So Why Did You Have To Be So Nasty?

Ah, the ongoing animosity of the Brits for the Germans.   Here is a little early punk nugget from Adam & the Ants that extols the virtues of "curls of the Deutscher Girls".   Deutscher Girls was originally from the soundtrack of the 1978 Derek Jarman film "Jubilee" but in 1982 was released as a single A side with overdubbed vocals due to the risque subject matter  -"nazi" has been changed to "nasty" and "Camp 49" to "lover of mine".

In my book that opening guitar salvo is one of the most breathtaking openings to any pop song.  Ever.

You Don't Know Me So Well

Here's a little forgotten power psych single from 1970 - Crabby Appleton with "Go Back".   Somehow it flew under my radar until just this week, but it is a fine little jaunt betwixt the Hollies and something considerably more heavy.

I'll Give You Fish

Today's posting is short but to the point.  I have been on a B-52s listening binge recently, and no song of theirs floats my boat more than Give Me Back My Man.   Cindy Wilson begins in her lower range, vibrato-less and yearning for the man that got away.  By the time she gets to the chorus it is abundantly clear that there is not much that she will not do go retrieve her guy.   The great video shows her barefoot in her little black party dress, eventually dancin' and fruggin' next to spastic Fred.   And then on the last pass through the chorus she lets loose a furious set of pleas. 

If words could speak they'd mean even less

Any time is the right time for a dose of Jellyfish.   Absolutely one of my all time favorite bands, so very talented and yet they only made two albums before disbanding.  This nugget is from their first LP Bellybutton - The King is Half Undressed.  The vocal harmony work is top notch, and Jason Falkner delivers some amazing guitar licks.  A perfect song to bring my day to a close.

They Laid Down the Law

My college friends and I were a little hot bed of new wave aficionados in the prairies of NW Oklahoma.   We saw the Talking Heads in Norman, OK during their "Fear of Music" tour, caught The Pretenders and The Go Gos at the OKC Zoo, and rented the local roller rink for a new wave/punk evening.   I cannot skate but I remember being plastered while skating to The Clash.

Of all the new wave groups that sprang forth in the late 70's, the B-52s were the most near and dear to my heart.   Total nerds.   Just like us.   By the time of their third release in 1982, some thought the bloom was off the rose.  As we now know, Mesopotamia was supposed to be a full fledged album with ten tracks.   Something went amiss and they tangled with producer David Byrne, so the release was cut back to an EP with just six tracks.  It was definitely a new direction, but they jettisoned the new sound immediately and never returned. 

Here is the title track.  From the moment that Fred mispronounces Mes-a-pa-ta-mia I was hooked.  The monster hand claps just sealed the deal.   This has to be one of the greatest grooves of the 80s, what with the funky bass and the counterpoint between the various vocal parts. 

 I'll meet you by the third pyramid!

 

I Got a Big Surprise

When I was eight years old, I took on extra chores around the house so that my parents would give me enough money to buy tickets to the Enid, OK premier of A Hard Day's Night at the Chief Theater.  I was thrilled to be there at the premier and of course I loved the movie and the music, but was a bit too young to really understand what a great film it is.  Furthermore I did not see the gigantic song writing step forward by Lennon and McCartney.   For years I was a bit torn about the US LP by that name because it contained a generous portion of George Martin orchestrated instrumental versions of some of the songs.  I also purchased their Capitol LP Something New, which was really a scatter shot collection of songs left off the US AHDN album, plus some singles and b-sides.  And in some way I preferred that record because it had some amazing songs like Things We Said Today, Any Time at All, When I Get Home, And I Love Her, and If I Fell.

Then during my early college years in the mid-70s I acquired the British version of the LP.  And immediately I realized that Capitol records (and United Arists) had done us a great disservice.  The "real" A Hard Day's Night is perhaps the first true Beatles' masterpiece.   Even the running order is important to the experience of listening to these songs, and now I immediately know what will come next.

Tucked away at the very end of the LP is a song that just hits me like a ton of bricks every time I listen.   I'll Be Back is John Lennon at his early peak.  Not the upbeat closer that one would expect, but rather a thoughtful and beautiful exploration of how tenuous love can be.  The acoustic guitar work is just amazing, what with the three-against-four rhythms.  John sings it with a compassion that perfectly fits the lyrics.  A real hidden gem on an album full of first class song writing.

I know that I miss you, but I don't know where I stand

Fairport Convention is one of those limey bands that flew under my radar for years.  Sure, I agree that Sandy Denny was a fine vocalist, but their music just never really clicked for me.  Recently I discovered their first album Fairport Convention (UK only), recorded in 1967 and release in 1968.  Prior to the arrival of Ms. Denny, Judy Dyble was the female vocalist.  And wow, does she ever have a lovely voice.   The Wikipedia article on this LP mentions that blueprint for the early version of Fairport was Jefferson Airplane, and sure enough the album is a veritable smorgasbord of summer of love songwriting.

My favorite from this LP is their cover of Joni Mitchell's I Don't Know Where I Stand.  It kicks off with a sparse guitar intro, then suddenly transforms into a Byrds-ish take on Joni.   From the opening verse, the lyrics are filled with that pensive feeling when you want to take that next step and let someone know how important they are to you, but you are not sure if the feeling is mutual.

Funny day, looking for laughter and finding it there
Sunny day, braiding wild flowers and leaves in my hair
Picked up a pencil and wrote "I love you" in my finest hand
Wanted to send it, but I don't know where I stand