RUBBER RODEO - She Had to Go (12" Single)

Recently I wrote about country-new wave hybrid Rubber Rodeo's second and final LP, Heartbreak Highway. By request, here's one of the band's earlier singles, She Had to Go from 1982.

By the time Rubber Rodeo released Heartbreak Highway in 1986, its sound had developed from a self-described "cross between Gene Autry and Devo" to polished, radio-ready pop with country touches thrown in here and there. She Had to Go is a perfect example of the band's quirkier early stage (which also saw the release of a new wave cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene).

She Had to Go is a bizarre, Devo-esque track about death, strangely enough. Check out the last minute or so, which sounds something like the hoedown from hell. The B-side includes Rubber Rodeo's take on The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as well as another instrumental, Forbidden Valley.

(2/17/09 - You can now purchase this music, along with the band's self-titled EP, on iTunes! Go get it!)

Track listing:
1 - She Had to Go...
2 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
3 - Forbidden Valley

CD Fit for Vinyl: DAVE DILL - Follow the Summer

While the music of indie singer-songwriter Dave Dill comes in CD form, it sounds tailor-made for any vinyl-loving power pop fan.

Dill's latest album, Follow the Summer, flows with a cool 70s vibe reminiscent of power pop pioneers such as Badfinger and Big Star, while at the same time bringing to mind the most honest, authentic modern-day pop songwriting by the likes of Michael Penn and Matthew Sweet.

The album's artwork and title don't lie - this is is breezy, summery stuff - but not to a super-sugary, bubblegum extent. Most of Dill's melodies only fully reveal themselves after a few listens, making for an overall more rewarding sonic experience filled with a various musical textures, swirling harmonies and innovative instrumentation.

Highlights include Happily Ever After and Don't Remember, a pair of hook-filled, up-tempo rockers, as well as the melodic, Pete Ham-esque ballad You Don't Believe It and the dreamy, lengthy album centerpiece Follow the Summer/Pink Skies.

Dill's pure vocals shine throughout, often channeling Brian Wilson and always meshing perfectly with the warm, sunny music. Follow the Summer is perfect listening for a hazy summer day.

Pick up a copy at CD Baby or Not Lame, or download the album on iTunes.

FOR FANS OF:
The Beatles, Badfinger, Michael Penn, Big Star, Matthew Sweet, Jon Brion

WEB LINKS:
- Dave Dill official site
- Dave Dill MySpace

BLUE PETER - Rockin' Canadian New Wave

I have to thank Uncle E of the always entertaining Uncle E's Musical Nightmares for turning me onto Blue Peter, a rather obscure Canadian new wave band of the early 80s.

Blue Peter's output consists of two LPs, Radio Silence (1980) and Falling (1983), as well as two EPs, Test Patterns for Living (1979) and Up to You (1982). The releases are quite different, with the early EP and LP focusing on a straightforward power pop sound and the later releases introducing more of a new wavey synth-pop sound.


In fact, Test Patterns for Living brought on Blue Peter with a stripped-back sound that would completely transform by the time the band reached its later stages. The EP is full of energetic, short power pop tunes that are enjoyable, but not necessarily instantly memorable. The two exceptions are the manic, bizarre Do the Robot and the closer, Factory Living, which features the memorable line, "it's no fun starving for artistic integrity/better to work in the big old factory."

Radio Silence is a progression of the EP's sound, kicking off with the infectious Video Verite, one of the band's strongest tracks and a definite lost power pop classic. Other highlights include AWOL, Where's My Angel, Attraction and Shell Shocked. The kind of power pop on the album is not the warm, romantic kind you might expect from acts such as Shoes or Dwight Twilley. I'd call it "futuristic power pop," with its occasional use of synths and the sometimes deadpan delivery of lead singer Paul Humphrey. Other times it brings to mind the harder-edged pop of bands such as Red Rockers and fellow Canadians Payola$.

