On A Wire (Live 1968) (Live At The BBC 1968)
18. Leonard Cohen - Red River Valley (Live 1979) (The Other Leonard Cohen Album - 2010)
19. Leonard Cohen - Fingerprints (Death Of A Ladies Man - 1977)
20. Leonard Cohen - Who By Fire (New Skin For The Old Ceremony - 1974)
21. Leonard Cohen - Travelling Light (You Want It Darker - 2016)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 22.

All Vinyl Episode, Danny Kroha & Show # 635

On this week’s episode of Revolution Rock we played music from vinyl records only. The show got off to a rocky start, but it featured a selection of current, obscure music and some of our favourite records. The playlist was selected spontaneously and on the fly. You can view the playlist and download the episode in the link below the playlist in this post.

Additionally, we featured a selection from Danny Kroha’s 2015 release Angels Watching Over Me. Released on Third Man Records, this album is Kroha’s take on the traditional folk, blues and gospel genres. Danny Kroha is a founding member of the Detroit garage trio The Gories and has played in numerous garage oriented rock bands such as The Demolition Doll Rods, The Readies and others. He also currently plays in a garage band called Danny & The Darleans. Danny stopped by CJAM FM’s studios at the end of August and performed three songs for a new video/audio series that I have started that we’re calling CJAM Sessions. You can view his performance in this video below.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Marvin Gaye - Ain't That Peculiar
2. Mark Sultan - Pounding
3. Tim Buckley - Move With Me
4. The Beach Boys - Heroes & Villains
5. Young Rival - Workin'
6. R.E.M. - Fall On Me
7. The Smiths - Hand In Glove
8. Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs - Season Of The Witch
9. Shotgun Jimmie - Solar Array
10. Gang Of Four - To Hell With Poverty
11. Ritual Howls - A Thoughtful Beast
12. Joy Division - Exercise One
13. Cellos - Stowaway
14. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her To Eternity
15. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
16. Danny Kroha - Cannonball Blues
17. Hank Williams - Bachelor Till I Die
18. Ray Condo & The Hardrock Goners - Willing And Ready
19. Luxury Christ - Black Book
20. Dion Lunadon - Com/Broke
21. Dinosaur Jr. - Fury Little Things
22. Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin - I Wear Black
23. The Diodes - Burn Down Your Daddy's House
24. Patti Smith - Free Money
25. Iggy & The Stooges - Search & Destroy

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 15.

Bell Peppers, Nirvana & Shows # 633 & 634

The Bell Peppers - Born To Love

The Bell Peppers are a rock n’ roll combo out of Manchester, UK. They play a mix of surf, R&B and beat music. This track “Born To Love” is part Bo Diddley, part surf, Part garage, and a lot of shaking rock n’ roll grooves. It is from a forthcoming EP to be released by the band. Their last release, Sizzling Hot Bell Peppers was released in 2013. All of their music is currently free to download via their bandcamp page.



Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Top Of The Pops 1991)

In September, Nirvana celebrated the 25th anniversary of their breakthrough album Nevermind. In November of 1991, Nirvana was asked to perform their hit single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the Top Of The Pops TV show in Britain. For this program musicians usually mimed along with an instrumental backing track version of the song. When Nirvana asked to perform the song live, they were denied. The vocals, however, were live. As a result, Nirvana mimed along to the instrumental backing track out of time and Kurt Cobain sang the song in a deep, low voice. It was later revealed that he was doing his best Morrissey impression, but this version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” goes down as one of the memorable, rebellious performances of the Top Of The Pops TV show. It was cut short midway through the song when the audience rushed the stage.



Playlist for Show # 634:

1. Carl Perkins - Matchbox
2. Patsy Cline - I Got A Lot Of Rhythm In My Soul
3. Wes Dakus & The Rebels - Seesaw
4. The Chantays - Monsoon
5. La Luz - Don’t Wanna Be Anywhere
6. Kim Gray - Little Saigon
7. Kate Fagan - Master Of Passion
8. Twist - Can’t Wait
9. Preoccupations - Stimulation
10. The Wicked Awesomes - Somewhere In Nowheresville
11. Zoom - Subway Surfin’
12. The Damned - See Her Tonight
13. Rudi - Big Time
14. X Dreamysts - Dance Away Lover
15. Bell Peppers - Born To Love
16. Lightbulb Alley - Pepper Spray
17. Ricked Wicky - The Important Girl
18. Guided By Voices - My Zodiac Companion
19. Guided By Voices - I Certainly Hope Not
20. Guided By Voices - Long Distance Man
21. Run Coyote - Troubles
22. Radiohead - The Numbers
23. Ohtis - Pervert Blood
24. The Brandy Alexanders - Hey, Why'd You Do It?
25. The Nots - Cosmetic
26. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (TOTP 1991)
27. Pavement - Perfume-V
28. Teenage Fanclub - I'm In Love
29. By Divine Right - Complicated
30. By Divine Right - Uncontaminable

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 8.

Episode # 633 was a repeat of a previous episode that originally aired in January 2015. You download that episode here and view the playlist here.

Gruesomania & Shows # 631 & 632

It’s 2016, I’m standing in a local record store and looking through the used bins and CD sections to see if maybe there are any Gruesomes releases. Their music is scarce in record stores these days, but you never know. On the vinyl side of things, there are Gruesomes records missing from my collection. I recall reading that Gruesomania was reissued on vinyl recently. I quickly place an order. Emerging from Montreal and rising to popularity in parts of Europe and the North American underground music scenes, Gruesomania followed 1986’s Tyrants of Teen Trash. Originally released in 1987 on OG Music and recorded in Montreal, Gruesomania is often seen as one of the band’s best efforts released during their initial run as a band from 1985-1990.

The Gruesomes took influence from obscure garage compilations, 60’s garage and R&B acts and merged it with the visceral energy and attitude of 70s punk rock. Placing the record onto my record player, as the record catches “Way Down Below” opens Gruesomania with its spooky, fuzzy garage riff. This song draws on images of a bad relationship, hell and the band's horror/b-movie styled humour. A performance based music video for this song received high rotation on Much Music in Canada in the mid-80s. Gruesomania is filled with the same snotty energy as Tyrants Of Teen Trash, but also adds more of a soulful/R&B rhythm to their sound. This was in part due to John Knoll joining as the band’s drummer, replacing original Gruesome member Eric Davis. The album combines raved up Gruesome originals and several R&B/garage covers. The third track “Leave My Kitten Alone” is sung by guitarist Gerry Alvarez and complete with raunchy, twangy guitars and catchy vocal harmonies. This song was covered by The Beatles, but was originally released in 1959 by Little Wille John.

The rough and raunchy, “Ain’t Got Nothin’” about a snooty rich girl comes in as track four with stop and start guitar stabs and a sleazy R&B groove before the album’s first instrumental track “Whirlpool”. This short surf instrumental track is a smooth interlude awash in drums that are heavy on the ride cymbal, guitar solos, bouncy basslines and reverb soaked guitar sounds. On the back of the Gruesomania record, there is a short description of the record by Fuad Ramses and then a brief description of each song on the album, ala old blues and garage records. “I Can Tell” is a song originally by the band’s “Spiritual mentor and close friend: Mr. Bo Diddley” as it is stated on the back of the record. “Buzz Off” ends side one of Gruesomania with heavy bass, snarling vocals by Bobby Beaton and harmonica, a song that is described as a “pretty hot classic” on the back of the record.

If side one of Gruesomania started with the horror stylings of “Way Down Below” and songs that seem to question relationships that could be going wrong, side two starts off with “Je Cherche”, a song that starts off with an explosion, literally. Originally by Les Lutins in 1967, the song's title roughly translates into “I’m Searching” in English. This song starts off with lyrical subject matter that seems to question several of the topics brought up on the first side of this LP. “Why Me?” is a song about boredom, TV dinners, lack of cash and loneliness, “Time’s Gonna Come” shows The Gruesomes getting thrashier, fuelled on adrenaline, along with the instrumental “Jacknife”. “Outta My Mind” is a raved up garage song complete with harmonica, thick R&B influenced bass grooves from John Davis and intense vocals sung by guitarist Gerry Alvarez. Described as a song about “A tale of mistaken identity”, this song as do many on the second side of this LP, picks up on the band’s undeniable energy and chemistry. “You Said Yeah” is a fuzzy heavy guitar driven song that comes in as track thirteen before the album’s last track. “Heart Full Of Pain” is a slower song, complete with tremolo guitar and a paced soulful executed groove.

