Category Archives: album

The Swimming Pool Qs: Firing Squad For God

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This is another of the fun vinyl finds I scored while shopping at Toledo’s RamaLama Records. The Atlanta-based Swimming Pool Qs cut this one in 1987. It’s not REM-style jangle pop, but this definitely rode the wave– late 80s Georgia indie rock, without sounding terribly Athens alt/indie. The right vibe is definitely there, especially on Working In The Nut Plant, an angsty “hate my job” track with a great doomy instrumental section. This would go well in a mix/mashup with Single Bullet Theory. A nice listen indeed. For some reason I think of Fetchin’ Bones, Scruffy The Cat and The Fabulous Poodles when listening to this album, though stylistically they don’t really emulate any of those. They do seem to live in the same musical zip code, though.

I’d never heard this lot until I picked up the Firing Squad For God EP, but you can check out the Swimming Pool Qs page and get the dirt on all their releases, plus more MP3s and photos.

Download/Listen to Working In The Nut Plant by The Swimming Pool Qs.

This material is presented to promote the artist. Copyright holders, please get in touch if you object to this material appearing here and it will be removed immediately.

Fun Vinyl Finds: Lipps Inc. Mouth To Mouth

EP

Remember that old disco classic Funkytown by Lipps, Inc? This is the four-song EP that track was issued on back in 1980. Funkytown is a whopping seven minutes-plus of doot-doot disco, but the B-side has something really hilarious on it…a song called Rock It, which is one part Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, a dash of Isaac Hayes funk and one part Kid Creole and the Coconuts (when the bongos kick in). I love the faux Nagel album graphics and the suggestive title…so very very Miami Vice all around. Pure cheese and just as bad for you.

This is the type music Frank Zappa derided as being made by robots, but Lipps Inc is a lot of fun. Zappa clearly misses the boat here as stuff like this as deliciously cheesy–just the way I like it round here when The Clash ain’t on. I picked up this goofy classic at Toledo’s RamaLama Records for a couple of bucks and it’s some of the best pocket change I’ve invested in a while. Who needs to eat Twinkies when you have the sonic equivalent on releases like this? Damn, this is some funny shit. I found this Lipps Inc vinyl for sale on Amazon

but chances are you need to listen to the best (and corniest) track from this first. Listen to Rock It from Mouth To Mouth by Lipps Inc. As always, if you’re the copyright holder and don’t want your tracks listed here, contact me and I’ll remove them immediately. These posts are intended to promote the artist’s work. Nuff said.

Download/Listen: Lipps Inc, “Rock It” Mouth To Mouth MP3

William Shatner Tackles Jarvis Cocker

Media

I won’t comment on this except to say that once again, I missed this first time around. Apparently this hit the shelves in 2005, and it’s so utterly WRONG that it must be purchased without hesitation. Shatner has been mutilating pop music for three decades now, but this is by far his most far-reaching madness to date. I wonder what Cocker and Co. think? I’d be quite amused to see Shatner and Pulp together doing this live.


Daniel Amos: Fearful Symmetry

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When it comes to 80s music, there is NOTHING stranger than born again Christian new wave. Some artists in this genre were out-and-out hypocritical, writing albums with heavy gay bashing lyrics  AND songs complaining of discrimination against born-againers. Steve Taylor was the worst of this lot, singing out of both sides of his mouth with “Whatever Happened To Sin?” (“I heard the reverend say/gay/is probably normal in the good Lord’s sight…I’m no morality nut/but/the reverend may be a little confused”) and “Meat The Press” (A Christian can’t get equal time/unless he’s a loony/committing a crime”). To be fair, I’m guessing (hoping?) Taylor wishes he could take back the worst of his 80s excesses…

On the opposite side of the fence is the band responsible for the album cover pictured here. Daniel Amos never indulged in the sort of nonsense some of their contemporaries did in attacking “non-believers”. Quite the opposite, Daniel Amos reserved their poison pens for members of their own movement. Here is a band that took aim at televangelists Jim and Tammy Bakker long before it became popular to do so on daytime television back in the late 80s.

The real genius of Daniel Amos–especially this album, Fearful Symmetry–is edgy electronic pop combined with a literacy startling when compared to some of their contemporaries. Where you had some Christian new wavers singing about going to hell forever (The 77s, an on-again/off-again new wave outfit, were exceptionally embarassing in that regard.) Daniel Amos chose to write songs invoking William Blake and wondering where the hell all the technological marvels of the space age got off to. Check the DA album Vox Humana for the insanely catchy “It’s the 80s, Where’s Our Rocket Packs?”

Fearful Symmetry is one of the best Daniel Amos albums of their long and bizarre career–this is a band which started out playing Eagles-style country-rock crossover music and suddenly flipped out into new wave. The band’s transition can be compared to when the Beatles started taking drugs…suddenly you had a whole new attitude informing the same group of songwriters previously satisfied with writing soppy three-minuters.

Vinyl sellers take note–I would pay LARGE DOLLARS to own the vinyl for this album. There are three simply perfect new wave tracks on Fearful Symmetry; “The Pool”, “Sleep, Silent Child” and “Shadow Catcher”. Oddly enough, this is the record founder genius Terry Taylor takes issue with, calling it “art rock”. But truly this is one powerhouse of a record with those three songs alone. “Neverland Ballroom” is amusing, “Instruction Through Film” is a Thomas Dolby-esque exercise, and I can completely do without “Sudden Heaven”. But this record is damn fine. You don’t need to be a born-againer to enjoy this and there’s no overt bible banging going on here. The religious imagery is appropriate where used and restrained enough to be **gasp** subtle. In an era where groups such as Ressurection Band and a gent named Rick Cua were hollering at people to “submit to Jesus” in so many words at maximum volume, Daniel Amos is the very picture of tolerant restraint, combined with great synth riffs, inspired arrangements (pun not intended) and ethereal imagery.