"Paul, Brian, Ray & Todd, 2026": THE WEEKEND MIX

 

Paul McCartney, born on June 18th.
Brian Wilson, born on June 20th.
Ray Davies, born on June 21st.
Todd Rundgren, born on June 22nd. 

I believe this is the 9th or 10th time I have paid tribute to this fab four during their birthday week.

 

 

Sadly, we lost Brian last year, but Paul, Ray & Todd are alive and kicking and I truly believe I am alive and kicking thanks to these geniuses.

It's self-explanatory, so dig in. 

Happy Birthday Gents! You done good.

TRACKLIST: 

Forget All About It - Nazz
You Want Her Too (1988 demo)- Paul McCartney
The Night Was So Young- The Beach Boys
Sweet Lady Genevieve- The Kinks
The Other Me- Paul McCartney
You're So Good To Me- The Beach Boys
Misfits- The Kinks
The Last Thing You Said (Full Version)- Todd Rundgren
Heroes & Villains- The Beach Boys
Waterspout- Paul McCartney
Something Better Beginning- The Kinks
Determination- Todd Rundgren
Just Once In My Life- The Beach Boys
God's Children- The Kinks
One World- Utopia
Junk (Bass & Vocal)- Paul McCartney 

HERE

Whoa Oh, Claudettes

 

The Claudettes have a new record. It's their fourth. I hadn't heard of them before this week, but this intrigued me- "The Claudettes are the only band to successfully meld soul, rock, punk, and cabaret into an intoxicating stew."

Then I see that my old friend Steve Berkowitz co-produced the new record "Garage Glamour." Leader Johnny Iguana happens to be Steve's nephew, Brian Berkowitz. All of this was enough for me to give it a spin. I figured I had a good bet.

I am not hearing much of the five styles they purportedly meld successfully. What I do hear is an amazing vocalist in Rachel Williams who more often than not channels the great Julie Driscoll, as well as Grace Slick occasionally. 

 

 

It's hard to nail just where "Garage Glamour" falls musically. Much of it reminds me of those rare early 80's singles that didn't quite fall into electronica or new wave. Think Mari Wilson, Belle Stars and Lene Lovich. It's a big record and maybe that's where the word cabaret comes into play. What I love most about "Garage Glamour" is that in just a little over 33 minutes, the band manages to cover so much musical ground, I felt like I was listening to a brilliant 80's mixed tape.

 

 

The Story Of "Hi Lee Hi"

 

Allen Toussaint's "Songbook," a 2017 collection of live performances from NYC's Joe's Pub was expanded and reissued last week. There is a full disc's worth of unreleased tunes including one called "Hi Lee Hi." This is a lovely song that I hadn't heard before this release. 

I did some digging and I have been coming up empty. Some sources say it's Allen's tribute to Jerry Garcia. Other sources say Toussaint "covers Jerry Garcia's 'Hi Lee Hi.'" The song doesn't turn up in either Toussaint's or Garcia's catalogue. I asked my good friend Zippy, who is a Dead Head, and the song is new to him, as well. He also pointed out that Jerry rarely wrote lyrics and the lyrics here sound nothing like anything Robert Hunter would have written.

So, I am going to guess, that as usual, the 25 year old music journalists stating that "Toussaint covers Jerry Garcia's 'Hi Lee Hi," had never heard of either before given the assignment of reviewing "Songbook," and that the lovely "Hi Lee Hi" is a Toussaint tribute to Garcia that has never been released until now.

If anyone has real info, please let me know. 

 

 

Hello Cruel World

 

I've been enjoying "Goodbye Cruel World," Elvis Costello's least favorite Elvis Costello album more lately than I ever did before.  It needed a few snips here and there, but it certainly plays better than its reputation. The Rhino reissue from 2004 has a full disc of bonus tracks, as do all of the Rhino/Elvis reissues and the alternates and demos on this package were a lot of fun. I was also a bit shocked when Costello's acoustic demo of "She Loves The Jerk," one of my favorite John Hiatt songs came on. I completely forgot that this existed.

So, here it is.  

Songs Of The Week, 2026: 6/6-6/12

 

Bittersweetheart- Soul Asylum
Gun Fever- The Valentines
Outbreak Of Love- Midnight Oil
Love Ain't For Keeping (Leslie West Version)- The Who
Gay Drums- Leslie Butler & Count Ossie
Halo- Depeche Mode
Gold- Prince

HERE

 

 

 

 

BW's Saturday #84

 

"Art & Craft Work": THE WEEKEND MIX

 

I will assume that most of you are familiar with the "33 1/3" book series. This is a series of books, close to 200 now, that focuses on individual albums. I've read more than a few. Some are better than others, but Hugo Wilcken's book on Bowie's "Low" remains a favorite. It inspired me to create a playlist some years back, that I thought I had shared here. For the life of me though, I can't find it on the blog.

It doesn't matter. This Weekend Mix takes that inspiration and expands upon it. This time, the inspiration is the Grace Jones classic "Nightclubbing." This record has been in regular rotation for years. It's perfect. It's unique. It's funky. It's weird. It covers a lot of ground and yet, the rhythm section of Sly & Robbie keeps it steady, as if they created a genre specifically for this record.

While listening this time, some other great music came to mind that I thought would fit comfortably alongside some tracks from "Nighclubbing."

And here we are.

Hope ya dig it.

TRACKLIST 

Speed Of Life- David Bowie
Metall Auf Metall- Kraftwerk
Pull Up To The Bumper- Grace Jones
Sister Midnight- Iggy Pop
V-2 Schneider- David Bowie
Radioactivity- Kraftwerk
Johnny & Mary- Robert Palmer
Sky Saw- Brian Eno
Nightclubbing- Grace Jones
Funtime- Iggy Pop
Me! I Disconnect From You- Grace Jones
I Dream Of Wires- Robert Palmer
Trans Europa Express- Kraftwerk
Mass Production- Iggy Pop
Spider And I- Brian Eno
I've Done It Again- Grace Jones
A New Career In A New Town- David Bowie
Franz Schubert- Kraftwerk

HERE