As Gruesomania ends, there is a short, hidden track, which features members of the band messing around on a piano and with each other. This, along with their sense of humour in their songs and in the actual liner notes, showcases The Gruesomes ethos and aesthetic. As the album ends, the record crackles and hisses as the record needle rises, I recall a review of this album from 2009, which describes the album’s production levels as “below that of farting into a ghetto blaster's built-in microphone”. This humorous comparison while partially joking brings forth the fact that The Gruesomes were all about their chemistry. The album does lend itself to the lo-fi realm of recording, despite not being recorded on 8 track. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with the sound of this album. It was never going to have over the top 80s over production techniques of the day. That isn’t the point and never was.

Rising from basements in a variety of reissues in different forms intermittently since 1987, Gruesomania was released on CD via Ricochet Sound in 2008 with bonus tracks and released on vinyl via Artofact records in 2015. Raised on bad TV shows, obscure garage nuggets, boredom and snotty, adrenalized enthusiasm, Gruesomania is infectious in its execution. Catch Gruesomania. It’s just as contagious today as it was in 1987.

Playlist for Show # 631:

1. The Barracudas - Summer Fun
2. The Submissives - Do You Really Love Me?
3. The Beatles - Cry For A Shadow
4. Wilco - I'm A Wheel
5. Tom Waits - I Don't Wanna Grow Up
6. The Good Family Album - Taller Than The Pines
7. Danny Kroha - The Road is Rough And Rocky
8. The Pogues - Bottle Of Smoke
9. Uncle Tupelo - Screen Door
10. The Gories - On The Run
11. The Pack AD - Is It So
12. Mexican Knives - Nightmare
13. Cellos - Standard And Poor
14. By Divine Right - Stretch Parachute
15. The Pixies - Holiday (live In Detroit 11.22.04)
16. Ty Segall Band - The Tongue
17. Sonic Youth - Tom Violence
18. PJ Harvey - Stella
19. Protomartyr - What The Wall Said
20. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Down At The Rock n' Roll Club (Alternate Version)
21. Blondie - Eat To The Beat
22. Weird Lines - There Are Never Too Many Matches
23. Archaics - No In No Out
24. Square Waves - All That's Left
25. The Famines - Got Lies If You Want Them
26. Dion Lunadon - 1976
27. The Gruesomes - Jacknife
28. The Gruesomes - Outta My Mind

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for September 17.

Episode # 632 was a repeat of a previous episode that originally aired in September 2015. You download that episode here and view the playlist here.

Thee Oh Sees A Weird Exits & Shows # 628, 629, 630

Thee Oh Sees latest effort, A Weird Exits arrives as a double LP with longer songs that showcase a new range in dynamics for the band. Being the first album to capture Thee Oh Sees new line-up which features two drummers, Ryan Moutinho and Dan Rincon, along with bassist Tim Hellman, who joined Thee Oh Sees in 2014, A Weird Exits produces a new type of groove. Still led by the ever prolific and frontman John Dwyer, Thee Oh Sees vicious and manic live sound is captured here in top form. If 2015’s Mutilator Defeated At Last explored more medieval and folk-like imagery in the songs, A Weird Exits blasts off into outer space, lyrically and musically taking on a cosmic context.

“Dead Man’s Gun” starts off the album in a jittery tempo that sounds as if it was plucked right out a recording from the band’s live set. The double drum rhythm section weaves in-between Hellman’s bass groove and Dwyer’s growling guitar sounds. The lyrics are sung by Dwyer in his traditional vocal style, drenched in reverb and floating above the instrumentation. “Ticklish Warrior” is a heavier track in the style of “Withered Hand” from 2015’s Mutilator Defeated At Last, “Jammed Entrance”, is where the album switches up the pace and ventures into a different direction. If the first two tracks emphasized the band’s live components, “Jammed Entrance” travels into new territory, a five minute instrumental track complete with razor sharp psychedelic guitar leads and synthesizers sounding as if they are communicating some sort of Morse code message into outer space. “Plastic Plant” showcases the band’s heavier and mid-tempo grooves, building on the sounds from “Jammed Entrance” as lyrically with words such as “Face aghast in electric glow”, “Lifeless eyes locked in a spell” and “You’re Half gone/You Can’t Deny It/But I think that you don’t know”, the song brings up emotions of feeling lost in a void, but also sound as if they could be describing a character from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

“Gelatinous Cube” picks up the pace with frantic, cleaner sounding guitars and snarling vocals from John Dwyer. The band is vicious here and rapid as the lyrics portray a hungry space-like creature on the hunt. “Unwrap The Fiend Pt.2” is another long instrumental track that explores different sounds, but one that sounds as if it could be background music in a science fiction film, perhaps Blade Runner at certain moments. “Crawl Out From The Fall Out” is an atmospheric, slow building track, vocals come in at the halfway point from both John Dwyer and Brigid Dawson. Lyrically, it seems to question a world with nothing at all in it. “The Axis” ends A Weird Exits. Covered with organ and drawing comparisons to the 1967 single “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” by English rock band Procol Harum, “The Axis” tells the tale of a character that is appalled by the other and can’t wait for them to leave. The last lines of this song “And by the time you hear these words/Your wicked face will be gone from my mind” perfectly exemplify the sentiment displayed here. The lyrics contrast with the 60s influenced melodies and like many of the lyrics on the album, they can be looked at in more than one way. They could be referencing the space imagery and the tale that is woven throughout A Weird Exits musical fabric or it be about a soured relationship.

As A Weird Exits ends, the controlled chaos found within both disconnects itself from past Oh Sees glories and stays connected with a previous make up. While many may say that the sound hasn’t changed that much, Thee Oh Sees music is both undeniably Thee Oh Sees and fresh sounding. With A Weird Exits, Thee Oh Sees focus on a new entry and exit point musically in a way that only they can.

Show 630 (Originally Aired September 10th, 2016):

1. Jay Jays - I Keep Tryin'
2. Brazilian Money - Big Money
3. Wild Racoon - Oh Well, Okay
4. No Aloha - Role Reversal
5. Car Seat Headrest - 1937 State Park
6. Tuns - Mind Over Matter
7. Tuns - To your Satisfaction
8. Angel Olsen - Shut Up Kiss Me
9. Cass Mccombs - Bum, Bum, Bum
10. Wilco - Someone To Lose
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Rings Of Saturn
12. Adam Ant - Friend Or Foe
13. Snake River - Who'll Tell Our Story?
14. The Sonics - Psycho
15. Caps - Red Headed Flea
16. Junior Raymen - Rumble 66
17. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - They Don't Call Them Chihuahuas Anymore
18. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - (Relax) You Will Think You Are A Chicken
19. MC5 - Future/Now
20. Van Morrison - The Way Young Lovers Do
21. Kim Gray - Frank Sinatra
22. Kim Gray - Yesterday's Smoke
23. Beat Happening - Polly Pereguinn
24. Thee Oh Sees - Tunnel Time
25. Violent Femmes - Killing Time
26. Buzzcocks - Time’s Up

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for September 10.

