Bob Marley & The Wailers: Early Music

Here's a nifty little compilation of some of Bob Marley & The Wailer's earliest recordings (with Peter Tosh.) Released in 1977 as Bob Marley was making his mark on American FM rock stations and people everywhere were discovering this strange new music called "reggae". Whereas back then, punk was loud, fast and snotty, reggae was the mellow, laid back stuff your stoner next door neighbour played loudly on his stereo every Sunday morning.

While on the surface, this might look like your typical major label budget compilation (Calla was the hard funk/Caribbean music imprint of CBS Records) to cash in on a big trend by reissuing a current superstar's early material, this album is surprisingly well mastered with some instantly catchy tunes ("Wings Of A Dove", "I'm Still Waiting") and excellent liner notes on the back cover.

On this one, you hear more of a '60s soul influence (these sessions were recorded in the late '60s, before Marley's more rock-influenced Island albums in the '70s that made him a superstar) and Bob Marley could have easily scored a few '60s US hits if CBS were actively looking in Jamaica for exciting new music. Which they weren't (NOBODY outside of Island and a few specialty labels were doing that.) These recordings are reissued material Bob Marley & The Wailers recorded for New World Disc Records. It's a necessary companion to Bob Marley's greatest hits album Legend.
And the perfect soundtrack for a Sunday morning.....

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "Rock Me Tonite" Billy Squier (1984)

Well, let me put it this way. Billy Squier was cool. SUPER COOL. At one time, he REALLY was the most popular solo rock artist in the early '80s in America, At one time eclipsing Bryan Adams, George Thorogood and Pat Benatar COMBINED. And if you don't believe it,  I'll remind you:

 But in 1984, something went wrong......Horribly wrong

He was at the peak of his career when he released Signs Of Life, and from all indicators, it was going to be ANOTHER blockbuster album. And it was. This baby shipped platinum straight from Capitol Records on pre-orders ALONE. And a catchy new song hit the airwaves, "Rock Me Tonite" and all was going according to plan.

And then MTV aired the World Premiere Video of "Rock Me Tonite".......

....and you could hear the sound of a million jaws collectively hitting the floor.

For one thing, EVERYTHING was wrong with the video. Famous heterosexual rock guitarists just weren't supposed to prance around in ripped tank tops and pajama bottoms. Or dry hump the floor. Or wear ANYTHING pink. Or stumble around with the band like a drunken drag queen (with a PINK guitar.) It was a TOTAL image clash from the Billy Squier of just a year ago then. Fans scratched their heads and said "What the fu.....?"

And it was proof positive a HUGELY successful music career can be destroyed almost overnight by just ONE bad music video.

And Billy Squier, who once HEADLINED stadiums was suddenly reduced to playing much smaller music venues. (His loyalest fans were still plentiful, but the mainstream fans had all but instantly deserted him.) Over ONE video......

The next few years were rough as he tried to live down the "Rock Me Tonite" video. He released an album in 1986 Enough Is Enough which was a far more serious effort in an attempt to recover from the video debacle and return to form. But rock radio and MTV had mostly ignored it. They were too focused on the hair metal bands who, ironically, pranced around in ripped tank tops and pajama bottoms. Dry humped the floors. Wore ANYTHING pink. And stumbled around like a drunken drag queens.

Some even had PINK guitars.

His comeback finally came in 1989 with the release of Hear And Now, which scored him his first #1 rock hit since "Rock Me Tonite" called "Don't Say You Love Me"and things looked good again....

But Seattle grunge came and soon wiped everyone off the map.

He left Capitol in the early '90s and the music business for the most part, doing nature conservancy work but he still makes occasional appearances at Classic Rock shows....... 

Tears For Ullman

What happens when you play a Tracey Ullman 45 at the wrong speed (33 1/3 RPM)?

MAGIC!

Play this video.......

"Gangnam Style" Psy (2012)

At History's Dumpster, it doesn't have to be old to get tossed in. Pop fads are being created all the time.  There's no reason to make it purely nostalgia. If it were, it would get boring for me as the blogger here. Quickly.

Today, we look at the craze known as "Gangnam Style", an internet meme gone berserk lately. What is it?

If you've been living under a rock (and with things as crazy as they are in the world, I can't really blame you.) "Gangnam Style" is a video and funny dance by pudgy Korean rap star Psy and currently the fastest rising song on today's Top 40 charts:

http://cclamp.radioandrecords.com/rrwebsite20/Members/Charts.aspx?ChartId=1

Flash mobs doing the Gangnam Style dance pop up everywhere regularly and the dance had been a regular feature of morning talk shows. People everywhere seem to love it, as videos of them dancing to it keep popping up everywhere on YouTube.

You could call it The Macarena of 2012.

And in a way, "Gangnam Style" has finally opened up the door for one of the richest known sources of sometimes excellent undiscovered pop music, known as K-Pop (Korean Pop). But I also worry if K-Pop will be pigeonholed by "Gangnam Style" There's far more to it than just this song. MUCH more. But knowing how the record and radio industry work, they always look for copycats of The New Big Thing and never really dig deeper for the hidden gems, which K-Pop has no shortage of

On the other hand, it could usher in a K-Pop music revolution, Having been a fan for years, it's about time.

Here's one of my favourites from Loveholic, a 2004 K-Pop classic, titled - what else? "Loveholic". It's a pop song sung entirely in Korean, but I like the melody. And the lead singer's hair in lights.....Nice touch.

And while for some people, the bowlegged side to side stepping with arms folded looks stupid. But so does every other dance really. And you have to admit, the song is fun relief in a sea of Justin Bieber, OneRepublic and Carly Rae Jepsen tunes that flood the Top 40 airwaves today.

For now.

There will come a time when we'll all get sick of it (some folks already are.) But for now, enjoy it while it's here.

Just don't make any YouTube videos. Please. You don't look as cool as Psy. Please......

Lost '80s Pop Classic Week: "All Is Forgiven" (Red) Siren (1989)

For today's BONUS lost classic, we feature a band that no one knew what to make of when they came out. Were they metal? Were they pop? The music was metal looks and guitars, but Madonna-like vocals, lyrics and hooks. Mercury Records thought they had a blockbuster.

The band is Siren. And I still remember the early promo hype Mercury Records made over this 1989 album. First, it was supposedly the very first major label studio album that wasn't mastered on tape, but totally to digital hard drive - something that would be eventually be standard in the recording industry.

As for Siren, things didn't go so good. First, they were forced to legally change their name to Red Siren (reportedly after another band named Siren threatened to sue.) The first pressings of their All Is Forgiven LP/CD (under the name Siren) quickly became collector's items.

After a second single "One Good Lover" stalled in the lower reaches of the rock charts, they disbanded. Red Siren's bassist Jon Brandt went on to play in Cheap Trick briefly, but not much is known of the other members of the band.

That's how it goes in rock n' roll sometimes. So enjoy this little chestnut.....