Frank's Faves on Fridays

Here are some more recommendations from Frank (and some more unwanted comments from me):

Adam Schmitt – "Just Listen" (1993)

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I liked this song, although I wouldn't have minded it being a little less repetitive (A major, B major, A major, B major, A major etc etc). The guitars and especially the drums shouted "80's Rock" to me.



Adam Schmitt – "Can't Get You On My Mind" (1991)
Link This was even more 80's Rock, but I liked it – sort of (I was musically scarred by the 80's). I'm pretty keen on finding some more Adam Schmitt to listen to. I've enjoyed what I've heard so far. America – "Today's The Day" (1976) Link This sounds like a record America made when no-one was listening to America anymore. It was nice when it was on, but when it finished I couldn't remember what I had just heard. But I'm glad you presented me with a song by America – it's inspired me to make "Sister Golden Hair" Song of the day sometime*. "Sister Golden Hair" is one of my all-time favourite songs from the 70's. I can't tell you how much I adore it. (And George Martin's production of "Sister Golden Hair" is immaculate.) Incidentally, the melody of the background vocals in the chorus of "Today's The Day" ("I've got this feeling that today's the day" starting at 0:47) reminded me of the melody that starts the chorus of Huey Lewis and the News' "Do You Believe In Love" (starting at – believe it or not – 0:47 in this video). The two melodies may not be that similar, but when I hear one I hear the other. Actually, you can sing the line "Do you believe in love?" over the top of those background vocals in the America song. I don't know if you'd want to, but you can, and it fits... Any Trouble – "Second Choice" (1997) Link Even before the singing started I was singing along with it: "Haaa-aang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on...". Although I'd heard of Any Trouble, I'd never got around to hearing any of their music. I have no idea how representative this song is of them, but judging by what I heard I'd say that they're a bar band (in Australia and England they'd be known as a pub band). Hang on... Any Trouble's MySpace page says they're from England, so that'd make 'em a pub band. Bonus song! One of the four songs Frank suggested last week was a cute little ditty from 1974, the gently rocking "Rock Me Gently" by Andy Kim. After listening to the song, I mentioned to Frank that I thought Andy sounded like Neil Diamond. In return, Frank sent me a song where AK apparently doesn't sound like ND: Andy Kim - "Baby, I Love You" (1969) Link Useless Sidenote: There's a later video of Andy singing this song which, judging by Andy's mullet, was probably made sometime in the 80's – but I think that one video of Andy Kim singing "Baby, I Love You" is more than enough. When I first played the song I wasn't paying much attention and thought that it was nice and pleasant and, well, nice. It sounded vaguely familiar, but when the chorus kicked I went, "Oh, it's that song." I think "Baby, I Love You" is a great song but Andy's performance is unremarkable. For me, it certainly doesn't erase memories of the original: The Ronettes- "Baby, I Love You" (1963) Link (*Which I did on 24 March.)

Song of the day: The Allusions - "The Dancer"

Here are The Allusions with "The Dancer" (1966):


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By the way, the bits of the song where they sing "the dancer" reminds me of the bits in The Hollies' "Look Through Any Window" when they sing "highways", "byways", etc:

The Hollies - "Look Through Any Window" (1965)

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I know it's only two notes, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning as some huge Musical Coincidence or anything. (You may think it wasn't worth mentioning at all...)

Song of the day: Shaun Cassidy - "Hey Deanie"

In last week's Frank's Faves on Fridays post, one of the songs featured was a 1981 track called "Hey Deanie" by Gary Charlson. Gary was a chap I'd never heard of before – and I didn't recall hearing the song before either.

After I mentioned that I wasn't especially keen on "Hey Deanie", Frank surprised me by mentioning that the song was actually written by Eric Carmen, one of my power pop heroes (he wrote "Go All The Way", and as far as I'm concerned that's all he ever needed to do to become one of The Power Pop Immortals™). Frank thought that Eric's version was a whole lot better than Gary's. (I suppose it would be – Eric wrote the thing after all.)

