Comprised of original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, future Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, future founding member of Visage Rusty Egan, and drummer Steve New, who would go on to play briefly in Public Image, Ltd., Rich Kids were one of the first "supergroups" on the Punk/New Wave scene. With that much talent in one group, their first record was eagerly anticipated by fans and music journalists alike.
Their first album would turn out to be their only album, but oh what a record it is! Ghosts of Princes in Towers landed on store shelves in the summer of 1978, its grooves fairly bursting with energy, its tracks ranging from simply very good to stunning. Unfortunately, for as good as the music was, the recording sounded terrible. Mick Ronson had been brought on board to produce the album, and the resultant recording was a muddied rumbling mix that thoroughly disappointed everyone from critics to fans to the band alike.
Still, there's no hiding talent. From the title track to the eponymous first single to cuts like "Marching Men," Rich Kids blasted out a punky power-pop vibe with a little tinge of '60s mod sounds a la The Small Faces (whose "Here Come the Nice" they covered as an early b-side). The songs are well worth the audiophile's nightmare to listen to. Years later, CD re-issues of the album would try to improve the sound through remastering, with fair to middling results, but we vinyl junkies are stuck with Ronson's folly.
After that fiasco, Rich Kids went their separate ways. Supergroups seldom have a long shelf-life anyway, but it sure would have been nice to hear what these guys would have come up with as a sophomore effort.
This week's NW4NW entry is a clip of Rich Kids performing their debut single "Rich Kids" on Top Of The Pops. Enjoy!
Australians Harry Vanda and George Young have an interesting musical pedigree. In the '60s, Vanda played lead guitar and Young rhythm guitar (and both provided backing vocals) for The Easybeats, best known for their one-hit wonder "Friday On My Mind."
When that band broke up in 1970, Vanda and Young continued writing songs and recording under various pseudonyms including Paintbox and Grapefruit, and also got involved in writing and producing for other performers. Most notably, they produced several early albums for a band you may have heard of that George Young's brothers Angus and Malcolm put together called AC/DC (from 1975's High Voltage to 1978's If You Want Blood You've Got It). They also had a worldwide hit in the mellow soft-rock genre, writing and producing "Love Is In The Air" for the unrelated John Paul Young in 1978.
With successes in '60s pop, and '70s hard rock and soft rock, why not dabble in early New Wave as well? Vanda and Young began a side-project studio collaboration that soon blossomed into a nearly ten-year run as the wonderfully named Flash 'n' the Pan.
Beginning with the outstanding "Hey St. Peter" in 1977, Flash 'n' the Pan released a steady stream of inventive, enjoyable records that were heartily embraced both in their Australian homeland and throughout most of Europe. Their sound, a keyboard-propelled loping melody beneath heavily compressed spoken-sung vocals, was easily identifiable, and their ability to write catchy tunes saw them score overseas hits with "Media Man,""Welcome To The Universe," and "Waiting For A Train."
By the mid-80s, Vanda and Young had slowed down drastically, although they have never completely stopped working together. Occasional albums sporadically appeared under the Flash 'n' the Pan moniker up through the mid-90s, although many were repackaged "hits" collections. They are one of those bands that just might have been different enough to catch on in the US had they been given a even chance here (of course, conservative radio programmers wouldn't play their records back then - they sounded too "weird"). Most people I introduce to Flash 'n' the Pan find that, once they get used to the vocals, they really enjoy them. You might too.
This week's NW4NW entry is the clip for that first single, "Hey St. Peter." It remains one of my favorite songs of the era. Enjoy!
My brother and I each have somewhat bizarre senses of humor, as anyone who knows either of us can attest. Anyone who knows both of us can tell you that putting us together results in a combined humor that is odder than the sum of its parts. But there are few out there who would fully understand how a bag of frozen lima beans had us both in tears laughing this weekend.
There are only two vegetables I will not, cannot, eat: brussel sprouts and lima beans. I know that they are good for me, packed with nutrients and antioxidants and vitamins and a bunch of other good things. Unfortunately, when Mother Nature packed all that healthiness into them, she found no room left to add things like flavor, enjoyable texture, or anti-gagging qualities. Any other vegetable you put in front of me, I'll eat happily. Asparagus, spinach, turnips, peas, corn, carrots, collard greens - all yummy in my book. Heck, I'll even eat okra and smile (I did live in the South for a while)!
