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Enoch Light Presents the Fresh Young Sound of The Free Design
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There are 9 messages in this issue of Spectropop.
Topics in this Digest Number 283:
1. sam
From: Alan Zweig
2. RASHKOW, GREENWICH & CO.
From: Mick Patrick
3. Re: Pickettywitch
From: Mike Rashkow
4. Sam the Record Man
From: "Vlaovic B"
5. Re: Cars, Wheels And Analogies
From: James Botticelli
6. RE: new Swing Out Sister
From: Scott
7. Re: made in japan, or made in home record depot:?
From: James Botticelli
8. Diamonds/Solitaires
From: "Paul Payton"
9. The Liquid Room-10/28/01
From: "David Ponak"
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 02:26:59 -0500
From: Alan Zweig
Subject: sam
Rip Gooch wrote:
>
>Sam The Record Man is closing its doors. If any of you
>are in Toronto in the next couple of weeks, don't
>forget to pay a visit to the store in Yonge Street.
>Could be your very last chance to pick up those
>obscure CDs.
It's not closing till at least Boxing Day. The teenager
inside me is sad for its passing. It was an exciting
thing to visit there and cower in fear at the cigar
smoking old men who seemed like hoodlums but were
actually clerks and salespeople.
It was mecca for me back then. Especially when the
other great record store - A and A's - was right next
door. But I don't think I've been there five times in
the last twenty years. I must have gone ten years
without going to Yonge Street period. There are other
places to get pretty well anything you could find there,
except maybe the jazz.
It's kind of neat to think that someone moved here
partly because that record store was here. If that's
true, then that's sad.
But now that you have moved here, you can be happy that
you live in the (approximate) location where Chris
Dedrick lives. That's something.
AZ
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2001 00:50:25 +0000 (GMT)
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: RASHKOW, GREENWICH & CO.
Greetings,
MIKE RASHKOW wrote:
> ... I have no memory of Jean Thomas singing on "Stop,
> Look & Listen" ... I've been known to be forgetful,
> but I don't think she was on this one. Just Ellie and
> Mikie is my memory ...
It was Ellie herself who told me that Jean Thomas was a
member of Les Girls but she did not actually say she sang
on the group's Laurie label 45. I may have put 2 and 2
together and made 5. Lead-singer Mikie sure had a great
voice. I assumed she was black until Ellie told me
otherwise. Of course, one has to be careful not to
confuse her with Micki Harris of the Shirelles.
> ... Rag Dolls? Fill me in ...
The Rag Dolls were a girl-group masterminded by producer
Bob Crewe. Their publicity picture featured lead-vocalist
Jean Thomas with Mikie Harris and Susan Lewis but Jean was
often backed by session-singers on their actual records.
The group's first record "Society Girl" was an answer-song
to the 4 Seasons' "Rag Doll". Hence their name. John
Clemente tells their story in great detail in the Jean
thomas chapter of his wonderful book Girl Groups: Fabulous
Females That Rocked The World.
> ... The three (Ellie, Mikie & Jean) did tons of
> background work during the 60's (Melba Moore would
> often fill a spot if one couldn't make the date) ...
> Everbody used to just call them "the girls" that's
> where Les Girls came from, though ultimately some
> people have stated it had other connotations ...
Other connotations?! The thought never crossed my mind!
However, my friend Charlotte Greig, when interviewing
Ellie for her BBC Radio documentary series "Will You Still
Love Me Tomorrow", asked her about her sexuality. Ellie
told Lottie that, although she was friends with Lesley
Gore, Dusty Springfield, Vicki Wickham and Nona Hendrix,
she was not a lesbian.
Les Girls' "Stop, Look & Listen" can be found on the CD
"Kiss'n'Tell: 30 Works Of Heart" (Ace CDCHD 330) but, to
my knowledge, "I Still Love You", the A-side of this
fantastic single is presently unavailable. Shame.
MICK PATRICK
PS: Attention British Brill Building fans: the A & E
documentary "Hitmakers - The Teens Who Stole Pop Music" is
to be screened at the NFT in London on November 19th as
part of this year's London Film Festival. Click here for
further information www.rlff.com or call 020 7928 3232 to
book tickets.
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 08:01:37 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: Pickettywitch
>
> > Ellie's second single for Bell Records, "(It's Like A)
> > Sad Old Kinda Movie."
>
> Is that the same song as was done by the group
> Pickettywitch on Pye Records in the early '70s?
>
>
If it was written by Macaulay and McCleod, then it's the
same old kind of sad old kind of movie.
Rashovsky
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 12:11:34 -0500
From: "Vlaovic B"
Subject: Sam the Record Man
Geez. 'Where the Girls Are'... What a terrific
compilation! And that weird cover photo! Where did that
come from? The first hint that I might not have been the
only one to have heard of 'The Cake'. Never picked up
the 'Stop, Look and Listen' but wishing I had. And Yes
Micki and Hilda Harris (sisters I guess) , along with
Ellie G. did back up vocals on the first and fourth (Eat
to the Beat) Blondie LPs.
