Warning: our latest episode may give some listeners a funny feeling, a fever, and even the chills. But don’t worry – it’s not Covid, it’s The Crystals ! More specifically, “Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby,” (1:49) the song you’ll hear if you capsize their 1961 single, “There’s No Other Like My Baby” (discussed in Episode 33). A slow song that happens fast! Patsy Wright ’s charming, quavering vocals capture the chords of young love perfectly. Spectorian elements also abound: pulsating percussion … palpable p...
Sep 26, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 55
Songs about the 1950s and 60s pop culture figure of the “beatnik" and their love of the roasted bean! The first cup is a strong one - "Café Bohemian” by the Enchanters (8:28): A mostly-instrumental song that evokes the weirdest, wildest joint you could ever imagine at nighttime. Think guys with eye-patches, strange women with long cigarette holders, and maybe even a jittery striped-shirted poet waiting in the corner to go on stage. All this, and bongos (and some dirty sax & guitar) too! The ...
Sep 19, 2021•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 54
In our newest episode, we explain the greatness of “I Can’t Explain.” Obviously, we begin with The Who , and the original version from 1964 (1:26). It features a ‘gravedigger riff’ (a riff so good, garage bands have been digging it back up for years), but also Pete Townshend’s rhythm chops, and Keith Moon’s drums as a lead instrument. It’ll have you throwing shapes like a mid-60s London Mod! The next version is by the pride of Gary, Indiana – no, not the Jackson 5 – Oscar & the Majestics (53...
Sep 12, 2021•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 53
As you well know, 2021 is the Year of the Garage Rock Cha Cha! Therefore, this episode hones in on three great garage tunes from the Cha Cha record label out of 1960s Chicago. The Hatfields set the pace for the race at (2:20) with their 1967 slab “The Kid from Cincy." Propulsive garage with a churning organ, machine gun drums, and great lyrics which get our full attention. Hats off to the Hatfields! Next up is the intoxicating “Little Girl Gone” by Mogen David & the Grapes of Wrath (49:38). ...
Sep 05, 2021•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 52
Hot take: the first five Bobbettes records are perfect rock’n’roll records. As proof, we give two 45s by these Harlem Queens a spin and it’s a sure bet their heps! will put some pep in your step. First up is 1957's familiar hit, "Mr. Lee" (2:00) Formerly a diss track, this one has pure rock ‘n’ roll joy! Guitar stings!! Ebullient backing vocals!!! It's an all-time great, but don't overlook the B-side, "Look at the Stars" (58:45), which is a Caribbean-flavoured dance tune with a vivid vocal perfo...
Aug 29, 2021•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 51
We've made it to 50 episodes! To celebrate, we're presenting another chapter in our study of the world's greatest song, "Louie Louie" ... In 1964, The Angels (of "My Boyfriend's Back" fame) recorded a super-fun version, and it's one of the all-time best, with some great Jersey girl heys! and hos!, and a solid rock band backing them. The drummer even pays tribute to Lynn Easton's frantic fills! (2:35). That same year, HB & the Checkmates sprang out of Springfield, Oregon and they flipped the ...
Aug 22, 2021•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 50
The latest instalment of our look at notable b-sides to singles we have previously discussed lets us talk about TWO "backtracks" to "Can't Seem to Make You Mine." The first flip-side is "Daisy Mae," which The Seeds released in 1965 (3:03). It's a 50s rocker, but it's so much more than a throwback throwaway! Unwholesome, manic, and boneheaded are words that describe this song's appeal, and ours as well! At 24:34, we spin the 1967 re-release's reverse, "I Tell Myself." We're telling ourselves this...
Aug 15, 2021•55 min•Ep. 49
In Episode 48, we go ape! The first in this week's troop of songs is the OG - the original "The Gorilla" - by none other than The Ideals , who had a hominid hit with the track back in 1962 (1:09). We present some wild theories; ask who is higher in the rock-roll hierarchy: monkeys or gorillas?, while also closely examining the song's elegant rhyme scheme and prosodic structure. The next King Kong song comes from The Shandells , whose on-the-loose version of "The Gorilla" is way wild for 1964 (42...
Aug 08, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 48
We really shoot our waddle this week: FOUR songs from the 60s about ducks and dancing! First up is "The Duck" from 1965 by Jackie Lee (1:20). We note the religious undercurrents to this seemingly frivolous ode to our feathered friends, and we also question if The Duck is the least (or most?) erotic dance ever. Next in line is The Autographs from the same year, and their wild waterfowl wingding, "Do The Duck" (40:48). The guys in the band boldly quack where no one had quacked before, and the lead...
Aug 01, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 47
Recorded WAY back in March, in a late-night session: Michael Hurley ’s “Be Kind To Me” is a shaggy, shambling folk tune that fits in well with our tradition of playing “party in the studio” songs (1:59). It’s also the first song we’ve played with a mouth trumpet solo! We really get into the Dylan -y elements of the song, which is why it’s in our “It Ain’t Me, Bob” series. Don’t worry, we’re still a rock’n’roll podcast – so we play the original version of the song, a barrelhouse R&B stomper b...
