BillsBlog Song Of The Day

The Royal Guardsmen -   Bears   (1967) [] January Playlist [] And now we conclude the month of January with a special warning from The Royal Guardsmen... "Bears everywhere." This sounds pretty scary but maybe they were being just a bit bearanoid.         And here is the full January playlist for your perusal...  B i l l s B l o g J a n u a r y 2 0 2 6 Nero & The Gladiators - Entry Of The Gladiators (1961)  Gary Shelton - The Trance (1958) Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Monkberry Moon Delight (1973) The Detergents - Leader Of The Laundromat (1964) Puncture - You Can't Rock And Roll (1977) Ian Whitcomb - This Sporting Life (1965) The Neanderthals - Arula-Mata-Gali (1995) Jimmy Heap - Gizmo (1959) Red Simpson - Hello, I'm A Truck (1971) Mickey Lee Lane - Hey Sah-Lo-Ney (1965) Lost Kids - Cola Freaks (1979) Roger Miller - My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died (1966) The E Types - Put The Clock Back On The Wall (1967) Maximillian - The Twistin' Ghost ...

Dino, Desi & Billy -   Not The Lovin' Kind   (1965) Here we have a jaded jangle by three teenage sons of wealth and fame - Dean Martin (Dino), Lucille Ball (Desi), and their real estate agent (Billy). I don't care much about talk of nepotism, how they didn't write their songs or play their instruments, this song hits just right.  Dino's barely adolescent voice dismissing affection with "cast your tears into the sea, don't waste those good tears on me" is pretty chilling. *Written and produced by Lee Hazelwood with the Wrecking Crew studio musicians on hand.    

Planet Seven -   Lara's Theme   (1997) Hey space surfers. I woke up this morning with some twang in my Tang and a whammy bar in my coffee. Now we have a few minutes to check out this masterpiece of 90's feel good surf rock reworked from the Dr. Zhivago soundtrack. Amongst the many amazing things going on here - space synth, completely locked in and fuzzed out rhythm section - the break at 1:45 unleashes a truly glorious guitar moment for all time. It's also a wonderful head bopper! It can be found on the Mondo Drive-In compilation (1997) for more fun surfy stuff.    

Piero -   Quelle Époque Épique Et Punk   (1979) Salut les mecs. Tonight we've got some wacky French punk madness with what seems to be a Rocky Horror influence as the song (d)evolves. For anyone who knows me, this is exactly my kinda shit . What an epic time and punk!  This can be found on the excellent Bingo: French Punk Exploitation (1978-1981) compilation by Born Bad Records (released 2017). Now feel free to click on this gentleman's handsome face and hopefully you'll have a awesome time.   

Hubble Bubble -  New Promotion   (1977) Hey there Smasher. Check out this wild whistling Belgian alien punk classic. The difficult to decipher lyrics are below. The subject matter may sound familiar... Side note: the drummer here is Plastic Bertrand who had a hit with Ca Plane Pour Moi which is also the backing track for Elton Motello's hit Jet Boy, Jet Girl.     "Silver badge, on iron breast Looking proud, all dressed in black Straighten your tie and brush your boots All's correct, you're looking good Smoking big cigars, you belch and you fart Dreaming of the days when you where in U.S.S.R Gory pigs, get down down Spew your blood and guts on the ground I remember you taking off your breeches And pinning some woman to the ground S.S. Was that your new promotion S.S. Hide yourself now and shut up S.S. Was that your new promotion Silver skull on your black cap Mind you I will twist your neck If you want to confess your sins Don't wait till I pull off your skin"...

White Heat -  Nervous Breakdown   (1979) Good evening. Here's a piece of perfect power pop for tonight's enjoyment.      

Lio  -   Amoureux Solitaires (1980) Good evening. Here's just about the most catchy 3 minutes 44 seconds of French/ Belgian punky synth bubblepop one could possibly experience. My recommendation is to listen to the song and when it's over listen to the song again. It's glorious. See you tomorrow.         

