Gorilla my dreams, I adore you, ape days a week.💖It's monkey sing, monkey do in a vine-swingin' jungle of staves'n'notes from a dizzying zoo of rock'n'pop genres.
Thanks for getting me to relisten to Wot Gorilla after 40(?) years--it was part of my college soundtrack--along with Weather Report of course. I knew the Dickies but never would have guessed that they did the Banana Splits theme song. My little brother was totally into the show and used to walk around the house singing the chorus. Never heard of the Headstones but that's a great cover--it's also a testament to great songwriting!
Great comments, all, Charles! I love doing these, as it becomes such a mixed bag, and thankfully FAR from what everyone else would likely do...top this, best that, biggest selling blah blah. I never knew from the Headstones either (or Elastic No-No Band, for that matter), but to be able to showcase outlier acts like those with worldwide-known artists like Tull, Genesis, and JT (and trying to add something the world doesn't already know) is the challenge, and I embrace it eagerly! Glad you're diggin'! Love the little brother story, BTW!😁
I've gravitated more and more to the "outliers" (though some of them are quite big and well known outside the U.S.) I'm also doing a tour of acts that were mainstream in the U.S. but were forgotten or even deliberately erased. I'm about to post on a woman who led bands in the 1920's and 30's with sidemen including Louis Armstrong, Ben Webster, Chick Webb and more. Decades after she had stopped performing, her recordings were re-released under the names of those guys, who had all gone on to become famous bandleaders.
Wow! My dad would-a loved you! He passed in his 80s a dozen years ago, but my bro & I (and Mom) grew up in our Houston home surrounded by his 20,000 (virtually all jazz) LPs and 78s! Custom cabinetry, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, all around our den!
He had a nationally syndicated jazz radio show called "Ed (our last name) and All That Jazz" in the '60s. He worked in sales at Houston's CBS affiliate, KTRH-AM (news/talk) and KLOL-FM (the "progressive rock" station I ended up working at in the mid-'70s), and he used their studios to record his show, playing records and offering commentary and critique.
I know all those names because HE knew all those names and the music they made. I need to catch up and read your last post. What you're digging up and "exposing" is truly amazing, and I know I'll be surrounded by memories of Dad when I read 'em! Keep up the good (and necessary!) work, Charles!
Thanks Brad. Of course, the real digging was done by others, like Rosetta Reitz, about whom I have a note in my most recent post. Given your dad's profession and his collection, there is a good chance she spoke to him and maybe even searched through his 78s. I'd be interested to know if you can find any reference to her in his effects. I'm just the kid doing a term paper, collecting research that took others a lifetime to do. If you know people who would be interested in this stuff, please go ahead and share it with them! Most of my friends are content to listen to their college/20's soundtrack and don't go any further afield.
Never heard of GoBis, which matters not. Two of the artists on the Playlist I'd never heard of before. Plus, I was choosing songs ape-related, not acts with apes in their names (or else, Gorillaz might've had a shot).
And, power pop is certainly not a prerequisite (I'm not anywhere near that narrow-minded, despite what my ex-wife might assert)!
As I mention at the top of each GBE: "Nor are all chosen songs literally or specifically 'power pop.' They’re simply songs lovingly filtered through my generally power pop-informed sensibilities." But, no one loves Tull or Genesis as much as I, and you can't get any further from power pop if you pulled out "Mettle" by Floyd! Color me well-rounded.
The span of artists on this GBE, alone, are as varied as there are Ben & Jerry's flavors! Which reminds me: "Chunky Monkey"!
I sensed that, Kevin, but I took the opportunity (of replying to your comment) to explain and clarify for other readers who have also had questions about how GBE operates and is constructed: I've found it's more fun to swim if you know the pool rules!
There's a fine line between explaining and sounding defensive, and I apologize if my treatise sounded pointed! Consider your work here as one of facilitating understanding, bruh, and for that, I much appreciate!
