Category Archives: Lunch Break

Lunch Break: More White Reggae

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Thinking about weird but wonderful white reggae, here is this one from Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, Abdul and Cleopatra, that I really love (with a suitably odd homemade video–for instance, why use a map of the Tidewater rather than, say, Egypt?):

And this other one, the instrumental Egyptian Reggae, which has more than 2 million views, perhaps more for the video than the tune (which is catchy nonetheless).

Lunch Break: Lee Michaels, “Streetcar”

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Peter posted last week on the ever-fun Lee Michaels (sigh, no relation unfortunately) and his biggest hit, Do You Know What I Mean?

I was a big Michaels fan back then, and I think I saw him at Winterland and Sound Factory and various little northern California venues four times with my childhood friend Stephen Clayton.

I never saw him play with anyone but his great and behemoth drummer, Bartholomew Smith-Frost aka “Frosty.”

Further, I always remember he was barefoot, and from what I could see, his feet were really dirty (even back then, he was a stoner after my own heart).

I remember loving Michaels’ first pair of albums–Carnival of Life and Recital–after which he released Barrel, the work the artist insisted was his first real album. That is because Barrel was just Michaels and Frosty whereas the first two efforts featured the likes of studio-men Eddie Hoh and Hamilton Watt and friends.

The problem is as much as I liked Michaels and Frosty live, similarly I thought those first two albums were full of great tunes and some decent crunch and psychedelia.

The song I picked here is Streetcar which was my fave on that first Carnival of Life album.

As I was searching for Michaels information to assemble this little ditty, I did come across his website, which is kind of a hoot in a “peace and love I am a bit of a scattered stoned out hippie but that doesn’t mean I am stupid or anything” way.

Here is the link:

http://www.leemichaels.com/LeeMichaels.com/no_war.html

As they say at Penny Lane, “very strange.”

Lunch Break: Falco, “Rock Me Amadeus” w/Sturmgeist

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During that crazy Mozart fad, back in the 80s, an Austrian toff had a crazy hit that Lawr had suppressed from memory. One of only six Billboard No. 1 hits in a language other than English. Not including Love is Blue and Grazing in the Grass. For the record, here it is. Don’t start with the volume too high.

Like most hits, Rock Me Amadeus has been covered many times. Sturmgeist, a Norwegian black metal band, is neutered by this awful awful song, but brings all their tools, hoping for a miracle.

I’m looking for a death metal version of Dominique.

Lunch Break: More Japanese Sounds of the Sixties

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I initially titled this post More Japanese Group Sounds of the Sixties, but these bands were not Group Sounds bands. Too weird, too individual for that.

You have to think the Mops have heard the Monkees.

Yuya Uchida & The Flowers moved toward the psychedelic and darkness. Uchida was friends with John Lennon.

Boogie on, from the Apryl Fool.

Lunch Break: Slade, “Coz I Luv You”

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My Oh My was Slade’s last hit, and a remarkable difference from this one, their first. Today’s palette cleanser…

I guess the point of last night’s rant wasn’t that there was anything wrong with being popular, but that maybe over time a popular artist has to find new ways to reach the mass audience. And maybe one of the ways is to go with sentimental prettiness rather than stronger sounds and words. Or maybe it’s just that over time good new ideas run out, squeezed like toothpaste from a tube.

By the way, John Legend’s first Top 20 single was also his first No. 1. Yuck.