S8E416 - The Gorillas 'Message To The World' with Philip King

For one of our first episodes back in 2018 (S1E3), we discussed 'Hunky Dory' by David Bowie with then co-host Barry Stock. Honestly, though, for our first 20 episodes or so we were still finding our way and weren't even playing any music clips at that point. So when this week's guest, musician David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets), suggested taking on Bowie's fourth studio album, we couldn't resist revisiting this stone cold classic with such a thoughtful, well-informed guest. Essential listening! Songs discussed in this episode: Changes (David Bowie cover) - The Muffs/Robyn Hitchcock/Shawn Mullins/Cybernauts/Bananarama; Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus; No New Tale To Tell - Love and Rockets; Mambo Sun - T Rex; 10538 Overture - Electric Light Orchestra; The Shape Of Things To Come - Slade; You Can Get It If You Really Want - Desmond Dekker; Ziggy Stardust, Starman, Changes - David Bowie; Sheep (Pink Floyd cover) - Arthur Brown, Rick Wakeman, Jan Akkerman, David J., Carmine Appice; Oh! You Pretty Things - David Bowie; Oh! You Pretty Things - Peter Noone; The Bewlay Brothers, Eight Line Poem - David Bowie; My Way - Frank Sinatra; Life On Mars - David Bowie; Judy Teen - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel; Kooks - David Bowie; This Guy's In Love With You - Burt Bacharach; Exquisite Corpse - Bauhaus; Quicksand - David Bowie; An Old Fashioned Love Song - Paul Williams; Fill Your Heart, Andy Warhol, Song For Bob Dylan - David Bowie; Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie cover) - Bauhaus; Waiting For The Man - The Velvet Underground; Amsterdam (Live, Olympia 1964) - Jacques Brel; Queen Bitch, The Bewlay Brothers - David Bowie; Oh No! Not Another Songwriter! - David J  

New York City singer/songwriter Robert Scheffler joins us this week with an artist Rob somehow slept on all these years - Aimee Mann. Her second full-length, 1995's "I'm With Stupid", is the one that did it for Robert, and her deceptively biting songcraft and the record's dense, layered guitars made a true believer of your humble host. Songs discussed in this episode: Voices Carry ('Til Tuesday cover) - Gang Green; Always, Excuse The Mess, Basher - Robert Scheffler; Up The Junction - Squeeze; Long Shot, Choice In The Matter - Aimee Mann; Animal Nitrate - Suede; Sugarcoated, You Could Make A Killing, Superball, Amateur - Aimee Mann; When The Hangover Strikes, I Think I'm Go Go - Squeeze; All Over Now, Par For The Course, You're With Stupid Now, That's Just What You Are, Frankenstein, Ray, It's Not Safe, *hidden track - Aimee Mann; We're All Waiting - Robert Scheffler

For this special BONUS Episode, we asked our Patrons to send in a short song - less than 2 minutes - that got them high. As usual, they did NOT disappoint! Songs discussed in this episode: Fingertips - They Might Be Giants; Time: The Donut of the Heart - J Dilla; Just Another Soldier, Shit You Hear At Parties - Minutemen; Manifest - The Weakerthans; Game Of Pricks - Guided By Voices; Abra Cadavor - The Hives; Maybeline (Buddy Holly cover) - Social Distortion; Superstar-Watcher - Yo La Tengo; Short Songs (Live) - Dead Kennedys; Talk Talk - The Music Machine; Feelin' - The La's; Breaking Glass - David Bowie; Minimum Wage - They Might Be Giants; Final Day - Young Marble Giants; Bored To Life - Scream; True Love Will Find You In The End - Daniel Johnston; I Hate Your Lipstick - Veal; I'm Wrong, You're Gone - Natalie Sweet; Rapp Snitch Knishes (feat. Mr. Fantastik), Accordion - MF Doom; Fragile - Wire; As Kind As Summer - The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band; Brother - Oh-OK; Allison - Pixies