Which leads me to wonder why on Earth Frank presented me with Gary's version of "Hey Deanie" and not Eric's. Why, Frank, why?

(By the way, Frank: you don't have to answer that. Even though you're named in the question, it was purely rhetorical.)

To refresh your memory (and mine), here's the Gary Charlson version:

Gary Charlson - "Hey Deanie" (1981)

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Now here's Eric's version:

Eric Carmen - "Hey Deanie" (1978)

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I think that's a vast improvement, but the song itself still didn't do much for me. Was there a better version out there perchance? You better believe it, baby.

Frank also mentioned* that although Eric wrote "Hey Deanie" he actually wrote it for Shaun Cassidy. I'm mighty glad that I was told that, because I hunted down the Señor Cassidy version, had a listen, and thought "Hallelujah! That's the one! That's the version!"

So, for your listening pleasure** here's the original version of "Hey Deanie":

Shaun Cassidy - "Hey Deanie" (1977)

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Now I like the song.

Thanks, Shaun, for bringing out the song's inner bubblegum.

Incidentally, I found two other versions of "Hey Deanie", and they're both by power pop bands that I know absolutely nothing about. You may enjoy them more than I did. (I'm only putting them here because I'm a hopeless completist...)

The Shivvers - "Hey Deanie" (1982)

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The Nicoteens - "Hey Deanie" (2000)

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(*I didn't know any of this "Hey Deanie" stuff until Frank told me.)

(**That depends entirely on your tolerance of:
a. Shaun Cassidy;
b. Bubblegum;
c. 70's male teen idols;
d. Satin clothing;
e. Impossibly white teeth;
f. All of the above.)

Song of the day: Celadore - "Make Sure"

Celadore is an Australian band I'd never heard of before until Scott Thurling from Popboomerang Records contacted me and said "Hey, Peter, get a load of this band – you'll like 'em!". Scotty was right:

Celadore - "Make Sure" (2010)


"Make Sure" appears on Distance Is A Gun, a 5-track EP that'll be released on 7 May (or May 7, for any Americans reading this).

For a while I thought that the band's name was a pun (Celadore = "Cellar Door"*), but couldn't find any puns in either their song titles or lyrics, so I guess "Celadore" means something else. Maybe the band members are fans of fantasy fiction, because it sounds to me like a fantasy name (e.g., "Hark! I come from the land of Celadore. I am Prince Thesboniere, and my kingdom has been decimated by the Dragons of Zwycornius" etc). Or maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Celadore on MySpace

(*I thought it may have been a sly reference to musicians and wine...)

Song of the day: Danny Gatton - "Funky Mama"

We continue our exploration of wizzo guitarists on this blog (which, by the way, you're now welcome to rename What Happened To The Power Pop? And Where Did All These Guitarists Come From???) with a chap from Washington D.C. called Danny Gatton:

Danny Gatton - "Funky Mama" (1991)

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If you don't like that, then why not try some rockabilly...

Danny Gatton - "Elmira St. Boogie" (1991)

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No? OK, how about some blues...

Danny Gatton - "Blues Newburg" (1991)

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Those are first three tracks on Danny's major-label debut, 88 Elmira St. (1991). I think it's a very enjoyable album, and not just for fans of guitarists. Like the album featured last week by guitarist Steve Morse (The Introduction), 88 Elmira St. is a very musical one because it focuses on the songs, not the playing.

The album also has Danny playing an extremely well-known TV theme tune:

Danny Gatton - "The Simpsons" (1991)

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By the way, one of the tracks on the album is a superb cover of The Beach Boys' "In My Room". It would be terribly remiss of me not to play it, so...