Anyway focus from this Torontonian is the sad bankruptcy
of 'Sam The Record Man'. I do admit that their mall and
suburban locations are soulless and uninspiring; but the
Yonge street location in Toronto is a Mecca for collectors
of obscure music. And their recently closed Website was
tremendous! The downtown store has been in its current
location since 1961 with giant (2 ? story) neon spinning
records on the facade. Just north of the sleaze and grime
of Dundas and Yonge it's a landmark in this city to be
sure. Kind of like what Colony records must have been to
Times Square years ago. The main store front hasn't
changed an iota in at least 30 years (check out the 1970
Canadian film 'Going Down to Road' to see what it looked
like then) Inside it's a warren of rooms, storefronts
and staircases. With its own system of organization and
long box CD cases its an anachronistic jumble to be sure,
but what a mess! Although it's been stated that this,
the flagship store, will remain open indefinitely it
really is a shame for Toronto if it does close. HMV which
is almost next door is pretty characterless, even worse is
the horrible 'Sunrise records' or the scuzzy niche music
shops in the vicinity. If you were looking for the common
(most current CDs sell for less than any other location)
to the obscure (Abba solo Swedish language CDs, Turkish
Superstars, forgotten soundtracks...) there really was no
other place like it. My own memory of shopping at Sams
dates back to when I was not even 10 years old buying
singles at the downtown location in my own hometown. The
Toronto location was always a destination. I can remember
visiting it in 1981 and venturing up to the (long since
closed) third floor and finding an unlimited supply of
sealed 60s LPs (Kingsmen, Supremes, Jay and the Americans,
etc.) all being sold for a buck. Amazing! Even now the
range of their stock is remarkable! Focussing heavily on
imports (at good prices even!) and marked down domestic
stock the place is a music fanatics wet dream. If you've
never been there you're really missing something, it's
how record stores used to be! Tacky, gaudy but beautiful
I'm hoping it lives on. Last night being a warm night,
I strolled down to that end of the city and walked by. It
was still open at 9.30, the records were still spinning on
the facade; it really would be a shame if it were to
disappear, it is quite honestly, my favourite thing in
this city I love. Geez, it's sad
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 22:48:29 EST
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Re: Cars, Wheels And Analogies
In a message dated 11/2/01, spectropop writes:
> Robin Ward's smash hit of the winter of 1963/4,
> "Wonderful Summer", was one of the most heavenly pieces
> of pop music ever recorded. "Winter's Here" was even
> better. "Johnny, Come And Get Me": superior still. "In
> His Car": perfection on wheels. That track was the most
> sublime piece of autoerotica this side of "Don't Drag No
> More"
that piece of writing surpasses even the record itself!
Keep it comin'! I enjoy Spectropop (sometimes, when its
not too wankingly spectoresque, even though I love
Spector....but ya gotta admit, his output was limited in
the general scheme of things!)
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 21:20:09 EST
From: Scott
Subject: RE: new Swing Out Sister
Great band and unbelievable they're so overlooked -
Unique sound and they've gone through some tough
personal times, but continue to push on.
I've always wondered why an act like Sade (whom I like
a great deal), attracts waves of attention, while an
equally talented act like these guys is ignores ...
Scott
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 22:58:43 EST
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Re: made in japan, or made in home record depot:?
In a message dated 11/2/01, spectropop writes:
> But ouch, Japanese import means too expensive. Is there
> any plan to release this new Somewhere Deep In The Night
> domestically?
pay da man....or else prepare to shop at "Record Depot"
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Message: 8
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2001 00:25:26 -0500
From: "Paul Payton"
Subject: Diamonds/Solitaires
Just back from a week away and catching up - but needed
to quickly note that about a month ago the Solitaires (2
of 4 originals, including lead Milton Love) played live
at the UGHA [United in Group Harmony Association]
meeting in North Bergen, NJ. Of course they did "Walkin'
Along" - and it, and they, still rocked!
Country Paul
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2001 16:50:18 -0500
From: "David Ponak"
Subject: The Liquid Room-10/28/01
The Liquid Room, hosted by David Ponak (me), airs every
Saturday night from Midnight to 3AM (PDT) on 90.7FM KPFK
Los Angeles, as well as streaming at http://kpfk.org.
If you're in the Los Angeles area, be sure to check out
the Scramarama festival this Friday and Saturday,
November 2nd and 3rd at the historic Palace Theater
located at 1630 S. Broadway in downtown LA. Artists
performing include Brute Force, The Music Machine, Deniz
Tek and many more. I'll be DJing live there on Saturday
night. For more info, go to
http://www.scrammagazine.com/scramarama.html
Also, I'd like to note that this Saturday (Nov. 3) The
Liquid Room will be participating in the KPFK Fund Drive.
If you enjoy the show, this is the time to call in and
become a new KPFK member (or renew....)