The second LP, Falling, sounds for the most part like a different band. The songs are more tuneful and produced, the overall ambiance is more nostalgic and reflective and Humphrey's vocals show a greater range of emotion. The result is an arguably stronger collection of songs, beginning with the pretty, open-sounding title track. The lead single, Don't Walk Past, was the band's most commercially successful song. It is very much a product of its time, with its slinky dance-pop sound. Head Over Heels is another cool dance track, this one more dance rock than synth-pop. Other highlights include the soft, romantic Red Filters, as well as All Your Time and Right Stuff, which along with the title track are the album's most melodic moments.


Blue Peter began recording tracks for a planned third LP, Vertigo, which was never completed. The band broke up in 1985, but has recently reformed for occasional gigs in Canada.

In 2007, Blue Peter made its entire catalog is available in the form of three CD reissues - Test Patterns for Living and Radio Silence on one disc, Falling and the unreleased Vertigo on the second and Up to You plus an assortment of rare and unreleased tracks on a compilation called Burning Bridges. All three sound great and are available on Amazon.com.

BLUE PETER LINEUP:
Mike Bambrick, Paul Humphrey, Rick Joudrey, Geoff McOuat, Jason Sniderman, Owen Tennyson, Ron Tomlinson, Chris Wardman

FOR FANS OF:
Red Rockers, Payola$, Japan, Duran Duran, Maurice & the Cliches

WEB LINKS:
- Blue Peter official site
- Blue Peter on MySpace
- Don't Walk Past video on YouTube
- Blue Peter on Wikipedia
- Interview with Paul Humphrey

THE CROCODILES - New Wave Goodbye

One of the first posts I made on this site detailed The Crocodiles, a New Zealand pop band that emerged in the late 70s with a sound that mixed new wave and power pop. Here's a vinyl rip of the band's debut record, New Wave Goodbye (aka Tears), in full.

The Crocodiles are best remembered - when remembered at all - for the song Tears, which was a hit in their home country. It came from the 1980 LP of the same name, which was released elsewhere the following year under the title New Wave Goodbye.

The album is full of energetic pop that switches vocals between various members - most notably Jenny Morris, who later became a pop star in New Zealand and Australia. It covers quirky new wave (title track, In My Suit, Working Girl), 60s-style pop (Any Day of the Week, Whatcha Gonna Do, Tears, It's the Latest) and straight-ahead power pop (Young Ladies in Hot Cars, Ribbons of Steel).

The Crocodiles - New Wave Goodbye (LP, 1981)

Track listing:
1 - New Wave Goodbye
2 - Any Day of the Week
3 - All Night Long
4 - Tears
5 - In My Suit
6 - Young Ladies in Hot Cars
7 - Whatcha Gonna Do
8 - Ribbons of Steel
9 - It's the Latest
10 - Working Girl

FOR FANS OF:
Split Enz, The Dugites, XTC, early Elvis Costello, The Sinceros, Squeeze

Colored Vinyl: Resistance is Futile

As you can see, there's no music in this post. In an effort to expand my blog-writing horizons, this time I'm going to ramble about something other than a specific record or band. That something is my inability to resist colored vinyl.

There are a lot of factors I can cite as reasons why vinyl, in most cases, has become my preferred music format - the unique sound, the big artwork, the fact that you can now get fantastic albums for dirt cheap because most people consider vinyl an obsolete format...

These all speak to the allure of vinyl, but I hold a special place for one very important superpower that vinyl can use to trump the almighty compact disc: multicolored awesomeness.

Sure, you can pretty much put any color or design on the top of a CD, but it's just not the same. I mean, when was the last time you experienced the thrill of finding a see-thru, ocean blue CD?

Maybe I'm (way) too easily amused, but I find colored vinyl incredibly cool...seriously, really cool. Probably to an extent that some might not consider humanly healthy. There's something about great music coming from a large, brightly-colored circle that makes it even more enjoyable than when it's coming from a bland black circle or a smaller shiny circle.

In fact, I'm always tempted to buy any colored vinyl I come across regardless of the band.

