Has anyone else seen the Payless Shoe Source television commercial featuring the HELEN LOVE song Does Your Heart Go Boom? Well I have, and it sort of freaked me out. Speaking of Helen Love, they have a new album coming out called It's My Club and I'll Play What I Want To. It's going to be available on Elefant Records and the first 600 copies will be on pink vinyl.
posted by Sean at 9:15 AM
4 comments
Justin Timberlake has made it well known that he is a fan of the Brooklyn-based band MY TEENAGE STRIDE. And since today is Justin's birthday, we are featuring the song Actors' Colony by My Teenage Stride.
posted by Sean at 9:15 AM
3 comments
TULLYCRAFT is playing a FREE all-ages show at Easy Street Records (Queen Anne location) on Friday, Feb 29th at 8pm. Maybe we'll see some of you there? Today we have a live recording of TULLYCRAFT playing the Magnetic Fields' song Papa Was A Rodeo with Cori taking the lead vocal.
posted by Sean at 9:18 AM
5 comments
The TV Show Fantasy Island premiered on this day in 1978. Scheduled on Saturday nights after ABC's surprise hit The Love Boat, Fantasy Island became a hit and ran for six years. Screen actor Ricardo Montalban played the mysterious Mr. Roarke, and his sidekick, Tattoo, was played by Herve Villechaize. I was tempted to post the Aldo Nova song Fantasy, but I was afraid the reference may be lost on the many of the regulars to this site. Instead, today we have the song Get Out Of Bed by SPRINGFACTORY. Peter Gunnarson and Lina Cullemark (of Springfactory) are both from the band Suburban Kids With Biblical Names. Enjoy!
posted by Sean at 9:31 AM
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The DEPECHE MODE single See You was released on this day in 1982. It was the first single released since Vince Clarke had left the band. Vince had written both sides of Depeche Mode’s first three singles. This time Martin Gore had taken over as the primary song writer. The song would be a huge hit for the band going to #6 on the UK charts. Happy Friday!
posted by Sean at 9:20 AM
1 comments
On this day in 1972, local farmers in Guam discovered Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant who was unaware that World War II had ended. He had been hiding in the jungle for 28 years. In 1944,Yokoi was left behind by retreating Japanese forces and went into hiding rather than surrender to the Americans. In the jungles of Guam, he carved survival tools and for the next three decades waited for the return of the Japanese and his next orders. After he was discovered in 1972, he was finally discharged and sent home to Japan, where he was hailed as a national hero. He subsequently married and returned to Guam for his honeymoon. Today we have demo version of A Lover Sings by BILLY BRAGG from his Brewing Up with Billy Bragg album released in 1984.
posted by Sean at 9:13 AM
184 comments
On this day in 1957, the Wham-O toy company rolled out its first batch of Frisbees. By aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O sold over 100 million units of its famous toy by 1977. Today, at least 60 manufacturers produce the flying discs--generally made out of plastic and measuring roughly 8-10 inches in diameter with a curved lip. The official Frisbee is now owned by Mattel, who bought the toy from Wham-O in 1994. Richard Knerr, the co-founder of Wham-O Inc., died in Arcadia, CA. just last week on Jan. 14. He was 82. Today we have a live version of the song Frisbee by THE LUCKSMITHS recorded here in Seattle at The Baltic Room.
posted by Sean at 9:16 AM
2 comments
The actress Suzanne Pleshette passed away at her home in Los Angeles on Saturday (Jan. 19th). Although she performed in about two dozen films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds in 1963, it was her role as Emily Hartley, on The Bob Newhart Show that brought her the most acclaim. Pleshette played a schoolteacher to Bob Newhart's psychologist character in the series, which ran from 1972 to 1978 and has been ranked among TV's Top 20 shows. The situation comedy revolved around their careers and off-beat friends, as well as Bob's patients. The married couple was childless, a novelty at that time in television. In 1990, Pleshette reprised her Emily Hartley role in Bob Newhart's second television series, Newhart, in which he played a Vermont innkeeper. Pleshette appeared in the last scene of the series' last episode. The scene has been called one of the five most memorable moments in TV history by TV Guide. Many people don't know that Pleshette was the producers' first choice for the starring role as Catwoman in the 1966 Batman TV series, but Julie Newmar got the role when negotiations with her broke down. Another lesser known fact, is that Suzanne Pleshette was namechecked in the TULLYCRAFT song Sent To The Moon from the album Beat, Surf, Fun.
