Friday night toss off

My friend John O'Neill, who you may remember from the old days of the Parkside, is now back in the writing game. He may be a good reason to pick up the SF Weakly or whatever else he writes for now.

He wrote me about writing something about Budget Rock. He said it will be in "944 Magazine ( a super-glossy, high-end 7X7-meets-GQ style mag that does lots of fashion and some music) and it is my plan to have you featured for their "playlist of the month" thing."

So i wrote this up. Now he tells me he only gets to list the artist and the title. So I am throwing it up here. Doo dah doo dah.

My Top Ten I like to think of myself as having a huge awesome record collection, but most of my stuff has been boxed up since I moved about a year and a half ago. Until a couple weeks ago I just listened to the same 100 or so unpacked records over and over and over. So this is the honest truth:


1) Sanford Clark "Shades" collection on Bear Family- Arizona country singer produced by Lee Hazlewood. Been listening to this constantly for about a year. Fans of the "God Less America" comp will recognize "It's Nothing to Me". His deliver is kind of deceivingly soft, but he's got a really tossed off way of saying tough shit that makes Johnny Cash sound like kind of a wimpy poser. I don't want anybody to run out and download this though, it is still in the realm of "private favorite". So just back off.






2) Freddie Fender- Particularly "How Much is that Doggie in the Window" from the "Are you Ready for Freddy?" LP. I am a huge fan of everything Freddy Fender and listen to him all the time. His rendition of this shitty novelty song is playing less on my stereo than in a constant loop in my head as I slowly lose my mind.









3) "Gimme Dat Ding" by the Pipkins (also released as Ding Dongs)- I don't know how I never heard this song until a few years ago, but anyone unlucky enough to wander into a bar where I am DJing will get to hear it a couple times just to make me laugh. Alternates with "How Much is that Doggie..." on the mind-loss rotation setlist. I found this in a stack of LPs at my grandma's house (the only other non-big band record was, inexplicably Rick Nelson's 1981 swamp pop sleeper "Playing to Win"!) Gimme Dat Ding is totally insane sawdust/peanut shell floor piano roll novelty. I hate to say it sounds like anything "on acid" but maybe "Winchester Cathedral on acid." Maybe . It was written by Albert Hammond, who wrote some of my least favorite music of all time and is the father of a guy from the Strokes. I know, who cares, but more importantly, the lead singer on this song is Tony Burrows, who I doubt most people would recognize, but must hold some kind of record for having had 3 separate top 10 hits in 3 consecutive months in 1970 with 3 different manufactured studio groups (Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" (February 1970); White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'" (March 1970); The Pipkins' "Gimme Dat Ding" (April 1970). Then he did it again 4 years later with The First Class' "Beach Baby" (July 1974). This may have been what really put Tony Jackson over the edge.




5) Wounded Lion- My favorite modern group, more so every day. They are playing Budget rock this year on Friday night at the Parkside. They are POP, but without the irony or self-back-patting you see these days in bands like...I can't think of anyone right now but you know who you are. Are the Fiery Furnaces still around? Regardless, Wounded Lion are intelligent, self respecting modern men with no agenda but fun. Get the new 7" on In the Red called "Friendly." I don't have it myself yet, but i love that song when they play it live.

6) Primitivas- My wife's band with Tina Lucchesi (Trashwomen, Bobbyteens, many others) and Dulcinea Gonzalez (Loudmouths) and Rene Leal (LaTeenos). They practice at my house so I hear them more than any other music. They are really good. They tried to do a Russ Meyer/biker gang movie/girl group type band, but they were too good to fall prey to their own concept. I would say they sound like the Morlocks if they were big tough Mexican chicks and decided to veer off the garage formula into more groovy territory. I always want them to sound like Steppenwolf, but they seem to be getting too good for that kind of joke anymore.

7) Bonzo Dog Band- Whenever someone starts talking about what a genius Paul McCartney is, I want to lock them in a room and play this for them for a few days. What can I say about Bonzo Dog Band? The perfect combination of everything I like. Rockaliser Baby, We Are Normal, Look at Me I'm Wonderful...I love it. Is never far from my stereo.










8) Sparks- Just the kind of band I like getting into late in the game. They have like 10 records I still haven't even heard, which is awesome because I can't stop listening to the other 15 right now.













9) Tom Fogerty "Myopia"- Yes, that says Tom Fogerty, not John. I actually bought this thinking it was some John Fogerty record I didn't have and listened to it a few times before I figured it out. This LP gets dismissed everywhere I have read about it, but I really like it. 2 or 3 of the songs sound exactly the same, but it is a good song. 1974 Post Creedence LP recorded for Fantasy with Stu and Doug providing the rhythm section. Has a trippy psychedelic cover that looks like it was painted by a damaged 10th grader in art class. I like this a lot.





10) King Tuff "Was Dead"- I just got this on cassette from Burger Records, which is a great all cassette label done by Thee Makeout Party folks. They are putting out the cream of the crop of modern punkypoppy music i am trying not to call power pop or pop punk. Stoner pop from kids who try to look like homeless child molesters. I don't know anything about King Tuff except it is one guy who is in J. Mascis's backup band and everyone I know was telling me I would like this for the last year. Since I have a tape player in my politically correct 1997 Ford Explorer, i listen to this all the time now. They were right- it reminds me of, but doesn't necessarily sound like, one of my all time favorite records: Mike Rep and the Quotas - Stupor Hiatus Vol. 2. The sound of a guy soloing with his eyes closed, imaging himself on a stage like Neil Young in Rust Never Sleeps, but really sitting in an old chair wearing dirty gray socks alone at home. Basically epic bedroom jams.

Also: Television Personalities, David Peel, Del Shannon and Gene Pitney get a lot of play around here.