TISH! That's FRENCH! Vol. 3 - Songs En Francais!

TISH! That's French! Vol. 3

My unrelenting fascination with songs that contain passages in French, are entirely in French, or are covers of hit songs sung in French continues!

This third volume (through the fifth) contain a lot of suggestions from regular JOKONKY visitors/commenters, so thanks to everyone who suggested a track or a group (Merci pour le partage).  Bucephalus went as far as to generously send me tons of great stuff—but I haven’t sorted through it all yet—so they’ll probably start popping up in Volume 6. 

Psycho Killer is simply a great way to start off any comp, in my opinion, and right on Talking Heads’ heels are one of the groups that set my fixation in motion; Les Rita Mitsouko.  Another combo that really “set the hook” was Stereolab, with their briskly hypnotic Speedy Car.

One can always count on The Stranglers, & Debbie Harry to dabble in French.  Sunday Girl was on an earlier volume, & here she sets her sights on French Kissin' In The USA.  

There are lots of French artists on this installment, from Halo Maud (who has a LOT of aliases) to Serge Gainsbourg, and of course ye ye girls galore like France Gall, Sylvie Vartan, and the queen of them all Francoise Hardy.  

As suggested by a friend of the blog, Claude Francois' Comme D'Habitude makes an appearance--which I'm told is far superior to the Paul Anka-ized reworking that became one of Frank Sinatra's signature songs: My Way.  I'll have to take his word for it.  Just because I enjoy songs in French, doesn't mean I can understand what they're singing about.  I know what I like, but I don't know what I like.

I'm entranced by Anne Issermann's minimalistic rendition of Ca Plane Pour Moi--a song that pops up on most of the volumes.  I've embedded the video below.  It's her only video on YouTube, & I can't find anything more about her online, but she claims to be the king of the divan, & I believe her.

Sonny & Cher’s C’est La Vie might offend some people of French descent because of Sonny’s unimaginative stereotyping—but I feel like it was all in fun—& I loved the song as a kid (and I'm half French).  You couldn’t escape them for a few years in the seventies, & I didn’t want to.

Bringing it all home are The Beatles, who were the first artists I was aware of who recorded versions of their songs in other languages.  Here they stir some French, & German, into an run-through of Get Back.

 

Radar Records Singles 1978-79

After my Howard Werth post I finally bought The Wild World Of Barney Bubbles, an absolutely fabulous treasure trove of his designs and paintings. He was miles ahead of others during that time, great to read about his influences and concepts.  It also provided a lot of insight of the music scene in those days and the groups/musicians he was close with; Hawkwind, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Billy Bragg, a.m.o.

Special mention must be made for Jake Riviera as ‘mover & shaker’, a British music business entrepreneur, manager of Costello and Lowe, and co-founder (with Dave Robinson) of Stiff Records.  He was a firm supporter of Barney and in 1977 recruited Bubbles to work with him on an impressive run of designs for record sleeves, posters, badges and advertising and promotional campaigns for Lowe, The Damned, Costello and such performers as Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric and the veteran music hall star Max Wall.

However later that same year Riviera left Stiff, taking with him Barney, Costello and Lowe to the newly launched label Radar Records.  Nick Lowe’s Breaking Glass was the first Radar 45 release and a hit for the new label.  Barney had designed both the Radar Label’s logo and the sleeve for Nick’s hit!

Radar lasted only 2 years before Riviera moved on, again taking key artists and Barney with him, to another new label… But during those 2 years Radar released a lot of good music, besides Costello and Lowe, there were also excellent records by Bram Tchaikovsky, Inmates, 999, Yachts, The Pop Group, a.o.

Several of Radar's early releases (including Iggy Pop and James Williamson's Kill City, the Good Rats' From Rats to Riches and Pezband's Laughing in the Dark) were licensed from independent American labels. 

After reading and thinking about the above I suddenly realized something odd! During my vinyl buying days in the previous century I bought quite a few Stiff and Radar singles, extended plays, and albums. I have good memories of the various Stiff artists compilations (later CDs as well), and downloaded Stiff collections from different blogs, etc. But I never bought a various Radar artists album/CD or found a digital collection online.   

This is because strangely enough Radar never released any such compilation... 

As for why nobody ever considered putting a digital collection together, that's anyone's guess...  Therefore Jokonky proudly announces the arrival of the Radar Records Singles 1978-79 compilation!

Despite the fact that virtually all of regular visitors are probably familiar with Lowe & Costello, I still felt that I had to include them. A perfect candidate was the Nick Lowe single I bought back in 1978: A side - American Squirm with on the B What’s So Funny ‘Bout (Peace, Love and Understanding) by Nick Lowe And His Sound which turned out to be Elvis Costello!

Besides the earlier mentioned Radar artists and groups, there are also: Bette Bright And The Illuminations, Metal Urbain, Neon, Ray Campi (licensed from Rollin’ Rock!), The Red Crayola, The Soft Boys, Sussex, Tanz Der Youth, The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Visage, and Wayne Kramer.

