I've been listening to The Sweet a lot lately. Wot a quintessentially glammy band. They had it all; big hair, lots of makeup, androgynous outfits, blazing guitars, drumming so sharp it could slice off the top of your head, twee vocals, and wry, poppy tunes (courtesy of Chapman and Chinn) that goofed on sexuality in a way that was pretty shocking (for the 1970s), yet playful enough to get them past the censors and onto AM radio. "A.C.D.C." may be the catchiest song about bisexual girlfriends that's ever been written (admittedly, that's a pretty slim genre of music). I did a search on the lyrics, but Google kept turning up the following mystifying mistranslation:

She got phone
but they call her a bump
she got sick
you wanna see her dingaling

This should be:

She's got fun
but they call her a bum
she's got zing
you wanna see her dingaling

Yeah, I know. Six of one, half dozen of another, but at least the lyrics scan.

In other news, I fly out to Beltsville, MD tomorrow. A veritable cornucopia of high culture and haute cuisine near the Washington DC Beltway, hence the name Beltsville (Oh those clever Marianlanders). As is my habit, I cased the area for Tiki bars with the help of the Tiki Bar Review Pages, which I see has been turned into a smash bestseller called Tiki Road Trip, I'll definitely hafta order this.

The most promising Tiki spot in DC looks to be Politiki, a bar with a selection of presidential Tiki mugs for sale which I simply must possess. It's like Pokemon for adults...gotta get 'em all!

Posted by MrBaliHai at 10:03 AM | Permalink

Today is the fourth anniversary of the tragic death of Screaming Lord (David) Sutch, seminal British rock musician and founder of the Monster Raving Loony Party.

My fondest hope is that he has now become like something out of one of his songs, a hideous, rotting zombie who roams the English countryside terrorizing local Tory officials and drinking in pubs after closing time.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 9:18 PM | Permalink

I'm back, didja miss me?

I had an excellent time in the Motor City. I started off my weekend at The Magic Bag with some old friends...the Yardbirds. Here's what they looked like shortly before their breakup back in the early '70s. Whoa, pass the bong, dude!

I worshipped the 'Birds in my youth for their socially conscious lyrics, blues-pop song structures, and blazing lead guitar solos, courtesy of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page, none of whom are touring with the current incarnation, led by drummer Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja (bassist Paul Samwell-Smith retired back in the 80s). I also sang Yardbirds covers in an LA punk band.

The new members include harp player Alan Glen, bassist/lead vocalist John Idan who's a dead ringer for Jeff Beck and sings like Keith Relf. The best addition to the lineup is the phenomenal former lead guitarist of Dr. Feelgood, Gypie Mayo who looks like a waterbed salesman, but plays his axe like the mutant hellspawn of Jimmy Page.

I wasn't expecting much, but man, these guys blew my skullcap off! They may be geezers, but they played like they meant it. No nostalgia here, "Shapes of Things", "Over Under Sideways Down", and "I'm Not Talkin'" all sounded as fresh as they did 35 years ago. They even have a new album out called Birdland that features guest appearances by Jeff Beck, Slash, and Brian May, among many others.

But I'm still not gonna go see the Doors reunion.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 8:42 PM | Permalink