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Author Topic: Bands/singers that deserved to become a lot more famous
Adam T
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posted 17 October 2005 06:33 AM      Profile for Adam T     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
If you asked this of music critics 20 years or so ago, most would probably have said Alex Chilton/Dark Star, a late 60s early 70s rock group/singer.

My favorite largely unknown band of the 1990s is Buffalo Tom. Their closest moment to hitting the big time was when Jon Stewart called the "the future of rock and roll."

Two songs of theirs worth checking out, if you can find them, are Scottish Windows and their very minor hit single Soda Pop.


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Stargazer
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posted 17 October 2005 08:19 AM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
One band, one man - Kyuss and lead singer John Garcia. John Garcia also sings on the newest Crystal Method CD, on the Born Too Slow song (remixed by Nubreed and a few other bands/DJ's).

Kyuss sounds like old school psyche 70's rock and his voice is hand's down the sexiest ever.

For background info, if anyone likes this stuff, Kyuss was the original band with Josh Hommes in it before Josh went from lead guitarist in Kyuss to lead singer in Queens of the Stoneage. IMO John Garcia is a far superior singer and the music is far better.

http://www.stonerrock.com/kyuss/

[ 17 October 2005: Message edited by: Stargazer ]


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thwap
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posted 17 October 2005 09:18 AM      Profile for thwap        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Anybody remember Toronto-based "The Phantoms"?
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Boom Boom
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posted 17 October 2005 10:33 AM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Or: McKenna Mendelson Mainline with Joe Mendelson (aka Mendelson Joe)? And their great LP, "STINK"?
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ronb
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posted 17 October 2005 10:43 AM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
In the Kyuss/QOTSA orbit, I always thought Masters of Reality should've been bigger than they ended up being.
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chubbybear
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posted 17 October 2005 10:47 AM      Profile for chubbybear        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Curtis Dreiger, AKA the Cee Dees: "Turn that team of Huskys around..."
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Papal Bull
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posted 17 October 2005 10:49 AM      Profile for Papal Bull   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I really like Jason Mraz. Only heard him this weekend on the bus back to T.dot. I quite enjoyed it.
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UrsaMinor
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posted 17 October 2005 12:01 PM      Profile for UrsaMinor     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Tan'si,

Michael Franti of Spearhead - http://www.spearheadvibrations.com/index.html

and George Leach
http://www.georgeleachmusic.com/


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Scott Piatkowski
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posted 17 October 2005 12:06 PM      Profile for Scott Piatkowski   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
On Michael Franti, "Oh My, Oh My God" you're right.

On Jason Mraz, which I had the pleasure of reviewing

quote:
I’ve been trying to figure out how to pronounce Jason Mraz’s last name. When I try to say it out loud, it sounds something like the sound of me vomiting – which is what I very nearly did when I listened to this disc.

Now, to be fair, I’m not exactly part of the target demographic for songs that feature lyrics like “La-la-la-la-la-la-la-life is wonderful”, so I thought I’d ask someone who is. My daughters didn’t like it any better than I did. In fact, not only did they think his attempts at mixing in opera and hip hop were hilarious, they also thought that I was pretty hilarious for thinking that they might like it.

On his website, Mraz lists Ani Difranco, Dan Bern, Beth Orton and Ron Sexsmith as some of his musical influences. They should sue him for defamation. And, Steve Lillywhite, why would you risk ruining your hard-earned reputation by producing this drek?



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worker_drone
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posted 17 October 2005 01:06 PM      Profile for worker_drone        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
re: Buffalo Tom

quote:
Two songs of theirs worth checking out, if you can find them, are Scottish Windows and their very minor hit single Soda Pop.

Soda Jerk is the name of the song. I think it was used in a Chrysler commericial recently.

Bill Janovitz's latest solo album seems to be doing pretty well...Bill Janovitz and Crown Victoria: Fireworks on TV. It's a real return to the Buffalo Tom sound and apparently they are working on another album.


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obscurantist
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posted 17 October 2005 06:23 PM      Profile for obscurantist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Another recent thread on underrated albums
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Yukoner
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posted 17 October 2005 06:34 PM      Profile for Yukoner   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I alway liked:

Goddo - A TO band

The Stars - I only found one of their albums; 'Violation' it was pretty cool progressive sounding rock

Smashed Gladys - L.A. 80's hair metal. Not a bad song on the album

JJ Cale - He is the man.


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Stargazer
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posted 17 October 2005 07:06 PM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Boom Boom, I just paid 100 dollars for the Stink album on vinyl and have also collected two of their later works as well at 50 per vinyl. So rare that one of the bassists works at the same firm and even he doesn't have these albums!

ronb - so true, Chris Goss is amazing. I love all of the Master's of Reality discs. There are also the Desert Sessions as well as all the Kyuss splinter bands such as:

- Fu Manchu
- Unida
- QOTSA
- Mondo Generator
- Masters of Reality
- Hermano
- Orquestra Del Dieserto
- Fred Drake (solo album R.I.P Fred)
- Trees of the Sun (Scott Reeder and one of the Metallica guys that left Metallica)

Damn the Kyuss family tree is a very large one and I haven't even gotten into the other projects.


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ronb
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posted 17 October 2005 07:10 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
...and let's not forget The Eagles of Death Metal.
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Boom Boom
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posted 17 October 2005 07:13 PM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Stargazer:
Boom Boom, I just paid 100 dollars for the Stink album on vinyl and have also collected two of their later works as well at 50 per vinyl. So rare that one of the bassists works at the same firm and even he doesn't have these albums!