My brother has considerably lower tolerance for vegetables than I, so lima beans are high on his "will not eat" list as well. In fact, this whole story begins with him sharing his dislike for the little green horrors with his in-laws, declaring them so vile that, at Christmas, he'd rather find a lump of coal in his stocking than lima beans! Sure enough, come Christmas day, his in-laws, who have become accustomed to his odd sense of humor over the years, delivered to him a Christmas stocking containing a bag of frozen lima beans.
After the merriment had subsided, he suddenly realized he was stuck with a bag of lima beans! He certainly didn't want them, his wife wouldn't eat them, his in-laws didn't want them back. Who in their right mind would? The things are atrocious! Over the next week or so, he asked friends and neighbors if they wanted the lima beans. Everyone responded the same way: "EWWWWW! YUCK!!!" Resigned to his fate as owner of the lima beans, he put them in his freezer, where they would still be had I not opened my big mouth.
Because my brother's birthday is Christmas Day and mine is January 6, and because our parents are divorced and Dad lives about an hour away, it has become tradition that we signal the end of the holiday season with a combined Christmas/New Year/both of our birthdays celebration with Dad. This year, it turns out that this holiday celebration was not the last of the festivities; a combined birthdays dinner with Mom will close out the holidays this time around. But, Sunday was Dad's day, and since I do not drive, my brother and his wife were going to be picking me up to head west to Dad's place.
The phone rang around 11:30 Sunday morning. "We're on our way to get you," my brother reported.
"Alright, I'm ready!" I replied.
"Do you want us to wait until our birthday dinner with Mom, or should we bring your birthday presents along today?" he asked.
Sensing an opening for one of our standard phone routines, I again replied, "Alright, I'm ready!" In fact, as chance had it, that phrase perfectly answered another question or two that he asked, so I declared "Alright, I'm ready," the most handy phrase imaginable; that it could be applied just about anytime.
"OK," he smirked, "how about if I bring you a bag of frozen lima beans?"
I paused for a moment, and then, not knowing that he actually HAD a bag frozen lima beans (Why would he? He hates them as much as I do!), I foolishly decided to call his bluff: "Alright, I'm ready!"
I should know better. I really should. When we were kids still living at home, there was the day he triumphantly marched into my room proudly carrying a shoebox containing somewhere around $35 in assorted coins and dollar bills. "This is all the money I've won off of you in the past year!" he grinned. As brothers often do, we'd bet on things - a quarter here, a dollar there, oh-come-on-double-or-nothing - but whereas the money I would occasionally win would be soon spent on baseball cards or candy or something, he won more often, and had been saving everything he won from me solely for the enjoyment of rubbing my face in it A YEAR LATER! This was no rookie I was dealing with.
I lost this bet, too. Amongst my birthday presents sat a bag of frozen lima beans.
As I picked it up and realized what it was, my brother just started laughing. What else could I do but laugh as well. Dad looked at both of us as though we were crazy, but once the story was explained, he had to laugh too.
So, the bag of lima beans now resides in my freezer, and I am resigned to be their keeper for the time being, until I can find either a willing recipient or an unwitting soul to pass them along to.
I've mentioned in previous posts that I am a firm believer that social media should be just that: social. While I understand and respect those who choose to limit their friend lists to those people with whom they have interacted in some way in the real world (former classmates, ex-coworkers, family and friends, etc.), I also feel they are missing out on one of the great joys that social media offers.
The ability for the average person to meet and converse with people from all across the world at the touch of a keyboard simply didn't exist a short few years ago. Now, thanks in large part to sites like Facebook, there is little difference between "across the street" and "across the globe." While this has been a boon for the professional networking crowd, it's also a chance for anyone to expand their horizons beyond their physical location. The people that you can connect with online and who become "cyber-friends" are the 21st century equivalent of the pen pal, without having to wait weeks to receive replies in the mail.
I have met and built friendships with many wonderful folks on Facebook who I will likely never have the chance to meet in person due to the distance between our physical locations. I have connected with folks as far away as Indonesia, India, France and the UK, networking both for business purposes and out of shared interests discovered through common Facebook groups or other online interactions. I tend to keep an open-door policy when it comes to accepting friend requests, as I am always interested in meeting new people. However, in the interests of safety and sanity (there are some real wackos online!), there are some basic guidelines I use in determining whether I'm going to accept that request. These are guidelines I also follow when I am extending a friend request to someone.
