Show Notes
We're bagging on The Beatles for a second week in a row! This time it's The Rutles who snatch the laurels off of the Fab Four's shaggy heads. Just like before, we pick SIX songs wherein to make our case, so just tune in and find out how amazing the song craft of Neil Innes (Ron Nasty) was, as well as the playing of Ricky Fataar (Stig O'Hara), Ollie Halsall (the voice of Dirk McQuickly) and John Halsey (Barry Wom). They're all better than a squadron of tanks!
More from In The Past: Garage Rock Podcast
Let's go crazy with our old friends The Sonics! This week we're yakking' about "Psycho," their wild 1965 track which is a bonafide barnburner. What more can be said about Gerry Roslie's tonsil-tearing screams and Bob Bennett's boffo bucket bangin'? Well, we say it! Some sane people believe that the song was bested by Pittsburgh area reprobates The Swamp Rats ... are they right? We then move on to some also-rans by The Jars, The Nomads, The Screaming Trees and&nbs...
It's finally time to examine a song from Sgt. Pepper's, and we've chosen "Getting Better"! We wonder if the album has slipped in the public consciousness in favour of the later period Beatles dirtbag albums? We also include covers from Davy Graham (folk), The Five Stairsteps (soul), Steve Hillage (prog), The Wedding Present (indie), and, er ... Smash Mouth (smash mouth). Yes, we talk a lot about Smash Mouth, wondering if they're kinda garage? and what it might have been like to be in a wildly...
You know we love The Kinks, so this week we're showcasing the 1966 b-side to "Sunny Afternoon" by the North London quartet, the garage evergreen "I'm Not Like Everybody Else." It's thought to be a defiant statement of individualism, but we think Ray Davies could be winding us up. The first cover we discuss is by France's Lionets: their rendition is charmingly inept but undeniably moody. The Chocolate Watchband offer up the reliable garage rock snarl we expect from the...
Because this is the podcast where we talk about a song for way too long, you've gotta be patient. But that can be hard, especially if you're The Supremes! That's right, this week we're talking about "You Can't Hurry Love," the seventh of their 12 consecutive number one singles. We love how the tune jumps from verse to bridge (but it doesn't make you want to jump off a bridge!) ... there's more reasons to love it, which we also discuss. The next version is by Montreal's Les Beatlettes. A garag...
Lou Reed and John Cale's pre-Velvet Underground songwriting partnership produced a song that straddles many genres: "Why Don't You Smile Now" is the tune we're fancy talking 'bout this week. The original version was done by LR's Syracuse buddies known as The All Night Workers and its soul-garage-drone! The best known version is most likely by our friends The Downliners Sect who make it a little more fuzzy and loud ... Renaissance man Donnie Burkes hits a three-pointer with his version, then w...