Holy $%^&!!! I gave mine away a couple of years ago - because I have it on CD. I had two MML LP's, I forget what the second one was called. I saw Mainline at Le Hibou in Ottawa a few times - they were just fantastic. $100 for "Stink". Holy Christ.


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Stargazer
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posted 17 October 2005 07:13 PM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Aw gripes!! Yes. I wasn't so keen on them. Seems as if Josh is just going back to the old Destert Session reels and taking some more tunes off there. Same thing he did on the first 3 QOTSA albums (of course after the ones he doesn't talk about - QOTSA/Beaver split, QOTSA/Kyuss split and the QOTSA self-titled album, which used a shit load of Desert Sessions material.

I also forgot Nebula.

Oh and like, you rock. You are the only person who knew about the Eagles of Death Metal outside my wee Stoner Rock circle


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Stargazer
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posted 17 October 2005 07:15 PM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Boom Boom - I have it on CD as well but left all my vinyl to an ex in Winnipeg who is a DJ on one of the University stations there. Dammit all to hell! I originally paid 5 dollars for it.
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Boom Boom
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posted 17 October 2005 07:22 PM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Along with McKenna Mendelson Mainline, there was another great Canadian rock blues/band around this time, the Ottawa-based _Modern Rock Quartet_ (MRQ) that also played at Le Hibou in the late 1960's/early 1970's, usually at the midnight afterhours gig on Fridays.

Peter Jermyn (from Luke & The Apostles) formed The Modern Rock Quartet with John Martin and two other guys I forget. They played at the Inaguration of Trudeau (!!!)

I've heard the MRQ about a dozen times at Le Hibou, and had their two singles "Plastic Street" and "Games". Both songs were much better live.

Of all the Canadian bands I miss, Mainline and MRQ are at the top.


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Stargazer
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posted 18 October 2005 08:31 AM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Merci!! I'll check that out Boom Boom. Thanks.
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Boom Boom
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posted 18 October 2005 08:38 AM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Last time I was in Toronto, we had our dinner at "Blues on Belair"; guess what - it's run by Peter Jermyn (formerly of Luke and the Apostles and MRQ) with live music!!!
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Burns
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posted 18 October 2005 08:46 AM      Profile for Burns   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Replacements.

Easily. Easily. Easily one of the best bands ever.


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Lard Tunderin' Jeezus
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posted 18 October 2005 10:10 AM      Profile for Lard Tunderin' Jeezus   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Teenage Head.

For several years (5 or 6?) simply the best live rock 'n' roll band in the whole wide world.

...with the exception of the one year where their bassist Gordie was recovering, and that talentless and souless simp Bob Segarini managed to talk his way onstage.

Pretty good on record, too, in those days.
And from what I hear, not bad on stage after all these years - they still do the summer circuit at Bala.


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al-Qa'bong
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posted 18 October 2005 12:56 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Putney Dandridge is the most under-rated singer of the Twentieth Century.
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Boom Boom
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posted 18 October 2005 08:55 PM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'm listening to "Stink" on headphones - I've seen McKenna Mendelson Mainline do this album live at Le Hibou Ottawa (would be 1969 or 1970), have heard the LP on a good stereo, but I gotta tell ya, on good headphones "Stink" is f*cking AWESOME, especially "She's Alright".
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Lard Tunderin' Jeezus
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posted 18 October 2005 09:04 PM      Profile for Lard Tunderin' Jeezus   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I own 'Stink' on CD, and it's good stuff. But I've seen Mendelson Joe on his own on several occasions, and can't imagine the band that could make up for his self-indulgent crap. That said, Mainline was before my time, so perhaps I should withhold judgment.
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Boom Boom
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posted 18 October 2005 09:20 PM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Here's a bunch of performers I've never heard; anyone familiar with them?

http://www.mhfolkmusic.com/

(I've got a good collection of folk music, a small collection of blues, and a so-so collection of classic rock recordings)


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mayakovsky
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posted 18 October 2005 09:41 PM      Profile for mayakovsky     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
For me its 54-40. Apart from amazing albums.

On last Wednesday night (Oct 12) 54-40 played Cafe Campus here in Montreal. About three songs into the set there was a blackout in the quartier which killed electricity to the club. Lead singer/guitarist Neil Osborne with his acoustic guitar came down into the audience and with someone holding a flashlight on him engaged the audience in a 54-40 singalong. I have seen 54-40 about 15 times and have seen some amazing concerts but this night for me was magical.


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Scott Piatkowski
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posted 18 October 2005 10:30 PM      Profile for Scott Piatkowski   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
So, at their next show, you're going to knock out the power again?
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Screaming Lord Byron
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posted 18 October 2005 11:14 PM      Profile for Screaming Lord Byron     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I suppose Big Star would be a decent nom. The real answer here is, of course, Nick Drake.

As for others who should've been a lot more famous -
Os Mutantes (in the non-Portuguese speaking world, of course)
Orange Juice
Rinocerose
The Associates
Horace Andy
Hefner
The Go-Betweens
Super Furry Animals
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
The Undertones
The Chills
Yo La Tengo
The Aloof
Monkey Mafia (in all various permutations)
The Saints
The Creation

That'll do for now, I reckon.