Last week, I received a friend request from someone who broke almost every one of these guidelines. I had to chuckle to myself as I hit the "ignore" button, as this person was clearly unskilled at the most basic concepts of networking, which happen also to be the foundation for these guidelines:
1. If We Haven't Met, Introduce Yourself. Facebook offers an option to include a personal message when you send a friend request. If you are reaching out to someone you have not met before, take a moment to add a sentence or two explaining why you're reaching out. Something like, "Hi, I noticed that you and I have several mutual friends here," or "I saw your profile and we are both fans of _____," or even "I am interested in meeting people from your part of the world." Something that gives me an idea why you are reaching out to me, so you're not mistaken for some weirdo stalker type.
2. If We Have Met, Don't Assume I Remember Who You Are. Especially if the only place we've met is another online service. (Twitter folks, I'm looking at you!) Whether we've talked on Twitter, met at a social function hosted by a common friend, or have interacted briefly in a business context, it helps a great deal to see a note saying, "I'm @twittername," "We met at John Doe's house last week," or "I work for XYZ Inc, and would like to add you to my contacts." Trust me, not everyone's memory is as superb as yours may be. This also applies if you are reaching out to someone from your past - a simple "I sat behind you in history in 8th grade," may make the difference between your request being accepted or tossed into the "ignore" bin.
The person who sent me the mystery request that inspired this post included no personal message, so I all I got was a name that rang no bell with me whatsoever. Had I ever met this person before, anywhere? If not, why was I being invited to join his Facebook circle?
3. Fill Out Your Profile Page, And Make Sure your Settings Allow Me To See It. If I don't know you well - or at all - believe me, the first place I'm going is to your profile page and the "about me" section. I want to know if we do have interests in common, or if there is something especially interesting about you that sells me on adding you as a friend. Be honest, but be creative - have a little fun with your profile page. Let your personality come through your words; this is one of those times when it is better to write the way you talk rather than stick to stodgy rules of composition. This is your first impression, and first impressions count!
Also, make sure you've got your privacy settings structured so that at least your basic "about me" info is viewable. The mystery person last week had his entire profile set to private, so again all I had was a random name. Even without the explanatory message, an interesting or unusual profile might have sold me.
4. Use A Photo Of Yourself As Your Profile Pic. That profile picture is extremely important! Some folks' memories are better jogged with a visual than anything else. Yet so often I get friend requests with no picture - or, worse yet, a meaningless picture. Use a picture of yourself. Not your family. Not your dog. Not your car. Not Bob Hope. Yourself. Preferably a head shot - remember, the pics aren't that big to begin with, so if the picture is of you rappelling down a rocky cliff, you're going to look like a shadowy smudge on my monitor.
Keep in mind that your profile pic can also work against you. The mystery friend request last week included a picture of a car (I assume owned by the person who sent the request), a high-end, high-dollar sporty number. All that told me was that this person either a.) is so materialistic as to believe others are going to be impressed by his wealth, or b.) is so shallow as to believe it important to project that image. In either case, that's a direct ticket to the "ignore" bin in my book.
5. Be Willing To Engage In Conversation Before I Decide To Accept. If I've got nothing else to go on, and I'm in a gregarious enough mood, I'll take one final step before hitting "ignore": I'll send a message to the person asking for some help in figuring out who they are. This can be done politely enough.
In the case of my mystery request, since all I had was a random name, no info, no profile, and a meaningless picture, I sent a message saying, "Forgive me, but have we met? If not, what made you choose me as someone to send a friend request to?"
Well, I never got a response from the mystery requester. In fact, in short order the friend request itself disappeared - had I scared this person off by asking such a basic question? Or, had I in fact successfully filtered a wacko? I'll never know for sure. If he was trying to network, he certainly was not doing it well!
By the way, if you would like to friend me on Facebook, feel free. Just make sure, please, to give me some idea of who you are!
There came a point, about the middle of 1983, when the standard in music videos changed from the early shoestring-budget chromakey clips of bands singing their songs amid various cheap-o video effects to high-minded "concept clips" that told a story. What was once a three-minute promo clip for a song became twice as long, with some sort of scene played out using the band as actors before getting around to the song itself.
