And why shouldn’t the rule of law apply to everybody?

Yes, the courts are doing what the Democrats refuse to do, hold Trump accountable. Not that I expect the Supreme Court to take the side of Colorado, not after what happened back in 2000, when the election was handed to Bush.

Then again, Gore conceded. Isn’t that the issue, that Trump never conceded, that he refused to accept the results of the election?

How does that work in regular life? Do you lose the World Series and say you won? Do you get fired from your job and say you still work there? Talk about topsy-turvy, just because someone says something that does not make it true. Then again, that’s how much the MAGA people hate the liberals. But the liberals are told not to hate the MAGAs.

Yes, that was the first thing I just heard on the TV news. That this decision is going to embolden and empower Trump’s base. Solidify it. Cause Biden to lose. Yes, we’d better be afraid of the MAGA people, we’d better not piss them off. Don’t hold them accountable, because it’s unfair. Best just to wait until the voters weigh in.

The voters?

At least in court we can see which justices decided which way. We can’t debate stolen ballot boxes, stuffed ballot boxes, the justices vote one way or the other. And you can’t have it both ways, you can’t have a Supreme Court that gets rid of Roe and then say the justice system is tainted.

Bottom line, if we don’t have belief in the justice system, that it is the last word, then the country is screwed. Then lawlessness truly reigns.

Everybody’s got their own beliefs these days, irrelevant of facts. They don’t want to hear facts, because they mess with their emotions, and emotions are everything in today’s world. They trump education, they trump science, everything is up for grabs. But when everything is up for grabs we depend upon the legal system to divide the word of truth. And if the legal system fails…

Let’s see, those on the left had to endure Mitch McConnell’s refusal to allow a vote on Obama’s Supreme Court pick. But we Democrats must accept it and believe in the system, but the rules don’t apply to the right. How does that work?

I watched January 6th on television, and there are millions of people telling me, along with major news outlets, that I didn’t see what I did. I thought the camera didn’t lie? What kind of world can we have where there is no truth?

The truth is Mark Burnett made Trump President, and somehow he’s escaped scrutiny. Burnett depicted a false impression of Trump on TV and since America loves celebrity and money, Trump became President.

Concomitantly, Hillary Clinton was so out of touch with the populace.

That’s what I can’t understand, how the Democrats refuse to play in the present, a world run online. All we hear from the Dems is to put down our smartphones, which is like telling a baby not to drink milk. Why not use the internet to your benefit? Why not rally the left. Tell them to hate the right. Because one thing is for sure, the right hates the left.

But when a Democrat is confronted with a bully they go to the principal, they complain, and they’re laughed at. Everyone knows the only way to win, to neuter a bully, is to stand up to them. But we are told time and time again that if we stand up to Trump there will be negative consequences, he and his team will only get stronger.

And then there’s Joe Biden… Talk about out of touch. He’s too damn old. But the left calls that ageism. Almost no one wants him to run but they won’t confront him. Now we’ve got a stacked court hearing the Colorado case because the previously lauded Ruth Bader Ginsburg turned out to be a narcissist who refused to take one for the team. Who was sick with cancer to boot. Talk about legacy, hers is toast.

I like a lot of what Biden has done, but if you can’t make the case yourself why you should be president, you’re not going to be. Come on, self-promotion is part of the gig. And if you’re too lame not to do this it’s time to get out of the way.

I mean America is holding on by a thread. I thought when they got rid of abortion there would be riots in the street. But instead it was those on the right who rioted over a falsehood, that the election was stolen.

But the Democrats tell us to just wait for the vote, that people are upset and will come out and… Don’t you understand the flaw in logic here? This is internet 101. You want to remove the friction, eliminate the steps, otherwise people pass. I’ve got to register, I’ve got to leave my house, I’ve got to stand in line all the while believing my vote makes a difference. Well, not according to Trump and his minions.

So where does the buck stop? Don’t talk to me about the election, one thing is for sure, if Trump loses he’ll say he won, and then what. And if he wins… He’s not going to make the mistakes of last time, once bitten, twice shy. It’s over. This guy has a history of not being beholden to the legal system, but if he wins again he’s suddenly going to?

Of course not.

So it’s time for those on the left, the anti-Trumpers, to stand up. Not to watch MSNBC, not to be somnambulant. This is your fight, nobody else’s. Each and every one of you. Don’t let someone tell you that you need to respect the MAGA people, they’re not respecting you. You can’t reason with these people, you can only defeat them.