Show 629 (Originally Aired September 3rd, 2016):

1. Thee Oh Sees - Deadman's Gun
2. Thee Oh Sees - Plastic Plant
3. Condition - Wet Shoes
4. Perky Pat - The Bells
5. Art Bergmann - My Empty House
6. Kate Fagan - I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool
7. Brain James - Where Did I Find A Girl Like You
8. Rock & Roll Monkey & The Robots - Liquefy
9. Gringo Star - Rotten
10. Jeremy & The Harlequins - Oh Yeah (I Did It Again)
11. Shotgun & Jaybird - Two And Two Is Four
12. Roy Culbertson III - Whole Eden
13. White Fence - Beat
14. The Zellots - Soldiers
15. Sheep Look Up - Civil Disobedience
16. Teenage Head - You’re Tearing Me Apart (Live 1978)
17. Neil Young - Albuquerque
18. Joe Strummer & The Latino Rockabilly War - Baby The Trans
19. X - The Once Over Twice
20. The Famines - Faux Famous (Live July 14, 2008)
21. Trout - This Mystic Decade
22. Ty Segall - People These Days
23. Red Hot Gospel - Reprise
24. Jay Arner - Crystal Ball
25. Them - I’m Gonna Dress In Black (Version 2)
26. The Scientists - Shake
27. The Scientists - Swampland

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for September 3.

Show 628 (Originally Aired August 27th, 2016):

1. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings -Tell Me
2. Barrett Strong - You Knows What To Do
3. Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs - Do Ya Feel It Too?
4. Cold Warps - Take Your Time
5. Cool Ghouls - Never You Mind
6. Hot Panda - Golden Arch
7. Snake River - I Was Very Drunk Jeanie
8. The Pack AD - Yes, I Know
9. Courtney Barnett - Aqua Profundal
10. Ranch Ghost - Ragged Mile
11. The Good Family - Restless River
12. James O-L - Yellow Gold
13. Ohtis - Runnin’
14. Danny Kroha - Angels Watching Over Me
15. Elvis Costello - Waiting For The End Of The World
16. The Finks - Magic Eyes
17. Gentlemen Of Horror - Overhead Projector
18. Pow Wows - You Haven’t Got Me Yet
19. Light Bulb Alley - I Only Got Two Feet
20. Pretty Things - Come See Me
21. Skinny Kids - All Gold
21. Thee Rum Coves - GCSB
22. The Halo Benders - Lonesome Sundown
23. Mystery Lights - Flowers In My Hair Demons In My Head
24. Thee Oh Sees - I Come From The Mountain (Live In San Francisco)
25. Thee Oh Sees - Tidal Wave (Live In San Francisco)
26. Thee Oh Sees - Gelatinous Cube

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for August 27.

Interview with John Doe of X & Show # 627

This week’s episode of Revolution Rock featured an interview with John Doe of the band X. This Los Angeles band formed in 1977 and were part of the first wave of American punk. X released seven full-length albums in their initial run as a band from 1980 to 1993. X reunited in the 2000’s and tours intermittently with the original band line-up. The band is currently on a tour and stopped by Detroit’s El Club on August 20th and 21st to perform Los Angeles and Wild Gift in their entirety. John has also been involved in numerous films and is an author. He recently wrote a book about the Los Angeles punk scene with Tom DeSavia called Under The Big Black Sun: A Personal History of LA Punk. In addition to other music related projects that he has been a part of, John released his latest solo album The Westerner in April 2016.

Check out my interview with John Doe below:



The Playlist:

1. Art Bergmann - Company Store
2. U.I.C. - 2 + 2 = ?
3. John Doe & The Sadies - Night Life
4. The Sadies - Cowhand
5. X - Los Angeles (Demo)
6. X - Johnny Hit and Run Pauline

John Doe Interview

7. X - I'm Coming Over (Demo)
8. X - Adult Books
9. John Doe - Get On Board
10. Japandroids - Sex & Dying in High Society
11. The Nerves - Hanging On The Telephone
12. The Go Gos - Skidmarks On My Heart
13. Young Rival - Black Is Good
14. Joel Plaskett Emergency - Come On Teacher
15. PJ Harvey - Hitting the Ground
16. Gordon Gano - Make It Happen
17. Violent Femmes - Issues
18. Alan Vega - Kid Congo
19. Alan Vega - Goodbye Darling
20. Jerry Nolan - Take A Chance With Me
21. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Smitten (Demo)
22. X - Soul Kitchen
23. X - Beyond and Back

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for August 21.

Revolution Rock: Radio Brain Drain - Vancouver Special & Show # 626

To kick off CJAM FM’s Radio Brain Drain, a weeklong celebration of punk rock and all its forms, Revolution Rock hosted a special program. The show focused on the early Vancouver punk music scene along with new and old music from Vancouver that shares the spirit of the Ramones and punk rock. Also featured on the program was an interview that I did with Nick Jones of the now legendary punk/power pop band The Pointed Sticks in 2015.

You can listen to the interview here and download the radio program in a link below the playlist:



Radio Brain Drain 2016 Playlist:

1. DOA - Take A Chance (Something Better Change - 1980)
2. Active Dog - Rat Race (Rat Race/Good Filthy Fun - 1979)
3. Tim Ray - Dying In Brooklyn (Vancouver Complication - 1979)
4. Adrian Teacher & The Subs - Charmless Babes (Terminal City - 2016)
5. Thee Goblins - The Good Jacket Theme (The Good Jacket Presents ... Vancouver Special - 2000)
6. Riff Randells - Sombody's Mom (The Good Jacket Presents ... Vancouver Special - 2000)
7. The Secret V’s - Waiting For The Drugs To Take Hold (No Life Like It - 1980)
8. Tough Age - Snakes & Ladders (I Get The Feeling Central - 2015)
9. Energy Slime - Bustin’ Up (New Dimensional - 2014)
10. Nervous Talk - Nothing To Say (Nervous Talk - 2015)
11. Pointed Sticks - It’s O.K. (Waiting For The Real Thing - 2006)

Nick Jones Pointed Sticks Interview

12. Pointed Sticks - La La La (Pointed Sticks - 2015)
13. White Lung - Viva La Rat (It's The Evil - 2010)
14. Japandroids - Wet Hair (Post-Nothing - 2009)
15. Maow - Ms. Lefevre (The Unforgiving Sounds Of Maow - 1996)
16. Cub - Motel 6 (Betti-Cola - 1993)
17. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (Mass Romantic - 2000)
18. The Evaporators - I Gotta Disease (I’m Addicted To Cheese)(Ripple Rock - 2004)
19. The Evaporators - Nard Nest (Ripple Rock - 2004)
20. Mystery Machine - Japanese Dads (Western Magnetics - 2012)
21. Buddy Selfish - It’s Only Make Believe (Bud Luxford Presents: On Sale Inside - 1981)
22. Indian Wars - Denny (Songs From The North - 2012)
23. Dead Ghosts - On Your Own (Can't Get No - 2013)
24. The Modernettes - Rebel Kind (View From The Bottom - 1982)
25. The Dishrags - Carry On (Love/Hate - 1997)
26. Antheads - Think Fast (Some Plastic Flowers & Fruit - 2010)
27. Young Canadians - I Hate Music (No Escape - 1995/Vancouver Complication - 1979)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for August 13.

The Frights Interview, Shotgun Jimmie & Show # 625

The Frights Interview

This week’s episode featured an interview with Mikey Carnevale the singer/guitarist in The Frights. With influences such as surf rock, punk and what the band calls dirty doo wop, The Frights formed in San Diego, California in 2012. They have just released their second full-length album You Are Going To Hate This. Produced by Fidlar’s Zac Carper, You Are Going To Hate This is a more focused effort than the band’s debut album, The Frights.

Check out the interview I did with Mikey:



Shotgun Jimmie CJAM Session

Additionally, at the end of May Shotgun Jimmie stopped by Phog Lounge with José Contreras (of By Divine Right). They stopped by CJAM FM’s studios to record the second CJAM Session (one of these songs was featured on this week’s episode of Revolution Rock). Shotgun Jimmie performed three songs acoustically with José, one of which was a new song entitled “I’m Already There, Sunshine” that is from a forthcoming album by The Heat Death. This is a new band/album featuring both Shotgun Jimmie and José Contreras.