Danny Gatton - "In My Room" (1991)

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If you're bothered by all those other instruments (bass, drums, piano, saxophone etc – all the things that get in the way of that guitar), here's Danny on his own. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what a virtuoso sounds like:



Official website
Buy 88 Elmira St. on Amazon.com

Song of the day: Victor Stranges - "Hello Me To You"

Here's Melbourne (Victoria) musician Victor Stranges with "Hello Me To You" (2009):


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I was thinking about rabbiting on and on about Victor's ditty, and making a really bad joke about his name (that he's the – sorry about this – "Strange Man from Victoria"), but reviewer Heath Andrews has already done a much better job of talking about Victor's music here. (Plus Heath didn't make any bad jokes.)

Official website
Victor Stranges on MySpace
Victor Stranges on Facebook
Buy Hello Me To You at Not Lame
Buy Hello Me To You at CD Baby
Victor Stranges on Triple J Unearthed

Song of the day: Street Corner Jack - "Wrong With You"

Here's long-defunct Adelaide band Street Corner Jack with "Wrong With You" (1980):


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I didn't notice it at the time, but hearing the song again after all these years, those verses sure do remind me of early Split Enz, especially:

Split Enz - "Maybe" (1975)

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But back to "Wrong With You".

Apart from when it was released as a single, "Wrong With You" appeared on a 1980 compilation of Adelaide music produced by a local radio station. The album was* called 5AN Patchwork. I don't quite know why it was subtitled Australian Rock Collection, because as far as I remember they were all Adelaide bands.

Unfortunately, there isn't a better transfer of "Wrong With You" because that album is the only place it exists now.

(*And still is.)

Song of the day: Visqueen - "Hand Me Down"

I was all set to play you another Australian song today when I came across this American one by accident at Popdose, and now I can't stop playing it*:

Visqueen - "Hand Me Down" (2009)

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Visqueen on MySpace
Visqueen on Facebook
Buy Message to Garcia on Amazon.com

(*Note to self: You're going to have to stop playing it, Peter, and find some other songs for this blog. Snap out of it.)

Frank's Faves on Fridays

Alive And Kicking - "Tighter, Tighter" (1970)

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Slightly anonymous soul from an act I've never heard of before. It sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't remember ever hearing it until now. I have a feeling that this song means much more to you than it does to me. I liked how awful the guitar sounded. You can always count on a soul song to contain at least one bad guitar sound.



Gary Charlson - "Hey Deanie" (1981)

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Another song I haven't heard before – and don't have much intention of hearing again. No doubt you have an emotional attachment to this song (otherwise you wouldn't have suggested it), but for me I guess it's one of those songs where "you had to be there" in a particular time and place when you first heard it. I have no idea who Gary Charlson is, but I like what he promises on his album cover – "Real Live Gary!":

Andrew Gold - "Lonely Boy" (1976)

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That is a great chorus. Musically, the whole band playing on the off-beat in the verses had a tendency to mess with my mind, but I'm used to it now (at least the cowbell stays on the beat). I find the lyrics slightly bothersome, though, because the chap in the song sounds ungrateful. (He gets a sister but still considers himself an only child? Then he gets married, has a kiddy, and teaches that kiddy to be a "lonely boy"? What kind of parent is he?). Despite my misgivings about the lyrics (I guess AG wanted to keep the "lonely boy" theme going throughout the song – but how about this: by the end of the song he's no longer a "lonely boy"?), I think it's a mighty good song. With a great chorus.

There's a good live version of it:





Andy Kim - "Rock Me Gently" (1974)

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Very mild, but very enjoyable. It looks like you've figured out one of my weak spots: anything played on AM radio in the early 70's. Andy Kim's vocal phrasing reminds me a little of Neil Diamond but I'm guessing that's unintentional (I don't know of any artist who ever wanted to sound like Neil Diamond). Wikipedia reckons that "Rock Me Gently" is bubblegum, but I don't. I consider it pretend-Diamond. I call it "Cubic Zirconian".



Thanks for reminding me about both "Lonely Boy" and "Rock Me Gently". I hadn't heard either of them in ages and had completely forgotten about them.