The Liquid Room-10/28/01
1.The Association/Come On In
Birthday (WB)
2.Amon Tobin/Bridge
Permutations (Ninja Tune)
3.The Hollyridge Strings/Shaft
Hits Of The 70's (Capitol)
4.Pulp/The Birds In Your Garden
We Love Life (Island-UK)
5.The Raymakers/Presto (12" Mix)
Wow! Pneumatic EP (Crippled Dick Hot Wax-Germany)
6.The Lou Hoffner Trio/Moog Walk
7" single (Sheep-Germany)
7.The Electronic Concept Orchestra/Aquarius
Moog Groove (Limelight)
8.Bertrand Burgalat/Sunshine Yellow
The Sssound Of Music (Emperor Norton)
9.Beachwood Sparks/Confusion Is Nothing New
Once We Were Trees (Sub-Pop)
10.The Ballroom/Karmic Dream Sequence #1
Magic Time: The Millenium/Ballroom Recordings
11.Springs/The Drifter
Marvelous Springs (Universal-Japan)
12.Van Dyke Parks/Come To The Sunshine
It's A Soft Rock World (Keystone-Japan)
13.Dahlia/The Measles
Quatrieme (Happiness-Japan)
14.Mel Torme/She's Leaving Home
A Time For Us (Capitol)
15.Chet Baker/Come Saturday Morning
The Mad, Mad World Of Soundtracks Vol. 2
(Motor/Universal-Germany)
Guest DJ Set From Kim and Edwin of Scram
Magazine and Scramarama!
16.Brute Force/In Jim's Garage
Confections Of Love (Columbia)
17.The Music Machine/Masculine Intuition
Turn On (Big Beat)
18.Red Planet /Revolution 33
Red Planet (Gearhead)
19.Bangers & Mash/Bangers & Mash Theme
As Primitive As Can Be
20.The Loud Family/Good, There Are No Lions In The Street
Day For Days (Alias)
21.The Loons/16 Story Reflection
7" (Screaming Apple)
22.Radio Birdman/Aloha Steve & Danno
The Essential Radio Birdman (Sub-Pop)
23.Nikki & The Corvettes/He's A Mover
Nikki & The Corvettes (Bomp)
24.The Cynics/Baby What's Wrong
Rock 'N' Roll
25.Harvey Sid Fisher/Party Hard
7" single
26.Brute Force/Sit On A Sandwich
Confections Of Love (Columbia)
27.Fantastic Plastic Machine (with Kahimi Karie)/Subete
Of Yurashite (On A Chair)
Contact (Avex-Japan)
28.The Sugar Shoppe/Take Me Away
The Sugar Shoppe (Capitol)
29.Souvenir/Aux Etoiles
The Soft Rains Of Delta Cephei (various artists)
(Radio Khartoum)
30.Michel Polnareff/Ame Caline
Les Premiere Annes (Universal-France)
31.Figurine/Impossible
The Heartfelt (March)
32.Cornelius/Nowhere
Point (Trattoria)
33.Rolling Stones/She Smiled Sweetly
Between The Buttons (London)
34.Josie & The Pussycats/It Don't Matter To Me
Stop, Look And Listen: The Capitol Recordings
(Rhino Handmade)
35.Jimi Tenor/Utopian Dream
Utopian Dream (Saihku-Finland)
36.Trembling Blue Stars/Haunted Days
Alive To Every Smile (Sub-Pop)
37.The Aphex Twin/Vord Hosbn
Drukqus (London-Sire)
38.Thu Su Yung/What A Sound
Asian Takeaways (Q.D.K-Germany)
39.Spiritualized/Out Of Sight
Let It Come Down (Arista)
40.Spring/L.O.V.E.
The Politics Of Disappearance (various artists)
(Radio Khartoum)
41.Wendy & Bonnie/Children Laughing
Genesis (Sundazed)
42.Ester Drang/Words That Cure Part 1
Golden West (Burnt Toast)
43.The Friends Of Dean Martinez/Wichita Lineman
Wichita Lineman
44.Pulp/Wickerman
We Love Life (Island-UK)
The Liquid Room Love Hour
45.Telex/The Look Of Love
Belgium One Point (Sony-Belgium)
46.Brigitte Bardot/C'est Une Bossa Nova
Brigitte Bardot (Phillips-France)
47.Tim "Love" Lee/One Night Samba
Just Call Me "Lone" Lee (Tummy Touch-UK)
48.Grace Jones/I've Seen That Face Before
Private Life (Island)
49.Serge Gainsbourg/Ballade De Melodie Nelson
(Howie B Remix)
I Love Serge (Mercury France)
50.Bang Bang/Bye Bye Blues
Je T'aime, Je T'aime (Yellow-France)
51.Ai No Rhythm/Onna No Negoto
5" picture disc (Eros)
52.Paul Weller/Wildwood (Portishead Remix)
Boys (soundtrack) (A&M)
53.The Gentle People/Parfum
Simply Faboo (Rephlex-UK)
54.Isaac Hayes/Walk On By
Hot Buttered Soul (Staxx)
55.Paul Williams/Morning I'll Be Moving On
Someday Man (Reprise)
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End
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