Stereo Embers: The Podcast Alex Green Online

"Planet Girls"

Sponge's new album Planet Girls is a thrilling listen. But here's the thing: it isn't new. Recorded back in 1999, when the band turned the record in to the company, the folks in charge didn't think the material would connect with the current cultural zeitgeist. So what did they do? They shelved it. Big mistake. A dynamic blast of hook-laden power and melodic muscle, Planet Girls brings to mind a scruffy blend of Cheap Trick and Stone Temple Pilots. And here's the funny thing: the album can't be placed on any timeline--it sounds as fresh and as vital as ever. Over the course of their multi-decade long career, Sponge have done it all: played Lollapalooza, appeared on Letterman, toured the world, opened for Kiss at Tiger Stadium and had hit records like Rotting Pinata and Wax Ecstatic. Singer Vin Dombroski is one of the most charismatic frontmen in recent memory and also a thoughtful and engaging conversationalist.

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"A Few Good Moments"

So: how much of a legend is the Winnipeg-born Burton Cummings? Well, let's just start with these few facts and we'll work our way backwards. He's been inducted into both the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and
the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He's been named as an officer of the Order of Canada and both the Burton Cummings Theatre and the Burton Cummings Community Centre in Winnipeg are named after him. I mean, should we even keep going? We will, but there's no need. Legend status full cemented. But here's more: Cummings joined The Guess Who as a young lad of 18 and within a few years the band was an international sensation. They're the first Canadian act to land an American Number One with American Woman, and they had a wildly successful run of albums including Wheatfield Soul and Share The Land.
After the band dissolved in 1975, Cummings launched a solo career that was decidedly huge. His first effort yielded the massive single Stand Tall, which sold over a million copies in the United States alone. He's put out close to ten albums, snagged six Juno awards, put out a book of poetry, sang background vocals for Eric Carmen, got a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame, did
some acting and toured the world. He's got a new album on the way and we chat about that plus a whole lot more. The fact is, he has one of the most powerful voices in music history--it's a brilliant balance of muscle and soul and his vocal precision is practically peerless. I want to say this before we begin--Burton Cummings may be a legend, but his kindness is as legendary as his achievements--he's one of the nicest guys ever,

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"Detroit Soul"

The six-time Grammy-Award winning Don Was' resume has more highlights than a Steph Curry career retrospective. It's just three pointer after three pointer with this guy. The Detroit-born musician, producer, film composer, documentarian and record executive got his start in the high school outfit The Saturns, but his band Was (Not Was) is the one that put him on the musical map. A kind of New Wave soul outfit, Was (Not Was) put out a handful of fabulous albums, and had a few hits before calling it a day. From there he
became the music director and consultant for movies like Thelma and Louise, Toy Story, Honeymoon in Vegas and The Paper. He produced albums by the B-52's, Iggy Pop, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones, Kris Kristofferson, and Bob Dylan, directed the Brian Wilson documentary I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, and snagged an Emmy for his work on the CBS special "The Beatles: The Night That Changed America." Remember, this is just a partial list. He's hosted a show on Sirius XM, been in a band with the Dead's Bob Weir, led the house band at the Library Of Congress and currently serves as the President of Blue Note Records. Oh, and he's the voice of Neville the Dog in the children's show Pete The Cat. His new band Don Was And The Pan-Detroit Ensemble play a raw blast of fevered R&B and kinetic soul. An energizing mix of originals and covers, their sound is a dynamic blend of feral grooves, prowling basslines and pure musical joy. They're on tour for the rest of the month and the beginning of June with more to come.

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"Bloodbrothers"

The Bronx-born Richard Blum took his love of wrestling and Catskill Mountains humor and created Handsome Dick Manitoba, the wildly charismatic frontman of the legendary proto-punk outfit The Dictators. Along with his childhood best friend Scott Kempner, Andy Shernoff, Ross Friedman and Stu Boy King, The Dictators tore out of the gate with all the fuel-injected energy of the MC5, and absolutely demolished the stage with high octane live shows that were nothing short of legendary. Although not huge commercial successes, albums like Go Girl Crazy! and Manifest Destiny were instant classics and still sound as urgent and alive as they did over 40 years ago. So why weren't they commercial successes? I don't know. The Ramones had their leather jackets, and The New York Dolls had their sleazy glamour, but hook of The Dictators was a mystery? I mean, come on--a fevered cultural cauldron of cars, girls, television, and raging weekends, The Dictators' hook was simple: it was an adrenalized and fevered vision of the modern world, simplified into three minute blasts of feral punk wrath. But it was also funny. A big Jewish flex of humor and irony, The Dictators weren't messing around about messing around. They were enjoying themselves. Using an updated blast of Borscht Belt comedy with youthful frustration, The Dictators weren't a high concept band--they were economical in their approach and somehow this went over a lot of people's heads and even though their members had nicknames like Top Ten or The Boss or... Handsome Dick Manitoba, they were taken literally and not ironically and the point of the fun was totally missed. They covered The Stooges and Sonny and Cher, they even took a gleeful stab at California Sun--not too shabby for kids from New York, Look, the songs are as timeless and anything The Ramones or The Dolls ever did, and their lack of massive success seems a huge generational oversight, but what can one do? The band dissolved like bands do, Handsome Dick later fronted Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, fronted a later iteration of The MC5 and is now playing under his own name with a killer band behind him.

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"Anniversary"

Abigail Lapell is one of the most arresting voices in modern music. The Canadian-born singer-songwriter has been on an undeniable winning streak since her 2011 debut album Survivor. She followed that up with stunners like 2017's Hide Nor Hair, 2022's Stolen Time and her brand new one Anniversary. We'll get to Anniversary in a second but before we do, here are a few things
to know about Abigail. Aside from snaring honors like the Canadian Folk Music Award, the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award, the Toronto-based musician has scored a Canadian folk radio #1, logged close to 50 million streams and been quietly forging a reputation as a heart-stopping live performer, knocking people out at SXSW, the Edmonton Folk Fest and POP Montreal. Her new album was recorded with Tony Dekker of the Great Lake Swimmers in a 200 year old church in Niagara on the Lake and it's a riveting listen. Filled with haunting percussion, musical precision, and folky finesse, Anniversary is one of the most achingly beautiful albums of the year.

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"The Clocks Are Out Of Time"

The East London outfit The Jack Rubies may have gotten their start in 1987 and quickly fired off two brilliant albums--1988's Fascinatin' Vacation and 1990's See The Money In My Smile--but that was it; they literally dropped off the musical map. And it was a weird disappearance because they were poised for big things--they had critical acclaim, they'd toured with The Triffids, They Might Be Giants, Modern English and the Blow Monkeys and were fan favorites on MTV's 120 Minutes. So what happened? Where did they go? Well, the short answer to the first question is, they went on hiatus. And the short answer to the second question is New York, North Carolina and England. That clears nothing up, right? Let me help a bit: The musical landscape was changing, things got weird with their record company, they were young men acutely aware of getting older and it just didn't seem to make sense to go on. I'm oversimplifying, but that's kind of the gist of it. The band's singer Ian Wright will fill in the gaps. Bummed as fans like me were that they were gone, the good news is they're back. Firing with the same melodic accuracy and pop smarts that endeared them to fans in the first place, the Jack Rubies' third album Clocks Are Out Of TIme is a startling and welcome return to form. Filled with unforgettable hooks and lyrical smarts the Jack Rubies are not only back, they're back with their original lineup. And this isn't just unfinished business--there's more music on the way.

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