The wagons have circled. Trump has been caught red-handed, again and again. And what do our leaders and the media tell us? Back off. You don’t want to piss the MAGA people off.

Well I’m pissed, isn’t that enough?

The odds of the Supreme Court upholding the Colorado decision are miniscule. This is a court that has a history of deciding on a conclusion and then warping the law to fit it. Which means if you’re thinking today’s Colorado news is a great victory, all I can tell you is it’s just a beginning.

This is the time for a full court press. This is a time to stop telling the people that they’re wrong about the economy. Life is hard in these United States, own it. And people are angry. And too many on the left disrespect those with little income. Perception is everything. And perception is Biden is too old and times are hard. Good luck trying to convince people otherwise.

But there’s also a perception that Trump is a crook. He can complain all he wants that the system is stacked against him, that they’re out to get him, but isn’t that what every criminal has to say? This decision today is another brick in the wall. And it’s your responsibility to build it.

We need the justice system to hold Trump accountable, even more than the ballot box. This guy believes he’s above the law, like too many rich people. We’ve got to show him otherwise. We’ve got to put it all on the line, because everything is up for grabs.

Stop being afraid. Start taking a side. Those on the right have no problem doing this. Jason Aldean speaks his “truth,” but too many left-leaning musicians stay quiet, for fear someone won’t like them. Boo-hoo, is this the world we now live in, is this the result of everybody gets a trophy? Why are we so scared of offending people? And it’s the left that has this problem, I don’t hear the right calling for trigger warnings.

It’s your responsibility to make a difference, this is the story and the fight of your life. The MAGAns are the minority, are we going to let them win? The game is stacked against us, with the Electoral College, with two Senators per state. Which means we’ve got to fight even harder. But we always pass responsibility on to someone else. We’re too busy living our lives like the Israelis, while HAMAS was a ticking time bomb that finally exploded.

Today the Colorado court did the right thing. Showing there is some justice in this world. And Trump’s offenses are so egregious that it will be hard for courts down the line not to hold him accountable. We must beat this drum loudly, counteract the MAGA right. We must say that the buck stops with the law, unlike those on the right.

But we’ve still got to fight.

The future is unpredictable. The past might be prologue, but it is not definitive. Don’t tell me about 2022. The past repeats itself, but always with a twist. Today’s decision was an unexpected twist. There will be more. Be prepared, be very prepared. The right wants authoritarianism, they want the trains to run on time, they want answers, not questions. They want solutions. They don’t want to be told to wait. We have to show them our way is better. And we’re doing a piss-poor job of it.

But at least the legal system is helping.

Endorse it, otherwise those on the right are going to try to disqualify it.

Today gives us hope. And hope is everything. We need hope on the left. Let’s take this flicker of a flame and turn it into a conflagration. Trump is nothing without his team. Too bad we’ve got a lame leader on our side. But still, the team can organize, get it together, tell our story, say we’re right and we believe in the system.

Because once the system is up for grabs…

It’s almost over.

PUBLICITY

There must be a story, that first and foremost intrigues the writer who believes it will intrigue the reader, otherwise the effort is worthless. Many publicity people will take your money and they’ll send out mailings to people like me who will instantly delete them. If all you want is a listing that your music is coming out, or that you’re going on tour, a press release might be sufficient to achieve that, but not anything more. Publicity is a game. You’re selling and the writer/outlet is buying. Think of how hard it is to get someone to buy anything these days. Then think about how hard it will be to get someone overloaded with input to buy what you’re selling. The story must benefit them, and you only secondarily.

Having said all this, today most publicity is wasted. It reaches nobody, or those who do not care. Better to have targeted publicity, that reaches the core audience. Better to be narrow than broad. Specific rather than general. Only boomers and a few Gen-X’ers are reached by print advertising and broadcast/cable television. You reach everybody else via the internet. Facebook, YouTube, X, TikTok, Snapchat… Your story must be intriguing, if it is the audience will spread the word.