Check out this CJAM Session:




Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Mystery Lights - Follow Me Home
2. Chad Vangaalen - All Will Combine
3. Car Seat Headrest - Joe Gets Kicked Out of School For Using Drugs With Friends (But Says This Isn't A Problem)
4. Transistors - On Cashel St.
5. Weird Lines - Twin Summers
6. Foxhart Fishman - The Deed
7. Flipper - Life Is Cheap
8. The Frights - Kids

Firghts Interview

9. The Frights - Afraid Of The Dark
10. Shotgun Jimmie - Join The Band (CJAM Session)
11. The Beatles - I'm Only Sleeping
12. The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing (Take 1 - Outtake)
13. The Beatles - Paperback Writer (Takes 1 & 2)
14. The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows
15. The Brandy Alexanders - Conventional Lie
16. Dinosaur Jr. - Tiny
17. The Hot Nasties - Vlad The Poet
18. The Dream Dates - Search & Destroy
19. White Lung - Kiss Me When I Bleed
20. Blondie - (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear
21. The Rezillos - It Gets Me
22. Protomartyr - Ain't So Simple

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for August 6.

Young Rival Strange Light & Show # 624

Recorded during the same sessions as 2015’s Interior Light with Graham Walsh, Strange Light is a five-song EP that was released by Young Rival in May of 2016. The songs that make up Strange Light still feature some of the elements that made Interior Light so unique, but they also reflect a more straightforward sound. The EP is a balance of the garage sounds that Young Rival have been known for in the past, the sounds created on 2012’s Stay Young and on 2015’s Interior Light.

“Let Me Go On” starts off the EP with its stop and start guitar/bass riffs and kick drum. The lyrics are very character driven ala Ray Davies, as we hear about bottles, cans, licorice whips and the miracle cave. D’Alesio’s lyrical style uses vivid imagery and characterization in such a way that it never wavers throughout not only this release, but also in Young Rival’s music. The lyrics are layered amongst the strong melodies and powerful drums, bass and guitar combinations in a way that can operate on more than one level. John Smith drives the song “Lucky” with his fuzz bass guitar riffs. Along with sharp reverb drenched guitar stabs and a fuzzy driven chorus, “Lucky” features the lyrics “I don’t owe you nothing” that call out amongst the heavier chorus elements and instrumentation on this track. “Oh Nancy” is a more pop driven song, drawing on a mixture of 60s garage pop influences, descending guitar lines and the powerful drums provided by Noah Fralick. D’Alesio sings of Nancy, who slips through the cracks of convention towards contradiction. As the chorus hits with “Oh Nancy/I got your number”, these catchy words are loaded with double meaning.

“Heard It All Before” and the final track “Strange Light”, feature a more laid back vibe and slower tempos. “Heard It All Before” is thick with strong melodies drawing on influences such as The Everly Brothers and lyrics foretelling missed chances, empty promises and turning everything around. “Strange Light” is a jangly ballad, complete with harmonies, drowsy guitars and a lingering 50’s rock influence. Lyrically, this song is a haunting tale that borders between a love song and science fiction. One of the characters in the song disappears into a “strange light” at night in the park in an eerie glow.

When writing about 2015’s Interior Light, it was previously mentioned that like the album’s cover, Interior Light added more colour to Young Rival’s already established garage rock palette. With Interior Light, Young Rival got more psychedelic allowing the guitars and melodies created to drift like the paint on a canvas. With Strange Light, the songs are grittier and embedded with a melody that can serve as a companion piece of Interior Light. These five songs are more like dried up paint on a canvas hidden amongst the artwork for this EP, which resembles static waves on an analog TV set. Music like this is hidden within the static of modern technology and trends, while at the same time, it still sounds fresh. To find music of this kind you don’t have to look much further than Young Rival’s Strange Light.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Haunted - I Can Only Give You Everything
2. Film Jacket 35 - Waiting For A Way Out
3. The Busters - Bust Out
4. Teenanger - Alone On Acid
5. The Stems - Rosebud
6. The Barracudas - Somebody
7. The Wayouts - I Want To
8. Silent Movie Type - Cobwebs
9. Fugazi - Provisional
10. The Wipers - Up Front
11. Vision - What I Need
12. Phern - Crosswalk Talk
13. Mo-Dettes - Fandango
14. Joy Division - No Love Lost
15. Wire - New York City
16. Wire - After Midnight
17. Hi-Fis - I Don’t Know Why (You Love Me)
18. The Poles - Prime Time
19. Stiv Bator - Yesterdays
20. Chris Crossroads - You Can Get It
21. The Blueflowers - You Won't Like This Part
22. Sean Connery Supergroup - Dang Girl (2016 Dance Mix)
23. Actual Water - Brighton
24. Cub - Go Fish
25. The Scientists - Frantic Romantic
26. Huevos Rancheros - American Sunset
27. Young Rival - Let Me Go On
28. Young Rival - Heard It All Before
29. Beat Happening - Indian Summer

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 30.

Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds La Arana Es La Vida & Show # 623

Kid Congo Powers first began his career as a musician being a guitarist in bands such as The Gun Club (who he helped form), The Cramps and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. That resume is enough to make people turn heads, but after playing with numerous bands as a guitarist, he ventured out on his own, forming his own band in 2005 with his first release being the album Solo Cholo. In 2009, Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds released Dracula Boots, a critically acclaimed album that stomped with the sounds of garage rock, 50’s rock n’ roll, soul and Chicano rock. Released on In The Red Records, La Arana Es La Vida is the fourth album by Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds.

Congo and crew create a deep groove, blending the primal sounds of rock n’ roll along with other related sub-genres and Chicano rock once again. This effort is equally as strong and features the addition of guitarist Mark Cisneros, who brings a fresh perspective to the Pink Monkey Birds sound. The sounds on this album definitely lend themselves to the garage and surf genres, but the album at times sounds soulful as if Andre Williams and Billy Childish are playing on the same track. The album has much more depth than that especially when you look closer into the title, which is a reference to Mexican folklore. La Arana is the Great Spider Goddess of Teotihuacan. Kid Congo Powers had this to say about the connection to this folk tale in an interview done with New Noise Magazine:

“She sprouts hallucinogenic morning glories and protects the underworld. I thought that is very much like our duty as a band, to have the most open mind to vivid psychedelic dreams to create and protect the world of underground music, the music of the soul. Protect it from unimaginative, unfeeling commercial music. No magic there. Plus, I like the associations The Kiss Of The Spiderwoman, Spider Baby, ‘the tangled webs we weave.”

It’s no surprise that this primitive folk tale lends itself to the sounds brought forth on La Arana Es La Vida. “Psychic Future” opens the album with its fuzzy garage blues grooves and slides. “Coyote Conundrum” drips with psychedelic and surf influences in both the music and lyrics, while “Nine Blubber Mile”, one of a few instrumental tracks found on this album, treads along with its rumbly bassline and staticy guitar lines. “Karate Monkey” jumps and kicks with its Elvis Presley and ? And The Mysterians-like licks, while “La Arana” blends Chicano rock with elements of garage and soul. As Powers sings in an Andre Williams drawl, he tells a story about a spider that crawls all over the characters in the song at a party. This is portrayed in the lyrics and musically throughout the guitar and basslines. On “Anything To Say”, Powers sings a love song comparing fallen, broken dishes to spilling guts, as the guitars weave the words together with their sharp-shard-like riffs.