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mayakovsky
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posted 19 October 2005 12:21 AM      Profile for mayakovsky     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Scott, I swear I had nothing to do with it. 'The one cord added on to/ the one cord added on'. Hey there pretty girl woops.
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BleedingHeart
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posted 19 October 2005 12:35 AM      Profile for BleedingHeart   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Did anybody mention Doug and the Slugs who were the Barenaked Ladies of their time without the recognition and fame.
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Boom Boom
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posted 19 October 2005 01:07 AM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Lard tunderin' jeesus:
I own 'Stink' on CD, and it's good stuff. But I've seen Mendelson Joe on his own on several occasions, and can't imagine the band that could make up for his self-indulgent crap. That said, Mainline was before my time, so perhaps I should withhold judgment.

I never saw him when he was Mendelson Joe. But he was one of a team - all equal - in Mainline. Great band; I saw them many times, including afterhours at Le Hibou.


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Ken Burch
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posted 19 October 2005 01:22 AM      Profile for Ken Burch     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Eddi Reader, in and after Fairground Attraction

and the late, lamented Kirsty MaCcoll.

Luka Bloom.

Spirit of the West(But mainly in their early days, when they did songs like "Mists of Crofton", "The Profiteer" and the one where they do a pub crawl through Vancouver.


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Left Turn
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posted 19 October 2005 03:28 AM      Profile for Left Turn     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Geek Love

Geek Love was:

Barrie Smith - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Cory Hawthorne - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Darren Genovese - Bass
Craig Zarazun - Drums

Geek Love were a Vancouver area band from the late 90's. Their music was a hybrid of metal/punk/alternative/hard rock/pop rock. Their only claim to fame was a punkish cover of "Here for A Good Time" by Trooper, which appeared in an Molson Canadian advertisement in early 1998. Their only album, titled "Pop LP", was was released as a demo only. It came out a few months after the commercial, and includes the full cover of "Here For a Good Time". The Album was never commercially released. From what I heard, Barrie wanted to re-record it (though it sounds fine as is). This never happened, as the band broke up a week after pressing the demo. I got a coppy of the demo because I was taking guitar lessons from Cory Hawthorne at the time, and he gave one to each of his 40 or so students.

[ 01 February 2006: Message edited by: Left Turn ]


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YPK
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posted 19 October 2005 08:08 AM      Profile for YPK     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Nils. Anyone remember them?
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ronb
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posted 19 October 2005 11:13 AM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Only Ones.

There was a band in Toronto in the 80s called A Neon Rome who were doing what Janes Addiction got famous for at least 5 years earlier.


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N.R.KISSED
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posted 19 October 2005 12:38 PM      Profile for N.R.KISSED     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Neon Rome were quite brilliant lead singer Neil certainly had the mad passionate genius thing going...unfortunately he drifted into the deep end and I'm not sure he ever made it back to shore.

quote:
The Only Ones.
Another Girl Another Planet is one of the greatest Pop songs ever.

[ 19 October 2005: Message edited by: N.R.KISSED ]


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Privateer
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posted 19 October 2005 01:05 PM      Profile for Privateer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
From St. John's NF, The Lizband.

I remember them from when I lived in Newfoundland back in the 90s. They were in Halifax recently, but I couldn't make it to their show. Next time, for sure.


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DandyLion
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posted 19 October 2005 02:17 PM      Profile for DandyLion     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I've plugged this guy before but IMO, The Tom Robinson Band circa late 70's early 80's is the most unknown/underrated band I know. They were big in the UK at that time but are mostly unknown in North America.

Their best stuff is a mix of well-composed driving rock that is well sung and with catchy hooks, and quieter, more ballad-like numbers. Rock examples are Long Hot Summer, 2-4-6-8 Motorway, Power in The Darkness and Better Decide Which Side You're On. Their best lower tempo numbers are Martin, Too Good to be True and their biggest hit, Glad to be Gay.

Many of their songs were quite political as Tom was very much anti-Thatcher. I saw him the El Mo about five years ago and even though he was solo on the accoustic, his oldies still conveyed the sense of fresh energy that highlighted his glory years. Oh, and his newer stuff didn't sound bad but I'm not up on it.


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ronb
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posted 19 October 2005 02:20 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Another Girl Another Planet is one of the greatest Pop songs ever.

Amen.

Neil sure had the Syd Barret/Mad Monk thing going - I heard he became a schoolteacher, which is kinda hard to picture.


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N.R.KISSED
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posted 19 October 2005 02:49 PM      Profile for N.R.KISSED     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Neil sure had the Syd Barret/Mad Monk thing going - I heard he became a schoolteacher, which is kinda hard to picture.

A teacher who would have thought. i thought I saw a homeless guy who reminded me of Neil but then again it might just have been Ian Blurton.


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ronb
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posted 19 October 2005 02:58 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Blurton just grew a ZZ Top beard. He's not actually homeless, as far as I know.
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N.R.KISSED
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posted 19 October 2005 05:42 PM      Profile for N.R.KISSED     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
sorry ronb I was taking the piss
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ronb
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posted 19 October 2005 06:04 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'm with you, I just wanted to poke fun at his beard is all...
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The Hegemo
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posted 29 October 2005 02:04 PM      Profile for The Hegemo   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Bill Fox. I first became aware of him from the I Stayed Up All Night Listening to Records v/a comp, where he contributed the gorgeous folk-pop song "Eclectrocution."