Ambient Noise -   I Was There At The Texas Chainsaw Massacre   (1980) Hey. Here's a catchy punker with silly lyrics about being present at the events of the classic horror flick. It's awesome.    

Jungle Jim  -  Big Fat Oranguman (1971) Hey there, I could barely see you surrounded by all these towering trees. Sure is loud this time of day with all the howler monkeys and screaming pihas. Uh oh here comes a golden poison dart frog, I should probably get going. I'll just post the song to my blog and you can check it out at your leisure... Ok. See you tomorrow.      

The Shocks -  Asexuell (2003) Hey everybody. Today we're gonna take a trip to mid-2000s Germany for some crazy energy punk rock.  I get a bit of a Buzzcocks vibe and love the surprise here around a minute and a half in as the song comes to a dead stop, the bass comes back in, and then boom - shredding time. Exquisite dynamics. Recommend at high volume. For anyone interested the lyrics are translated from German below.  I am sick of romance Of all the shit that calls itself love My condition is fantastic If you go now and leave me alone You ask me what I'm looking for If I knew that, would it be there A world full of something I don't care about the main thing you're not there I'd rather be there Asexual Better than the man in the box I'd rather be there Asexual Better than the doll in the coffin

Jacko -  Me Brain Hurts   (1985) [Australian Footballer Rockstar Video Series Part 2 Of 2] The Yang to The Yin. Yesterday we listened to Warwick Cropper's universal uplifting message of overcoming the obstacles in life by being awesome all the time (I Only Take What's Mine). Today we're taking a look at Jacko's much more specific message - overcoming the struggles of the day after a good knock to the noggin the night before (Me Brain Hurts) with a very simple solution... "I guess I'll have to get by with me body."  

Warwick Capper -   I Only Take What's Mine   (1985) Hey. I just stumbled across this about an hour ago. In my quick research Warwick Capper was a famous Australian rules football player in the 80's. He put out this charming power poppy beauty in 85. And that chanting chorus alternating with the strained passion of his vocals is pure glory.   And BONUS - We get our first video if you like looking at things.  This gives me some kind of instant nostalgia, like I grew up playing it daily on a boombox with a mixtape that some random kid gave me at recess while I was bouncing a ball even though in reality it's all new to me. Pure awesomeness.         

4 Out Of 5 Doctors - Danger Man (1980)   "I play lead guitar for the CIA, in an underground surf band, Bombay." Hey there. I first came across this band in the great 1982 slasher flick The House On Sorority Row where they play a party while slashery stuff happens around them. I went and checked them out and this is my favorite. We get a little Devo herky-jerky sound with some breezy surf solos and a fun story about a Danger Man. It's so much fun. "Sitar!"  

Gary Portnoy  -  Cheers Theme (Demo) (recorded 1982) Cheers! With the Patriots getting the win in the Divisional round and the folks of Boston gathered around TVs at their cozy neighborhood taverns with conversations of Drake Maye MVP or wherever thoughts may go after several lagers and a couple shots, I present a demo of the iconic sitcom theme.  I just came across this a few days ago and find it fascinating. We get the same famous melody and chorus, but alternate lyrics for the verses with such vignettes as "your little angel hung the cat up by its tail", "and your husband wants to be a girl." Understandable why the lyrics were workshopped into the final product but it's nice to hear the process at work. And just to clarify, I'm not a Patriots fan but I am good friends with the greatest Quarterback in the history of Parking Lot Football. See you tomorrow.   

Cherry Vanilla  -  The Punk (1977) Welcome back Smasher. Here's a classic for you to rock out to while I drag myself to couch for the night. See you tomorrow.  

The Society Girls -  S.P.C.L.G.   (1963) Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Little Girls... Here's a strange one. I can't find much info on it, but it's on the excellent girl group compilation Boys Can Be Mean (2012) where it also credits Betty Everett (of The Shoop Shoop Song).  The title makes it seem like it might be a terrifying somber track that plays during a late night ad between SVU episodes about horrible things that happen in our world. Instead we get an energetic uptempo  rally cry for the gals to look out for each other and not put up with wack dudes. And the vocals here are absolutely amazing.        