I took some time to peruse info on the Gorilla Biscuits...I was particularly taken with the term, "youth crew," one I've never heard of before! I can't help but picture 8-year-olds at the helm of a pirate ship! Wish me luck....I'm off to go LISTEN to some Los Biscuits de Gorillas!😁
Just escaped hearing about 4 tracks...not as buzzsaw or growly as I was imagining. Their song, "Big Mouth" reminded me (mainly in theme) of the Ramones' "Loudmouth," which made me think of the New York Dolls' "Chatterbox"! We may have a "Girl, keep it down willya? I'm trying to watch the game!" Playlist!🤣
Nice, Brad - I really appreciate the Headstones and Jethro Tull inclusion - two of my favorite and IMHO, underrated bands - lots of great stuff from each - especially lyrically!
Thanks, Michael! I had never heard of the Headstones before! I enjoyed their cover, too, and the show-biz/acting link with Dillon. Until Tull gets into the R'n'R HOF, they will forever be underrated. Top-selling albums, innovation, a Grammy kerfuffle...what more does the Hall need?!
Thanks for tuning in, as always! Dropping Monday....I play sonic archaeologist, with the song that birthed the disco boom! Will it be what you might guess? It's actually something I've had more than a notion about (turns out I was wrong), but I've found documented evidence as to whom/how/when, etc!
Also, so many great Simian songs to choose from. You could do a 50 song playlist. Off the top of my head? "Monkey Gone To Heaven" by Pixies. "Monkey Man" by the Stones, or Toots and the Maytals (and covered by The Specials and Amy Winehouse! -- possible a good song to compare and contrast here?). So many good ones on this theme.
You're right about the plethora of monkey tunes! I'm not sure the ones you brought up were in any of the searches I did (I did searches for songs with "ape," "monkey," and "gorilla" in them). Which reminds me...I forgot the Kinks' "Apeman"! And, that just came to me now...which is what both your songs and much of my list points to...songs we knew and loved at the time!
Sometimes, that's how the best, organic articles (especially song-based ones like this) come to be, WITHOUT Google! I might definitely see a Part 2 in the future...a need to expand the Monkey House, as it were! Holler if you wanna collab on it; start with the ones you mentioned, and do a GBE-style blurbette on 'em....we'll talk! Or, an "Inside Tracks" if you wanna focus on a comp/contrast on a handful of covers of the one song.
I'll e-mail you, and we can do this "backstage," and not onstage!! I love the plural..."good monkey personal storieS"!! I lament I have a whopping ZERO even mediocre monkey personal stories.🐵
Well, there was that one time when I was about 12 on a field trip to the zoo. I turned the tables on a particularly ornery silverback: He did what gorillas do, and flung a large poo pile at me, barely whizzing by my head. Undeterred, I picked it up and threw it right back at him! "HA, gotcha NOW, monkey man......in your.......................HEY!!"
Which reminds me of another time as a kid: Feeling triumphant running around in the yard, I was proud at narrowly missing having my brand new sneakers land in a massive pile of 🐕💩. SO proud, I picked it right up, ran inside, and found Mom in the kitchen: "Mom, Mom, look what I almost stepped in!!"
Never understood the Ramones/Dickies comparison. The Dickies were more like The Buzzcocks with a goofy sci-fi, perpetual teenager bent. And even that's a wildly incomplete description. And they were from where I grew up so I got to see them play live all the time. One of my favorite live bands.
I may have read in the rock press about a vague Rams/Dickies comp. It might have been easy to do, if not stylistically accurate: Both played short songs quickly; they were from opposite coasts; neither took themselves all that seriously (especially one of 'em!).