Usually, only the big-name major-labels had the budgets to create these mini-movies, but in early 1984 a little-known indie label out of North Carolina, Dolphin Records, created one for their band-of-the-moment in hopes of gaining a slot in MTV's airplay rotation and the national exposure that came with it.
Although the clip was timely (a take on the Indiana Jones saga so popular at the time) and well done, and although the song was fantastic and the band local cult heroes in Durham, NC, "Change Gotta Come" by The X-Teens never received the airplay that was hoped for.
Kitty Moses (vocals and bass), Robert Bittle (guitar), Ned Robie (drums), and Todd Jones (keyboards) formed The X-Teens in 1980 and immediately released their first of three excellent records, ...big boy's dream. Mixing ideas and sounds gleaned from Elvis Costello, Pylon, and The B-52's into a twitchy, poppy blast, The X-Teens found an eager audience in the early '80s North Carolina New Wave scene.
Two more albums would follow: X-Teens in 1983 and Love and Politics in 1984; but the band was getting frustrated that their regional success was not translating into a wider fan-base. When "Change Gotta Come" failed to break them big, the band split up.
The X-Teens remain well-known in their home state, and are often pointed to as forerunners of what would become known as "The Chapel Hill Sound" of the mid-to-late '80s as defined by NC bands like Let's Active, The Connells, and The dB's. Indeed, all three of The X-Teens records were produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, whose trademark sound practically defined that subgenre. All three records are well worth your efforts in finding, but for now, here's our first NW4NW entry for 2010 (and a fitting title as we enter a brand new year with hopes of better days than 2009 left behind!), "Change Gotta Come" by The X-Teens. Enjoy!
Loving the feedback I've been getting on Facebook and Twitter for the first half of the countdown - now if only I could get you guys to actually comment HERE...
But enough of my whining, let's finish up this countdown, shall we?
#10 - "Because I'm Awesome" by The Dollyrots (2007) Kelly Ogden and her band The Dollyrots actually are awesome, and so is this song, which was the title cut from their second album (which also includes a killer cover of Melanie's "Brand New Key"). Getting national attention via airplay on Little Steven's Underground Garage, The Dollyrots have had their music turn up on TV shows ranging from CSI: NY to Ugly Betty. About time for a new album from them (pleasepleaseplease...)
#9 - "Lighten Up, Morrissey" by Sparks (2008) A perfect example of what makes Sparks such an amazing band: an inherent sense of what a pop song should sound like coupled with an adamant refusal to write pop songs, and subject matter that no one else ever thought to tackle (here, the tribulations of dating a girl who is WAY too into the former Smiths singer) handled with some of the most brilliantly clever lyrics ever written. Recording since the early 1970s, Sparks show no signs of slowing down, thankfully. You can find this on last year's Exotic Creatures of the Deep album.
#8 - "Fell in Love with a Girl" by The White Stripes (2001) Hard to believe this song is almost ten years old already! The White Stripes' brand of minimalistic lo-fi exhuberance is easy to spot, although the duo of Jack White and Meg White (who have claimed to be brother & sister, boyfriend & girlfriend, husband & wife, and divorced couple at various times throughout their career - they actually have been three of the four) have tried their hands at a number of genres. This, from White Blood Cells, is easily my favorite thing they ever did.
#7 - "Maneaters (Get Off the Road)" by Josie Cotton (2007) Yep, the same Josie Cotton who had an underground hit back in the early 1980s with "Johnny, Are You Queer?" She's made something of a comeback this decade, releasing two albums. Most recent was Invasion of the B-Girls, from which comes this wonderful cover of the theme song from Herschell Gordon Lewis' 1968 cult classic She Devils on Wheels. Out-frickin'-standing!
#6 - "Too Bad About Your Girl" by The Donnas (2002) It's easy to spot that these girls grew up listening to The Ramones, AC/DC and Kiss; it's also clear that they studied their Joan Jett records. Although they get lumped into the Punk and Alternative category, what The Donnas do is really just good ol' rawk 'n' roll with no apologies. Gotta love that! Annoyingly, they are also the band that I have had the most chances to see live but haven't yet seen - something always comes up! I will get to see them eventually; until then, their records, such as Spend the Night (where this song can be found), will have to do. Oh, and major props for the PJ Soles cameo in the clip!