THE MUSIC

Is an advertisement for the act. Period. Unless you’re a rapper or a popster who will end up in the Spotify Top 50. If you’re complaining you’re not making money on your recorded music you’re missing the point. The key is to make it available so if someone is interested they can hear it with a click. And then a mysterious, unpredictable process happens, or not. Either the listener loves it so much that they tell other people about it or they do not. And if the listener likes it, they want more of it, and then will come to a show, buy merch. Think of ones and twos, not millions. An avid fan is worth more than a hundred, if not a thousand, passive ones. I wish we could be more targeted here, know exactly what will move the needle, but we rarely do. Only a few tracks are obvious hits. As for the rest, it’s unpredictable, history is littered with album tracks that became hits, and promoted tracks that did not. The key is to be in the marketplace, working, otherwise you don’t have a chance to catch fire. Fans want more music, more of you. Forget reaching those in the metaphorical last row, who are not passionate, concentrate all your efforts on the hard core.

As for the music itself… If you’re truly an artist, do whatever you want, follow your muse. But few people have this vision and talent. So the rest must study the market and see what is working and try to riff on that.

Also, if you catch fire, if you have a fan base, then you can expand. Don’t worry about being locked into expectations, burdened by history. Those days are through. Today there’s so much in the marketplace that if you miss, no one remembers. Keep stepping up to bat.

HONESTY/CREDIBILITY

This is what propelled Noah Kahan to stadiums. The more personal you are, the more you reveal your warts and problems, the greater the chance you have of hooking people. People are dying for connection, it is your goal to provide it. Sure, people like cartoons, raw entertainment too, but that usually does not bond a listener to you. A listener wants to believe that they know you and that you are speaking only to them, that if they meet you you’ll understand them and their life will be complete. Of course this is fantasy, but it’s this fantasy that creates hard core fans. You are an antidote to the rest of the world which is difficult and does not understand them.

Beware of messing up your image. Today everybody knows everything, or can find it out with a click. If you play a private for a dictator, if you party on the boat of an oligarch, people are going to know. And if your image is based on honesty, it’s going to take a hit. The TMZ acts playing the game the majors understand can get away with this, they’re essentially cartoons, however the market share of this music is declining. Literally. Will a new sound come along to replace it or will there just be a zillion niches…we don’t know.

PLAY LIVE

Period. That’s where the bond is solidified, at the show. Today there are two worlds, recordings and live performances, and the power has switched to the latter. If you want longevity in the music business then you must be able to play live. Making a hit record in your bedroom is nice, albeit difficult, but that does not mean anybody wants to pay to see you. And the most money is at the gig. So if you’re starting out, start playing out. Whether it be with guitars or synthesizers, you must have a show. Something that rivets those who are interested. This is not easy…to get anybody to pay attention to anybody playing music. And the show does not have to be perfect, but it must connect with the audience. The show must breathe, a click track usually works against you. Live is where you evidence your humanity.

Y0UR PERSONALITY/IDENTITY

It’s in your music, but that is no longer enough. You must have a presence online, a genuine presence, not one created by a team. Where people can look into your life, into your brain, and get to know you. Don’t worry about making a mistake, pissing people off, it goes with the territory. The more edges you have, the greater the chance people will be hooked.

And never ever be defensive online, never get into a flame/X/Twitter war unless someone high above you is punching down. And it’s best to fight back with humor.

DUES

You never stop paying them. You’re always practicing, always working, always building a platform to take you to the next level. It’s frustrating because you want the fame of yore, when MTV made you a worldwide star overnight, but those days are through, no use lamenting their passage. You must play by the new rules. And you must be not only digitally native, but digitally proficient. Most youngsters are, most oldsters are not. You must know how your smartphone and computer work, you must follow online trends in platforms and fads. Only by being aware of the marketplace can you win in the marketplace.

DON’T BE AFRAID

You’re going to piss people off. But the dirty little secret is not everyone is going to love you, and while you might be angering one slice of the population, another might be thrilled and cheer you on. Take a stand. And if you have any traction, that frequently becomes a story that spreads unto itself. Having said that, if you have no traction don’t send out e-mail saying you wrote a protest song or have a take on the issue du jour…who cares, it makes you look like a joke.

THE WILDERNESS

That’s where we are now. Anybody who tells you they’ve got it nailed is wrong. And those invested in the past are those who are losing out most in the future. You’ve got to be nimble. There is no formula. It’s all cottage industry. And remember, no one needs you or your music, absolutely no one. They need food and water and shelter, but not your music. Be thrilled if you have any traction at all. And if you don’t…you can keep on keepin’ on, that’s your choice, or maybe the universe is telling you to do something different.