If at some point I find myself in the mood to post a mid-70's soft rock song, "Lonely Boy" will be near the top of the list – and "Rock Me Gently" will be sitting right there next to it.

Song of the day: Flowers - "We Can Get Together"

Sometimes a band can confuse the billy-o out of you. Here's a song called "We Can Get Together" – I'll get to the band name shortly:

Flowers - "We Can Get Together" (1980)

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Flowers formed in 1977, and in 1980 released an album called Icehouse. Shortly after releasing that album and two singles from it ("Can't Help Myself" and "We Can Get Together"), Flowers changed their name to Icehouse and then let everyone know that the album Icehouse by Flowers was now Flowers by Icehouse.

Why? Did someone in the band (or someone from the record company) think "Nah, I don't like the name Flowers anymore. What's the name of the album? Icehouse? Yeah, let's call the band Icehouse instead!"?

Now, I don't know how the general public responds to these sorts of shenanigans, but this is the kind of activity that raises the ire of rock historians (and people who have blogs and write about bands like Flowers).

Anyway, I bought Icehouse when it was first released way back in the days of vinyl (in 1980), and loved it (in 1980), especially the moody title track.

Cue one bonus song...

Flowers - "Icehouse" (1980)

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Song of the day: Th' Dudes - "Bliss"

There I was, innocently listening to a greatest-hits album by New Zealand band Th' Dudes (yes, "Th' Dudes"), not paying much attention to it as I went about my daily business*, and then this came on...

Th' Dudes - "Bliss" (1980)

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... and I thought "What a horrendously catchy song. I hope it doesn't stay in my brain too long. I like it, but boy, that's annnoyingly catchy. Oh, no – now it's stuck in my brain."

One afternoon later, it's still there.

It is my firm belief that this song was written for the express purpose of encouraging large groups of happy, inebriated people in discotheques to sing at the top of their lungs.

Quick, somebody play me a Beatles song so I can get this thing out of my head...


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Ah, that's better.

(*Which is listening for music to put on this blog, looking for pictures to put on this blog, thinking of words to put on this blog...)

Song of the day: Radio Birdman - "New Race"

And now for something a little simpler...

Here are Australian punks Radio Birdman with their anthem* "New Race":

Radio Birdman - "New Race" (1977)

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Radio Birdman - "New Race" (original version) (1977)

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Radio Birdman - "New Race" (live) (1977)

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Never underestimate the power of three chords.

In the live version, I like the spectacularly wrong chord at 0:56 and how they all just plough through it, not caring one bit (they're punks!) – and playing the song as if it's the last song they will ever play.

Official website
Radio Birdman on MySpace

(*Well, maybe not an anthem – but it's the song they're best-known for in Australia.)

Song of the day: Steve Morse Band - "The Introduction"

This time last week I played you a track focusing on the guitar wizardry of Eric Johnson. I don't know if you enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it so much that I've decided to make every Tuesday a guitar day. (Well, for a while anyway until I run out of guitarists.)

This week we have Steve Morse. Mr. Morse is a musician who's invariably described as a musician's musician (which I guess is handy when you're a musician). He first made his name (in guitar circles, if not anywhere else in the regular world) in a band called the Dixie Dregs in the mid- to late-70's. After that he went on to release albums as either the Steve Morse Band or just plain Steve Morse throughout the 80's and 90's, but also spent a little time playing guitar in Kansas (the band, not the American state – in 1986), got his pilot's license, worked as a commercial airline co-pilot (in '87/'88), and then joined Deep Purple in 1994 (he's a busy boy, is our Steve). He's still in Deep Purple (which prompts me to wonder how he feels about playing "Smoke On The Water" almost every night), and has recorded four albums with them.