Jul 25, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 46
Bobby Beaton and John Davis of The Gruesomes return to the show! They asked if they could talk about the garage classic "Don't Tread On Me" by Kit & The Outlaws (1:29), and by golly we said yes! They are meritorious music micro-analyzers, and they also point their mad scientist microscopes at two 80s versions by The Nomads (53:33) and The Gravedigger Five (1:30:20) with a lot of laughs along the way. There's even a bonus rendition, "Satán Sal De Mí" by Las Munjitas del Fuzz , from 2016 (2:21...
Jul 18, 2021•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 45
We celebrate the long, lazy days of summer with a long frantic road trip of an episode – 4 songs, all from 1966, all about the joys of summer. Dip your toes into the water with the Englishmen and their bossa-influenced jangler “Summer Is Here” (2:10). After that smooth and silky introduction, “Let’s Go To the Beach” with Larry & the Loafers (33:10). Surfing is optional, partying is mandatory! Then hit the road with The Beach Bums and their ultra-chromatic Beach Boys homage, “Florida Time” (1...
Jul 11, 2021•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 44
As a supplement to Episode 42, we present a new series where we investigate and discuss a particularly obscure or noteworthy single: something that can’t be denied on both sides!! And what better way to start than with Norfolk, Virginia’s wildest girl group, the Azaleas ?! Side A is a blatant retread of Gary US Bonds’ 1961 non-hit, “Not Me”, retitled “Hands Off” (2:02). A crazy organ sound, lots of “lowtower,” and the sound of a group of people who are enjoying demolishing the studio and the soc...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 43
Back in 1961 - In The Past's favourite rock'n'roll year after 1966 - Gary U.S. Bonds released an amazing track called "Not Me", which due to the squares, never hit the Top 40 like it should have (1:17). We celebrate this American road trip of a song while we revel in its "in the red" levels and the Virginia rebels behind the "Norfolk Sound." Later on, The Orlons managed to make the song a hit in 1963 and we talk about Rosetta Hightower's low growls , Stephen Caldwell's froggy vowels, and add som...
Jul 04, 2021•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 42
Wella Wella! Back in February we recorded three episodes in one night, and this is the one that has been sitting on the shelf the longest. But it's still fresh as a daisy! in this installment of "Always a B-Side," we capsize the 1965 single by England's own The Little Darlings to hear the flip of their flop release, "Little Bit o' Soul" (discussed in Episode 18). The song is "Easy to Cry", which has a Bo Diddley beat, some clangin' guitars, and wailin' vocals (2:53). We discover that the Darlin'...
Jun 27, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 41
It's almost summer, so let's get it started with a reality check: no AC, mosquitos, too many people at the beach, and the world's worst "summer song" ever: "Don't Be Shy" by Shwayze and some other guy (1:15). Man, this song sucks. A terrible, awful raw machine drum sound that drills into your brain, stoner vocal fry from a 'singer' who sounds like Beck with a cold, incomprehensible song structure, a beastly bouquet of 1999's most bogus sounds (Bran Van 3000/Sublime) but from 2008! - and the long...
Jun 20, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 40
In Part 2, we banter about the bands who have reached the 96th Tier (the highest echelon) of "96 Tears" cover versions. First up is Zeus's favourite band, Los Thunder Boys from Costa Rica (1:08) . Their 1966 rendition is fast, surfy, and sans organ?!?!?! How do they get away with it? Well, the drummer has us ridin' the big wave of the Middle Eight, and we go gaga over the singer's growly, passionate, and vulnerable vocals so you don't even notice the keys are desaparacido . Fast forward to 1978 ...
Jun 13, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 39
In this episode, we use the Socratic Method (and Google) to answer the Supreme Question : “What makes ‘96 Tears’ so good?” In Part 1, we soully focus on ? and the Mysterians original version, recorded & released in the peak garage rock year of 1966, and you can't spell 1966 without "96"! Among the many Mysterian mysteries we uncover is the correct pronunciation of the singer’s name, the secret of the organ riff, and how a song that doesn't have a rave-up freak-out can still be classifiably i...
Jun 06, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 38
How are you going to keep them down on the farm after they hear our show on “Bright Lights, Big City”? We start our tour with Jimmy Reed ’s 1961 original version (0:55), with the marital harmonies of Jimmy and Mama Mary Reed seeming to drift out of a divey, spit-and-sawdust saloon, punctuated by Earl Phillips’ startling cymbal crashes and Bill Putnam’s pleasing production. After we listen to the Rolling Stones ’s 1963 version, Erik makes the hot take scene and says the Stones never sounded bette...
May 30, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 37
Prepare yourself for a feast! The main course is “Pork and Gravy”, a delightful delicacy from the De-Los , a wild doo-wop number from 1958 that features a tale of loss and vengeance that is worthy of epic poetry (1:37). You’ll need something to sop up the sauce, so we’re putting some “Bread and Butter,” prepared by The Newbeats on your plate (38:38). Wash the entrée and appies down with some “Kickapoo Joy Juice,” an amazing concoction of dubious ingredients brewed up the Rivingtons (1:11:40). Yo...