Jan Davis  -  Mystique (1965) Hey there. I found out today that this is the man who provides the iconic shouts on the Dick Dale classic "Miserlou". That alone is pretty awesome but he was also a session musician for The Ventures and other surfy bands as well as having his own solo career. Here's some sweet sounding exotic perfection for a lovely night.      

Maximillian -  The Twistin' Ghost  (1962) Wow. Here's a spooky little track to twist around with. Maximillian (Max Crook) invented the musitron, composed of " a clavioline heavily enhanced with additional resistors, television tubes, and parts from household appliances, old amplifiers, and reel-to-reel tape machines."   It sounds awesome.        

The E Types  -  Put The Clock Back On The Wall (1967) Hey!    

Roger Miller -  My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died (1966) Here's an absolute classic by the King Of The Road himself...  

Lost Kids -  Cola Freaks (1979) Good evening. Here's a wild track from Denmark back when bands around the world formed and rushed to a recording device to become legendary punk rockers for all time. Love that sizzling lead guitar!  

Mickey Lee Lane  -  Hey Sah-Lo-Ney (1965)    "I got a song in my mind, I've been singing it all day. I'm gonna teach it to you now, come on and answer when I say, Hey!"   Good afternoon Smasher. It's Saturday and I woke up feeling like Humpty Dumpty after the fall. But no more of that, let's get to rocking with this northern soul floor stomping madness from Mickey Lee Lane. I was trying to place the opening vocal melody and realized it's the same as the Sam The Sham classic "Ring Dang Doo", also from 1965. That's a fun double whammy of jabbering gibberish for the dance party.       

Red Simpson - Hello, I'm A Truck (1971) Hello Truck, I'm a Bill...  Here's a sturdy truckdrivin' tale told from the perspective of the truck. How unique.  

Jimmy Heap & His Orchestra  -  Gizmo (1959) AKA Jimmie Heap - Gismo. Check out those crazy horns!          

The Neanderthals -  Arula-Mata-Gali (1995) Howdy. Here's a crazy catchy caveman cut with the magic words for the dudes to talk to the ladies. It's also an instant dance party!        

Ian Whitcomb  -   This  Sporting  Life  (1965) Good evening. Here's a nice soulful reflection on the downside of living that sporting life for too long. I feel that.       

Puncture -  You Can't Rock And Roll (1977) Hey there. Here's punk. Goodnight.  

The Detergents -   Leader Of The Laundromat (1964) Good evening everybody. It's laundry day so I present to you The Detergents taking a goof on The Shangri-Las' girl group classic "Leader Of The Pack." Switch out the motorcycle with a runaway garbage truck and we have a very bizarre story of dirty laundry and a lover lost.  See you tomorrow. I'll be feeling fresh in my hoodie and sweats. "Who's that bangin' on the piano?"        

Screamin' Jay Hawkins  -   Monkberry Moon Delight (1973) Good evening. Here's Screamin' Jay doing some beautiful voodoo on a Paul & Linda McCartney song. Enjoy the madness and let me know if you've ever tried the beverage. If so, please explain... _________________________________________ "She's walkin' in neutral, drinkin' Monkberry Moon Delight."    

Gary Shelton -   The Trance (1958) Good afternoon everybody. Here's a fun little ditty for a cold January day... Performed by Gary Shelton, aka Troy Shondell. I like this guy's style. It's always good to have a couple aliases in your repertoire in case you find yourself hypnotizing people with some awesome music or the greatest quarterback in parking lot football history or become the bar detective that nobody asked for working on a case that nobody else could ever comprehend. Anyway, enjoy your trance. See you tomorrow.         

Nero And The Gladiators - Entry Of The Gladiators (1961) Happy New Year everybody! Now let's hop out of the clown car and into the arena and get to rockin' with our very first song of the day...