“Chicano Studies” is a surf instrumental track. The track features mischievous speaking , on top of the music, but the ending track sets itself apart from the rest of the songs found on La Arana Es La Vida. “Five Points/Howards End/Nasty Hat” begins with two segments conjuring up 50s rock n roll influences and ambient country/blues slides before “Nasty Hat” takes the listener into one more intense groove. Recorded at the Harveyville High School Gym in Kansas, La Arana Es La Vida contains a rambunctious youthful atmosphere. La Arana Es La Vida oozes with a primal rock n’ roll aesthetic, as lyrically it creeps and crawls with reverb laden lyrics drawing on tales of Mexican folklore.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Mission Of Burma - Tremelo
2. Sonic Youth - Wolf
3. Vallens - Karen
4. Hot Hot Heat - Sad Sad Situation
5. Heaven For Real - Kill Your Memory
6. Suicide - Ghost Rider
7. Suicide - Mr. Ray
8. Allen Vega - Kung Foo Cowboy
10. Suicide -Jukebox Baby 96
11. Allen Vega - Ghost Rider
12. Nickel Eye - Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye
13. Beck - Suzanne
14. Nick Cave - I’m Your Man
15. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Avalanche
16. Leonard Cohen - Jazz Police
17. Leonard Cohen - Bird On A Wire
18. Weird Lines - There Are Never Too Many Matches
19. The Replacements - 20th Century Boy
20. Luau Or Die - Mojave Chaser
21. Atomic 7 - That Leftover Savior Faire
22. The Black Lips - Leroy Faster
23. The Cramps - Don't Eat Stuff Off The Sidewalk
24. The Gun Club - Eternity Is Here
25. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Chicano Studies
26. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - La Arana

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 23.

Kim Gray Perfume Interview & Show # 622

Perhaps best known for playing with Vancouver garage band Skinny Kids, Trevor “Kim” Gray released his first EP as Kim Gray in 2014. His first release Backseat Bingo, was an EP dripping with 60s girl group and Beach Boys harmonies. Produced by Dead Ghosts Drew Wilkinson, Backseat Bingo featured catchy pop songs with a laid back vibe. Switching focus, Grey recorded his debut full-length release Perfume with Malcolm Biddle (Dada Plan), who apparently records albums in his shed out in Vancouver. The result is a catchy combination of songs swirling with new sunbaked harmonies.

The album’s opening track “Perfume Ghost” starts off the album with drowsy synthesizers, staccato guitar chords and a drum machine in place of real drums. The song with its catchy melodies and vicious guitar solo leaves the listener with an eerie sense of déjà vu. Perfume is blanketed with thick melodies that differ from Backseat Bingo. Instead of 60s girl group and Beach Boys inspired dynamics the songs are covered with drum machines and synthesizers that float in-between pop melodies. “Yesterday’s Smoke” drifts with surf guitar sounds, smoggy melodies and heavy synthesizers, while “Tropical Low Life” is driven primarily by the back and forth bassline that sounds as if could be from an old soul record. With lyrics such as “Hand’s in the sand/But my head’s out of line” Gray paints the picture of someone who may seem to be standing still and ignoring the situations going on around them, but the character in this song is actually very aware of what is happening around them. This message floats in-between the song’s breezy atmosphere and during several points in different forms on this album.

“I Saw It All” features distant harmonies, harmonica and fluid guitar lines, “Little Saigon” slows down the laid back grooves that are present on Perfume, on “When Tomorrow’s Today” the pace picks up sounding like a 60s garage track with a drum machine. The song’s lyrics contrast with the tempo as it tells of hair dye, uncertainty and drying out emotional wounds in the sun. “Pick My Brain” ends Perfume, with another deep bass groove, a haunting melody, but no synthesizer. With Backseat Bingo, Kim Gray brought forth catchy pop songs that differed from the Skinny Kids format. The songs on Perfume contain the same garage mentality and essence that runs through the music that Gray creates. At just eight songs and clocking in around 25 minutes, Perfume fills the air with a certain feeling. Described by some as psychedelic electronic pop, Perfume is the product of Kim Gray extracting the right influences and mixing them with drum machines, synthesizers and songwriting skills for an effective combination of songs.

Perfume is currently available on cassette via Lolipop Records and will be available on vinyl via Resurrection Records soon.

Check out the interview that I did with Trevor Gray here:



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Space Merchants - One Cut Like The Moon
2. The Ketamines - You Can’t Serve Two Masters
3. The Howlies - Dirty Woman
4. The Velvet Underground - Some Kinda Love
5. The Scenics - Waiting For My Man
6. Beck - Run Run Run
7. Skinny Kids - Psychic Down The Road
8. Kim Gray - Perfume Ghost

Kim Gray Interview

9. Kim Gray - Tropical Low Life
10. Joy Division - Digital
11. The Outcasts - Programme Love
12. Buzzcocks - Whatever Happened To ...?
13. Eric Welton - Kill Them With Kindness
14. Tom Waits - On A Foggy Night
15. Papa Ghostface - Winter Porch
16. Monomyth - Feeling
17. Radiohead - Climbing Up The Walls
18. Neil Young - See The Sky About To Rain
19. Demolition Doll Rods - Come Out Of The Rain
20. Paul Jacobs - Human Emotion
21. Beastie Boys - Heart Attack Man
22. Country Mike - Sloppy Drunks
23. Bob Dylan - I Dreamed of St Augustine

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 16.

The Holy Gasp Interview & Show # 621

This week’s episode of Revolution Rock featured an interview with Benjamin Hackman of the Toronto band The Holy Gasp. The band while their sound is difficult to pinpoint, sounds as if Nick Cave is singing with a jazz band that mixes in elements of Afro-Cuban rhythms and beatnik poetry. The band released their first full-length album The Last Generation Of Love in 2015 and are currently working on material for a follow up release by road testing the material.

Check out my interview with Benjamin Hackman here:




Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (Live On Milton Berle June 5th, 1956)
2. Elvis Presley - Ready Teddy
3. The Scotty Moore Trio - Have Guitar, Will Travel
4. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Nine Blubber Mile
5. Violent Femmes - Promise
6. Violent Femmes - Country Death Song
7. Tara Watts - SOS
8. Roy Orbison - Rock House
9. The Holy Gasp - The Man Ain't Groovy

Benjamin Hackman Of The Holy Gasp Interview

10. The Holy Gasp - The Mating Song
11. The Ergs! - Hey Jealousy
12. Sloan - I Hate My Generation
13. Sloan - G Turns To D
14. James O-L & The Villains - Collective Ignorance (CJAM Session)
15. Teenage Geese - Strange
16. The Velveteins - Monica Louise
17. The Miracle Workers - That Ain't Me
18. Young Rival - Lucky
19. Andrian Teacher & The Subs - Emily Carr Punks
20. Vision - You Should Know
21. The White Stripes - Little Acorns
22. Beat Happening - Zombie Limbo Time
23. Mitski - A Loving Feeling
24. Brave Radar - Earth Control
25. The Illusions - Wait Till The Summer
26. The Minutemen - Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 9.

Daniel Romano Mosey & Show # 620

Daniel Romano has stated that he is the “King Of Mosey”, which until last year’s If I’ve Only One Time Askin’ seemed to be his own particular brand of country/folk music coupled with gloomy, syrupy ballads. But on Mosey, his most recent release, Daniel Romano dances with the sound of 60s experimental pop, country, piano ballads and songs with string and brass horn sections. Produced and recorded in mono by Romano in Fenwick, Ontario at his own studio The Navy in 2015, these songs originally started out as poems. “Valerie Leon” is a song that is part spaghetti western and 60s pop that is awash in horn sections. Also drawing comparisons to American country/pop artist Lee Hazelwood, this song tells the story of a forbidden romance that falls apart once other people in town find out about it. The songs “Mr. E Me” and “Sorrow (For Leonard And William)”, which appear at later points on Mosey, both feature dominant horn sections in the style of “Valerie Leon”.

The punny “Toulouse” features guest vocals from actress Rachel McAdams and drifts in 60s garage/mid 60s Bob Dylan territory, “Hunger Is A Dream You Die In” and “(Gone Is) All But A Quarry Of A Stone” are tinged with shades of Romano’s previous work. “(Gone Is) All But A Quarry Of A Stone” was also released as the first single for Mosey. The music video features a different version of this song, titled a “premix”. It trades in more standard drums and different guitar parts for a different feel than the album version. The music video features a disheveled Romano with a Bob Dylan Afro eating a cheeseburger in a junkyard while wearing a silver Adidas tracksuit. During the video there is also a female character that hangs off of railings and does some sort of bizarre exercise routine amongst the garbage and in front of the track suited Romano. Overall, the video and song provide the listener with an uneasy feeling. A feeling that is prevalent throughout Romano’s music, but one that is also captivating. This uneasy feeling travels through the songs on Mosey, addressing issues that surround our current culture.