Today's track is called "The Introduction" which is the title track of his first album recorded after leaving the Dixie Dregs. If you're not a fan of guitar heroes, you'll be relieved to know that the track, although purely instrumental, is not just an exercise in fretboard gymnastics – it has actual tunes, and wouldn't sound out of place in the collection of any fan of 80's rock. So, hit the "Play" button, crank it up (it sounds better loud), and enjoy some Steve Morse:

Steve Morse Band - "The Introduction" (1984)

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I have to say that The Introduction is one of my all-time favourite instrumental rock albums. For me, it has tunes, great guitar playing, plenty of variety, and there isn't a weak track on it. And it's nice and short (36:52) because it doesn't bore you with endless guitar solos (which, to me, are almost as boring as endless drum solos).

Hear for yourself:


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Song of the day: Magneto - "Underground"

Here's "Underground" by Melbourne band Magneto:

Magneto - "Underground" (2006)

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"Underground" appears on Resistance Is Futile (2006).

Note to Ben Folds Five fans:

If you're a big Ben Folds Five fan, you may have seen the title "Underground" and thought "Yay! Peter's finally playing a Ben Folds Five song!". I'm sorry to disappoint you that it isn't Ben Folds Five's "Underground". However, to help you get over the crushing disappointment of Magneto, here's BFF's* "Underground":

Ben Folds Five - "Underground" (1995)

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Or maybe you thought today's song was "Underground" by heavy-metal dude Thor on his 2004 album, Beastwomen From The Center Of The Earth – which, to me, is a serious contender for BEST ALBUM TITLE EVER.

Thor - "Underground" (2004)

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Incidentally, I just listened to Beastwomen From The Center Of The Earth in its entirety. I don't recommend it.

(*Unfortunately, I can't think of a joke involving Ben Folds Five and the initials "BFF" that are now used by tweens everywhere in the Western World. I know there's a joke in there somewhere, but I just can't think of one. Sorry about that.)

Musical coincidences # 49

Today's coincidence isn't a note-for-note piece of pilfering – it's more of a general vibe*.

GANGgajang is an Australian band who have been around since the 80's and best known for basically one song, "The Sounds Of Then", which almost always appears on Australian compilation CDs with names like Australia's Best Barbecue Songs, or Songs For Down-Under Dads, or Aussie Songs You Can't Escape etc. GANGgajang have released plenty of albums, had a sustained career, and as far as I know are still plugging away. In November 25, 1985 they appeared on the TV music program Rock Arena performing live in the studio. One of the songs they played that night, "Surfin' Round The World", was only ever played during encores and never put on a GANGgajang album until 2006 when they recorded it for a surfing movie called Delightful Rain:

GANGgajang - "Surfin' Round The World" (2006)
Link The rhythm of the song, the chord progression (A minor to F major), and especially the twangy guitar riff, all reminded me rather strongly of... Elvis Costello - "Watching The Detectives" (1977) Link GANGgajang on MySpace Elvis Costello on MySpace (*Man.)

Song of the day: Grand Atlantic - "Coolite"

Here's Grand Atlantic with "Coolite" (2006):


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I have no idea why the chaps in the band called the song "Coolite". Maybe the lyrics explain it. Who knows? (Note to self: read the lyrics, Peter.)

Anyway, "Coolite" appears on the band's debut album, This Is Grand Atlantic (2006).

Grand Atlantic on MySpace

Musical coincidences # 48

I was on a bit of a Moody Blues bender recently, loving all their late-60's/early-70's prog rock albums. (Whenever I listen to an artist, I have a habit of going overboard and immersing myself in their entire back catalogue).

Whilst listening to 1969's To Our Children's Children's Children (yes, somebody back then actually thought that would be a good title for an album) along came track 12, "Sun Is Still Shining" (not "The Sun Is Still Shining", or even "A Sun Is Still Shining", but "Sun Is Still Shining"), and the vocal melody in the verse...

The Moody Blues - "Sun Is Still Shining" (1969) (excerpt)

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...sounded familiar. It reminded me of the vocals in this sunny little Australian ditty:

Ted Mulry Gang - "Jamaica Rum" (1976) (excerpt)

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Here are the full versions:

The Moody Blues - "Sun Is Still Shining" (1969)

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Ted Mulry Gang - "Jamaica Rum" (1976)

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Incidentally, "Jamaica Rum" was Song of the day a few months ago. In that post I talk about the song a bit more, and how it makes me woozy every time I hear it.

