God Bless America...

 

...for giving us Joe Johnson and Lazy Lester, and this absolute gem of a recording.

I have no other info on who the rest of the players might be, but Mr. Johnson is singing and Lazy Lester is blowing that harmonica, son. 

Dig Daddy Twig

 

On this year's Black Friday Record Store Day, the senior Lemon Twig Ronnie D'Addario will get to shine with an album called "Written By," which will feature D'Addario singing his songs backed by his sons, Michael and Brian, and will include a few guest vocalists such as Todd Rundgren, Sean Lennon, Darian Sahanaja and Mac Demarco.

The first single is out and boy is it Beatle-y.

Dig it! 

I Can Only Binge Music. Is That So Bad?

 

I'm not a T.V. guy. I was, back when there were three major networks and three premium cable stations. But now I find it all so overwhelming to the point of simply not caring. To be clear, I am not a T.V. snob. I don't think it's "poison" like some cranky old professor, though much of it actually is. 

I watch movies, mostly those made before the year 1990, though I am not opposed to something new if the cards fall in the right place. I really enjoyed Del Toro's "Frankenstein." I watch the Yankees and the Knicks. I stream live broadcasts from the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans. I love a good documentary. I really loved "Only Murders In the Building" and 'Schitt's Creek," until it hit me. You have to commit and keep watching. It was easier when you had to wait a week for the next episode of a show. Knowing everything is there at your fingertips is too intimidating for a lunatic like me.

I can't do it. I can't binge.

This is what I hear when I am out with friends or family.

"Are you guys watching Phlegm? It's from the same people that produced Chicago Gout. It's on Ploob. Yes, Ploob is free if you have the ESPN Female Full Contact Karate Plus package. Phlegm is so good. It's got that guy from Chicago Chiropodist, Pascual Pasqualli. You haven't seen Chicago Chiropodist? Awesome show. I binged all 12 episodes. It's on Shemp, which is free, but only if your TV has an RCA plug input. Shemp also has that amazing doc on the boiling point of tin. It's called The Boiling Point Of Tin."

I sit quietly, sip my cocktail and wait for the conversation to change.

That said, a friend asked if I heard Aimee Mann's cover of "Rainy Days & Mondays." I hadn't. He said it's from the soundtrack of "The Chair Company." I thought, "La-Z-Boy" has a soundtrack? As it turns out, "The Chair Company" is another new HBO series. I've lost track since "Six Feet Under" was canceled. 

 

 

 

 

 

1993

Written by J.D. Souther, Mike Campbell & Robin Zander

Robin Zander- Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Mike Campbell- Guitars, Keyboards, Bass
Drums- Carlos Vega
 

Songs Of The Week, 2025: 11/1-11/7

 

 

Where The Good Times Are- Beverley
A Different Sunday- Beagle
My Mistake (Was To Love You)- Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye
Juice Box- Jackie Mittoo
Drafted, Volunteered & Enlisted- The Creators
Defecting Grey- The Pretty Things
Nothing Lasts Forever- World Party

zip 

 

Where The Good Times Are- Beverley
(Beverley, as in Martyn before she married John, swinging in 60's London with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Alan White.)

A Different Sunday- Beagle
(Sold to me in 1992 as power pop, Beagle from Sweden feels more like 70's AM radio to me. This one is a fave,)

My Mistake (Was To Love You)- Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye
(Another Motown gem, this was one of my favorites in the summer of '74. Should have been #1, but only reached #19.)

Juice Box- Jackie Mittoo
(I'm going all in that even if you twitch at the thought of another reggae track, you will love this groove.)

Drafted, Volunteered & Enlisted- The Creators
(From an excellent 2021 compilation on Ace titled "This Love Was Real: L.A. Vocal Groups, 1959-1964," this Creators track is one of half dozen I wanted to share.)

Defecting Grey- The Pretty Things
(This single came out in 1967, and it appears occasionally as a bonus track on reissues of 1968's "S.F. Sorrow," which I know is considered a classic, but to me it feels like it tries too hard. This track is more like what I wanted to hear on "Sorrow.")

Nothing Lasts Forever- World Party
(Very true! A Karl Wallinger deep cut to close things out.)

BW's Saturday #69: Brand New Byrdsian Bliss

 

 

Released just a few days ago, please give it up for The Elbow Patches, aka John Dunbar, and the first single from what I've been told is a new full length coming soon.

I can't stop playing this one. 

Gilson Lavis, 1951- 2025

 

It's not as if I have a body of work that will live on long after I am gone, but if you have been a fan of Squeeze from day one as I have, and also had the pleasure (or displeasure) of playing in a band with me as your drummer, you must have noticed that I had stolen just as much from Gilson Lavis as I did from Ringo Starr.

As one of my friends and band members just pointed out, Gilson Lavis was a "melodic drummer." 

Yes, Squeeze had two of the best songwriters in all of music in Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, but it wouldn't be hyperbole to say, so much of that band's most memorable songs had a lot to do with what Gilson Lavis played behind them.

He was unique. He played, like Ringo and I hope like I do, for the song. 

Check out "Slap & Tickle," or "I Think I'm Go Go," or those quick snare rolls and accents in "If I Didn't Love You," which I shamelessly stole and used in just about every song I've played on.

Gilson Lavis was not just another drummer. He served above and beyond his duty in one of the greatest pop bands in music history.

This is sad news for Squeeze fans and for drummers, and especially for one of his biggest fans, me.