He started out with the the Cleveland power pop band The Mice, who released a couple of excellent albums in the 1980s (now re-released on a single CD) and then broke up.

In the late '90s, he released two folk albums, Shelter from the Smoke and Transit Byzantium, which are two of the most perfect, achingly beautiful albums I've ever heard. And, afaik, has released nothing else since. Which is a shame, because with neo-folkies like Bright Eyes, Devendra Banhart, etc getting some moderate success these days, I'd assume Fox would fit right in.


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flawedplan
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posted 01 November 2005 10:30 PM      Profile for flawedplan   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Yeah, love the Only Ones, and Screaming Lord Byron, your list covers my own general aesthetic, but you left out Mark Eitzel and his band American Music Club. If not familiar, check'em out, worth yer looking into...
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Tommy Shanks
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posted 02 November 2005 03:28 PM      Profile for Tommy Shanks     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Most underrated?

The Fall - Their album "This Nation's Saving Grace" is fantastic.
The Wedding Present - "Bizarro"
The Band
Social Distortion
The Funk Brothers
Television
Patti Smith
The Stooges
bettie serveert
Black Flag
Minutemen


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nister
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posted 02 November 2005 05:31 PM      Profile for nister     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Two young ladies. Renee Olstead, for her singing; Emm Gryner for composition, and singing. You won't believe what Olstead sounded like at fourteen [she's sixteen now].
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Makwa
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posted 02 November 2005 05:39 PM      Profile for Makwa   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Tommy Shanks:
Black Flag
For some reason, the image of mayor Tommy Shanks giving a milk bone to a stuffed dog while Henry Rollins plays in the background is kind of disturbing but oddly apt.

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ronb
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posted 02 November 2005 06:22 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Meters.
From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
Crippled_Newsie
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posted 02 November 2005 06:41 PM      Profile for Crippled_Newsie     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Foetus
From: It's all about the thumpa thumpa. | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged
Makwa
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posted 02 November 2005 07:52 PM      Profile for Makwa   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
James Chance & The Contortions
From: Here at the glass - all the usual problems, the habitual farce | Registered: Oct 2005  |  IP: Logged
Tommy Shanks
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posted 03 November 2005 03:46 PM      Profile for Tommy Shanks     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Yeah, I really like to sit in my barcalounger, unbutton my cardigan, feed the dog and giraffe and listen to this:


From: Toronto | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged
swirrlygrrl
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posted 03 November 2005 04:16 PM      Profile for swirrlygrrl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
People who haven't been mentioned (and are all good Canadians!)

- Luke Doucet (new album: Broken and other rogue states, is BRILLIANT. The first, Aloha Manitoba and the live album were promising but uneven. This one is my new favorite depressing album - all about his breakup with Sarah Slean.)
- Jim Bryson (the King of Ottawa, for a reason.)
- Veda Hille (just damn beautiful music)
- Jim Cuddy's solo work (All in Time is such an incredibly listenable album)
- The Organ ("depressing" new wavish girl band, with an organ! Grab that Gun is a great album - Memorize the Cityand Steven Smith are the best tracks

On people who have been mentioned:

- Buffalo Tom (girls my age know Buffalo Tom, even if they don't know they know them. They appeared on My So-Called Life, the episode where Jordan finally admits he likes Angela. Soda Jerk is in the episode - I believe its playing when they're in the bar, but its "Late at Night" that I love. That's what they play when Jordan takes her hand and they walk down the hall together. *sigh* Bought a couple albums - my love faded after Smitten though)
- Franti (word)
- The Stars (Oh so good. they have a few songs available at
New Music Canada - Heart is a great album. Also, there's cross over with Broken Social Scene, but how is that different these days?)
- Doug and the Slugs (My stepfather introduced me to them. They're good times.)


From: the bushes outside your house | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
Scott Piatkowski
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posted 03 November 2005 04:28 PM      Profile for Scott Piatkowski   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by swirrlygrrl:
Luke Doucet (new album: Broken and other rogue states, is BRILLIANT... This one is my new favorite depressing album - all about his breakup with Sarah Slean.)

Hey, I was just listening to that last night (for a review). I agree with your assessment and appreciate the additional gossip (it's pretty clear that he's getting over someone... I hope he also gets help for his substance abuse -- something else that seems to permeate every one of his songs).


From: Kitchener-Waterloo | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
Gentlebreeze
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posted 05 November 2005 12:57 AM      Profile for Gentlebreeze     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Just a few that I am saddened are not more widely known:


1)Okkervil River -Please,please buy their last two discs.

2)Rilo Kiley -Just listen to "More Adventerous" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

3)Andrew Bird -Grab "The Mysterious Production of Eggs" and "Weather Systems". Again, I say please.


From: Thornhill | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged
Jeb616
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posted 05 November 2005 01:49 AM      Profile for Jeb616   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I like the Andrew Bird song Lull.
From: Polar Bunker | Registered: Nov 2005  |  IP: Logged
Lennonist
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posted 05 November 2005 02:22 PM      Profile for Lennonist        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Residents
From: Laytons Riding | Registered: Nov 2005  |  IP: Logged
'lance
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posted 05 November 2005 02:38 PM      Profile for 'lance     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by ronb:

Amen.

Neil sure had the Syd Barret/Mad Monk thing going - I heard he became a schoolteacher, which is kinda hard to picture.


Me3 thre33 on the Only Ones.

