Roll Over Jerry Lewis

Okay, this is too cool for words. Our friends The Lemon Twigs just made the cover of Rolling Stone -- the Gallic edition!!!

And while you're letting that sink in, here's the kids' latest song. Tres formidable, n'est-ce pas?

Now the only real question is how do you say "Gonna send five copies to my mother" in French?

Closed for (Ocular) Monkey Business

Had (non-emergency) laser surgery on my right eye yesterday.

Not walking into walls at the moment, so the chances are good that regular posting resumes on the morrow.

That Kool Kinks Kover I've Been Threatening to Post. Finally!!!

From just a few weeks ago, please enjoy unlikely supergroup Tall Poppy Syndrome and (IMHO) a verging on transplendent remake of The Kinks' 1970 album track "This Time Tomorrow."

The song itself first impinged on our consciousness on the fab/gear Kinks commercial comeback LP Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One. This new version, which has a becomingly "Can't Explain"-power chord vibe, is performed by one of the more interesting and unexpected all-star assemblages of recent years, including guitarist Vince Melouney(!), original member of the (psych-era) Bee Gees, and the incomparable Clem Burke, of Blondie, and more recently of indie faves The Tearaways(!!), on drums. Guitarist Jonathan Lea, of the critically-acclaimed The Jigsaw Seen, and singer Paul Kopf and bassist Alec Palao of Strangers In A Strange Land and the current version of garage rock royalty The Seeds, are in there as well.

I dig the cover the most, but here's the original Kinks version by way of comparison. I think the new one more than does it justice, but YOU make the call.

I should add that if these Tall Poppy guys drop any other stuff in the not too distant future, I'll let you know toot sweet.

The Greatest Song Ever. I'm Not Kidding About This!!!

Okay, I realize this has nothing to do with the mission statement of this here blog, but it's so fabulous I couldn't resist.

Gay Frogs!!!!

And don't worry, despite the news and stuff happening in the real world, I'm not gonna go all political on you.

For example, that interesting new Kinks cover I mentioned last week is up tomorrow -- promise!!!

Have I mentioned GAY FROGS!!!!!????????

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "Post-Eclipse" Edition

From 1967, from the period when they weren't too proud to make blatantly entertaining pop singles aimed at the top of the charts, just like all the other great bands before the dirty hippies ruined rock-and-roll for a couple of years, please enjoy Traffic (featuring Stevie(!) Winwood, Dave Mason and those other guys) and the official video for their delightfully psychedelic ode to a "Paper Sun."

I had never seen that clip -- or even known it existed -- before yesterday, so I think you'll agree we're already ahead of the game.

But in any case, that brings us to the business at hand, inspired -- obviously -- by last Monday's celestial light show. To wit:

...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis pop/rock/soul/country song referencing the moon or the lucky old sun in its title or lyrics is...??????

Discuss.

In case you're wondering what my picks are, here's one you may get a perverse kick out of. Dr. Feelgood and the Interns and their "Mr. Moonlight."

The Beatles' more famous cover of that -- which appeared on Beatles '65 in this country -- is, of course, by most people's reckoning the least popular track the Fabs ever did. I go back and forth on it, myself, but say what you will, at least it's faithful to the original. (Which, BTW, was a minor hit on the American charts, but not in the UK).

And if you're among the folks who dislike the song to the point of wondering why the Beatles bothered to record it in the first place, this amusing story about its performance history (from the lads' faithful road manager Neil Aspinall) provides a clue:

"'Mr. Moonlight' was great because there would be this moment of tension in the audience. The song would be announced and everybody knew John would have to start on that note -- MISTER! Moonlight!!! There was no chord to precede it, he had to get it right from nothing."

Showmanship!!!

Okay -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Closed For Monkey Business

Having technical problems with YouTube.

Assuming they're resolved without incident, a pretty cool Fin de la Semaine Essay Question -- inspired by the major current event of the last few days -- will appeqr on the morrow.

Original Songs by Unoriginal Means? YOU Make the Call!!!

From right freaking now, please enjoy three chord wiseguy Dfactor Pop and his new but ironically retro ode to a "21st Century AI Man."

That speaks for itself, obviously, so for a change I'm not gonna wax overly descriptive. Except to say that it's a killer power pop record in the classic tradition and yet, obviously, relevant to life as we're currently living it. Very cool, in other words.

I should add that this lyrical snippet...

We used to dance wild and free

Back in the 20th century

...really speaks to me, if you know what I mean.

In case you're wondering who this guy is when he's at home (as they say), here's his becomingly brief official bio...

Dfactor Pop is a U.S. singer-songwriter (based in Phoenix, AZ) who writes, sings and records his cool, catchy guitar rock songs. His music is a mixture of melodic pop, power crunch chords, witty observant lyrics, and amped-up '60s garage rock, topped off with brash vocals and an enthusiastic DIY approach.

...which I assume is authoritative.

I should add that "21st Century AI Man" is the first single from Dfactor's upcoming full-length album, scheduled for this summer, and tentatively titled Cowboy Dfactor (take that, Beyonce!).

And to hear more from DFP, who seems to have been plying his trade for quite some time unbeknownst to me, hie thee to his Bandcamp page over HERE.

You're welcome.

How Such a Great Record Got to Be the Theme for Such a Cheesy Biker Flick is Beyond Me

From 1968, and the soundtrack to the otherwise justly forgotten exploitation epic The Savage Seven, please enjoy the maligned-by-me-yesterday Cream and their drop dead fabulous "Anyone for Tennis."

Seriously, immediately after I posted Monday's anti-Cream screed, I remembered how much I loved everything about the above and was consumed with guilt.

So mea culpa, Cream -- and may I just add that one of the many reasons that song knocks me out is this concluding lyrical snippet.