This week's guest, musician Arad Evans (The Whimbrels, Glenn Branca's Ensemble, Heroes Of Toolik), chose to discuss a record by groundbreaking New York City band Television that's NOT 'Marquee Moon'! The bands follow-up to that classic album, 1978's 'Adventure', is sometimes overlooked, but the clever songwriting and magnificent dual-guitar orchestrations of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd prove that their iconic debut was no fluke. Days (Television cover) - Swervedriver; She Is The Leader - The Whimbrels; Marquee Moon - Television; I'm So Bored With The U.S.A. - The Clash; June Bug - Leo Kottke; Perfect - Heroes Of Toolik; Glory, Days - Television; Talk About The Passion - REM; Foxhole - Television; Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones;  Twisting In Space - Glenn Branca; Careful, Adventure, Carried Away - Television; Search and Destroy - Iggy Pop & the Stooges; Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight - The Rezillos; The Fire - Television; Oh! Sweet Nuthin' - The Velvet Underground; Ain't That Nothin', The Dream's Dream - Television; Four Moons Of Galileo - The Whimbrels

Bob Dylan's fifth studio album - and his first  to incorporate electric instrumentation - 1965's 'Bringing It All Back Home', marked a seismic shift in popular music that can still be felt today. This week's guest, Buffalo, NY-born singer-songwriter and rock-and-roll lifer Willie Nile, joins us to dissect this stunning game-changer of a record. Songs discussed in this episode: Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan cover), Vagabond Moon, We Are We Are - Willie Nile; Blowin' In The Wind - Bob Dylan; Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly; 19th Nervous Breakdown - The Rolling Stones; Subterranean Homesick Blues, She Belongs To Me, Maggie's Farm - Bob Dylan; Love Minus Zero/No Limit (Bob Dylan Cover) - Willie Nile; Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Outlaw Blues - Bob Dylan; On The Road Again - Willie Nelson; On The Road Again, Bob Dylan's 115th Dream - Bob Dylan; Mr Tambourine Man - The Byrds; Mr Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan; Don't Worry Baby - The Beach Boys; Gates Of Eden, It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - Bob Dylan; Wake Up America - Willie Nile

There's no getting around it, 'Magic and Loss', Lou Reed's sixteenth studio album released in 1992, is NOT a particularly easy listen. While often musically beautiful in an elegantly understated way, the themes of death and the relentless toll it can take on both the dying and ones who love them are both universal and at times uncomfortably personal. Returning guest, Canadian documentary filmmaker Alan Zweig, is here for all of it. “There's a bit of magic in everything And then some loss to even things out” Songs discussed in this episode: Dorita (The Spirit) - Lou Reed; Pale Blue Eyes, White Light White Heat - The Velvet Underground; Teardrop In The Sand - The Hollywoods; Buffalo Ballet - John Cale; Coney Island Baby - Lou Reed; Save The Last Dance For Me - The Drifters; Dorita (The Spirit), What's Good (The Thesis) - Lou Reed; Stay With Me - Little Jimmy Scott; Power and Glory (The Situation), Magician (Internally), Sword Of Damocles (Externally), Goodby Mass - (In a Chapel Bodily Termination), Cremation (Ashes To Ashes), Dreamin' (Escape), No Chance (Regret), Warrior King (Revenge), Harry's Circumcision (Reverie Gone Astray), Street Hassle, Gassed and Stoned (Loss), Power and Glory, Part II (Magic - Transformation), Magic and Loss (Summation) - Lou Reed; Magician (Lou Reed cover) - Rosanne Cash  