THE OA is one of the best TV series of modern times.  Netflix made me hate Netflix when it oddly cancelled it.  Ignorant.  One of the worst choices ever.  Imagine if NBC canceled Cheers or Seinfeld, as they wanted to, due to numbers.  I also can’t believe that NO ONE picked it up!? NO ONE!? There are dozens of outlets. This show was epic. And since then, 7 years ago, no one has topped it. Not in intellect or concept. No one.  Brit Marling is Spielberg level genius.  Stephen King. Jordan Peele. Marling.  And while “Murder” is slower in its pace, she deserves the power and money and staff behind her that someone like Ryan Murphy has.

Jerry J. Sharell

________________________________

The OA was such an inventive and phenomenal show and I was so disappointed when the story did not continue for a third season. I watched the show multiple times hoping it would get picked back up. In a time when so many are focused on female empowerment in Hollywood, it’s appalling that everyone doesn’t know how much of a creative genius Brit Marling is.

The closest album to something like The OA is probably by The Mars Volta or Shabazz Palaces. Sadly (perhaps) neither the show nor those musicians got mainstream attention.

Joah Spearman

________________________________

Brit Marling’s work has consistently blown me away over the years. I always know I’m in for something thought-provoking and mind-bending when her name’s attached to a project. I became an instant fan after seeing Another Earth back in 2011, which she co-wrote and starred in. I was truly mesmerized by The OA when it came out. Like you, I thought the first season was superior, though I was still royally pissed that Netflix decided to cancel it once the second season failed to be digested by billions of people in a single weekend. Or because of whatever shortsighted criteria it is that they adhere to.

Anyway, next step, check out some of the movies Brit’s done with Zal as well as with Mike Cahill, like the aforementioned Another Earth, as well as Sound Of My Voice and I Origins. They’re also fantastic.

J.G.

________________________________

The OA. I watched it when it first came out… yes, unique, disturbing, and the second season was not as good as the first. I would tell everyone about it, but no-one seemed to get what I got out of it. Kind of like my suburban, teenaged self trying to tell my friends why they should try listening to early XTC, Bowie, Elvis Costello, and the list goes on. Ah, the blank faces that now have been replaced with knowing smirks. So it goes!

Ralph Covert

________________________________

I’ve been telling everyone about the oa from the start. Totally mesmerizing! So upset that it was cancelled. I’m loving murder at the end of the world as well because it sucks you in and gets more interesting along the way. Go Brit!

Nathan Benditzson

________________________________

Bob, I was excited you included my missive about THE OA regarding your initial note on “A Murder At The End Of The World”, and I’m thrilled you took the time to dig into the show now (not presuming it was my suggested behest of course haha). It’s cool after years of trying to tell anyone who would listen how good this show is that it finally seems to be finding a bigger audience. Good things indeed take time. I agree, season 1 was brilliant but I did feel season 2 opened up whole new layers of the onion that I didn’t see coming.The cliffhanger ending is so frustratingly perfect because it allows us to imagine that anything  Brit and Zal do next could “in theory” be a continuation of THE OA. At least I like to think of it like that. Hopefully your cosign will bring this show to even more light. I recco it to fans of LOST and the equally awesome Netflix phenom “DARK” (which may have the best series ending in TV history…better than Sopranos or Breaking Bad).

Best,

– Wordburglar

________________________________

I couldn’t agree with you more about The OA.  I watched it when it came out as it was recommended to me by someone whose taste I respect immensely.
I still think it’s one of the most creative and innovative shows over the last 7 years.

Like you said, we were not expecting it

So glad that you saw it and loved it.

Ritch Esra

________________________________

Another Earth is when I first noticed her.   She was great in that one.

Hal Kempson

________________________________

Three words…Sharon van Etten!

Glad you got hipped to The OA.

dick huey

________________________________

Another Earth

Film co-written and starring Brit Marling. I remember being moved by it.

Cliff Burnstein

________________________________

Despite agreeing with you about the general superiority of today’s series over today’s films, the latter still offer some worthy nuggets. I strongly suggest checking out some of Brit & Zal’s pre-OA films. I recommend starting with “Another Earth.” But they’re all mind blowing and very well conceived, written, acted, and directed.

Tom Carter

________________________________

Check out Brit Marling in “The Sound of My Voice”. Similar thematically to the OA, but a feature-length film. Same director involved… Zat Batamangali.  “Another Earth” is another one worth checking out.

Stephen Gordon

________________________________

You should see Britt Marling’s pre-“The OA” movies, too… They’re all brilliantly original.

Mark B. Spiegel

________________________________

I hope you’ve watched her commencement speech and her other movies

All imperfect little gems.

