Although a great many of them are really bad.
Of course, all tracks posted here are owned solely by artists and companies who control their rights and yada yada yada. They are posted here in streaming format only for your momentary listening pleasure (or displeasure).
Some of them may be available on iTunes, but many are not available anywhere.
Theme by nostrich.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Pearl Harbor & the Explosions - Drivin’
Now, when I saw the name of this band, I was immediately on board. Who has the audacity to call themselves Peal Harbor & the Explosions? These guys must be bad ass.
Not exactly…?
According the Wikipedia, “the band had limited success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with their debut single Drivin’, reaching the lower end of the American top 40 charts in 1980.” The vocalist was apparently once married to the bassist from The Clash and put out her own stuff… you can read what little is left here.
But let’s go back to the name for a second. Pearl Harbor and the Explosions. From a name like this, I want screaming. I want a .50 caliber gun firing into my face. I want someone shredding on the burning wreckage of the Arizona.
We get a little bit more from their live performance, as seen in this clip from Episode 19 of Girl George & the Superstars of the Future, which aired in 1979.
But not really. What we mostly get is that the lead singer is super burnt, and might be trying to bone herself.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Borrah Minevitch and the Harmonica Rascals - Jazz Pizzicato Boogie
Ah, Borrah Minevitch. According to this record, produced in 1963, Borah was a true harmonica master, and instrumental in guiding what eventually became the Harmonica Playboys, which is what this band became when Borrah suddenly left (read: died in 1955). Only about four songs on this record are by Borrah Minevitch and the Harmonica Rascals—the rest of them are by the Harmonica Playboys, without Borrah.
Understand? Neither did I, really. Thank God for the internet. After some searching, I found this fantastic bio. On a GeoCities page, no less. Apparently, Borrah Minevitch was one of the hottest vaudeville acts of his time. Also, he was kidnapped by Corsican sailors and held for ransom in 1932, while on his way to Abessinia to go hunting and pay off a huge gambling debt. The New York Times reported on this story (he was rescued).
Borrah made numerous short films. Check out this astonishing video.
One of the Rascals’ popular rivals were Charlie Snow’s Broadway Pirates.
This all actually happened.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Terri Gibbs - I’m a Lady
Terri Gibbs is a lady. She wants you to know it so badly that she wrote a song telling you so, and she put it on an LP also titled “I’m a Lady.” Incidentally, she is a blind lady. She is, according to Wikipedia, “one of only a few blind country musicians.”
I have to say, on the back of her album cover, she appears to be Napoleon Dynamite with a brown wig:
This song makes me think of department store shopping with my mother in 1984, hours upon hours of looking at the beige carpets and vinyl imitation wood floors.
Terri is still kicking around these days. She even has a website.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Alvin & the Chipmunks - I Love a Rainy Night
From the 1980 smash hit album Urbank Chimpunk comes Alvin’s rendition of this… country favorite? Or did it just happen to be a radio hit at the time, so they covered it? Mind you, all the country songs on this album have frequent lyric replacements. “Cowboys” becomes “chipmunks,” “beer” becomes “soda,” and perhaps the weirdest example is when “makin’ music” becomes “playin’ baseball” in the cover of “On the Road Again.” Maybe it’s because there was worry that Willie’s original lyric “makin’ music” might insinuate something sexual? Who knows.
Chipmunk caretaker Dave is on this album, screaming a lot about how the ‘munks are recording the record too late at night. Apparently, his bedroom is too close to the un-sound proofed studio in their house.
My mom bought this record, but not for me. It predates my birth by a year. Maybe she bought it because she loved the movie Urban Cowboy, but then again, who doesn’t?
FYI, Rolling Stone called this album “a piece of shit.”
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Andrea & Hot Mink - Manhattan
Yes, let the first vinyl track of this site be from the Revenge of the Nerds soundtrack.
The only info I can find for the artist(s) in question, Andrea & Hot Mink, is that they recorded a song called “Manhattan” for the Revenge of the Nerds soundtrack. According to Discogs, they may have also put out a song called “Let the Girls Have Their Way” on Rock n’ Roll Records, but hell if I can find it. It’s listed as the A side of the disc, with “Manhattan” as the B side, meaning it must be at least TWICE as good as “Manhattan,” so I’m sure when listened to, the A side immediately deviates your septum with a burst of candy cocaine valley girl madness. Oh well, looks like we’ll have to live with “Manhattan” for now.
Also, Revenge of the Nerds is one of my favorite films of all time, but I can’t for the life of me remember when this song plays in the film. Can anybody else? I mean, we all know what the best song in the movie is.
For now, let us enjoy these woozy synth drums and Bananarama-like vocals, and imagine we’re part of a gleeful teenage shopping spree amidst 1984 New York City.
BTW, it’s available on iTunes here.
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