“The Collector” is an obscure cover of a song first recorded by The Everly Brothers in 1966, but written by Sonny Curtis. This song fittingly described as a psychedelic waltz does not seem out of place on Mosey and is executed in a haunting fashion. “Dead Medium”, the final track, addresses current trends while leaning towards the sounds of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue. On 2015’s If I’ve Only One Time Askin’, Romano explored a sound that drew influence from a 70s Countrypolitan sound. It is obvious that Romano gravitates towards country influences, but with these last two releases he has combined a myriad of styles for something that is difficult to define at times. With Mosey, Daniel Romano exercises steps in new musical directions. Lyrically, he circles around the theme of a lack of identity that exists in our current culture.

Another version of this article first appeared in The Windsor Independent.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Frights - All I Need
2. The Kills - Impossible Tracks
3. Terminal Licks - Come Over Tonight
4. Tin Machine - If There Is Something
5. Tin Machine - Bus Stop
6. David Bowie - Bombers
7. Jaill - Got An F
8. Twin River - Knife
9. Jay Arner - Like A Dracula
10. Counterfeit Jeans - Gemini
11. Elvis Depressedly - Slip
12. Levitation Room - Crystal Ball
13. What Seas What Shores - Texas
14. Dot Dash - Daddy Long Legs
15. VHS - Fully Realized
16. CFM - You Can't Kill Time
17. The True Lovers - Lady Of The Manor
18. Pavement - Conduit For Sale!
19. Mudhoney - Between Me & You Kid
20. Suuns - Fall
21. Xiu Xiu - Packard's Vibration
22. Case/Lang/Veirs - Delirium
23. Daniel Romano - Toulouse
24. Daniel Romano - (Gone Is) All But A Quarry Of A Stone
25. C.W. Stoneking - The Zombie
26. Neil Young - Journey Through The Past
27. Neil Young - Comes A Time
28. Neil Young - Motor City

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 2.

Beck Odelay & Show # 618 & # 619

Originally released on June 18th, 1996, Beck’s Odelay became a breakthrough album for Beck Hansen. Being his fifth full-length album (if you count his earlier independent releases), for Odelay Beck collaborated with The Dust Brothers. As the producers for this album, The Dust Brothers, who had previously worked with The Beastie Boys on their album Paul’s Boutique, added a hip-hop flare to Beck’s sound. While he had experimented with many different genres on some of his previous releases, Odelay blended samples and instrumentation for an album that on paper might not make sense.

Odelay started out with a recording session with producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf. The songs were primarily acoustic songs and the album was abandoned when he decided to work with The Dust Brothers instead. The results would be a layered album filled with samples, instrumentation and hip hop backbeats that would jump genres from track to track. “The New Pollution”, “Devils Haircut”, “Where It’s At” and “Jack-Ass” were all released as singles from Odelay and all had a different vibe to them switching from garage rock, to hip hop, jazz, to country. Other tracks included the soulful “Hotwax”, the country and fuzzy blend of “Lord Only Knows”, the punk infused “Minus”, “Readymade” which sounds like it is mixes sounds from Super Mario Brothers with hip hop and “Ramshackle”. The haunting folk sound created on Odelay’s closing track comes from the initial acoustic sessions that Beck worked on prior to enlisting The Dust Brothers. Many of the lyrics to the album have generated theories as to what they might actually mean. And while Beck later admitted that for a lot of the vocal takes they just used scratch vocals and left them because they had grown to like them, the lyrics on Odelay are executed with a cool and aloof nature that draw up vivid imagery.

At the time of creating this album, Beck had been known for his hit single “Loser” from the album Mellow Gold. Odelay would be the album that propelled him from one-hit wonder (in the eyes of the mainstream) to something much more going on to sell more than two million copies. Odelay turned 20 years old on June 18th, 2016 and like the Komondor (the rare breed of dog seen jumping on the cover that has a thick, layered, corded coat of fur), Odelay is thickly layered and filled with many hidden grooves, sounds and unexpected surprises.





Playlist For Show # 619 (Originally Aired June 25th, 2016):

1. The Traditional Fools - Milkman
2. Vision - Inneraction
3. Mission Of Burma - This Is Not A Photograph
4. Mission Of Burma - That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate
5. Walrus - Close My Eyes
6. Brave Radar - Moves In Time
7. Child Actress - Monogamy
8. Odonis Odonis - Nervous
9. Deja Voodoo - Blast Off!
10. Lost Patrol - Walkin’ The Dog
11. The Rolling Stones - Talkin’ Bout You
12. Crazy Rhythm Daddies - Satan Takes A Holiday
13. Paul Simon - Wristband
14. Sonny And The Sunsets - Reject Of The Lowest Planet
15. Mitski - Dan The Dancer
16. Young Rival - Oh Nancy
17. Bob Dylan & George Harrison - I Threw It All Away
18. Boxcar Guitars - This Heat, This Heat
19. Cuff The Duke - Rocking Chair
20. C.W. Stoneking - The Thing I Done
21. Commands - Hey It's Love
22. Timber Timbre - Curtains!?
23. Little Richard - By The Light Of The Silvery Moon
24. Chuck Berry - Roly Poly
25. Willie C. Echols - Satellite Stroll
26. Sex Pistols - Substitute
27. Mick Futures - Tentative Issue
28. Titus Andronicus - Come On, Siobhan
29. James O-L - Detroit And Paris
30. The Heroes - Seven Day Weekend

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 25.

Playlist For Show # 618 (Originally Aired June 18th, 2016):

1. Paul McCartney - Heart Of The Country
2. Beck - Lord Only Knows
3. Bob Dylan - Hurricane
4. Psychic Ills - Another Change
5. Beach Boys - It’s OK (Alternate Mix)
6. Kim Gray - Perfume Ghost
7. Tim Ray & A.V. - Quarter To Eight
8. Damaged Bug - Very
9. Preoccupations - Anxiety
10. Supreme Cool Beings - Survival Of The Coolest
11. Useless Eaters - Industrial Park
12. Nick Lowe - They Called It Rock
13. The Boys - Weekend
14. Big Star - She’s A Mover
15. Daniel Romano - Valerie Leon
16. Sloan - Glitter And Gold
17. The Clash - Version City
18. The Sadies - Locust Eater
19. Hank Williams - I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind
20. Old Code - The Sun
21. Actual Water - Ivory And Oak
22. The Gruesomes - The Deal
23. The New Dimensions - Psyche-Out
24. The A-Jacks - Fury
25. Tijuana Bibles - Tokyo Topless
26. Ghost Vines - Fire
27. Teenanger - Bank Account
28. X - Los Angeles

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 18.

Beat Happening Look Around & Show # 617

Named after the band’s 1987 single, Look Around is a 23-track anthology compiling music from the highly influential indie band Beat Happening. Forming in 1982, Beat Happening recorded and released five full-length albums, four EPs and several singles in that time period before they stopped performing in 1992. In addition to this, band member Calvin Johnson also co-founded the seminal independent music label, K Records. Based out of Olympia, Washington, Beat Happening and K Records spearheaded the indie/lo-fi music movements through both their primitive, simple, yet effective sound and K Records releases which shared a similar mindset.

Beat Happening are a three-piece band comprised of Calvin Johnson (vocals/guitar), Heather Lewis (vocals/guitar/drums) and Bret Lunsford (guitar/drums). There was no bass player in Beat Happening. While people often identify with Johnson’s low baritone vocal tone, his powerful presence and the songs that he sang, Heather Lewis provided not only vocals and guitar on songs that she wrote for the band, she would also play drums on several tracks. The band would often change instruments depending on the song. Her part in Beat Happening would also be influential on the riot grrrl music movement of the 1990s. The band’s primitive sound also featured a lyrical style, which has been described as childlike. Many of the songs display a certain kind of innocence, but in most cases also have darker undertones. They have also been described as being twee pop, which is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the UK in the mid 80s. Through the bands DIY aesthetic, there an element of complexity that creeps up on the listener.