Thanks for challenging your fans to take a look.

Rick Osswald

________________________________

LOVED OA. What a trip. A really good one!!

Wish they got to finish the series as planned, that cliffhanger ending was too abrupt.

Joe Weinstein

________________________________

The OA was brilliant.  Singer Sharon Van Etten and all of the captives held by “Hap” (Jason Isaacs- playing Carey Grant “Archie” soon on the Brit Box) were quietly complex. Homer and the OA’s connection was the most intoxicating. But the friendships OA forged in her hometown was a “Breakfast Club” of disparate high schoolers and an adult. Those relationships were wonderful. The character development on Steve was especially well done. You hated him then start to understand and eventually like him. You become invested in all of their lives. Because the time is taken for the audience to get to know each of them. I encourage everyone to watch the OA. But skip seaon 2. It jumped the shark. Sometimes it’s best leaving wanting more.  Brit Marling- please sell wolf hoodies;)

Kathryn Russ

________________________________

I’m so glad you enjoyed that show and wrote about it. I only recently saw it too and this is the kind of art to talk about.

Gregg DeMammos

________________________________

Bob – we discussed The OA in Aspen – and I loved it too.

But I forgot to mention another show that I just loved - Dark.  Did you and Felice catch it?  I binged it during the first few months of the pandemic, so maybe the eeriness of the world bled into my evenings with Dark, but it is absolutely mesmerizing.  The final episode broke my heart and will stay with me forever.

If you guys didn’t catch it – do it.

Nichol Carlson

________________________________

I’m so glad you took the time to watch and explore “The O.A.,” which for me is one of the most wondrous, daring and human series ever created. I had long been a fan of Brit and Zal — I interviewed them three times for their previous works: “Sound of My Voice” and “The East,” and also “Another Earth,” in which Brit starred for director Mike Cahill, whom Brit and Zal went to college with. I adored their humanism, but to your point, I always felt their ideas were too big for a two-hour film. Then came “The O.A.” An expansive canvas for their wild ideas — about community, and storytelling, and alternate worlds, and primal movement — to stretch across. I’ve never been so heartbroken about the cancellation of a series, and yet, I reckoned with it by deciding we might just not have been worthy of it. I wrote about my feelings in an extensive piece in “The Observer,” and I wrote it when I was inspired to — it wouldn’t have been good otherwise. I was ecstatic when co-star Jason Isaacs tweeted about it. (Yes, they were still tweets then.) The thought that my voice was heard by an artist who willingly took part in this gonzo masterstroke of bravery, and who gave life to Brit and Zal’s words, was enormous. It pains me that I don’t much care for “A Murder at the End of the World” (it’s just far too obvious and underwritten for minds like Brit’s and Zal’s), but for me, “The O.A.” is enough to cement them as two of the greatest storytellers of our time — which they, of course, were not setting out to be.

Kurt Osenlund

PS: I also highly recommend Brit’s convocation speech at the 2013 senior graduation at Georgetwon, her alma mater. It tells you all you need to know and more about the human, tribal nature behind her work with Zal: https://youtu.be/K5izKTfctX4?si=IT73FaP0cqpE9jSl

________________________________

Wow- you are really late on this, but also correct. This was unique entertainment.

Steven Berson

________________________________

The OA is an amazing show, and nothing was more disappointing than finishing season 2 and learning it had been canceled. Maybe you can use your powers to start a campaign for season 3?

https://screenrant.com/the-oa-season-3-chances-netflix-cancellation-cocreator-comments/

Pete Smollin

________________________________

Brit Marling is not a star, but she is an artist.

Jeff Weicher

Thanks Bob, for remembering The Records and some of our songs (second time around if I cast my mind back to 2006). Since then, the group’s bassist Phil Brown and co-writer and singer John Wicks have sadly died. I am occasionally in touch with Jude Cole who appeared on ‘Crashes’ and toured with us in 1980. Jude covered our song Starry Eyes on his ‘Coup De Main’ collection in 2021. The Records catalogue (three LPs and various 45s on Virgin during 1978-1982) is unfortunately out of print and largely unavailable on streaming services. We had hoped that Universal might reissue The Records material, albeit it to a modest market, or consider licensing the recordings to a third party for a CD-set – maybe in 2024?
Best wishes for the holiday season and beyond, Will Birch at therecords.com

_________________________________

It’s like the Beatles but better.