As for Neon Rome -- good grief, I hadn't thought of them in years. (Neil Arbick -- was that his name? However it's spelled).

Around 1985 I somehow got briefly entangled with a small clique of Queen Street/OCA bohemians* which included Meryn Cadell, later of "The Sweater" fame. Astonishing really, considering how conventional I was and am, but everyone goes through an experimental period. Anyway I ended up seeing A Neon Rome at least twice -- once at Larry's Headspace, or was it Hideaway? once somewhere else -- and Neil, solo, at an Elvis Monday at the Beverley.

But I can't say I was ever much of a fan. I found a band like the Phantoms -- yes, I remember them -- a lot more fun.

* yeah, yeah, I know, but they weren't altogether wannabes, even if I was.

[ 05 November 2005: Message edited by: 'lance ]


From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
Meow
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posted 07 November 2005 11:09 AM      Profile for Meow     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ooh...meryn cadell. Bombazine was a great album. I spoke with her friend Veda Hille after a concert one day and she told me Meryn isn't into making music anymore. Veda said she has done all she can to convince her she should do otherwise. Too bad.

To the person in Thornhill who mentioned Okkervil River - he is playing at Lee's Palace tonight (November 7th)...tickets are super cheap if you grab them today - only $10.


From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged
swirrlygrrl
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posted 07 November 2005 11:38 AM      Profile for swirrlygrrl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Meryn Cadell has an on-line journal!

And I do love Bombazine (Johnny and Betty - yay!), but its Angel Food for Thought all the way, for Spelling Bee if for nothing else:

quote:
Spelling Bee
I was the Spelling Bee Queen of 1965, man.
The principal hauled me out of the grade two team spelling bee, out into the hall, told me not to be such a pain in the ass, and not to B-E-R-A-T-E the other little children.
Well, I looked properly A-P-O-L-O-G-E-T-I-C, but inside I was thinking, “C-H-R-I-S-T. If this guy can’t A-P-P-R-E-C-I-A-T-E the fact that I’ve got a huge V-O-C-A-B-U-L-A-R-Y .... well that’s his hang-up man, not mine.”
So I W-A-L-T-Z-E-D back into the classroom, stood up on my T-I-N-Y chair, and shouted, "Down with The Establishment, man! Disestablishmentarianism!
D-I-S-E-S-T-A-B-L-I-S-H-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-A-N-I-S-M. Man."

It's even better when you hear her doing it.


From: the bushes outside your house | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
mersh
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posted 07 November 2005 12:59 PM      Profile for mersh     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Tommy, I think I'm in love. I remember how heartbreaking it was to hear of D. Boon's death in 1985, and also how the early firehose albums paid tribute to him.


quote:
Originally posted by Tommy Shanks:
Most underrated?

The Fall - Their album "This Nation's Saving Grace" is fantastic.
The Wedding Present - "Bizarro"
The Band
Social Distortion
The Funk Brothers
Television
Patti Smith
The Stooges
bettie serveert
Black Flag
Minutemen



From: toronto | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 07 November 2005 02:52 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
I found a band like the Phantoms -- yes, I remember them -- a lot more fun.

Gaaah! They were like a Stones cover band. Of course they were fun. They just weren't that memorable. There was an equivalent in every city in North America back then - The Florida Razors was Hamilton's version. The Georgia Satellites rode the same formula to brief, non-local fame and then well deserved oblivion.

The Lawn. The Demics. Circle C. Fine unsung Canadian bands, shoulda been contendas.

And from the early 80's LA scene, Green on Red, Dream Syndicate and the Rain Parade were a powerful combination, I expected more from them.


From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
chester the prairie shark
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posted 07 November 2005 03:03 PM      Profile for chester the prairie shark     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Green on Red
loved Green on Red, L.A. always could do my kinda country.

oh and montreal: three o'clock train


From: Saskatoon | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged
Rufus Polson
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posted 07 November 2005 05:12 PM      Profile for Rufus Polson     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Pogues
(doubtless they were actually reasonably famous for a little while. But they still should have been more so)

From: Caithnard College | Registered: Nov 2002  |  IP: Logged
Makwa
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posted 07 November 2005 05:28 PM      Profile for Makwa   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by ronb:
The Lawn. The Demics. Circle C. Fine unsung Canadian bands, shoulda been contendas.
Ooh the Demics. Famous fake cockney accent. The "Snow" of the late 70's. God, I loved that band. 'Course I was also fond of the glam copycats at the Gasworks. Good taste and Molsen quarts do not always go together.

From: Here at the glass - all the usual problems, the habitual farce | Registered: Oct 2005  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 07 November 2005 06:56 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ahhh, quarts! Last time I was at the Library - that's the Imperial Public Library at Dundas just East of Yonge there - they still had quarts. I had a couple Cinqantes.
From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
'lance
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posted 07 November 2005 09:02 PM      Profile for 'lance     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by ronb:

Gaaah! They were like a Stones cover band. Of course they were fun. They just weren't that memorable.


Well I didn't say they were great (though I don't remember any Stones covers -- was that literal, or just shorthand for "talentless hacks"?). On the other hand, they would never have been pretentious enough to do a song called "Ronald McDonald Sells Heroin" -- the actual title of a Neon Rome composition.

(For that matter, the very name A Neon Rome... ah, why bother).