#5 - "Hot Night Crash" by Sahara Hotnights (2004) If The Donnas represent the musical fruition of the seeds Joan Jett planted, then Sweden's Sahara Hotnights evolved directly from Suzi Quatro: a litle glammier, a little poppier, but every bit as tough. This song, which boasts one of the catchiest damn choruses of the decade, is one of those "any time it comes on the volume MUST be turned up" tunes. Pick up the Kiss and Tell album to hear more!
#4 - "Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple (2002/2005) First thing you'll notice here is that there are two years given for this song. This represents the three-year wait that we had to endure before Fiona Apple's label would officially release the Extraordinary Machine album. Early (and, I believe, superior) demo versions of the album were leaked online and a grassroots "Free Fiona" campaign helped to finally get the songs released in some form. What was officially released was, of course, something closer to the polished, shiny radio product that the label wanted. But you cannot hide pure talent, which is what Fiona is. Here's hoping we don't have to wait so long or fight so hard for the next record!
#3 - "Maps" by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003) Majestic, soaring, hypnotic..."Maps" exploded onto college and alternative radio playlists in 2003, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have never looked back. Led by the fascinatingly exotic Karen O, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have released three albums of amazing music, ranging from tuneless shrieking to beautiful washes of melody, all of it demanding your attention in much the same way Karen herself does onstage. This, from their debut, Fever to Tell, remains their most awesome creation.
#2 - "Science Genius Girl" by Freezepop (2000) It's hard to tell sometimes whether Bostonians Liz Enthusiasm, The Other Sean T. Drinkwater, and The Duke of Pannekoeken (collectively, Freezepop) are being serious or are doing a deadly-sharp parody of '80s synthpop. They've got the playbook down pat, and certainly are capable of writing great songs, but when those songs include odes to former Growing Pains star "Tracy Gold" and trendy '80s mall store "Chess King," you have to wonder how hard they're laughing while you're dancing. "Science Genius Girl," from their debut album Freezepop Forever, is a perfect example: catchy, undeniably danceable, but all done with a coy wink. Hmmm...
#1 - "Terminal Boredom" by The Cute Lepers (2008) Ordering this list was difficult; picking the #1 song was easy. The Cute Lepers' Can't Stand Modern Music has seldom left my CD changer in the last year or so, and this song is the standout on that excellent album. No new ground being broken here - it's good ol' punk rock done the right way: power chords, a healthy dose of snarkiness, and chant-along lyrics about there ain't being nothin' to do. It's great from start to finish, a wonderful musical time machine. Perfect!
So there you have it - my picks for the Top 20 songs of the decade. I'm sure you have comments, or your own lists. Bring 'em on!
And, wherever or however you are celebrating New Year's Eve this year, please be safe, and have a happy, healthy, and joyous 2010!
Hey, look at the calendar! Just a couple days left in the last year of the first decade of the century! (Before we go any further - peace to all of you who insist that the new decade doesn't start until 2011, and that the century didn't start until 2001, because there was no year "0", yadda yadda yadda...I hear you, and I follow your logic, but I gotta go with aesthetics. Plus, I'm ready to do this post NOW - don't make me wait another year!)
Anyway, seems like everyone loves to make year-end and decade-end lists, and I'm no exception. So I put together a list of the best songs of the past ten years. It was tough to pare it down to just the top 20, but I managed, and now I count them down for you, Casey Kasem-style, in two posts. Today we'll cover songs 20 through 11; tomorrow, Part Two will count down from 10 to 1.
Lists like this, subjective as they are, are always fodder for rousing debate. Feel free to comment accordingly. Here we go kids!
#20 - "Goodnight, Goodnight" by Hot Hot Heat (2005) Bursting out of Victoria, British Columbia as part of the mid-decade New Wave "revival" scene, Hot Hot Heat offered this wickedly chirpy little break-up song. They seldom stray far from this sound, which is a good thing. From the album Elevator.
#19 - "On the Radio" by Regina Spektor (2006) The self-described "Bronx girl by way of Moscow who writes songs for piano, voice, drum stick and guitar," wrote a particularly nifty one here, with some wonderfully brilliant lyrics: "And on the radio you'll hear 'November Rain'/That solo's awfully long, but it's a good refrain/You'll listen to it twice, because the DJ is asleep..." The song can be found on Regina's excellent Begin to Hope album.
