Scorching hot blues-rock from the garage, with shades of Cream, George Thorogood, ? and the Mysterians and Lonnie Mack, with some of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ menace thrown in for good measure. This LA combo sounds like something Wolfman Jack would have played on XERB to terrify your parents. Check out a few tracks below!
Category Archives: Blog
Manwomanchild: Return to Ithaca
Catchy DIY synthpop from Philadelphia’s Manwomanchild, with vocalist David Child.
Queen of Jeans: Dance (Get Off Your Ass)
The song title wouldn’t lead you to guess this Philadelphia quartet creates DIY guitar, bass and drums pop-rock with modern girl group harmonies. The guitar tone would fit perfectly on Pebbles, Vol. 4, and the slow-motion drum fills are particularly fetching.
Rubinoos vs. Psycotic Pineapple
Given the incestuous relationship between the Rubinoos and Psycotic Pineapple (Jon Rubin and Tommy Dunbar were charter members of the Pineapple, and early Rubinoos keyboardist Alex Carlin joined the Pineapple for their hey-day), it probably shouldn’t be surprising that artist (and bassist) John Seabury drew inspiration from (and took friendly aim at) the Rubinoos single. Still, how did we not realize this until today?
John Seabury’s Facebook Page
The Rubinoos’ Home Page
Psycotic Pineapple’s Facebook Page
Marti Brom: Ambush
The first single from Marti Brom’s upcoming Rancho Notorious album is a fine cover of New Zealand singer Maria Dallas‘ 1966 single “Ambush.” Catch Brom’s cover and Dallas’ original below! 
Town Without Pity
Few remember – or even knew – that Gene Pitney’s breakthrough hit, “Town Without Pity,” was both the title and title song of a 1961 film. Even more surprisingly, the melody was written by Dimitri Tiomkin, who scored dozens of westerns, five films for Frank Capra (including It’s a Wonderful Life), and composed the score and theme song for Fred Zinneman’s High Noon. He not only wrote the melody for High Noon‘s “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling,” he believed in it enough to buy the rights back and release it as a Frankie Laine single. It was recorded by Tex Ritter for the film and won Tiomkin an academy award for best song.
Tiomkin’s other enduring Western classic is the theme song to the late-50s television show Rawhide, which Frankie Laine also took up the charts. Two years later, Tiomkin wrote the score and title track for “Town Without Pity,” gaining another Oscar nomination, winning a Golden Globe, and giving Gene Pitney his first Top 20 single. Pitney’s recording is included in the film, but the song is also rendered as a jazz instrumental and as a transitional theme. Tiomkin garnered several more Oscar and Golden Globe nominations and awards, but never again cracked the pop or country charts!
Bobby Womack Remembered
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Bobby Womack, who passed away in June, was not only a superb soul singer, songwriter and guitarist, he was an engaging and incredibly funny personality. Terry Gross’ interview from 1999 shows off the many sides of Bobby Womack. Stream or download it here.
Nick Heyward: He Doesn’t Love You Like I Do
Remember when this song was everywhere, and you bought the album From Monday to Sunday and thought that as refreshing as had been Haircut 100’s Pelican West, Nick Heyward’s solo work was taking things to a new level? Then, remember how over the years you’d pull out this album to relive its catchy melodies and spot-on vocals, harmonies, arrangements and production? Remember that? No? Well, in a just world, that’s how it would have played out. Luckily, in this commercially fickle world, the album sounds just as good today as it did in 1994, whether you heard it back then or not.
The Making of 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love”
Fascinating documentary about the craft that was put into 10cc’s 1975 hit single “I’m Not in Love.”
Little Children: By Your Side
Modern pop, but with a breakdown that somehow manages to echo Buffalo Springfield. Perhaps the band’s promo blurb says it best:
Little Children’s auditory sustenance fully personifies the essence of modern pop music’s history. No genre goes unexplored or escapes its distinctive formation!  Essentially, Little Children has established an original and sensational standard within music’s modern empire.
Standing tall next to the striking melodies and poetic worlds built by Little Children’s fate-driven lyrics shines the involvement of multi-instrumentalist Andreas Söderström. Söderström’s indispensable contribution to the album’s diversity allows Little Children’s vocals to reach depths from both ends of a spectrum resulting in an obliging mélange that ranges from the darkest of tones to a weightless dictum, moving with an unreserved synchronization.
“Walk Within†contains all of the delicate ingredients that characterize an upcoming milestone: sincerity, clarity and energy, all the while retaining the essential passion that tugs at your heartstrings and reaches deep into your bones.
Ultimately “Walk Within†reminds us that it is indeed 2014 and the auditory continuation of music by its example is invigorating, striking and irrefutable.
Then again, maybe it’s better to just listen to their fantastic new single.