CHIRP: The Chicago Independent Radio Project

Michael Bennett writes

Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Marc Bolan Edition

He got his start in the psychedelic band John’s Children, quickly taking control of the band. He then left to form the folky Tyrannosaurus Rex, taking a large inspiration from the fey side of The Kinks, with a heaping helping of hippie affectation. Slowly but surealy, more traditional rock and roll influences came into the mix, and he went beyond having just a bongo player, adding a drummer who played simple beats. Shortening the band’s name to T. Rex, the simple songs became the blueprint for glam rock. Although T. Rex is a one-hit wonder here in America, in England they were perhaps the biggest band in the land in the years immediately following The Beatles’ break up. After a stunning peak, with classic singles and albums such as Electric Warrior and The Slider, Bolan’s magic dissipated. We’ll never know if he could have made a comeback, as he died in a car accident in 1977 (the car driven by his wife, Gloria Jones, of “Tainted Love” fame). Let’s pay tribute to the man with the corkscrew hair by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle, and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

1. Pete and the Pirates — Little Gun (One Thousand Pictures): This British band’s second album may be the guitar pop album of the year. The band seems to have absorbed years of greatness and sports a bevy of great riffs and lead guitar lines, along with a strong melodic sense. The songs are insanely catchy, with multiple hooks on most cuts. This is a pithy number that has at least three hooky bits, maybe more. I can’t praise this band enough.
2. Tomorrow — My White Bicycle (Tomorrow): This British psychedelic band was where Steve Howe of Yes got his start. This is one of the all-time great British psych-pop singles, with its tense rhythm and ebullient melody supported by the many great sounds coming out of Howe’s guitar. A classic track.
3. Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers — Dodge Veg-O-Matic (Rock ‘n’ Roll With The Modern Lovers): The front cover of this album immediately gives away that The Modern Lovers were no longer the dark Velvet Underground inspired band of the debut. Now they were a vehicle for Richman’s naive trad rock and roll gone folk stylings. This bouncy number could have easily been done by Jan & Dean back in the day, but for the slightly oddball records. Otherwise, this is a boppin’ acoustic early rock ‘n’ roll tune.
4. The Easybeats — Hello How Are You (The Definitive Anthology): This Australian band, comprised of Brits and Dutchmen, was yet another fine example of how quickly rock music evolved in the ’60s, starting as a band playing old rock and R & B tunes and their own pop-rock numbers, whose compositional scope expanded at a rapid pace. This is a massive ballad with splendid harmonies, a great heartwrenching lead vocal from Stevie Wright and sweeping orchestration.
5. Roger Miller — It Happened Just That Way (King of the Road: The Genius Of Roger Miller): A pithy tune, clever lyrics, economical, a catchy “yay yay yay” refrain. Roger Miller was such a great songwriter and perhaps an even better performer. I wish there were modern country singers picking up on his approach.
6. Eleventh Dream Day — Bagdad’s Last Ride (Beet): This is a quintessential Eleventh Dream Day from their second album. A serrated Crazy Horse style guitar riff, a rumbling rhythm and Rick Rizzo declaiming his lyrics breathlessly, with Janet Beveridge Bean soon chiming in in the background. Underneath this roots-punk there’s a bit of Velvet Underground drone. Great stuff.
7. The Bongos — Burning Bush (Drums Across The Hudson): A percussive quirky new wave instrumental from this band that played twisted version of power pop that isn’t too far removed from the early dB’s. This is short but full of cool guitar bits and the arrangement goes a lot of places in less than two minutes.
8. Buddy Holly — Brown Eyed Handsome Man (The Buddy Holly Collection): One of the greatest early rock ‘n’ roll singers and composers singing a song by one of the other great singers and songwriters. This is a rather political song from Chuck Berry, taken in the context of the times. It promotes the notion of African-Americans stepping up and taking on a greater role in society, with the last verse touching on Jackie Robinson. Classic tune and Buddy does it with verve.
9. Best Coast — Honey (Crazy For You): Best Coast is my favorite of the current crop of female fronted surf rock/girl group inspired combos. Bethany Cosentino’s songs seem to tap into a bit deeper emotional vein, making them more than just genre exercises. This droning ballad reminds me a little bit of Detroit’s Denise James.
10. The Lovin’ Spoonful — You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice (Greatest Hits): This song fits in well with the Best Coast tune, as it is similarly more downcast. However, the Spoonful is a bit more jaunty. The Lovin’ Spoonful came out of the folk rock boom, but showed a lot of pop chops, leading to a number of hits. Their music was more measured and a bit less rock than the somewhat similar Turtles, so I don’t like them as much as The Turtles, but they do have some fine songs.