#18 - "It's Not Right" by DEVA (2007) The only non-officially-released song in the countdown, but so very deserving of being here, for concept as much as for execution. "NYC's femme-fronted Devo cover band," DEVA (think about how that's pronounced for a moment...genius!) has been playing live for several years and getting their music out through YouTube and their MySpace page. Their take on the Spudboy's "It's Not Right" blurs the line wonderfully between tribute and parody.
#17 - "Ocean Breathes Salty" by Modest Mouse (2004) Cross The Pixies with Talking Heads, and the result would not be far from Modest Mouse. In fact, it's not difficult to imagine either Frank Black or David Byrne singing this one, although neither would imbue it with quite the level of visceral emotion Isaac Brock manages. This was the second single from the album Good News for People Who Love Bad News.
#16 - "Lights Out" by Santogold (2008) It's not often when I discover a song thanks to a beer commercial, but when Santogold's ethereal bop turned up in a series of Bud Light commercials last year, I was hooked. Those who are old enough to remember the campy late '70s Santo Gold jewelry infomercials will smile at the name Santi White chose for herself; those same jewelers sued, and she had to change it to the current Santigold. The album was self-titled, and can be found under both names as well.
#15 - "Donut Man" by The Dickies (2001) The Dickies will always be one of my all-time favorite bands. They're hyperspeed California cartoon punk is always fun stuff. Still going strong after three decades! Find this one on their 2001 release, All This and Puppet Stew.
#14 - "Eight Easy Steps" by Alanis Morissette (2004) There are those who don't understand how Alanis Morissette fits into my musical universe, while others who know me well say it makes perfect sense that she would be one of my three favorite artists of all time (along with Bow Wow Wow and Sparks - twist your head around THAT triumverate!) Her more recent material has been hit and miss, but she never hit as dead on as she did with this one. From the otherwise disappointing So-Called Chaos album.
#13 - "I Love You 'Cause I Have To" by Dogs Die in Hot Cars (2004) Great band name, funny lyrics, insistently catchy hooks - how can you go wrong? Scotland's Dogs Die in Hot Cars may come across sounding like they nicked it all from their collection of XTC records (close your eyes and you'll swear that's Andy Partridge singing the chorus), but at least they chose their source material well. From the album Please Describe Yourself.
#12 - "Relator" by Scarlett Johansson & Pete Yorn (2009) This song is so much better than it has any right to be. Pete Yorn is from the cookie-cutter school of sensitive indie guys with guitars, and Scarlett Johannson is a whole lot easier on the eyes than she is on the ears, but together they made this incredibly wonderful song. Johannson purrs over top of a chug-a-chug melody that just brings a smile to my face every time I hear it. From the album Break Up.
#11 - "Miss Take" by HorrorPops (2004) Tattoos, piercings, B-movie shock make-up, punky psychobilly sounds, go-go dancers and a girl with a stand up bass. That describes the wonderful world of the Danish band HorrorPops, whose Hell Yeah! may have been the most criminally unsung album of the year back in 2004. Go out and buy it now!
"Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed When silly thoughts go through my head About the bugs and alphabet And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again I can tell that we are going to be friends..."
- "We Are Going To Be Friends" by White Stripes
Have you ever had one of those days when the Universe reminds you in some amazing way that everything is interconnected, that things happen the way they do for reasons and not at random, and that the truly important people in your life will always be the truly important people, no matter what? That was the Christmas present the Universe gave me this past Saturday.
True Friends
Saturday morning I logged on to Facebook, and immediately got an IM from my friend Aimee. She had told me earlier that she was planning to be in town and we had decided to try to get together; until we found each other on Facebook about a month ago, we had not heard from one another in nearly fifteen years.
Aimee and I worked together at The Marion Court Room Restaurant here in Lancaster, PA, in the early-to-mid '90s, and we became very good friends during that time. Our shared love of staying up until all hours of the night discussing life and philosophy over a bottle of wine (or several) was the launching point for a friendship that saw much laughter, a few tears, a lot of advice given and taken, and the security of knowing that, even if we occasionally ticked each other off or had to sometimes call each other on poor choices, we each had a friend out there who would always be supportive and non-judgmental.
Eventually, Aimee's life took her to Rochester, NY, and though I did go to visit her once shortly after she moved, the years have a way of piling up without you realizing it. And now, fifteen years later, we were going to be getting together again.