posted by Sean at 9:21 AM
2 comments
Rough Trade Records opened up its first retail shop in London at 202 Kensington Park Road in Notting Hill on this day in 1976. The shop was opened by Geoff Travis and his friend Ken. Their goal was to sell unusual singles, out of print discs and second hand vinyl. Geoff had traveled thru North America and amassed a huge record collection. He shipped these records back to the UK and they became the basis of the Rough Trade Shop. A record label grew out of the Rough Trade Shop in 1978 and also went into the distribution business. The label became independent from the shop in 1982 - then went bankrupt in 1991. Rough Trade Records was re-launched in 2000. Today we have Crashing Through by BEAT HAPPENING from their Jamboree album, which was manufactured and distributed by Rough Trade Records in 1988.
posted by Sean at 9:41 AM
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Johnny Rotten announced his official departure from The SEX PISTOLS on this day in 1978. After a 14 day U.S. tour, Rotten had left the band after their show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on January 14. Malcolm McLaren insisted the band go on, and The Sex Pistols continued, briefly, with Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sid Vicious. Attempts were made at finding a new frontman, but the band ended up with all three members taking turns at lead vocals. The group did not perform live in this post-Rotten period, and soon Cook and Jones would turn against McLaren. Today we have a half-hearted version of the Modern Lovers' classic Road Runner performed by The SEX PISTOLS. Original bassist Glen Matlock, described Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers as "a very, very major influence on the Pistols." And Johnny Rotten even went so far in an interview as to name "Road Runner" as his favorite song.
posted by Sean at 9:26 AM
1 comments
The B-52’s six track EP "Mesopotamia" was released on this day in 1982. It had been almost eighteen months since the band’s last new record. They were joined in the studio by their producer David Byrne. In fact, David was just one of seven guest musicians that sat in on the sessions. The mini-album included the song "Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can." Today we have You're Exactly What I Want by the band THROW THAT BEAT IN THE GARBAGECAN.
posted by Sean at 9:20 AM
6 comments
The 80's English pop band STRAWBERRY STORY has a new song out called Strawberry Boys. Could it be a tribute to the 90's German punk band Demolition Girl & The Strawberry Boys? I doubt it, but I'd like to think so.
posted by Sean at 9:17 AM
3 comments
Thanks so much to everyone who voted in the KEXP Top 90.3 Albums of 2007 poll, and the Three Imaginary Girls Top 50 Northwest Releases of 2007 readers' poll. We were honored to be included on both of these lists. We were also just informed that the new Tullycraft album, Every Scene Needs A Center is still hanging in at #29 on the CMJ top 200, so thanks to all those stations for continuing play us! Today we have THE QUEERS' version of Girl About Town. Have a great day!
posted by Sean at 9:15 AM
2 comments
Marilyn Monroe married baseball legend Joe DiMaggio on this day in 1954. Monroe and DiMaggio divorced after only nine months. She married Arthur Miller in 1956 and divorced him in 1961. She died of an overdose of barbiturates in 1961, a possible suicide. DiMaggio continued to send flowers to her grave every day for the rest of his life, until his death in 1999. Today we have a new song by VAMPIRE WEEKEND called M79 from their self titled debut.
posted by Sean at 3:02 AM
5 comments
The Whisky A Go Go opened in West Hollywood, California, on the Sunset Strip on this day in 1964. Arguably, the rock and roll scene in Los Angeles was born when the Whisky opened it's doors. From rock to punk to heavy metal, the club stood at the forefront of many musical trends. The Whisky played an important role in many musical careers, especially for bands based in Southern California. Many performers made one of their first performances in the area at the Whisky, including The Byrds, Alice Cooper, Buffalo Springfield, The Kinks, The Who, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Roxy Music, Oasis, The Runaways, X, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, The Ramones,The Misfits, Blondie, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, XTC, The Jam, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, and Nirvana. Today we have Looks That Kill by Mötley Crüe recorded live at the Whisky A Go Go.