Thanks for tolerating my snark in their direction...I'm sure I gave them the short shrift they may not deserve...especially having never seen them live. Having spent so much time in the presence of the Ramones makes me more than slightly biased; wish I coulda well-hung with the Dickies!😱
Thanks, Mark! Great Aldo Nova song, one that's new to me...woulda made a suitable addition to the Playlist. Perhaps there'll be a "Salute to Simians" Vol. 2 in a future GROW BIGGER EARS! Stay tuned!💥🎼🎶🎵👍
Wow - hadn't heard that song in a few decades. Aldo certainly was big on long video intros and cheesy "special effects." Saw him at the Rose Bowl in probably 1983 opening for Triumph, Blue Oyster Cult and Journey. During Aldo Nova's set, the whole crowd started a food fight and I was hiding behind my chair.
Good Lord....what a bill! I'm guessing the billing was as you ordered it: Aldo opening, followed by Triumph, BOC, and Journey. We were in the Southland at the same time, Steve. If before November '83, I was in N. Hollywood, finishing a couple years working at Music Plus Glendale, and finally, Pasadena. Was Music Plus your record retailer of choice at the time?
After November, I was in Irvine doing the college thing as a 28-year-old sophomore! Either way, I would've been as far away as possible from a 100,000-seat-capacity stadium hosting big-selling rock acts. If I was anywhere, it was stalking punk and power pop bands on the Strip, a little less so since '80 and '81 when I first moved west from Houston!
I was glad Mark shared that video. Again, because of the year, I wasn't too into what was being played on hit radio, neither AM nor FM. Mark's my Jack White contact, working as he does in A&R for Jack's Third Man Records. I've told Mark to give me the scoop on all things Jack!
it was my first festival-type of concert. I was either 15 or 16 and yes that was the order of the show. BOC was by far the best, with E. Bloom riding out on his Harley for “Born To Be Wild.” That was peak popularity for Journey at that time, I think after their Frontiers album. Though maybe Escape was the peak.
Thanks for getting me to relisten to Wot Gorilla after 40(?) years--it was part of my college soundtrack--along with Weather Report of course. I knew the Dickies but never would have guessed that they did the Banana Splits theme song. My little brother was totally into the show and used to walk around the house singing the chorus. Never heard of the Headstones but that's a great cover--it's also a testament to great songwriting!
Great comments, all, Charles! I love doing these, as it becomes such a mixed bag, and thankfully FAR from what everyone else would likely do...top this, best that, biggest selling blah blah. I never knew from the Headstones either (or Elastic No-No Band, for that matter), but to be able to showcase outlier acts like those with worldwide-known artists like Tull, Genesis, and JT (and trying to add something the world doesn't already know) is the challenge, and I embrace it eagerly! Glad you're diggin'! Love the little brother story, BTW!😁
I've gravitated more and more to the "outliers" (though some of them are quite big and well known outside the U.S.) I'm also doing a tour of acts that were mainstream in the U.S. but were forgotten or even deliberately erased. I'm about to post on a woman who led bands in the 1920's and 30's with sidemen including Louis Armstrong, Ben Webster, Chick Webb and more. Decades after she had stopped performing, her recordings were re-released under the names of those guys, who had all gone on to become famous bandleaders.
Wow! My dad would-a loved you! He passed in his 80s a dozen years ago, but my bro & I (and Mom) grew up in our Houston home surrounded by his 20,000 (virtually all jazz) LPs and 78s! Custom cabinetry, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, all around our den!
He had a nationally syndicated jazz radio show called "Ed (our last name) and All That Jazz" in the '60s. He worked in sales at Houston's CBS affiliate, KTRH-AM (news/talk) and KLOL-FM (the "progressive rock" station I ended up working at in the mid-'70s), and he used their studios to record his show, playing records and offering commentary and critique.
I know all those names because HE knew all those names and the music they made. I need to catch up and read your last post. What you're digging up and "exposing" is truly amazing, and I know I'll be surrounded by memories of Dad when I read 'em! Keep up the good (and necessary!) work, Charles!