bluhammock

_________________________________

The Records! What a great band. Only a handful of times in my 62 years can I remember exactly where I was when I heard a song. End of August 79, just before returning to Syracuse for sophomore year, in my bedroom at my parents’ house, Starry Eyes came on WBCN….and I was like “ oh my god what the hell is THIS???” A few days later I learned they’d be doing a free show on campus. And they were killer. In a set only 65 minutes long, they played most of their great debut album, several tunes from their yet-to-be-recorded sophomore effort (including Hearts in Her Eyes), and covers of Rock and Roll Love Letter and Spirit’s 1984. In the heyday of power pop, the Records epitomized that genre….fun, hard rocking, tuneful….just great rock and roll that rattles around in my brain to this day, 44 years later. Thanks for reminding me of a great band and a wonderful time in music and my life.

Mitch Goldman

_________________________________

Rachel Sweet backed up Graham Parker on his Squeezing out Sparks tour when they played Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom  in 1979 or so. Before Rachel Sweet, on the same bill was Fingerprintz. Interestingly when Fingerprintz finished their set, they came  back and backed up Rachel Sweet.

On another note a few of us were huge City Boy fans back in the day. They too played the Commodore in the mid to late 70’s. I remember the concert if only because chairs were set up on the Ballroom floor for everyone to sit on. Perhaps the first and only time we sat in chairs at the Commodore which is famous for its ‘bouncing’ floor which encourages everyone to stand and move to the music.

Love your trips down memory lane.

Matthew Asher

_________________________________

Hey Bob City Boy producer was Mutt Lange …. he also produced an Outlaws record for me that was on Arista Records
Great record had vocals similar to the early Def Leppard
As Mutt was doing Outlaws, Def Leppard, AC/DC and City Boy all in the matter of maybe 4 years.

Charlie Brusco

_________________________________

Great column. I must have sold off 2000 of my LPs trying to shed possessions and the detritus. There are many LPs, I will never give up, like the obscure stuff Nick Drake, Bruce Cockburn, and Richard Thompson and all the British folkies, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Pentangle, etc….The Records LP grabbed me the first time I heard it and it is a keeper. If I recall correctly my copy of Starry Eyes actually came with a 45 too. If it did I can’t find it. But yeah what a great song. (It reminds me of that later Searchers song when they were making a comeback. I know, “you must remember this…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK6v0PBDSy0

Chip Lovitt

_________________________________

I stumbled on this inside story from Will Birch about The Records US tour for the second album while doing a deep after your entertaining post. Thought you might enjoy it.

https://willbirch.com/2020/07/15/40-years-ago-today-the-records-1980/

Ralph Covert

_________________________________

Rachel Sweet, Horslips, city Boy, and Strawbs in one blog!?  My radio career was not a waste!  Thanks for the quick trip down a dark alley next to Memory Lane.

Bob Walton

_________________________________

Dude! Wish I could have been in on that conversation! Absolutely lurve The Records and Rachel Sweet, saw them both at the El Mocambo in Toronto when their first albums came out. Saw City Boy opening for Be Bop Deluxe. Had the Stone The Crows 1st album, Like Andy, I was onto Genesis from the get and yes, Foxtrot is brilliant. Didn’t see that tour but caught the Selling England By The Pound tour at Massey Hall and they played Supper’s Ready from Foxtrot and it absolutely blew my mind. Strawbs and Wakeman – check and check. Horslips!?! The Man Who Sold America is still a personal fave. I think we lived parallel lives…

Mike Campbell
Programming Director

_________________________________

Dyan Diamond did play the Whiskey. I was there. We were booking her for a show in San Diego. Kim Fowley was there too (of course). I think it was the only time I was backstage at the Whiskey. I believe she lives in So Cal and is no longer in the biz. That’s about as much as I’ve been able to figure out. I still have some fond memories of being in a hotel bathroom with her, my friend and Greg Kihn with Greg’s manager pounding on the door trying to get us out of there.

The Strawbs were a great band for their time.