Bomb Squad Productions (1987-1993)

And now for something completely different!  Hip hop has rarely been featured on this blog, on themed compilations or the occasional Comeback Special.  I'm a fan, especially of the "Golden Age of Hip Hop" (mid-1980's to mid-1990's), when amazing creative and technical innovations were happening at a rapid pace.  

It was a period when hip hop entered the commercial mainstream through artists like Run-DMC and LL Cool J.  West Coast "gangsta" rappers Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur would become superstars.  The "Dirty South" started to have its say.  On the East Coast, new groups like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest began to expand what the music could sound like, the topics that rappers could address, and the persona of the MC. Hip hop crossed over into rock, jazz and dancehall.  For DJ's and producers, the Golden Age was the peak of the "sampling sport" (before copyright lawsuits made it prohibitively expensive for some artists to clear samples). 

One of the most innovative production teams was the Bomb Squad.  The Bomb Squad made its recorded debut in 1987 with Public Enemy's first singles and debut album. Hank Shocklee, his brother Keith, Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, Bill Stephney and Carlton Ridenhour (aka Chuck D) were the original members of the Bomb Squad.  Gary "G-Wiz" Rinaldo joined in 1990.

In 1988, the Bomb Squad produced half of the tracks on Slick Rick's first album, as well as the title track of Vanessa Williams' debut album.  They went on to write, produce and remix records for some of the most popular female singers (including Jody Watley, Paula Abdul, Jasmine Guy, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, Lisa Stansfield, and Sinead O'Connor).

When Ice Cube left NWA for a solo career, the Bomb Squad produced his debut album.  After the group New Edition split up, the Bomb Squad wrote and produced singles for the newly formed Bell Biv Devoe, and helped to define the "New Jack Swing" sound of contemporary R&B.  

In 1990, Hank Shocklee and Bill Stephney started a record label, SOUL (Sound Of Urban Listeners).  They signed and produced Leaders Of The New School, Son Of Bazerk, the Young Black Teenagers (a group of white rappers) and a nepo baby who called himself Chilly Tee.  

Today's share features some of the best Bomb Squad productions outside of Public Enemy.  They range from early P.E. contemporaries (Kings Of Pressure and True Mathematics) to some of hip hop's all-time greats (Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Run-DMC and Ice Cube).  Hank Shocklee once said of the Bomb Squad, "We believed that music is nothing but organized noise. You can take anything — street sounds, us talking, whatever you want — and make it music by organizing it. That's still our philosophy, to show people that this thing you call music is a lot broader than you think it is."

Almost forgot to mention the new Public Enemy album, Black Sky Over The Projects: Apartment 2025!

THE SKELETONS Live At Euclid Records & On Public Access TV!

THE SKELETONS Live At Euclid Records & On Public Access TV

It’s timely that I’m diving deep into THE SKELETONS catalogue around HALLOWEEN, even if it's entirely coincidental.

Last time around--I shared tracks that are available nowhere else--and I’m doing the same this week--if you count these two performances I found on YouTube and converted into Homemade Records!

Being many folk’s choice for THE WORLD’S GREATEST BAR BAND, the way to experience THE SKELETONS is live.  First up is a live set recorded at EUCLID RECORDS in 2011, & an earlier set on Public Access TV.  Nineteen sizzling servings of honest-to-God rock & roll with a couple of the musical curveballs the band was known for thrown-in for good measure.

On the EUCLID set, they play a smoky jazzy version of THE KINKS’ You Really Got Me alongside songs by fellow midwestern musical heroes WAYNE CARSON & CHUCK BERRY (who they point out wrote Jaguar & Thunderbird while he was in prison nearby).  

Part of their appeal is that they’re a band of obsessive record collectors who record music for obsessive record collectors. 

Another thing I’ve learned about them is that they always championed up-and-comers.  On a different live performance, they sing the praises of CORNELL HURD before they play a song they backed him on; If You Play With My Mind (You’re Gonna Get Your Hands Dirty).  On the EUCLID set they play an AMY RIGBY song that they say hadn’t appeared on one of her records yet.

And like any band who've learned how to hold the attention of an audience that’s drinking, & more focused on fornication, they know how to grab your attention with an obscure cover song.  One of their songs that I viewed purely as a way to do so has become one of my favorite songs by the group; The Monkey’s Uncle.  A theme song from an ANNETTE FUNICELLO Disney movie!  It drives home the other quality any great bar band possesses; great musical taste.  They aren't looking to waste anybody's time.

The final ability they possess in spades is the ability to write great songs about subjects no one else has bothered to write songs about.  A gift they share with artists they’ve backed on vinyl like HURD, JONATHAN RICHMAN, & ROBBIE FULKS.  There are countless rock songs about (girls and) cars, but none like their Gas Money, or Trans Am.  

So if you liked THE SKELETONS’ edition of IN THE MIX (scroll down if you missed it), I think you’ll enjoy these live sets!