Thanks Brad. Of course, the real digging was done by others, like Rosetta Reitz, about whom I have a note in my most recent post. Given your dad's profession and his collection, there is a good chance she spoke to him and maybe even searched through his 78s. I'd be interested to know if you can find any reference to her in his effects. I'm just the kid doing a term paper, collecting research that took others a lifetime to do. If you know people who would be interested in this stuff, please go ahead and share it with them! Most of my friends are content to listen to their college/20's soundtrack and don't go any further afield.
No mention of Gorilla Biscuits? Not power pop, but still...
Never heard of GoBis, which matters not. Two of the artists on the Playlist I'd never heard of before. Plus, I was choosing songs ape-related, not acts with apes in their names (or else, Gorillaz might've had a shot).
And, power pop is certainly not a prerequisite (I'm not anywhere near that narrow-minded, despite what my ex-wife might assert)!
As I mention at the top of each GBE: "Nor are all chosen songs literally or specifically 'power pop.' They’re simply songs lovingly filtered through my generally power pop-informed sensibilities." But, no one loves Tull or Genesis as much as I, and you can't get any further from power pop if you pulled out "Mettle" by Floyd! Color me well-rounded.
The span of artists on this GBE, alone, are as varied as there are Ben & Jerry's flavors! Which reminds me: "Chunky Monkey"!
Ha! They're good, but definitely not power pop. I was posting half in jest. You could even say I was...monkeying around.
(sorry, I had to!)
I sensed that, Kevin, but I took the opportunity (of replying to your comment) to explain and clarify for other readers who have also had questions about how GBE operates and is constructed: I've found it's more fun to swim if you know the pool rules!
There's a fine line between explaining and sounding defensive, and I apologize if my treatise sounded pointed! Consider your work here as one of facilitating understanding, bruh, and for that, I much appreciate!
I took some time to peruse info on the Gorilla Biscuits...I was particularly taken with the term, "youth crew," one I've never heard of before! I can't help but picture 8-year-olds at the helm of a pirate ship! Wish me luck....I'm off to go LISTEN to some Los Biscuits de Gorillas!😁
Good luck & buckle up! :)
Just escaped hearing about 4 tracks...not as buzzsaw or growly as I was imagining. Their song, "Big Mouth" reminded me (mainly in theme) of the Ramones' "Loudmouth," which made me think of the New York Dolls' "Chatterbox"! We may have a "Girl, keep it down willya? I'm trying to watch the game!" Playlist!🤣
Nice, Brad - I really appreciate the Headstones and Jethro Tull inclusion - two of my favorite and IMHO, underrated bands - lots of great stuff from each - especially lyrically!
Thanks, Michael! I had never heard of the Headstones before! I enjoyed their cover, too, and the show-biz/acting link with Dillon. Until Tull gets into the R'n'R HOF, they will forever be underrated. Top-selling albums, innovation, a Grammy kerfuffle...what more does the Hall need?!
Thanks for tuning in, as always! Dropping Monday....I play sonic archaeologist, with the song that birthed the disco boom! Will it be what you might guess? It's actually something I've had more than a notion about (turns out I was wrong), but I've found documented evidence as to whom/how/when, etc!
Also, so many great Simian songs to choose from. You could do a 50 song playlist. Off the top of my head? "Monkey Gone To Heaven" by Pixies. "Monkey Man" by the Stones, or Toots and the Maytals (and covered by The Specials and Amy Winehouse! -- possible a good song to compare and contrast here?). So many good ones on this theme.
You're right about the plethora of monkey tunes! I'm not sure the ones you brought up were in any of the searches I did (I did searches for songs with "ape," "monkey," and "gorilla" in them). Which reminds me...I forgot the Kinks' "Apeman"! And, that just came to me now...which is what both your songs and much of my list points to...songs we knew and loved at the time!
Sometimes, that's how the best, organic articles (especially song-based ones like this) come to be, WITHOUT Google! I might definitely see a Part 2 in the future...a need to expand the Monkey House, as it were! Holler if you wanna collab on it; start with the ones you mentioned, and do a GBE-style blurbette on 'em....we'll talk! Or, an "Inside Tracks" if you wanna focus on a comp/contrast on a handful of covers of the one song.