Bruce Greenberg

_________________________________

Always enjoy your writing. This one included some artists I’ve loved along the way. The Records were one of the greatest power pop artists of all time. Their song Up All Night remains one of the most beautiful songs ever, a new wave Beach Boys song perhaps!? And your mention of Badger made me smile, their first album was magnificent, sort of like Yes around THE YES ALBUM (maybe a bit harder and w a touch of the blues) of course due to ex-YES keys man Tony Kaye, and Badger lead singer David Foster co-writing two early YES songs w Anderson. If you’re a YES fan haven’t heard the band FLASH, their first album is great, featuring Peter Banks ex-YES guitar player, it sounds like a great lost YES album : ) And of course Genesis whether Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound or the Lamb, singlehandedly, w Gabriel, they set a blueprint for just how ambitious and awe inspiring progressive rock can be. One last thought on YES, if you’ve never listened to TO BE OVER from Relayer or their much unfairly maligned amazing Tales album, its some of the most, beautiful, brilliant, and timeless music ever created…

Jimmy Steal

_________________________________

Yeah, it’s a quintessential power pop song. I was friendly with John Wicks, one of the song’s writers, toward the end of his life. He was an affable guy.

emiltonmyers

_________________________________

“Hearts” is on so many of my playlists. The Records’  Live version shows they can/could sing and play their butts off for reall (and with fewer than 8,000 plays on Spotify—a crime!)

Mat Orefice

_________________________________

Bob!!!  Great to see you write about the Records.  As a junior at the University of Wisconsin in 1981, a friend gave me a recorded cassette of the first two Records albums.  I played it incessantly.  I searched the record stores in Madison and could never find the actual albums.  In the late 1990’s, still unable to find the albums in Denver, I bought a CD burner and I transferred these cassettes to a CD.  I still have it and it still gets played.  They were a GREAT band and deserve much more attention than they ever got!!!

ShineOn!

MartyHecker

_________________________________

Stiff records indeed. Best t-shirt ever: “If It Ain’t Stiff, It Ain’t Worth A F*ck”

Played Rachel Sweet’s “B-A-B-Y” a lot on WLIR. I think she was 16 when that album came out?

Bob Waugh

Annapolis

_________________________________

Great article! I have that Searchers album and that song is one of my wife’s favorites!!

Steve Whitfield

_________________________________

We always referred to obscure bands or records as of “kiss of death” records. We’d buy one of their records and you’d never hear of them again. I had The Strawbs, City Boy and Horslips, and saw Maggie Bell open for somebody at The Spectrum in Philly maybe the mid to late 70″s.
Keep up the good work.
Gary Jackson

_________________________________

The Records had an EP that was enclosed with their first US album, that showcased their varied influences. I was totally unfamiliar with the original versions of “1984” by Spirit and “Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her) by Blue Ash, but The Records introduced me to them.

Also, I saw the Searchers in their skinny tie period at My Father’s Place nightclub on Long Island to drum up support for “Hearts In Her Eyes”. They performed letter perfect versions of all their mid 60s hits and I was not disappointed.

Stuart Taubel

_________________________________

Down that same Brit rock rabbit hole you could find records by the band Bronco, with one of the better Brit raspy-voiced singers, Jess Roden (who distinguished himself on the Paul Kossoff track, “Molten Gold,” in a duet with Paul Rodgers) and guitarist Robbie Blunt, who made lovely Strat sounds on the Robert Plant 80’s track, “Big Log.”

Robert Miranda

_________________________________

Dave Cousins and the Strawbs, What a lovely group. Had the chance to see them one time at Winterland in SF.

And how about Lindisfarne and Stackridge and Glencoe and the Sutherland Brothers and Wishbone Ash?

Pretty sure they meet the definition of being obscure,

Best,
Michael Wright

_________________________________

Can of worms ….. down the rabbit hole

Lindisfarne – Fog On The Tyne

David Ackles – American Gothic

Bram Tchaikovsky – Strange Man, Changed Man

Doug Pomerantz

_________________________________

The Strawbs (post-Wakeman) were pretty big in Montreal, where I went to university. Their song “Hero and Heroine” was played constantly on the local rock FM station. I have three or four of their albums, as I suspect do many people of my vintage who were music fans in Montreal in those days.

City Boy! I have the first album and used to listen to it all the time before punk came along and changed my taste. In fact, I just listened to most of it again a few months ago. It’s a bit on the precious side, but is certainly very well put together. And who was the producer who gave it that sheen? The young Mutt Lange. First time I ever saw his name on a record, I think.

Rachel Sweet was beloved by the punk crowd, partly thanks to getting lumped in with the other Ohio bands who sounded nothing like her, like Devo and Pere Ubu, but also because her records were good: nice throwbacks to the early 60s girl group sound.

As for “Hearts in Her Eyes”, I loved both versions. The Records, of course, also had a much loved semi-hit with “Starry Eyes”.