Case in point: I've never collected music by the Beatles, but I was surfing eBay the other day and saw a sizable lot of Beatles singles, each in the form of a vibrantly-colored 45, and was seriously tempted to bid. Not that it would have been such a bad thing. I hear a few people think they're a pretty good band.

Still, those singles weren't as cool as the colored vinyl centerpiece of my collection - my Bruiseology LP by The Waitresses on swirled purple vinyl (pictured above on the left). This special edition of the LP was only pressed for DJ promo copies and is somewhat scarce, so even though I already had a copy of the album in basic black, I had to have the purple-ish wax when I saw it. Granted, I don't pull it out and stare at it on a daily basis, but somehow knowing it's in my collection makes me happy.

It seems that translucent green is a popular choice for colored 45s. I've already got three of those after less than a year of devoted vinyl collecting.

Sometimes the color of a colored vinyl perfectly matches the music. There's no better example than the Josie Cotton 7" He Could Be the One b/w Systematic Way on bubblegum pink vinyl. I just tracked down a copy, and somehow Josie's summery, carefree, girl-group inspired power pop sounds even better coming from it.

The only downside to bright colors is that sometimes they make it hard to gauge the condition of a record. This is mainly because scratches don't show up as well as on black, but you also might find yourself too busy being awed by the wonders of colored wax to even notice or care.

That aside, colored vinyl is a prime example of how vinyl simply provides more of a music listening experience than any other format. I admit, some CDs sound excellent, but as a whole they just can't compete (although they do beat digital music. You can't even see that).

If I ever join a band and record an album you can bet it's gonna be on vinyl. And it's gonna be colored.

MARTHA DAVIS and THE MOTELS - New Releases

Martha Davis of the classic new wave pop band The Motels has launched three brand new albums, marking the first release of new material under the Motels moniker since 1985's Shock.

The new Motels LP, This, in addition to a new solo release called Beautiful Life and a collection of revamped Motels favorites called Clean, Modern and Reasonable, are currently available for digital download at the official Motels site.

This features the classic Motels sound brought up to date, with lots of catchy, upbeat tunes including Where Oh Where, Last of the Bohemians and The Day That Won't Go Away.

Beautiful Life is a darker, more personal affair, filled with songs about loss and loneliness. It is beautiful and painfully sad at the same time, and works best when listened to all the way through. Highlights include Watching the World Go By, the title track, Let Me Fall and 4:30 Friday, which best convey the cathartic, deeply emotional nature of the album.

Throughout these releases, Martha's voice is as affecting as ever. In fact, time has brought her an even greater range. She jumps from a convicting rasp to a fragile cry with ease.

Check out some of the new songs on both Martha's and The Motels' official MySpace pages:

- The Motels on MySpace
- Martha Davis on MySpace

MI-SEX - Where Do They Go?

Mi-Sex first gained notoriety in their native New Zealand and Australia in late 1979 with their electro new wave chart hit, Computer Games. Although the band continued on until 1985, no other single brought them as much success.

Their more straightforward, pop-oriented final LP, 1984's Where Do They Go?, contains no less than two essential new wave treasures in addition to a healthy dose of others that are pretty enjoyable.

Castaway and Blue Day - both released as singles - are not tunes you'll likely hear on flashback radio, but ones that have "80s classic" written all over them. The former is an peppy, insanely catchy sing-along number, while the reflective Blue Day sounds like the best song Men at Work never wrote.

The reggae-tinged title cut is another highlight, as is the the lively pop of Falling in and Out, 5 O'Clock (In the Morning) and Don't Look Back in Anger.

This album tries to be nothing other than radio-ready new wave without many twists and turns, but it is a worthwhile listen all the way through. The powerful lead vocals by the late Steve Gilpin are particularly notable. Unfortunately, Gilpin died in 1992 after being struck in a car crash.