posted by Sean at 9:20 AM
4 comments
On this day in 1984, CYNDI LAUPER became the first female recording artist since 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards, for her debut album, She's So Unusual. Lauper was nominated for Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. She won the Best New Artist award. Lauper became the first artist in rock history to achieve four Top 10 singles from a debut album, including "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "She Bop," and her first No. 1 single, "Time After Time." Today we have Cyndi's cover of the Prince classic When You Were Mine from her album She's So Unusual.
posted by Sean at 9:17 AM
4 comments
Sylvester Stallone began working on the film Rocky on this day in 1976. The studio was enthusiastic about the script, but they were hesitant to allow Stallone to play the main character. They considered the film as a vehicle for established stars like Burt Reynolds or James Caan. Stallone held out, demanding he be given a chance to star in the film that he wrote. He later said that he would have never forgiven himself if the film became a success with someone else in the lead. He also knew that the studio would "greenlight" the project if the budget was kept low enough. The film was made for only $1.2 million and shot in 28 days. It became a sleeper hit and made over $117.2 million. It also went onto win three Oscars, including Best Picture. Today we have a new song by LOS CAMPESINOS! called Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats from their soon to be released album Hold On Now, Youngster....
posted by Sean at 9:29 AM
2 comments
It's been a while since we've done a Tullycraft Tuesday where we feature a band covering a Tullycraft song, but we recently received a terrific version of Every Little Thing by THE GLOOMBUTTONS. The Gloombuttons are Rachel and David. I'm told they started writing pop songs together after seeing Tullycraft for the first time at the Athens Popfest. I can only assume this must be because they thought to themselves, "Gosh, if this terrible band can put out records, we certainly can!" Rachel lives in Florida and David lives in London, so rehearsals can be a bit tricky to arrange. I hope this inspires other bands to send us some new covers for Tullycraft Tuesday. I don't think any of the songs on the new album, "Every Scene Needs A Center" have been tackled yet.
posted by Sean at 9:19 AM
9 comments
Today we have a new MOUNTAIN GOATS song called How To Embrace A Swamp Creature from their new album Heretic Pride.
posted by Sean at 9:30 AM
1 comments
Hey! Tullycraft is playing a KEXP Audioasis benefit show TONIGHT (Sat. Jan. 5th) at the High Dive. The event is going to be hosted by John Richards, Lisa Wood, Abe Beeson and Hannah Levin and all proceeds will benefit Arts Corps. Other bands playing this evening are: Half Acre Day, Grieves, and Grayskul. Tickets are $7 and the music starts at 9:30PM.
posted by Sean at 3:15 PM
2 comments
On this Day in 1950 RCA Victor announced it would start manufacturing long-playing (LP) records. One side of a 12-inch LP would now play for 23 minutes, compared with four minutes for one side of a standard 78 rpm record. RCA Victor's announcement was actually an admission of defeat, as Columbia had introduced the LP two years earlier, while RCA had countered with the 7-inch, 45 rpm single as their microgroove competitor. The idea was that "albums" would continue to be multi-disc sets of short records, as with 78s. Columbia won, in the album sweepstakes at least, and RCA caved and started making LPs. 45s continued as a medium for singles, propelled mostly by jukeboxes, and even 78s carried on limpingly in the jukebox market until about 1960. Today we have All The Records On The Radio Are Shite by BALLBOY. Happy Friday!
posted by Sean at 9:15 AM
0 comments
The last daily Peanuts comic strip was published in 2,600 newspapers on this day in 2000. Charles Schulz died on Saturday, Feb 12, 2000 - on the eve prior to the publication of his final Sunday Peanuts comic strip. He was 77. Today we have Peppermint Patty by THE OWLS from their new album Daughters And Suns.
posted by Sean at 9:21 AM
6 comments
The Sid Vicious trial for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spingen began on this day in 1979. Out on $50,000 bail, Vicious would die of a heroin overdosed exactly one month later on February 2nd 1979. Today we have Bluetime by SAY HI from their album The Wishes And The Glitch .
posted by Sean at 9:16 AM
2 comments