Song of the day: Jericho - "Don't Lead Me On"

Here's Jericho with "Don't Lead Me On" (1996):


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Although I like the song, I have to say that I'm not all that keen on the vocals. I don't think they're particularly stable in the intonation department, and some of the harmonies are a bit dodgy. To be fair though, no matter how dodgy I think it might be, their singing is a whole lot better than mine. (You really don't want to hear me sing.)

As a bonus, here's another song of theirs with dodgy singing*:

Jericho - "Talking To Myself" (1997)

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Both of those songs appear on Jericho's 2003 compilation, Retrospective 1995-1998. "Don't Lead Me On" reminded me a little of The Black Crowes, but overall Jericho's music reminds me mostly of The Replacements. If you have The Replacements in your music collection, I think Jericho would fit quite comfortably right next to them (unless you sort your CDs alphabetically).

Buy Retrospective 1995-1998 at Popboomerang

(*Stop mentioning the dodgy singing, Peter.)

Frank's Faves on Fridays

One of this blog's regular readers* is an American chap called Frank (Hi, Frank!) who has been emailing me song suggestions in the hope that maybe one or two will get played here. I've been emailing him back with what I would call "mini-reviews" (Frank would probably call them "unhelpful comments").

Frank's already sent me quite a few songs for consideration (about four per email), and I was a little sad at the prospect of all those songs ending up languishing in my email program, never to be heard of again, so I had a brainwave: "Hey, Peter – why don't you put the songs on the blog so that other people can hear them?" "OK – which ones?" "All of them!".

So I am.

In an effort to put Frank's avalanche of "Hey, you should play this on your blog" into some sort of order, I'll be posting his suggestions once a week, and the songs will be presented as I received them (in batches).

Okey dokey, let's get started on our journey into the world of Frank's Faves on Fridays.

By the way, as these songs reflect Frank's taste in music rather than mine, some of my comments may be less than complimentary. (Let the snark begin!) Nevertheless, I'm glad that Frank's sending me these songs, because I'm unfamiliar with a lot of them and I love hearing stuff I haven't heard before.

Here's the first batch of songs Frank sent to me:

The Apples In Stereo - "The Rainbow" (2000)

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Nice and poppy. Although I think it's blog-worthy, there may be another Apples In Stereo song I'd prefer to use. (However, I must admit that I have four Apples In Stereo albums and listened to them ages ago, but I don't remember them at all.) One thing in "The Rainbow"'s favour is that there's a (possibly deliberate) musical coincidence in it: when they sing "just like the rainbow" (at 0:55) it sounds just like The Rolling Stones when they sing "she's like a rainbow" in "She's A Rainbow" (at 0:24 in this YouTube clip).



The Better Days - "Fascination" (2004)

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Enjoyable but slightly anonymous. To me, this song could have come from any number of American power pop bands (and it's only American power pop bands that have those kind of vocals). When I went a-looking for information about The Better Days, they turned out to be a fairly elusive band. I eventually discovered that they're still active but changed their name – they're now called The Skies Of America. I also discovered that "Fascination" appeared on the soundtrack to the 2004 movie Eulogy, a film I know nothing about.



Billy Bremner - "I Get Enough" (1998)

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A bit too roots-rock for my liking I'm afraid.



Billy Goodrum - "The Way" (1998)

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That drum beat put me off immediately. Then the singing started and it put me off even more. Pass.



But thanks for the suggestions anyway, Frank. (At least I liked two of them.) On first hearing, the pick of the bunch for me was The Apples In Stereo track, but after listening to all four a few more times I think I now prefer the one by The Better Days. And I like the two Billy tracks even less than I did (especially Mr. Goodrum's "The Way").