Musician, songwriter and producer Chris Stamey (The dB's, Big Star Quintet) FINALLY ushers Todd Rundgren into the TRGMH universe with the 1971 release: Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren. This beautifully written, performed and produced collection of songs totally fit teenage Stamey's 'lonely guy in a room by yourself' vibe at the time, and remains to this day one of his favorites. Songs discussed in this episode: Be Nice To Me (Live, 1971) - Todd Rundgren; I'm In Love, From A Window, Before We Were Born - The DB's; Anything Is Possible - Chris Stamey; We Gotta Get You A Woman - Todd Rundgren; A Beautiful Song - Nazz; Stoned Soul Picnic - Laura Nyro; Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Carole King; Long Flowing Robe, The Ballad (Denny & Jean) - Todd Rundgren; Escalator Over The Hill - Carla Bley; King Battle Of The Bands - Rittenhouse Square; February's Quiet - Big Star; Bleeding, Wailing Wall, The Range War - Todd Rundgren; All La Glory - The Band; I'd Be Lost Without You - Chris Stamey; Chain Letter - Todd Rundgren; Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf; Don't Lie To Me - Big Star; A Long Time, A Long Way To Go, Boat On The Charles, Be Nice To Me - Todd Rundgren; Wouldn't It Be Nice - Brian Wilson; Hope I'm Around - Todd Rundgren; I'd Be Lost Without You - Chris Stamey; Parole, Remember Me - Todd Rundgren; Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) - Chris Stamey

Returning guest Les Norris (Radiobaghdad) channels his 16-year-old self as he joins Rob to unpack Circle Jerks' 1985 release, 'Wonderful'. Keith Morris and company dialed down the tempos and leaned into the metal for this, their fourth studio album, but at the end of the day their killer riffs and biting - at times goofy - sense of humor won us over.  Songs discussed in this episode: Fortunate Son (CCR cover) - Circle Jerks; Pillz - Radiobaghdad; Sears & Applebee's - Les Norris; Over The Mountain - Ozzy Osbourne; Red Tape (Live from The Decline of Western Civilization, 1980), Wonderful, Firebaugh, Making The Bombs - Circle Jerks; Soul Craft - Bad Brains; Mrs Jones - Circle Jerks; I Wanna Destroy You - Circle Jerks with Debbie Gibson; Void You Out - Off!; Dude, When The Shit Hits The Fan, American Heavy Metal Weekend - Circle Jerks; I Against I - Bad Brains; I, I & I, The Crowd, Killing For Jesus, Karma Stew, 15 Minutes, Rock House, Another Broken Heart For Snake - Circle Jerks; I Go Home - Les Norris

Returning guest Tim Hinely (Dagger Zine, Where The Wild Gigs Were) brings us Dallas, TX band Old 97's and their 1997 breakout release 'Too Far To Care'. Coming up during the alt-country boom of the 90s that also included bands like Wilco and Son Volt, their love of both Hank Williams AND punk rock shines through on this fine collection of tunes. Songs discussed in this episode: Iron Road - Old 97's and Waylon Jennings; New Madrid - Uncle Tupelo; Drown - Son Volt; Timebomb, Barrier Reef, Broadway, Salome, W. TX. Teardrops - Old 97's; City Of Wet Angels - Funland; Melt Show, Streets Of Where I'm From, Jagged, Big Brown Eyes, Just Like California, Curtain Calls, Niteclub, House That Used To Be - Old 97's; The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss - X; Four Leaf Clover, Rocks Off (Rolling Stones cover) - Old 97's

Originally known as The Hammersmith Gorillas, UK's The Gorillas were often thought to be the missing link between Hendrix, glam and punk. This week's guest, musician Philip King (Felt, Lush, The Jesus and Mary Chain), brings us their smashing debut album, 1978's 'Message To The World' Songs discussed in this episode: You Really Got Me, Leavin' 'ome - The Hammersmith Gorillas; Factory Grime - Crushed Butler; Brand New Cadillac - The Clash; Gatecrasher, Foxy Lady - The Gorillas; Sunshine Of Your Love - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Live Happening for Lulu 1969); I'm A Liar - The Gorillas; I Need You - Helter Skelter; I Need Her, Going Fishing - The Gorillas; New York Groove - Hello; New York Groover - The Gorillas; Going Back Home - Dr Feelgood; Outa My Brain, Waiting For You, No Way In - The Gorillas; Black Train - The Gun Club; Last Train - The Gorillas; New Rose - The Damned; Message To The World - The Gorillas; New Dawn Fades - Joy Division; Night Of The Vampire - The Moontrekkers; Message To The World - The Gorillas; Love Resistance - Apple Boutique; I'm Seventeen - The Gorillas