Look Around features many pivotal songs in the band’s catalogue and a few other surprises, all of which were selected by the band for this release. “Indian Summer” is a slow and hazy track and perhaps Beat Happening’s best-known song. On this track, Johnson sings of having breakfast in a cemetery, young love, French toast, molasses, croquet and baked Alaska while the slow moving slightly out of time drum beat follows a mirage-like guitar riff. This song has been covered by numerous artists since its original release and still holds an interest with fans and listeners alike. Amongst the 23 songs on Look Around there are songs such as, “Other Side” a jangly pop song from the band’s 1989 album Black Candy sung by both Johnson and Lewis, along with “Cast A Shadow” which may be one of the band’s strongest songs. There are heavy, fuzzed out garage rock songs “Nancy Sin”, “Pine Box Derby” “Bewitched” which conjure up lyrical images of forbidden love, witchcraft and crushes. Apparently when recording “Bewitched” for1988’s Jamboree one of Bret Lunsford’s guitar strings got stuck on a screw that was sticking out of his guitar. He did not stop the song, but played it with an increasing intensity until it became unstuck.

In “Foggy Eyes” Heather Lewis sings “Keep your eyes shut and live your life/someone else will pay the price” tapping into a sense of the nostalgia and a sense of the unknowing, “In Between”, “Left Behind”, “Fortune Cookie Prize" and “Noise” are all songs sung by Lewis also featured in this set. “Godsend” another track sung by Lewis, is a captivating, almost nine and a half minute trance-like song. “Angel Gone” ends Look Around as its 23rd track. “Angel Gone”, is a slow, catchy jangly pop song featuring Johnson’s trademark low baritone voice combined with higher vocal harmonies by Heather Lewis. This song was released as a one off single in 2000 with the song "Zombie Limbo Time" as the B-side.

At the end of the set, I’m drawn back to the words and slightly out of time rhythms of the song that this anthology was named after, “Look Around”. In the lyrics, it at first listen seems to be a simple love song about a boy that loves a girl who loves another. However, when you pay close attention it is actually the story of a woman that the singer of the song knows is no good for them, but he doesn’t care. It ends with the line “If a black cats gonna cross my path/It might as well be you". This line adds further emphasis with a different type of lyrical tone. Much like the songs of Beat Happening, there are layers, with darker undercurrents that seep in amongst their simple and at times seemingly innocent songs. You don’t have to look very far to find what makes a band like Beat Happening still relevant today. And with rumoured reissues of the band’s five albums and 2003's rarity/B-sides album, Music To Climb The Apple Tree By on vinyl coming soon, this anthology is a good place start.



Saturday Night Playlist:

1. The Cool Rays - Diary Of You
2. The Go-Team - Bikini Twilight
3. Beat Happening - Cast A Shadow
4. Beat Happening - Foggy Eyes
5. Burning Hell - Men Without Hats
6. Code Pie - Hands
7. Pity Sex - A Satisfactory World For Reasonable People
8. Andre Williams - I Wanna Go Back To Detroit City
9. Mike Watt & The Missingmen - Up To My Neck In This
10. The Minutemen - Afternoons
11. So Duh Pop! - The Rest You Know
12. Calvin Johnson - Love Will Come Back Again
13. James O-L & The Villains - Dumpsters
14. Shotgun Jimmie - Love Letter
15. Pow Wows - Killing Me
16. Indian Wars - Carol Anne
17. The Monkees - Gotta Give It Time
18. The Creations - Crash
19. The Mockers - Madalena
20. Burdocks - Room Temperature
21. Young Rival - Heard It All Before
22. The Halo Benders - Your Asterisk
23. The Hive Dwellers - Streets Of Olympia Town
24. Dub Narcotic Sound System - Industrial Breakdown
25. Walrus - Fur Skin Coat
26. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wanted Man
27. Hooded Fang - Miscast
28. Beat Happening - Nancy Sin
29. Beat Happening - Angel Gone

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 11.

The Complete Them & Shows # 615 & # 616

In December 2015, The Complete Them 1964-1967 was released via Legacy/Exile Productions. The set compiles all of the recordings made by Them, the band that featured a young Van Morrison. In the linear notes to this set, which were written by Van Morrison himself, he states that Them was “a way for me to sing and play the blues”. Them drew influence from early R&B and blues artists such as Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley Slim Harpo and Muddy Waters, among others. He took the raw blues sound and influence and it was applied to Them. Forming in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1964, Them began first became known for their live performances at the Maritime Hotel. The original group featured Van Morrison on vocals/harmonica, Billy Harrison (guitar), Alan Henderson (bass), Eric Wrixton (keyboards) and Ronnie Millings on drums. Them’s R&B and blues covers were executed in a musical style that would become known as garage rock. Them soon found their way to Decca Records and recorded their first session in July of 1964. They recorded songs such as “Don’t Start Crying Now”, “One Two Brown Eyes”, the popular live favourite “Turn On Your Love Light”, the future garage rock staple “Gloria” and a few others.

Soon after this recording session, the band line-up began to shuffle and Them featured numerous different session musicians on their recordings. It was also during this early point in Van Morrison’s career where he began working with producer/songwriter Bert Burns. One of his contributions to Them was the song “Here Comes The Night”, which was recorded along with a cover “Baby Please Don’t Go”. In this set’s linear notes, Morrison describes first hearing this song on an acoustic guitar. The version that was recorded features Van Morrison’s raw and soulful vocal delivery, and guitar performed by then session musician Jimmy Page. “Here Comes The Night” was Them’s third single. It reached number two on the UK singles charts and number 24 on the US singles charts when it was originally released in October of 1964. Them continued to record with varying lineups. They released several singles and two full-length albums, The Angry Young Them (1965) and Them Again (1966), all of which are included on The Complete Them 1964-1967.

Part of what makes this collection of recordings from other Them compilation releases, most notably The Story Of Them, is the fact that the mono recordings featured here are sourced from the original master tapes from Decca. In addition to this, the third disc featured in this collection features 24 songs made up of demos, alternate versions of session tracks and live recordings from BBC’s Saturday Club. Some of the alternate versions of songs featured here are drastically different. The slow build of “Turn On Your Love Light”, as mentioned earlier, a popular live favourite during the band’s live set in their early days. This version picks up to a rapid R&B rave-up pace, rivaling the previously released studio version. “Go On Home Baby (Take 4)” features more sprawling, aggressive guitar and vocals, while “I Gave My Love A Diamond (Take 8)” is drenched in tremolo guitar, staccato guitar parts and glassy sounding bass. There are numerous nuggets like this throughout this 69-song set. The name Them has often been described as being influenced by the 1954 science fiction film of the same name, but in the linear notes to this set, it is also revealed that it was partly influenced by an ad for another band in Melody Maker. Throughout this set, we can see Van Morrison develop and reveal a sound of raw, wide-eyed garage rock seeped in the blues, to a more soulful sound. It was at this point in 1967 that Van Morrison would branch off from Them and would then go onto a successful solo career.



Below are the playlists for the two most recent episodes of Revolution Rock (Download links are below each playlist):

Show # 616 (Originally Aired on June 4th, 2016):

1. Them - Baby Please Don’t Go (Take 4)
2. Them - Turn On Your Love Light (Alternate Version)
3. Them - Richard Cory
4. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Frying Pan
5. The Standells - Rari
6. The Howlies - She’s In Control
7. The Velveteins - Beach Reprise
8. The North Carolina Music Love Army - Stick To The Plan
9. Papa Ghostface - Samhain
10. Border Patrol - This World
11. Jose Contreras - Psychic Radio
12. Art Bergmann - A Town Called Mean
13. Art Bergmann - In Betweens
14. Daniel Romano - I Had To Hide Your Poem In A Song
15. White Fang - Chunks
16. Monomyth - Transmission
17. The Ronald Reagan Story - Ronnie (I Voted For You)
18. The Minstrels Of Truth - I Want Your Business
19. Generation X - Kiss Me Deadly
20. The Police - No Time This Time
21. Gang Of Four - Call Me Up
22. Dee Dee Ramone & The Chinese Dragons - What About Me?
23. The Vores - Stress
24. The Bureaucrats - Grown Up Age
25. Idols - You
26. Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World
27. Old Code - Crooked Smile
28. The Mark Inside - Where You Are
29. The Mark Inside - Shark Attack (I Can See Them Circling)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 4.