But whether I like or dislike any of those songs is irrelevant. I'm hearing music I haven't heard before. As far as I'm concerned, this is A Good Thing.

And that's it for Frank's Faves this week.

(*I really hope there's more than one.)

Song of the day: John Paul Young - "I Hate The Music"

I heard today's song by chance yesterday (part of it was in a short interview with the singer on a five-minute program about the Australian King of Pop Awards in the 70's). As soon as I heard it I thought, "Oh, yeah – that's gotta go on the blog."

So, without further ado*, here's 1978's King Of Pop with yet another song from the just-try-and-stop-us-writing-256-songs-a-day production team of Vanda and Young (it's Australia, it's the 70's – what else would you expect?):

John Paul Young - "I Hate The Music" (1976)

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"I Hate The Music" was one of two singles released from JPY's 1976 album, J.P.Y..

As a bonus, here's the other single from the album:

John Paul Young - "Keep On Smilin'" (1976)

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(*Not "adieu", as some people write. "Adieu" is French for "goodbye", and "ado" is not-French for "fuss", so it makes sense to me that you'd do something without more fuss, not more goodbyes – and advice about doing something without more fuss is something I usually ignore by blathering on about whatever it is I'm blathering on about.)

Musical coincidences # 47

Today's coincidence involves an Australian power pop band and an Australian pair of pantyhose. (No, the band didn't rob a bank.)

Yesterday's Song of the day was a catchy little ditty that I've been listening to a fair bit recently. However, it was only during the most recent hearing of it that prompted my brain to switch on a light bulb and shout "Hey! That sounds like...".

But first: because today's coincidence is all-Australian, I'll have to fill in the blanks for non-Australians (i.e., foreign devils):

In 1978 there was a highly successful TV ad campaign in Australia for a brand of pantyhose called Razzamatazz. That ad campaign was highly successful due to three things: a) an incredibly catchy jingle; b) a memorable catchphrase; and c) attractive females wearing the product. As a result, most Australians of a certain vintage will have no trouble remembering the ad or the jingle:



That's the first part of the coincidence.

Now, if you'd care to remember the start of that jingle ("Oh, oh, Razzamatazz..."), permit me to play you the start of yesterday's Song of the day:

The Finkers - "Down South" (1999) (excerpt)

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Yes, indeedy.

As for "Razzamatazz" in other parts of the world, I reckon people might think of other things...

For example, English readers of a certain vintage will probably remember a kids' TV show called Razzamatazz that ran in the 80's.

Kate Bush was interviewed on Razzamatazz, and I'm very pleased about that because it gives me an excuse to show you a clip of the wonderful, wonderful Kate:



I love Kate Bush.

Over in the US, though, the word "Razzamatazz" might conjure up something a lot less enjoyable. Unfortunately, American readers of a certain vintage may be reminded of this:



That's horrible. I'm trying to look at it for kitsch value, or view it as 'ironic', or see it from some other kind of angle that post-modernists like to do so they can justify liking what they like, but I can't. It's horrible.

Song of the day: Hush - "Glad All Over"

The inspiration for today's song comes from stonefish55 who mentioned in a comment the other day that he was "glad all over". That's all I needed to hear...

Hush - "Glad All Over" (1974)

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If you don't care for all that glam goodness, here's the original:

The Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over" (1964)

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By the way, during the course of my extensive and thorough research for this post (i.e., about a minute on the Internet) I discovered that Carl Perkins also recorded a song called "Glad All Over", but it isn't related to The Dave Clark Five's version at all (except for the name):

Carl Perkins - "Glad All Over" (1958)

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And because The Beatles recorded the Carl Perkins ditty for the BBC in 1964, I couldn't resist playing you that as well:

The Beatles - "Glad All Over" (1964)

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And...

There's another version of Carl's "Glad All Over". It's by The Jeff Beck Group and it sounds very 1972:

The Jeff Beck Group - "Glad All Over" (1972)

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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love music trivia.