I was thinking “Inside Tracks” but I’m open to ideas. I do have some good monkey personal stories to tie into a monkey earworm.
I'll e-mail you, and we can do this "backstage," and not onstage!! I love the plural..."good monkey personal storieS"!! I lament I have a whopping ZERO even mediocre monkey personal stories.🐵
Well, there was that one time when I was about 12 on a field trip to the zoo. I turned the tables on a particularly ornery silverback: He did what gorillas do, and flung a large poo pile at me, barely whizzing by my head. Undeterred, I picked it up and threw it right back at him! "HA, gotcha NOW, monkey man......in your.......................HEY!!"
Which reminds me of another time as a kid: Feeling triumphant running around in the yard, I was proud at narrowly missing having my brand new sneakers land in a massive pile of 🐕💩. SO proud, I picked it right up, ran inside, and found Mom in the kitchen: "Mom, Mom, look what I almost stepped in!!"
Never understood the Ramones/Dickies comparison. The Dickies were more like The Buzzcocks with a goofy sci-fi, perpetual teenager bent. And even that's a wildly incomplete description. And they were from where I grew up so I got to see them play live all the time. One of my favorite live bands.
I may have read in the rock press about a vague Rams/Dickies comp. It might have been easy to do, if not stylistically accurate: Both played short songs quickly; they were from opposite coasts; neither took themselves all that seriously (especially one of 'em!).
Thanks for tolerating my snark in their direction...I'm sure I gave them the short shrift they may not deserve...especially having never seen them live. Having spent so much time in the presence of the Ramones makes me more than slightly biased; wish I coulda well-hung with the Dickies!😱
Always fast with the quips! The subtitle of this post is densely packed with the corny, cheesy flavors!
Another good one, Brad.
I laughed out loud at, "The flute is a heavy, metal instrument."
Here's my favorite simian song...
https://youtu.be/qs6iMer68co
Thanks, Mark! Great Aldo Nova song, one that's new to me...woulda made a suitable addition to the Playlist. Perhaps there'll be a "Salute to Simians" Vol. 2 in a future GROW BIGGER EARS! Stay tuned!💥🎼🎶🎵👍
Wow - hadn't heard that song in a few decades. Aldo certainly was big on long video intros and cheesy "special effects." Saw him at the Rose Bowl in probably 1983 opening for Triumph, Blue Oyster Cult and Journey. During Aldo Nova's set, the whole crowd started a food fight and I was hiding behind my chair.
Good Lord....what a bill! I'm guessing the billing was as you ordered it: Aldo opening, followed by Triumph, BOC, and Journey. We were in the Southland at the same time, Steve. If before November '83, I was in N. Hollywood, finishing a couple years working at Music Plus Glendale, and finally, Pasadena. Was Music Plus your record retailer of choice at the time?
After November, I was in Irvine doing the college thing as a 28-year-old sophomore! Either way, I would've been as far away as possible from a 100,000-seat-capacity stadium hosting big-selling rock acts. If I was anywhere, it was stalking punk and power pop bands on the Strip, a little less so since '80 and '81 when I first moved west from Houston!
I was glad Mark shared that video. Again, because of the year, I wasn't too into what was being played on hit radio, neither AM nor FM. Mark's my Jack White contact, working as he does in A&R for Jack's Third Man Records. I've told Mark to give me the scoop on all things Jack!
it was my first festival-type of concert. I was either 15 or 16 and yes that was the order of the show. BOC was by far the best, with E. Bloom riding out on his Harley for “Born To Be Wild.” That was peak popularity for Journey at that time, I think after their Frontiers album. Though maybe Escape was the peak.
In case you haven't seen my article on when I met Journey (around 1975), here 'tis: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/behind-the-mic-a-personal-peek-into