We wound up meeting for drinks at Iron Hill Brewery. I was a bit worried going in - we've all been in those situations where you get together with someone you've not seen in quite awhile, only to discover you no longer have much at all in common. You suffer through seemingly endless awkward silences, furiously wracking your brain for a believable excuse to get away, and after parting with a half-hearted "We'll have to do this again sometime," you head home wondering how you ever were friends in the first place. What if that was the situation we'd be faced with?
From the first moment of our reunion those worries vanished in the warm hug of old friends who were so happy to see each other again. After some initial standard questions (married? kids? what kind of work are you doing?), we fell into our old familiar rhythm of conversation. The Aimee sitting across from me Saturday was still the Aimee I knew and loved all those years ago, and it was so good to hear her laugh again, to listen to her dreams for her future, and to reminisce a little bit about the good friends we worked with so many years ago.
Over the course of almost three and a half hours, it was as if the years and distance were never there. We both remarked during the conversation how it felt as if we had just seen each other the day before. As I noted on my Facebook page, I believe that's how you know your truest friends: when you can get together after even years apart and pick right up like no time has passed. It was a wonderful, happy feeling.
That evening, I had plans to head out to The Chameleon for a CD release show for the band Slimfit, who were co-headlining with my favorite local band, Perkasie. I invited Aimee, but she was hitting the road early the next morning and so she had to pass. As it turned out, she missed out on the most amazing part of the entire day.
Amazing Coincidences
The group of us that met up at The Chameleon was made up of several of Lancaster's local Twitter users. The Twitterati, as we have been blanket-labeled, are a great group of folks, many of whom I have become very good friends with in real life as well as online. We share the ups and downs of our individual experiences, and my get-together with a friend I hadn't seen in so long was a topic of conversation early on. Everyone agreed that friends who can reunite and pick up where they left off in that way are the very best friends to have, and they are rare and valuable indeed.
Among the "where are they now?" reminiscences that Aimee and I pondered that afternoon were a couple that we worked with and were each also very good friends with, Ski and Sara. They were two of the kindest, warmest souls you would ever care to meet. They embraced the hippie lifestyle, but in a very real way, not as part of the "hippie fad" of the nineties. Ski's long red hair, mustache and beard and tie-dyed wardrobe, and Sara's free-spirited bohemian ways always made it seem like they had somehow been transported through time from the heart of 1967 Haight-Ashbury; it surprised no one that they eventually found one another and married. We knew they had also left Lancaster years ago, but weren't sure where they wound up. Aimee thought they might have gone to Colorado, while I somehow had it in my head that they were in New England.
As the night drew to a close and Perkasie were launching into the last song of their set, I happened to glance over and catch the sight of two hippie-ish looking folks dancing joyously to the music. They, looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place them at first. When I realized I was looking at Ski and Sara, I was literally dumbstruck. I made my way over to them, but found myself unable to say anything. Sara saw me first, and her infectious smile snapped me back to my senses. Ski saw me too, and just began laughing, and I was quickly swallowed into a tremedous embrace by the both of them. "Sara thought that was you!" Ski told me, "We weren't sure though, we couldn't get a good look at you!"
How amazing: Ski and Sara weren't in Colorado or New England - they were in Lancaster, PA, at The Chameleon, on the very day that Aimee and I had reunited and wondered aloud what had ever happened to them. When I shared that I had seen Aimee just that afternoon, Sara's mouth dropped: "We were just talking about her!" Sadly, we weren't able to spend much time together, but we did exchange contact info and have made plans to catch up with each other the next time they are in town, whenever that may be. And, much as I had with Aimee, I found myself falling right back into the old familiar rhythms of conversation with Ski and Sara, as if they had been there the day before. Ski's hair has changed from red to grey and Sara's wearing hers much shorter now, but they were still the Ski and Sara I knew and loved.
15 Years Melted Away
And that is how, in the span of roughly 12 hours, three of my dearest friends from my past, none of whom I had seen in nearly fifteen years, came back into my world, and how the Universe reminded me that the connections we make throughout our lives - the important ones anyway - always remain. It made this one of the best Christmases ever.
