180 episodes
In The Past: Garage Rock Podcast Weldon Hunter & Erik Komarnicki
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- Music
The usual format is this: we pick a song from the 1950s or 1960s (genres range from garage, R&B, Girl Groups, Motown and Doo-Wop), and discuss three versions of that song, or sometimes we just play a song we haven’t heard before and react to it. We’ve covered classics like “Little Bit o’ Soul” and “Psychotic Reaction” to rarities like “Jump and Dance” by the Carnaby, and “Ringo I Love You” by Bonnie Jo Mason (aka Cher). Our aim is to discuss what makes these songs interesting, ineffable, or even intolerable. We place special emphasis on the “moments” in these songs where, perhaps, a new interpretation will emerge from. A close look at song structure is also present in our discussions. If that sounds academic, maybe it is a little bit, but we like to keep the analysis in the spirit of the songs we speak of – which means we drink some spirits (for Erik, it’s bourbon, for Weldon, it’s Stambecco) – and that means by the third song, things can get a little wild. Basically, we talk about rock!
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Hey Joe
Three versions of "Hey Joe"! But they're all by The Leaves!! The first one is chaotic, the second one is cleaner, the third one is canonical (Nuggets)- but which one blows OUR minds the most? Listen in to hear the song's lore, including the suspicious "original" demo, and more. It's a wild tale, and a wild tune.
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Gara-ha!-ha!-ge Rock: 5 Serious Songs About Laughing
Back with another one of those block-rocking themes! All of this episode's songs center on laughter, but very few of our subjects this week seem too mirthful. The first funny guy is "Ho Ho Rock n' Roll" by Peter Roberts & Sid Ramin. This 1956 tune is mostly instrumental, featuring the goofy guffaws of broadcaster PB set to a "Las Vegas Grind" arrangement. The second stand up song is "Laughing at Me" by Barbara J & The Silver Slippers. A sweet, if paranoid doo-wop/girl group numbe...
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Little Latin Lupe Lu
The very first Righteous Brothers release was "Little Latin Lupe Lu" in '62. It has a slight rockabilly/surf feel, with the great vocals we came to expect, plus the immortal love song line, "She's My Mash Potato Baby"! In 1964, our frat friends The Kingsmen trashed the song, a la "Louie Louie." It's clubfooted, stiffarmed, not soulful, and great. We follow that up with two versions by TWO Dimensions! The first one from Chicago, with some tetanus tambo, and the second a NC band ...
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Bad Little Woman
This week, we take on one of the greatest "she done me wrawng" songs of all time - "Bad Little Woman" by The Wheels. We analyze the religious slant of the song written by these Northern Ireland velocity boys - is the singer's woman dating the literal devil?? Wild screams, a sparking organ, a malevolent atmosphere - this must have went over gangbusters at Belfast's Maritime Hotel on a stormy night. The American version of the song was credited to Wheel-a-Ways, and it's a totally different take...
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So Much In Love
Did The Tymes come up with their 1963 hit "So Much In Love" by repurposing the official song of the United States Army? That's Erik's theory, and we talk about it as well as the tune as doo-wop's "swan song" -its gentle and elegaic quality serves also as a goodbye to a more innocent era. Later in the 60s, Cleveland's The Munx did a bombing raid on the song, which belongs firmly in the "music for squares" camp. Luckily, in 1971, The Persuasions performed a pretty, and very masculine acapp...
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Name That Vid!
At In The Past, we always take things to the next level - some people are still satisfied with "Name That Tune," but we've invented "Name That Vid!" In this episode, your hosts read the Wikipedia descriptos of notable music videos, and try to guess which tune it belongs to. If you grew up in the MTV/Much Music Generation, then you better think quick! As always, the boys use the premise to astutely analyze the past as we ponder the future...
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