And too besides, at one of their gigs I met someone who... um, but we'll not go into that, just now.

quote:
Ooh the Demics. Famous fake cockney accent. The "Snow" of the late 70's. God, I loved that band. 'Course I was also fond of the glam copycats at the Gasworks. Good taste and Molsen quarts do not always go together.

Just like non-Americans who sing "new country" always manage to put on southern/south-western accents -- apparently without effort, it just seems to go with the territory -- there was a certain kind of punk or (especially New Wave) band that did the same with British accents. God knows why.

As for the Gasworks, on the rare occasions I was there it always seemed full of metalheads, rather than glam types. In my paranoia I imagined that some were bikers, but now I doubt that.

A guy I knew told this story about the Gasworks: he was walking down Yonge late one Friday and had just walked past it, when someone came flying backward out the door -- which hadn't been opened for him, i.e. he came flying backward through so much shattering glass. Landing on his ass, he picked himself up and stalked back inside, muttering "I've just about had enough of this."

In retrospect I don't actually believe this story -- definitely not the shattering-glass part, anyway -- but I still like it.

quote:
Last time I was at the Library - that's the Imperial Public Library at Dundas just East of Yonge there - they still had quarts.

Next time I'm in Ottawa I'll have to drop in on the old Lafayette Tavern, and see if they still sell quarts. Somehow I doubt it -- I heard a rumour the place has actually been... (whispering in horror) renovated.


From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
Scott Piatkowski
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posted 07 November 2005 10:40 PM      Profile for Scott Piatkowski   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
RYAN ADAMS
He's getting there, but he's not quite as big as he deserves to be. Releasing three albums this year should help.

DAN BERN
Like Dylan, before he started to suck.

TRACY BONHAM
Great vocal range.

JONATHA BROOKE
Wonderful songwriter. Wonderful voice.

ANDREW CASH (and later THE CASH BROTHERS)
Actually filed under "Americana" in a U.S. record store that I visited.

LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS
Cynical without being sinister.

CRASH VEGAS
Their first album, in particular, was a Canadian classic.

ENNIS SISTERS
Nobody harmonizes like sibblings.

STEPHEN FEARING
A guitar god with a voice to match.

LISA GERMANO
Vulnerable, yet strong.

JOHN GORKA
The richest voice of any contemporary American folky.

EMM GRYNER
Never afraid to take chances. She'd probably be more popular if she didn't, but she'd also be less interesting.

JOHN WESLEY HARDING
The bastard son of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Biting sense of humour.

THE JAYHAWKS
America's Blue Rodeo.

JOSH JOPLIN GROUP
He sings like Michael Stipe...

JAMES KEELAGHAN
History in a song.

KIRSTY MacCOLL
Huge in Britain, but largely unknown on this side of the pond.

DAYNA MANNING
Amazing maturity in such a young singer.

SCOTT MERRITT
I sure wish he'd record more of his own stuff.

PHIL OCHS
He never sold out, and never got the recognition he deserved.

THE PAPERBOYS
They defy categorization, beyond "great music".

RON SEXSMITH
A songwriter's songwriter, but too few fans have caught on.

THE SKYDIGGERS
Bittersweet harmony.

ANDY STOCHANSKY
And to think I first new him as only a drummer.

TOAD THE WET SPROCKET
Political, without sacrificing melody.

THE WALTONS
Like Crowded House, trasplanted to the Canadian Prairies.


From: Kitchener-Waterloo | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
Screaming Lord Byron
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posted 07 November 2005 10:48 PM      Profile for Screaming Lord Byron     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Hey - I think the Jayhawks are a bit more deserving of being called the US Blue Rodeo.
From: Calgary | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
'lance
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posted 07 November 2005 10:58 PM      Profile for 'lance     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Damme -- how could I have forgotten? The Grievous Angels. (The Andrew Cash reference, of all things, reminded me of them). Shoulda spent the 90s blowing the doors off everything and everyone else in the Canadian music business.

quote:
CRASH VEGAS
Their first album, in particular, was a Canadian classic.

Was that the one with their cover of "Pocahontas"? For some reason I never heard anything more by them, but that, I had to admit, was Godhead.


From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
obscurantist
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posted 07 November 2005 11:45 PM      Profile for obscurantist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
"Pocahontas" is on a later Crash Vegas album - Aurora, I believe - which is good if idiosyncratic. Played it in the car on a trip with my dad up to Prince George ten summers ago, and I was constantly turning the volume down and then up, going "Sorry about that. I had no idea they were going to DO that." My favourite song from that album is "On and On". But I remember "Inside Out" and their cover of "Burned", which I'm guessing are both from their first album. I should get that.

Great list, by the way, Scott. Some of them I know, some of them I'm meeting for the first time. I suspect it will end up costing me a lot of money.

Mentioned them on another thread, but I'll mention them again: Robyn Hitchcock (his first band was the Soft Boys -- he has achieved considerable cult popularity with the Egyptians and in his solo career), and Art Bergmann (first with the K-Tels, then the Young Canadians, but he battled with a heroin habit as it was, so perhaps superstardom would not have been good for him).


From: an unweeded garden | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
Scott Piatkowski
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posted 08 November 2005 01:39 AM      Profile for Scott Piatkowski   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by 'lance:
Damme -- how could I have forgotten? The Grievous Angels. (The Andrew Cash reference, of all things, reminded me of them). Shoulda spent the 90s blowing the doors off everything and everyone else in the Canadian music business.

