THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION - "Freak Out!" (1966)

 

Sixty years later, and this groundbreaking album by The Mothers Of Invention is just as fresh as it ever was, and there's a song on this album that has a message that still sends shivers down my bones!

 "Well I'm about to get upset from watchin' my TV, been checkin' out the news until my eyeballs fail to see, I mean to say that every day is just another rotten mess and when it's gonna change, my friend Is anybody's guess."

 Even though this song was written about the Watts Riots back in 1966, the message conveyed is still as strong as ever, and maybe even more so. 

"Who could imagine that they would freak out in Minnesota? . . ." 

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION - "Trouble Every Day" 

TRINI LOPEZ - "Lemon Tree" (1965)

 

It's probably not hip or cool to like the music of Trinidad Lopez, III, aka Trini Lopez, but back in the early 60's he made some real feel-good music that was needed back then. I'd probably listen to the radio again if they started playing music like this today.

In the late 1950's, William Holt wrote this song. It was inspired by the Brazilian song, "Meu Limão Meu Limoeiro," that was originally written in 1930. 

In 1965, this version by Trini Lopez made it to number 20 on The Billboard Hot 100 charts. 

TRINI LOPEZ - "Lemon Tree" 

 

 

List Songs, Part Four - "California Girls"

 

Rich here. You might not think of The Beach Boys as a band that would engage in lyrical list-making. But they actually recorded a few songs that were comprised of lists, such as "Busy Doing Nothing," in which the singer lists the directions to his house and all the steps he takes to call up his girlfriend on a pay phone, and "I Went to Sleep" in which the singer lists all the things he did that day before going to sleep. 

 

Both are fairly minor songs in the Beach Boys catalog, but one of their most popular and famous songs includes a list of the girls the singer finds attractive in every part of the country before saying he wishes they could all live in California, where he lives. 

 

(An aside: "California Girls" was a big step in Brian Wilson's musical evolution as the first 20 seconds of the song is comprised of an instrumental passage that has nothing to do with the rest of the song before seamlessly transitioning into the romping rhythm of the rest of the song. It was a perfect example of a song with two movements, the kind of thing that Brian would refer to as his "Teenage Symphonies to God.")

THE BEACH BOYS - "California Girls"

SPIKE JONES & HIS CITY SLICKERS - "A Course In Musical Depreciation" (1955)

 

It's been 71 years since the release of this record by Spike Jones And His City Slickers titled "A Course In Musical Depreciation" and for me this stuff is still as hilarious as the first time I heard it.

This is kind of a greatest hits compilation, and the song I have here for you was actually first released in 1944. 

There was a time when comedy and novelty records were the rage, and sadly those days are way behind us, but at least we've still got access to all this great stuff from the masters of the past! 

SPIKE JONES & HIS CITY SLICKERS - "That Old Black Magic" 

MAGAZINE - "Play" (1980)

 

"Play" was Magazine's fourth release. It came out in 1980.

This song is lots of fun and full of surprises thanks to Herky Jerky master Howard DeVeto.

Nobody does it better. 

MAGAZINE - "Give Me Everything" 

FULL BLOWN CHERRY - "The Rockabilly Tribute To The Ramones" (2005)

 

Besides sex, is there anything more fun than a Rockabilly cover of a punk rock song? I seriously doubt it, and Full Blown Cherry were out to prove it with this 2005 release called "The Rockabilly Tribute To The Ramones," and I think they did a good job of making their point!

FULL BLOWN CHERRY - "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" 

THE BATS - "How Pop Can You Get?" (1980)

 

The Bats is one of those kind of groups that make you wonder, how good do you have to be to be popular? They released this album in 1982 called "How Pop Can You Get?" and that's another good question.

 

Hailing from Connecticut, and before their album was released, The Bats came out with this single in 1980, and it reveals how good they really were!

THE BATS - "Popgun"