Mi-Sex - Where Do They Go? (LP, 1984)

Track listing:
1 - Only Thinking
2 - Where Do They Go?
3 - Castaway
4 - Blue Day
5 - I Lose Control
6 - Falling in and Out
7 - Making Love on the Telephone
8 - 5 O'Clock (In the Morning)
9 - The Stranger in You
10 - Don't Look Back in Anger

WEB LINKS:
- Mi-Sex on Wikipedia
- Informational site on Mi-Sex vocalist, Steve Gilpin
- Blue Day video on YouTube
- Castaway video on YouTube

D-DAY - Right to Know (7" Single)

I previously posted about the splendors of the obscure, raucous Texas new wave band D-Day and their debut and lone LP. That self-titled album was preceded by two memorable singles, the irreverent Too Young to Date and Right to Know. While the former was a slice of raw power pop, 1981's Right to Know took the sugar rush up a notch. The cut is fueled by an out of control, rather cheap-sounding (in a cool way) synth, some manic drumming and the always powerful, showy vocals of De Lewellen.

The B-side is a funk-infused, brassy number called Your History Complete, and is noticeably not as strong, but still pretty enjoyable if you give it a few spins.

D-Day - Right to Know (7" Single, 1981)

Track listing:
1 - Right to Know
2 - Your History Complete

RUBBER RODEO - Heartbreak Highway

New wave and country might seem like an unlikely combination, but Boston-based Rubber Rodeo attempted the fusion in the 1980s over the course of two LPs and an EP.

The band is best remembered for its excellent 1984 single Anywhere With You, which was definitely more straightforward pop than country. The song appeared on their debut LP, Scenic Views, which also yielded a minor hit in The Hardest Thing. Prior to that, Rubber Rodeo stirred some attention with an EP that featured a new wave take on the Dolly Parton hit, Jolene.

Scenic Views didn't break the band to the level that was probably hoped, and it's apparent that with their follow up LP from 1986, Heartbreak Highway, Rubber Rodeo was aiming to lasso major pop success. The songs are hookier and more developed, and while Scenic Views included lead vocals split pretty much evenly between core members Trish Milliken and Bob Holmes, Milliken's memorable singing is the emphasis on Heartbreak Highway.

Side 1 features the album's strongest cuts, starting with the storming title track. If You're Ever Alone is a gorgeous pop tune sung by Milliken that was criminally not released as a single. This one could have done really well for them. Holmes does a worthwhile take on Fred Neil's Everybody's Talkin'. The lead single, Souvenir, is an infectious, upbeat duet that should have been a commercial smash. The Civil War is a melodic, Western-influenced instrumental.

The brief side 2 includes highlights in Look Who's Back, another fine pop song with lead vocals by Milliken, and the hopeful Maybe Next Year.

All of Rubber Rodeo's releases remain unreleased on CD. You can check out my vinyl rip of Heartbreak Highway at the link below, and head here for the EP and here for Scenic Views.

Rubber Rodeo - Heartbreak Highway (LP, 1986)

Track listing:
1 - Heartbreak Highway
2 - If You're Ever Alone
3 - Everybody's Talkin'
4 - Souvenir
5 - The Civil War
6 - Deadtown
7 - When Words Collide
8 - Look Who's Back
9 - Maybe Next Year

THE RECORDS - Rock and Roll Love Letter (12" Single)

Here's one from another of the superb power pop acts to emerge in the late 1970s - The Records.

The Records were a British band most remembered for their debut single Starry Eyes, which is undoubtedly a timeless power pop classic and what I consider to be one of the greatest singles in the history of rock 'n' roll. The band's non-LP follow-up single, a cover of Tim Moore's Rock and Roll Love Letter, is also brilliant, but much less discussed.

The 12" single also includes another track that never appeared on an LP, Wives and Mothers of Tomorrow, in addition to an excellent live version of Starry Eyes.

The Records - Rock and Roll Love Letter (12" single, 1979)

Track listing:
1 - Rock and Roll Love Letter
2 - Wives and Mothers of Tomorrow
3 - Starry Eyes (live)