Yeah, whatever happened to that Charlie Angus guy?

Seriously, Andrew organized a musical fundraiser for Charlie in Toronto, featuring music by The Cash Brothers, The Skydiggers, Stephen Page, Grievous Angels and, yes, L'Etranger (!). I'm told that a similar fundraiser is being organized in my own backyard, in Guelph.


From: Kitchener-Waterloo | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
Papal Bull
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posted 08 November 2005 01:41 AM      Profile for Papal Bull   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.

Come on...Innsmouth Look? Instant classic!


From: Vatican's best darned ranch | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged
'lance
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posted 08 November 2005 09:38 AM      Profile for 'lance     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Yeah, whatever happened to that Charlie Angus guy?

Fell in with a bad crowd, I hear. Such are the perils of being a musician.


From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 08 November 2005 02:00 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
For that matter, the very name A Neon Rome...

Oh, don't get me started. A miscellaneous nonsensical Doors lyric as your band name? Yeesh. Why not call yourself Mister Mojo Rising and be done with it?

Pretentious, absolutely. Overblown, ponderous and incoherent to boot. In other words they were doing the Jane's Addiction thing long before Jane's Addiction were. There were plenty of interesting Queen Street bands doing cool stuff back in the 80s, but none of them, in retrospect, stick out as having come up with something that eventually went on to be really lucrative for somebody else quite the same as Neon Rome does for me.


From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
Tommy Shanks
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posted 08 November 2005 05:00 PM      Profile for Tommy Shanks     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
This thread (and some of the comments) got me digging through my old piles of vinyl laying around the house this weekend. My wife and kid wish to thank you all.

Other one's I'd like to add.

Nomeansno never got the attention they deserve. I saw them at the Rivoli a bunch of times and a memorable matinee on Easter Sunday in the basement of the Paddock. Great fun.

Bad Brains
Fishbone's first ep was terrific.
Green on Red "Gas, Food, Lodging" is also pretty darn good.

And I can't believe that this thread has gone on this long and Husker Du hasn't been mentioned.

And some of the spots mentioned. 'lance and I must have crossed paths a few times. Larry's Hideaway, Ildikos, the place under the Italian grocery store at College and Crawford, etc, etc.


From: Toronto | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 08 November 2005 06:07 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
There was that Vietnamese Restaurant downstairs in Kensington Market that BFG and all of them used to play. And there was Merlin's Top, was that it? - upstairs on Yonge Street at around Charles. The Bev, of course. And that vegetarian restaurant/punk club on Bloor near Young Drivers of Canada. And the Cabana. Lordy but the Cabana was a gas.

So many clubs Toronto has had over the years.


From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
Woodnymph
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posted 12 November 2005 06:17 AM      Profile for Woodnymph     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Emm Gryner is someone I haven't had the chance to listen to enough. But I've worn out Bran Van 3000's Discosis, which she helped out on, and Glee will always be close to my heart and fond fond memories.

Kinnie Starr is possibily the most interesting, talented, captivating, unknown in Canadian music. She blows me away with beautiful intricite pop songs, rockin rants and raps that cross three languages. Three albums out now and I read some where she is singing at the Circe du Soliel sex show in Vegas. Maybe she's big off the beaten track or in home province of BC, but I've only heard of her at music festivals.

Bullfrog should do another album. One was not enough...


From: A little island on a big ocean | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged
Lard Tunderin' Jeezus
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posted 16 October 2008 05:30 AM      Profile for Lard Tunderin' Jeezus   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I couldn't think of a more appropriate thread for this news: Frankie Kerr (sometimes 'Venom') is gone; died of cancer yesterday.

May I say thanks to Frankie for good times and memories. He rocked like no other, and was a good guy, to boot.


From: ... | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 18 October 2008 07:00 AM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Someday we'll remember him,
And Picture His Face.

From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 18 October 2008 07:30 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I don't get out to see a lot of live stuff, but one person I did see a few times when I lived in Kingston (where she was the regular house band at this one bar every week) was Georgette Fry. She is an amazing blues singer and an incredible live performer.

I also really like Geoff Berner.


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Stargazer
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posted 18 October 2008 07:33 AM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Frankie Vemon, great band, good singer but a mess. I was lucky enough to catch them at the new Rock and Roll Heaven months back and even got up on stage and sang back up vocals.

Embarrassing moment!


From: Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist. | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 18 October 2008 07:56 AM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
It is quite possible that I saw Teenage Head years ago at "Larry's Hideaway." I must have had a good time, because my memory of it is *ahem* quite hazy.

It's not outside the realm of possibility that Rebecca West was also there at the same time.

We did attend the same "Who" concert at about that time. Although, so did about twenty thousand other people. Considering what it would take to make each other stick out in our minds lo, these decades later, it's a good thing we didn't recognize each other from those events.


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
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posted 18 October 2008 09:46 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I saw Teenage Head open for the Boomtown Rats in the Winnipeg Arena in the spring of 1981.

Teenage Head was pretty popular at the time, even among those who weren't what you'd call fans of New Wave. They just rocked really well.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 18 October 2008 10:04 AM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I think what hurt them was the single they released that was acoustic. (always on my mind? Something on my mind?) Anyway, it was a bad marketing idea. Turned off the fan base and attracted fans that were dissapointed with the real Teenage Head. Like, your gandmother.

Godda love commercial radio. Rock 'n' Roll must be great if they haven't managed to kill it.