Show # 615 (Originally Aired on May 28th, 2016):

1. Fire Engines - Discord
2. Walrus - Fur Skin Coat
3. The Burning Hell - Nostalgia
4. Simply Saucer - Dance The Mutation
5. White Lung - Dead Weight
6. Supermoon - Stories We Tell Ourselves About Ourselves
7. Frankie Cosmos - Sinclair
8. Car Seat Headrest - Fill In The Blank
9. Adriean Teacher And The Subs - Terminal City
10. Outrageous Cherry - Sign Of The Times
11. Shotgun Jimmie - Province To Province
12. John Lennon - Crippled Inside
13. Bob Dylan - As I Went Out One Morning
14. Bob Dylan - Melancholy Mood
15. Bob Dylan - That Old Black Magic
16. The Velvet Underground - Coney Island Steeplechase
17. The Modern Lovers - She’s Cracked
18. By Divine Right - Que Paso?
19. Radiohead - Identikit
20. John Cale - Barracuda
21. Leonard Cohen - Tonight Will Be Fine
22. Dead Ghosts - That Old Feeling
23. Them - Mystic Eyes
24. Them - Gloria (Demo)
25. Them - Here Comes The Night (Take 2)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 28.

Misfits, Gruesomes Reunions and Shows # 612, 613 & 614

Misfits to Reunite for Riot Fest 2016

After years of legal battles, a surprise announcement was made that the Misfits would be reuniting for two live shows as part of Riot Fest 2016. Billed as “The Original Misfits”, the reunion will include Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and guitarist Doyle. Glenn Danzig formed Misfits originally in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey with a different line-up. When bassist Jerry Only joined the band shortly after, he and Danzig would be the only consistent members in the line-up until they split in 1983. Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, the brother of Jerry Only joined the Misfits in 1980. Misfits released several EPs, singles and the full-length albums, Walk Among Us in 1982 and Earth A.D./Wolf’s Blood in 1983 during their original incarnation. Following the split, Only continued with Misfits and Danzig went onto a solo career. The tagline for the reunion shows is “They Said It Would Never Happen”, but the Misfits will be playing again. The reunion shows will take place in Denver, Colorado September 2-4, 2016 and in Chicago September 16-18, 2016. No word on whether future dates will be added.



The Gruesomes Reunite for Anachronik Music Festival

Another reunion of sorts took place in May 2016. Montreal garage band The Gruesomes played a few live shows. Named after the scary neighbours from The Flintstones cartoon, the band formed in 1985 drawing heavily on early 60s garage and R&B influences. The band featured Bobby Beaton (guitar/vocals), Gerry Alvarez (guitar/vocals), John Davis (bass) and brother Eric Davis on drums originally. The band’s first full-length album Tyrants Of Teen Trash was originally released on independent Canadian music label Og Music in 1986. This resulted in a growth in popularity and led to an underground following in Europe, the US and Canada. The band split in 1990. They reformed in 1999, releasing Cave-In! in 2000 and have performed live shows sporadically. They played in 2008 to coincide with the CD release of Tyrants of Teen Trash via the Ricochet Sound label and again in 2009 as part of another music festival in Montreal. On May 6th, 2016, The Gruesomes performed as part of the Montreal Anachronik Music Festival. They also played a smaller show in Ottawa on May 7th.



Below are the playlists for the three most recent episodes of Revolution Rock (Download links are below each playlist):

Playlist for Show # 614 (Originally aired on May 21st, 2016):

1. Deja Voodoo - Swamp Of Love
2. Kid Congo And The Pink Monkeybirds - Magic Machine
3. Teen Challengers - Doin’ Me-In
4. King James & The Royal Jesters - I Get A Feeling
5. The Bell Peppers - Negative Creep
6. Thee Mighty Caesars - Thee Trickster
7. Traditional Fools - Stronger Than Dirt
8. Frenchy And The Punk - Fe Fi Fo Fum
9. Vic Godard & The Subway Sect - Vertical Integration
10. Tom Waits - Talking At The Same Time
11. Stompin' Tom Connors - My Stompin' Grounds
12. MIck Farren & The New Wave - Lost Johnny
13. Art Bergmann - Live It Up
14. Alex Chilton - Sugar, Sugar/I Got The Feelin'
15. The Smiths - Is It Really So Strange
16. The Stranglers - Hey! (Rise Of The Robots)
17. Parks At Night - I Don’t Mind
18. Hooded Fang - Vacant Light
19. Kitten Forever - Static
20. Actual Water - Carolina Ave.
21. Terminal Sunglasses - The A.M. Story
22. Young Rival - Lucky
23. Pow Wows - Do The Splash
24. Holy Wave - Magic Landing
25. Holy Wave - Western Playland
26. Crushed Butler - Its My Life
27. The Replacements - Basement Jam
28. The New Strychnines - Dirty Robber
29. The Kinks - Milk Cow Blues

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 21.

Playlist For Show # 613 (Originally aired on May 14th, 2016):

1. Damaged Bug - Gloves For Garbage
2. The Lonely Parade - Window
3. Misfits - Cough/Cool
4. Devo - Don’t You Know
5. Nervebreakers - Why Am I So Flipped?
6. Nervous Talk - Nothing To Say
7. Greys - No Star
8. The Black Angels - Young Dead Man
9. Johnny Bell - Flip Flop And Fly
10. Ding Dongs - She’s A Tiger
11. South River Slim - Bang Bang
12. The Pogues - Waxie’s Dangle
13. Shotgun Jimmie - Join The Band
14. Cold Warps - Everywhere I Go
15. Sloan - I’m Gonna Give It A Try
16. Alexander Zen - She Is Soul
17. Bipolaroid - Beauty
18. Jack Wood - So Sad
19. Motor City Bonnevilles - Make Up Your Mind
21. The Sonics - Don’t You Just Know It
22. The Stones - Fad World
23. The Gruesomes - Tell Me How You Feel (Live)
24. The Gruesomes - My Dad's A Ho-Dad (Live)
25. The Special Edisons - The Road To El Dorito
26. The Lime Spiders - Out Of Control
27. The Rolling Stones - Prodigal Son
28. Iggy Pop - Vulture
29. The Famines - I’ll Save My Sympathy
30. The Velvet Underground - Beginning To See The Light (Live)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 14.

Playlist For Show # 612 (Originally aired on May 7th, 2016):

1. The King Khan & BBQ Show - Hold Me Tight
2. Light Bulb Alley - I Only Got Two Feet
3. Sheer Mag - Can't Stop Fighting
4. Downtown Boys - Wave Of History
5. White Lung - Kiss Me When I Bleed
6. Radiohead - Burn The Witch
7. Hooded Fang - Tunnel Vision
8. Wire - Numbered
9. The Soft Pack - Answer To Yourself
10. Laura Sauvage - Rubberskin
11. Plants And Animals - Stay
12. Johnny Cash - Blue Train
13. Sturgill Simpson - In Bloom
14. The Sadies - Postcards
15. The Decoys - In Our Blood
16. Teenanger - You’re My Baby
17. David Bowie & The Lower Third - Can't Stop Thinking About Me
18. David Bowie - Liza Jane
19. Beat Happening - Bewitched
20. Lost Patrol - You Just Care About Looks
21. White Zombie - Gentleman Junkie
22. PJ Harvey - Chain Of Keys
23. The Traditional Fools - Surfin’ With The Phantom
24. The Traditional Fools - Black Water
25. Ty Segall - Lovely One
26. Neil Young - Opera Star
27. Modern Lovers - Astral Plane

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 7.