If you'd like to take your own deep dive into THE SKELETONS/THE MORELLS/THE ORIGINAL SYMPTOMS a friend of theirs started his own label & relleased two different 4 CD sets, and a couple of other single CD releases on his own Almeron Records.  You can email him at: tomtaber_14411@yahoo.com

 

Holiday Inn Spain - The Field Guide To The Raybeats

At times it can be frustrating to ‘discover’ a band only after they’ve already split up…  I guess I might have encountered some of (The) Raybeats’ instrumentals before on a compilation, but despite my love for this kind of music, somehow it didn’t register enough.

That finally happened once their ‘lost’ 1982 session with Philip Glass was released, because his name for sure piqued my interest. The minimalist guy teaming up with a neo-surf rock combo? Unreal!  Three tracks: Pack Of Camels, Black Beach, and A Sad Little Caper got the full Glass treatment with Michael Riesman on keyboards which certainly made a difference… 

Another sign was the discovery of Neville Brody’s sleeve of their Holiday Inn Spain single…  From there on I backtracked and started listening to their other records as well, which sadly enough weren’t that many.  Altogether they released only 3 albums and a couple of 45s between 1981 - 1984…

The Raybeats formed in 1979 out of the ashes of the New York no-wavers, The Contortions. They decided to focus on Link Wray style guitar instrumentals and combine this with Dick Dale surf/space age/spy movie/no-wave, an interesting mix to say the least!

Lineup was George Scott (bass), Don Christensen (drums), Pat Irwin (guitarist/keyboardist/sax), and Jody Harris (guitar).  Scott sadly enough died of a drug overdose in 1980 and was replaced by Danny Amis (bass, guitar).

Their records output started with an EP Roping Wild Bears (1981), followed by an album, Guitar Beat (1982), which was recorded in England in Martin Rushent’s brand new studio.  According to Greg McLean’s Bar-None rerelease liner notes: This is modern American music-each song a chapter in a Bill Burroughs novel, cutting up sci-fi secret agents with the pulp of travelogues, voodoo recipes and bartending texts. 

Only one more album followed: It’s Only A Movie!, before the band decided to throw in the towel in 1984.  The band members moved on; Jody (The Golden Palominos), Pat (B-52s), and Danny (Los Straightjackets).  

No official compilation was ever released, therefore leave it up to Jokonky to correct this serious omission! It includes several tracks from their albums and as they apparently had quite a reputation as a live band, I added 2 examples from a live Stiff Records album as well. 

Two Drummers Drumming

 

This week I saw Redd Kross on their current tour with Melvins.  Dale Crover and Steve McDonald are doing double duty as the rhythm section for both bands.  Melvins are touring as a quartet, with two drummers (Dale and Coady Willis).  Thus the inspiration for today's post: bands with two (or more) drummers.  

There's something visceral about seeing and hearing two drummers playing.  Dale and Coady were sometimes locked in sync; at other times, they alternated as "lead" drummer or played off each other with separate but complementary drum parts.  

Two drummers playing together is a feat of athleticism as well as musicianship.  It's been done in jazz and prog rock, but also by the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, the Glitter Band, Wizzard, Adam & The Ants, and The Fall.  There are live videos from 1983 of The Fall playing Smile, Garden, and Tempo House with Karl Burns and Paul Hanley that -- even to this day -- can cause the Dutch to weep, in four languages at least.  

Here are 20 songs from groups which included two or more drummers.  Some were temporary lineups, as when Fugazi added a second drummer to several songs on their final album, or when Pere Ubu had both Scott Krauss and Chris Cutler on drums.  Sadly, nothing today from the Four Goddamn Girl Drummers, but we've got everything from God to Gnod.  It's fitting that the compilation ends with House Of All, which now includes three goddamn Fall drummers (Karl Burns, Paul Hanley, and Simon Wolstencroft).  

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: more MX-80, Ubu, and The Mighty Fall.  

HALLOWEEN 2025

HALLOWEEN 2025 contains a few bands you may not identify with All Hollows' Eve, but I think you’ll be surprised to find the tracks by THE PRETENDERS, T BONE BURNETT, & MARTY STUART, nestle in nicely (like mutant blood-thirsty ticks) alongside tracks by THE CRAMPS, THE COFFIN NAILS, THE FUZZTONES, & JOHN ZACHERLE!

I always appreciated HELEN REDDY’s Twilight Zone-themed: Angie Baby, and JIM STAFFORD’s Swamp Witch is surprisingly spooky, as is TAV FALCO’s Vampire From Havana.

Some bands' names are enough to warrant inclusion, like BARON DAEMON & THE VAMPIRES, THE TOMBSTONES, & THE 69 EYES.  Others, not so much, like BIG BOB KORNEGAY, THE EARLS OF SUAVE, & THE GINTOWN BOOZERS.

All of them were carefully selected by THE ONE WHO STINKS to darken your HALLOWEEN (as is my annual tradition).  In the words of Creature Feature's Master Of Scare-a-monies DR. PAUL BEARER: “I’ll be LURKING for you!”