Teenage Head, the Demics, the Ramones, the Clash and a good many others were a much needed relief from the over produced whinny dreck that was being marketed at us at the time, as "Rock 'n' Roll." I'd detail that, but it would bring you down....BRRRRUCE!

Those days are long gone. Joey Ramone is dead, Joe Strummer, Now Frankie.

And Johnny Rotten shills for British Butter; and "London Calling" is used to sell cars.


quote:
'N' every gimmick hungry yob digging gold from rock 'n' roll

Grabs the mike to tell us he'll die before he's sold

But i believe in this-and it's been tested by research

That he who fucks nun will later join the church


*sigh*


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
bagkitty
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posted 18 October 2008 10:18 AM      Profile for bagkitty     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Joan Armatrading. Not only as a vocalist, but also as a guitarist. I cannot understand why she is not a top draw in North America. She was touring western Canada in support of her latest release last August, and her show was as electrifying as her initial tours during the late 70s.
From: Calgary | Registered: Aug 2008  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
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posted 18 October 2008 11:54 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
She's boring; or at least my memory of her from 1978 is that she's boring.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
bagkitty
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posted 18 October 2008 12:24 PM      Profile for bagkitty     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
thinking dark unpleasant thoughts about al-Qa'bong
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martin dufresne
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posted 18 October 2008 03:32 PM      Profile for martin dufresne   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Phoebe Snow.... (sigh)

[ 18 October 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]


From: "Words Matter" (Mackinnon) | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 18 October 2008 05:34 PM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I always thought Jeff Martin, of the "Tea Party" deserved to become a lot more famous. I think he and the band not just did justice to 70's style English electric blues, but brought new elements to the genre, with middle eastern influences. Similarly, the percussionist, Jeff Burrows, laid out some refreshingly intricate rythms. At least to this non-musician ear.

Three years ago, when UrsaMinor mentioned Michael Franti, I wouldn't have known who he was.

But yeah, for "Yell Fire!" alone, Franti deserves to be much more famous.


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
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posted 18 October 2008 07:53 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by bagkitty:
thinking dark unpleasant thoughts about al-Qa'bong

I suppose guys like me are the reason she didn't become a big star. Then again, a band I liked at the time, The Battered Wives, never hit the big time either.

There was some controversy over their name or something, if I remember correctly.

The New York Dolls should have been a big deal; they were more like the Rolling Stones than the Rolling Stones were. The Ramones were the greatest rock 'n roll band ever, and they didn't achieve the success of hundreds of lesser outfits.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Cueball
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posted 18 October 2008 08:29 PM      Profile for Cueball   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Tommy_Paine:
I always thought Jeff Martin, of the "Tea Party" deserved to become a lot more famous.

I saw those guys at the Whiskey-A-go-go on a Tuesday night, during a brief stint flirting with the largest suburb in the world, Las Angeles. Can't say I really hated it or anything, but can't see it as budding stardom cut short by fortune.

Tend to agree with Al Q about Joan Armatrading though I must say Tracy Chapman showed a lot of realy spunk on her first album, but lost it after that. Ramones would never have been the same if they had hit it really big. Would have kind of missed the point don't you think Al Q?


From: Out from under the bridge and out for a stroll | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
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posted 18 October 2008 10:15 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I don't know about that. They were rather changeless musically, although they had enough interpersonal troubles without fame and fortune tearing them apart.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 22 October 2008 02:02 PM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I am a huge Ramones fan (I am, in fact, wearing a "Ramones" T-shirt even as I type) but I wouldn't say they are the greatest rock 'n' roll band ever.

I would say, however, that they saved rock 'n' roll.

Things were getting pretty dismal until the Ramones reminded everyone that it was first and formost about having fun.

Joey Ramones' quest for a number one hit on the radio was poigniant, I think. I think if they would have marketed themselves as too good or too cool for radio, they would have had at least one, maybe a string.

And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools Tryin' to anaesthetise the way that you feel.

...As someone once said...

For the greatest, I think you have to go way back. Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry.


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Stargazer
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posted 22 October 2008 03:29 PM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Mazzy Star:


From: Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist. | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
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posted 22 October 2008 04:21 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
For the greatest, I think you have to go way back. Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry.

I agree about Chuck Berry being the greatest, but those guys aren't a band, and I don't think the Ramones saved rock 'n roll; they just put it on life support until they disbanded.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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posted 22 October 2008 04:44 PM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I walked into a pub with some friends somewhere near Ottawa at time, (cymbal smash), and Anvil was playing. I couldn't believe it. I never-ever listened to their music before, and there they were. It was a blast. Some number of days later we was there at Joe Louis for a Back in the Saddle concert. I'd never seen so many people in a crowd before. We were so high... up in the seats of the arena that night.
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 22 October 2008 04:54 PM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Well, that's quibbling. They toured with the same guys, as a group. Anywho, the Chuck Berry riff that is the hall mark of Rock'n'Roll, was actually discovered by his pianist, the late Johnnie Johnson. Berry adapted it for guitar, and the rest is history.

As I was motorvaton over the hill
I saw Maybelline in a Coup de Ville
A Cadillac arollin' on the open road
Nothin' will outrun my V8 Ford
The Cadillac doin' about ninetyfive
She's bumper to bumper, rollin' side to side

Maybelline, why can't you be true
Oh Maybelline , why can't you be true
You done started back doin' the things you used to do


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged

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