May 23, 2021•2 hr•Ep. 36
Episode 35 comes alive with a feature on the garage rock nugget, "Bloodhound," originally laid down in 1961 by the shaggy dog himself, Larry Bright (1:48). We spend some time scrutinizing his slick guitar work, evoking burly session musicians making puppy sounds in the studio, and contemplating the place of meanness in garage rock lyrics. The second in the litter is Downliners Sect , who recorded the tune in 1964 (36:45). They get right to the chase, which is appropriate for a band whose leader ...
May 16, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 35
The latest episode expounds on a classic Ellie Greenwich-penned ditty from 1963. Exhibit A is the original "Do Wah Diddy" by The Exciters , who really should have an exclamation point after their name (2:05). These three gals and a guy journey from Jamaica, Queens to the Brill Building and beat us all over the head with beatitude! We get breathless over the song's antiphonal aspects and its mania for matrimony. The ensuing epithalamium is the most famous version by Manfred Mann , who added an ex...
May 09, 2021•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 34
This week we’re gabbing about the 1961 classic, “There’s No Other Like My Baby.” The original version by the Crystals is the first on our dance card (@1:22), so do like us & let Barbara Alston and those other Brooklyn gals in prom dresses lead you into the ballroom of great 1960s music, with soaring singing and Phil Spector’s swelling strings starting things off soft & somber (& keep your ears pricked for a particularly hot take around 33 minutes in!). Four years later, we go to a Be...
May 02, 2021•2 hr•Ep. 33
In Episode 32, you’re going to “Louie Louie” University!! This is our wildest and most comprehensive podcast yet, full of Hot Takes! Wild Theories!! New Terminology!!! and Revisionist History!!!! We trace the song's journey from a Cuban cha-cha-cha tune to Richard Berry and the Pharaohs ' transformation of the groove into a doo-wop number about a sailor, with Godoy Colbert’s delightfully dumb “duh-duh-duh’s” (23:16). The larger part of the pod studies the Kingsmen 's alchemical coagulation of th...
Apr 25, 2021•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 32
Episode 31 contemplates the conundrum expressed in T he Troggs ' 1966 hit, "I Can't Control Myself." Reg Presley and the boys find some flakes of the same fairy dust they sprinkled over their former hit, "Wild Thing" and, like all discussion of the band, our talk drifts towards the topics of minimalism and negative space in their work (2:00). Big Maybelle had a fling with the song the next year, and both her vocals and Bob Gallo's arrangement are bold, brash, and brassy, with a funky drum break ...
Apr 18, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 31
Springtime is a time of fecundity & increase, so your hosts celebrate the season by throwing a bonus episode, from a bonus series, with a bonus song at ya!!! "It Ain't Me, Bob" looks at Bob Dylan soundalike songs, from the garage and beyond! We commence the series with Dylan's home-state mates The Trashmen , and their 1966 track "Same Lines" (1:50). Is it a protest song from the malt shop? A parody of the Voice of a Generation? Don't worry, it rocks - the song's riff has a half life of a mil...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 30
One frigid night in late January, our two intrepid hosts recorded three episodes back-to-back, in an experiment public health officials have described as both “insane” and “totally wicked rad." All three shows are part of our now-renowned “Always a B-Side, Never A Bride” series, where we flip over a song we previously discussed on the pod and listen to the reverse. For secret reasons, we’re publishing the 3rd episode before the second one we recorded that night: in this one we discuss First Gear...
Apr 11, 2021•50 min•Ep. 29
In Episode 28, we’re taking it to the rooftops to shout about the sweet-soul classic “It’s Gonna Take A Miracle.” First off is the original 1965 version by Baltimore’s greatest girl group, the Royalettes (@ 2:50) – and we double the fun by discussing both the song and the incredible video (found on our podcast’s Facebook page) . Like us, you'll get lost in Sheila Ross’s eyes and bounced around by arranger Teddy Randazzo’s dynamic orchestral crescendos and tympani rolls. Six years later, Laura Ny...
Apr 04, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 28
In Episode 27, we discuss the class of 1965 slow-burn serenade “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine” by the Seeds and its sonic spunk of twangy guitar, wild Wurlitzer, and Sky Saxon’s sui generis doo-wop spoken-word section (1:04). The middle child this week is the philosopher of bad vibes, Alex Chilton , and the reverent mockery of his 1978 version (47:20). Spank Rock and Diplo are at the hot corner with their 2005 track, “Put that Pussy On Me” – a hip hop song with the sampled Seeds song shimmering sp...
Mar 28, 2021•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 27
This week’s episode is for the fashion plates: we play & discuss four songs about “krazy klothes.” First up is Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsburg and the 3Ds advertising a local clothier in “Pal Mal Rock” (3:33) – listen up so you’ll know what to wear when you go to the hops! Next up is The Royal Teens and their immortal treatise on the proper display of the gluteus maximus : “Short Shorts.” (35:58) Who wears them? Do they like them? And, even though they tell you not to wear white after Labour Day, t...
Mar 21, 2021•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 26
