Alternative Grab Bag VII

Having just returned to the United States a few weeks ago after two years in the Middle East, my family and I are currently enjoying the cool September weather and lush greenery of Northern Virginia. Like other parts of the planet right now, things here are a bit strange due to the global pandemic (and I am still confused why America leads the world in COVID-19 deaths). While it feels like fall (my favorite season) is just around the corner, we will soon be on our way to the Caribbean and so will miss the changing of the leaves and Halloween. When feeling out of sorts or dealing with mixed emotions, I have often found alternative music can be just what the doctor ordered. Here are some of my alternative favorites including punk, new wave, baroque pop, emo/hardcore, and indie/alternative. Enjoy!

Lee Hazlewood

01. Sarah McLachlan – “Answer (Live)” (2003)

02. Jonathan Richman – “Vincent Van Gogh” (2004)

03. New Order – “Be a Rebel” (2020)

04. Scott Walker – “30 Century Man” (1969)

05. American Music Club – “Johnny Mathis’ Feet” (1993)

06. Scott Walker – “Montague Terrace (In Blue)” (1967)

07. Bat for Lashes – “The Boys of Summer (Live)” (2019)

08. Lou Reed – “The Day John Kennedy Died” (1982)

09. Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers – “New England” (1976)

10. Beck – “The Golden Age” (2002)

11. Scott Walker – “Mathilde” (1967)

12. John Cale – “Andalucia” (1973)

13. Lee Hazlewood – “Your Sweet Love” (1966)

14. The Divine Comedy – “Our Mutual Friend” (2004)

15. The Dead Milkmen – “Born to Love Volcanos” (1988)

16. Fugazi – “Burning Too” (1989)
17. Fugazi – “Do You Like Me” (1995)
18. The Divine Comedy – “When the Lights Go Out All Over Europe” (1994)

19. Haircut 100 – “Lemon Firebrigade” (1982)

20. Fugazi – “Public Witness Program” (1993)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

Recommended Links:

Fugazi – “Public Witness Program”

Garage Freaks! III

The word “barbarian” comes to us from the ancient Greeks who used it disparagingly to describe foreigners whose languages to Greek ears sounded like gibberish (“bar bar bar bar bar”). While it’s easy to dismiss ‘60s garage rock as America’s primitive response to the British Invasion, there is much more to garage rock than just an aped, barbarian approach to music. There was, for example, a thin line between American garage rock and psychedelic music and in both forms one can hear the roots of hard rock, punk, metal, and hardcore. And while garage rock was mostly an American affair, let us not forget the outstanding contributions of the Troggs (from England) who gave the world “Wild Thing”.

Steppenwolf

What ‘60s garage rockers lacked in musical talent and sophistication they more than made up for with attitude and menace. There is nothing new under the sun. If you played for some bored teenagers in ancient Rome the first seven albums of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and then gave them drums and electric guitars, the music those Latin teens would produce (toga rock?) would sound a lot like garage rock (and their parents would then complain about all the noise and long hair). Here are some of my favorite garage rock pioneers songs including some that straddle the thin, fuzzy line between garage rock and psychedelic music (but don't call these proto-punks hippies!) Enjoy!

The Gants

01. The Electric Prunes – “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” (1967)
02. Count Five – “Psychotic Reaction (Rarities Version)” (1966)
03. The Sonics – “Strychnine” (1965)
04. The Troggs – “Give It to Me” (1967)
05. The Balloon Farm – “A Question of Temperature” (1967)
06. The Seeds – “Pushin’ Too Hard” (1965)
07. Bob Seger and the Last Heard – “Heavy Music – Pt. 1” (1967)
08. The Chocolate Watchband – “Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)” (1967)
09. Bob Seger and the Last Heard – “East Side Story” (1966)
10. The Chocolate Watchband – “Baby Blue” (1968)
11. Steppenwolf – “Born to Be Wild” (1968)
12. The Gants – “My Baby Don’t Care” (1965)
13. The Music Explosion – “Little Bit O’ Soul” (1967)
14. The Savage Resurrection – “Thing in E” (1968)
15. The Gants – “I Wonder” (1967)
16. Paul Revere & the Raiders – “Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon” (1969)

17. Los Bravos – “Bring a Little Lovin’” (1968)

18. The 13th Floor Elevators – “You’re Gonna Miss Me” (1966)

19. Love – “7 and 7 Is” (1966)

20. Love – “No Matter What You Do” (1966)

21. The Brogues – “I Ain’t No Miracle Worker” (1965)

22. Blues Magoos – “One by One” (1966)

23. The Chocolate Watchband – “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” (1968)

24. The Castaways - “Liar, Liar” (1965)

25. The Electric Prunes – “Get Me to the World on Time” (1967)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

... or check out the playlist on YouTube

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Bubblegum!

Though I was born during the tail end of the bubblegum music phenomenon, as a child I was well-schooled in bubblegum thanks to TV reruns. Whether it was live action made-for-TV bands like the Monkees, the Partridge Family, and the Brady Bunch, or cartoon bands like the Impossibles, Josie and the Pussycats, and the Groovie Goolies, I ate it all up like sugary breakfast cereal. Like junk food, bubblegum music was aimed at children and had no real value but sure was fun and wasn’t all bad. In fact, bubblegum helped ease preteens like me into so-called adult music and introduced us to grown up themes. The best of bubblegum knew how to grab its kid listeners and even got parents tapping their feet (and trying to get those catchy songs out of their heads). Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

The Monkees

01. The Monkees – “Sometime in the Morning” (1967)
02. The Monkees – “Shades of Gray” (1967)
03. The Monkees – “Daydream Believer” (1967)
04. The Royal Guardsmen – “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” (1966)
05. The Archies – “Sugar, Sugar” (1969)
06. The Partridge Family – “I Woke Up in Love This Morning” (1971)
07. Paul Revere & the Raiders – “Just Like Me” (1965)
08. The Peppermint Rainbow – “And I’ll Be There” (1969)
09. Josie and the Pussycats – “Josie and the Pussycats” (1970)
10. The Jackson 5 – “ABC” (1970)
11. The Partridge Family – “Come on Get Happy” (1971)
12. Blue Swede – “Hooked on a Feeling” (1973)
13. The Monkees – “The Door into Summer (Live)” (2019)
14. Davy Jones – “Girl” (1971)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

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Josie and the Pussycats

The Monkees – “Sometime in the Morning”