I often mention to friends that one day I would love to put together a compilation CD of artists who really seem to be enjoying themselves and flat out having fun making the music they make. Jonathan Richman would make the cut, based on one college friend of mine declaring him "the happiest man in rock and roll." Because you can pretty much bet that whatever you are doing at any given moment, somewhere in the world David Lee Roth is having more fun than you are, he'd be in the mix as well.
Featured in such a mix would be Joe "King" Carrasco. He always looked and sounded like he was having a blast!
Bursting out of Dumas, TX, first with his band El Molino and later - and more widely recognized - as frontman for Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns, Carrasco's songs center mainly on having a good time and dancing your cares away. Clad in crazy neon outfits and often sporting an Imperial Margarine-styled crown, Joe and his band staked out a unique corner of the New Wave universe in the early '80s with their Tex-Mex sound.
Good-time, not-a-care-in-the-world lyrics that would occasionally transition unexpectedly between English and Spanish, irresistibly catchy dance beats, and reedy Farfisa organ riffs were Carrasco's calling cards; he and his band were a modern version of Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs (whose "Wooly Bully" Carrasco eventually, inevitably, covered). They were spotted early on by Elvis Costello, whose support helped them become one of the first American bands to sign with the legendary Stiff Records label.
Carrasco was also one of the early artists to adapt to the then-new music video format. As a result, Carrasco saw his greatest exposure during the first year or so of MTV, with clips for "Person-Person", "Buena,""Current Events (Are Making Me Tense)" and "Party Weekend" seeing regular airplay.
It's awfully hard not to smile when listening to Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns. Their happy-go-lucky music is downright infectious, so it was difficult for me to choose just one clip. Plus, it's the Christmas season, so I'm in a giving mood. This week, you get three - count 'em, three! - clips: the goofily giddy "Person-Person," the wildly exuberant "Party Weekend", and, in the spirit of the holidays, Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns' live in-studio MTV Christmas song from 1981, "It's A Party Christmas." Well, what else would you expect a Joe Carrasco Christmas song to be called? Enjoy!
One of those bits of music trivia that virtually everyone knows is the answer to the question, "What was the first song ever played on MTV?" Altogether now: "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles. But, do you know the answer to this one: "Who recorded 'Video Killed The Radio Star' first?"
Wait, what? Who recorded it first? You mean it wasn't The Buggles' song to begin with? It's a COVER?!?
Well, yes and no. The song was co-written by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, the duo who would go on to record as The Buggles, and a third person. That third songwriter was named Bruce Woolley.
Woolley actually wrote most of the music, while Horn and Downes collaborated on the lyrics (although it was Woolley who added the memorable but now-dated line, "Put the blame on VTR.") And it was Woolley and his band, The Camera Club, who released the original version of the song in early 1979. Moving about a half-step more quickly and sounding slightly less polished than the more-familiar Buggles version (which they released later that year), and ironically having no video clip to promote it, the Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club version is preferable to my ears:
The Camera Club's lone, self-titled album is a wonderful artifact from the early New Wave era. (In the UK, the album was called English Garden and featured different artwork.) A second single, the fantastic "English Garden," followed on the heels of "Video Killed The Radio Star," and it seemed like Bruce Woolley & the Camera Club were well on their way to New Wave stardom. And then...nothing.
Apparently, battles between the band and their record label (the usual creative direction vs. commercial viability struggles) caused an irreconcilable rift before a second album could be completed, and The Camera Club was no more. Woolley formed a new band, Firmament & The Elements, who released one minor EP before disbanding, and then took a behind-the-scenes role writing and producing for other artists. New Wave stardom did come, briefly, to one member of The Camera Club, however: the keyboard player would go on to have an unlikely yet massive worldwide hit in 1982 as a solo artist, "She Blinded Me With Science." His name was Thomas Dolby.
Our NW4NW entry this week is an appearance by Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club on The Old Grey Whistle Test, performing "English Garden" and "Clean Clean," another song co-written with, and later recorded by, The Buggles. Watch for a young Thomas Dolby behind the synths:
Comprised of original Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, future Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, future founding member of Visage Rusty Egan, and drummer Steve New, who would go on to play briefly in Public Image, Ltd., Rich Kids were one of the first "supergroups" on the Punk/New Wave scene. With that much talent in one group, their first record was eagerly anticipated by fans and music journalists alike.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=265df381-4e39-4065-88d9-976fb753ed4a)
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