I’m not sure what it says that I have so many of the total obscurities you discussed.

Tycho Manson

_________________________________

Did you say Horslips? That is not a sentence I have uttered or even considered, well, ever — until now when I read your latest missive.

Since you are one of the few people I know of on this side of the Atlantic who is aware of this long-overlooked Celtic-meets-rock band, you may be tickled to learn that this year saw the release of a 35-CD (!!!) Horslips box set, the wryly tilted “More Than You Can Chew.” More, indeed!

https://www.celticnote.com/merch/horslipsboxset

Good call on Maggie Bell, her second and final solo album for Swan Song, 1975’s “Suicide Sal,” still sounds terrific and features two guitar cameos by Jimmy Page, plus one of the most rocking Beatles’ cover versions ever and her excellent redntion of two latter-day songs by Free.

As for some of my favorite obscure albums from the ’70s, I’ll cite three: “Eggs Over Easy” by the American trio of the same name that moved to London and kick-started the pub-rock movement; “Glencoe” by Glencoe (great songs, great band; no hint of commercial sucess); and “Plainsong” by the Ian Matthews-led Plainsong, whose vocal harmonies CSNY surely would have admired. (Years later, Glenn Frey publicly acknowledged that Matthews’ arrangement of Steve Young’s “Seven Bridges Road,” from one of Matthews; solo albums, heavily influenced the Eagles’ version of the same song).

Cheers,

George Varga

_________________________________

Obscure records… that could be the theme of my life!  Loving obscure records.  I would buy them at full retail and then see them in the cutout bins for 49 cents a year later.  It was so disheartening.  Horslips was certainly one of those.  The Man Who Built America on DJM!!!  What a GREAT album.  So many great melodies and potential hit singles.

Rachel Sweet too… Her version of Del Shannon’s “I Go To Pieces” is the best I’ve ever heard, superior to the hit version by Peter and Gordon.  I even remember the catalog number of the single because it meant that much to me.  Stiff – BUY 44 (it was the first “import” single I ever bought!)  The b-side was the equally great “Who Does Lisa Like”.  The Records backed her.  Not only on a track or two but also on the Be Stiff tour (despite the fact that they were on Virgin).  The debut album by The Records had a HUGE impact on me.  I listened to it daily for a long time…the American version.  I later bought the import which had a different running order and the original version of “Starry Eyes” but I preferred the American version with the tracks segueing into one another seamlessly.  I was still young when that record came out (I turned 12 in 1978), so I was too young to see them live back then, but when lead singer John Wicks was living in the DC area and putting together a new “Records” band, I had a chance to meet him and we quickly became close friends.  Over the weekend I was organizing boxes of cassettes from my past (thousands of them) and I came across all of his demo tapes from the mid 1990s and several live recordings that I made at various venues at the time.  He had a great band, the old songs sounded ridiculously good, and his new songs stood up besides them.  I do miss him.  He was a great guy and a huge talent.

Strawbs – also a favorite of mine…I have every album on original vinyl and remastered CD (except for the ones only on CD!).  Some of their records are better than others and they have gone through many different flavors throughout the years but they’ve always maintained their Strawbishness.  From folk to folk-prog to prog to hard rock to pop, etc.  The album with Wakeman that still floors me is From the Witchwood.  Wakeman plays every keyboard you can imagine on it and it all sounds wonderful and not pompous at all.  Some of the late 70s stuff sounds almost Badfinger-ish…check out “I Only Want My Love to Grow in You”.  That cut could have made it onto the Ham and Gibbons-less Airwaves record.  I think Dave Cousins’ voice may have been too trad-English-folk for many people though….

What about Fotomaker?  Charlie?  Pearl Harbour and the Explosions?  The Cryers?  Of course I could go on and on… But yeah, let’s hear it for the great obscure records from yesteryear!

Dave DiSanzo

_________________________________

Jude Cole! Start the car 1992. One of my major favorites I still play all the time. Go check out the guys that played on the record. The guys from Toto, Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, Tim Pierce, Lee Sklar, Lenny Castro & more. Incredible record!

Tom Hedtke

_________________________________

Thanks for reminding me of Jude Cole. Baby it’s Tonight is such a great pop song. Early 90’s. Bad timing. Melody in grunge era. Don’t like the video but the song elevates. Yes poppy but that’s OK.

Derek Morris

_________________________________

Jude didn’t give up.  He is doing some incredible work these days.  And yes, he’s brilliant.

Kim Bullard