And Fate is setting up the chess board/while Death rolls out the dice

Anyone for tennis?

Wouldn't that be nice?

Which definitely falls into the category of "wish I'd written that."

Two additional little relevant bits of tid:

For years, I used to send people a mixtape CD I made called Great Lost Singles of the Sixties, and "Tennis" was usually the number one song in the playlist.

Also, the single version of it, on ATCO, was one of the very first 45 rpm records available in stereo. Which was kind of cool in that immediately post-Sgt. Pepper era, as you can well imagine.

I wore out my promo copy (which I swiped from my college radio station) pretty quickly, as you can also well imagine.

Your Monday Moment of Words Fail Me: Special "The Brewski That Made St. Louis Not Particularly Well Known" Edition

From approximately 1967/68, please enjoy psychedelic blues-wankers Cream -- yes, them -- and their actual radio spot that actually got aired on American stations in support of (what I remember as quite undrinkable) Falstaff Beer!

I should add at this point that, as you may have guessed, I am not now and have never been a Cream fan. Basically, I can listen to the live Wheels of Fire version of "Crossroads" and the exquisitely Beatle-esque "Badge" (from their final album) and that's just about it.

Yeah, yeah, I know they're great and historically important blah blah blah but the insurmountable problem for me, which I can/could never get past, is Jack Bruce's melodramatically florid over-singing.

Which, as you can hear so well in the above, sounds exactly like the Cantor at my Bar Mitzvah. And in a rock context, that just makes me laugh, which obviously is not the reaction the band was going for.

Hey -- it's a Jewish thing. You wouldn't understand.

I should add as a footnote that the jingle tune in question is credited to Clapton/Bruce/Baker, which means they wrote the immortal line "the beer you reach for first/when you want to quench your thirst" all by themselves.

I.e. without the assistnce of their usual collaborator/lyricist "Sunshine of Your Love" auteur Pete Brown. And good for them.

[h/t Jai Guru Dave]

Weekend Listomania: Special "The Sound of Mucous" Audio/Visual Edition

[I initially wrote/posted the following in 2012(!), back when I was not yet eligible for Medicare. Obviously, nobody currently reading this reissue will have any memory of the original version, but because of the stuff we did earlier this week about that obscure punk song in that forthcoming teen comedy, it seemed newly relevant. Consequently, and because I love you all more than food, I have done some re-writing and added two new entries. Please enjoy if possible. -- S.S.]

Okay, kids, it's Friday, and you know what that means. But before we get to business, indulge me one more cheap joke at the expense of a certain contemporary pop icon's new media event doubling as an album.

Hey, I gotta give it to Beyoncé!

It took 15(!) people to compose her new country hit.

That makes it the first masterpiece written by committee since the King James Bible!!!

Thank you, I'm here all week. Please tip your binary wait-staff and try the vegan.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's move on to today's thematic puzzler. Specifically --

Best or Worst Use of a Pop/Rock/Soul/Country Song in Either a Credit Sequence or otherwise Non-Musical Scene in a Film/TV Drama or Comedy!!!

No arbitrary rules, except -- of course -- no concert films, documentaries, or features starring The Beatles need apply.

And my totally top of my head Top Seven is...

7. The Lovin' Spoonful -- "Pow" (as heard in What's Up, Tiger Lily)

The song itself was a b-side, if memory serves, and it's deliberately silly, but it catches the '60s-absurdist feel of Woody Allen's debut cinematic jape pretty much perfectly.

6. Karen O with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross -- "The Immigrant Song" (as heard in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)

I didn't care for the opening credits visual montage that it accompanies, but Mr. Nine Inch Nails' remake of the Led Zep song, which sets up the tone of the subsequent film perfectly, is just one of many reasons that David Fincher's Hollywood adaptation of TGWTDT is light years better than the Swedish, hippo-root sucking, original.

5. Van Morrison -- "Into the Mystic" (as heard in Panic in Needle Park)

I dunno if Van was thinking heroin when he wrote it, but the scene with Al Pacino and Kitty Winn (whatever the hell happened to her, BTW?) shooting up to to its slightly melancholy strains is one of the most indelible images in American films of the 70s. IMHO.

4. Herman's Hermits -- "I'm Into Something Good" (as heard in The Naked Gun)

Okay, it's a remake, but it is Peter Noone singing. I should add that the scene from the montage where Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley come out of a theater showing Platoon while laughing hysterically never fails to make me feel better about life.

3. Gary Glitter -- "Rock and Roll" (as heard in Moolight Mile)

I was gonna nominate the film's Rolling Stones title tune, which is beautifully used, but it dawned on me that the Glitter track, from earlier in the same scene, is actually surprisingly effective despite being about as massively over-familiar as anything can be. Fun fact: After Robert Plant saw the film, he called up Mick Jagger to tell him how much he had liked "Moonlight Mile" (the song) and asked him what album it was on and when it had originally been released. I am not making this up.

2. Alica Keys and Jack White -- "Another Way to Die" (as heard in Quantum of Solace)

I have no problem with either Keys or White, but I think we can all agree that this one is pretty unmemorable. Or maybe it just seems that way knowing that it was supposed to be sung by Amy Winehouse, who -- we can also all agree -- was genetically bred to sing a Bond movie theme song.

And the numero uno shtup between music and the visual arts on a medium currently available for streaming unquestionably is...

1. Marcus Mumford and Ted Howe -- "Believe" (as heard in Ted Lasso)

Okay, okay, it's not the most memorable musical credit sequence I've ever seen, but it works beautifully if you've watched the show, and I just love the song. (PS: It reminds me of some rock standard, but I can't put my finger on it. Anybody have an idea?)

Here's the complete version, to help you out.

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!