LE CRÈME DE LE CRÈME DU 60s POP

I’m posting three brassy, loud, wonderful pop songs from 1960s France, sung by three sexy mademoiselles from an era & ethos of a long, long time ago. By way of explanation, I’m going to re-post a thing I wrote on the ye ye girl/Ultra Chicks phenomenon four years ago – then get set to download great songs by ANOUK, CHRISTINE PILZER and PUSSY CAT.

Originally written for Agony Shorthand on April 22nd, 2003:

YOU TOO CAN LOVE LES FEMMES DE PARIS....As I've mentioned before, I've got a real affinity for overblown, loud, brassy, well-crafted 60s girl pop -- the kind with enormous hooks, screaming horns, and a saucy, coquettish playfulness that runs through your better US and UK girl groups & solo artists. But hands down, the queens of the 60s pop hop were the French -- specifically le femmes de Paris and the groovy-to-a-fault "ye ye girls". There is nothing quite like hearing LIZ BRADY's majestic and flat-out booming "Palladium" or CLAIRE DIXON's charm school central ball of fluff "On M'appelle Petit Bout De Chou" to wipe that smug I-only-listen-to-the-13th-Floor-Elevators pout off your beak. And while in the past few years there's been a slightly heightened awareness of these girls' existence, this stuff is still incredibly laborious to hunt down -- even the recent reissues. A tour of the web finds one very solid albeit un-updated site and a bunch of message board posts desperately pleading to all readers, "Please, where can I find this stuff?!??". I'm here to help, folks. These "teenie-bopper doyennes of the Coca-Cola bubble-gum pop culture" were huge in their native France during the rough period spanning 1965-68, when rock and pop continued exploding into smithereens to satisfy the mainstream, the hippies, the drug underground, and of course the teenage kids. I am under no illusion that this music was made for anyone but pre- and pubescent French girls, which in no way negates the craft and genius of these songs' arrangers, nor the power and bite of the songs themselves. The 60s french girls were a roll call of lush first names: VIOLAINE, JOCELYNE, CLOTHILDE, COSETTE, ARIANE, etc. CHANTEL KELLY (who's an absolute dead ringer for Audrey Tatou's Amelie in other pictures and was likely quite a perv-magnet in her day) and the aforementioned Claire Dixon are among the less coquettishly-monikered ye ye girls who have some of the most stomping hits. In the mid-90s the "ULTRA CHICKS" compilations started popping up in better North American record stores, and they continue to do so, with a 5th volume coming out in 2000 and a 6th appearing sometime last year. These are far and away the best starting points for this stuff, if you can even find them. I highly recommend Volumes #1-4, even the one called, um, "Baby Pop", and then the recent Volume #6, which continues the series' winning ways after a somewhat rotten Volume 5. Sprinkled in among these are a few non-French but still ripe international pop bombshells, from places with less mellifluous languages like Italy, Germany and Syria. I found the first 4 by e-mailing some record stores in Montreal until they surrendered the name of the guy who put them out (somewhere I'd read that he was a native). Damn if I didn't misplace that email address through. However, another fantastic series is called "SWINGING MADEMOISELLE", which overlaps a little with Ultra Chicks but might have the higher batting average song for song. These two LPs were put out by Sasha Monet records in France, and when I contacted the guy or gal that runs the label in search of the first volume, he/she told me it was sold out but that they'd gladly make me CD-Rs of both volumes, with a ton of extra tracks plopped on the end of each. I paid a pittance -- something like $12 US, which included shipping -- for both. Contact the label here and see if magic can strike twice. There are a couple of lesser series out there as well -- "FEMMES DE PARIS" have beautiful digipack sleeves but rely way too much on covers of British and American hits en Francais to be of much listening pleasure -- unless EILEEN trying to out-Nancy NANCY SINATRA on "Ces Bottes Sout Faites Pour Marcher" sounds like a good time. Likewise, "SIXTIES GIRLS" have some terrific sleeves, and up the ante by including entire 4-song EPs, but then you get the crap songs as well. Better to sit back and let the programming wizards of "Ultra Chicks" and "Swinging Mademoiselle" take the reigns for you. Hopefully should you decide to dip a toe in this stuff you do so with an appreciation not so much of the KITSCH involved (lame) but of the song craft itself. I'd rank the best of this stuff up against any American 1965-68 summer AM radio hit you care to mention.

Postscript – what’s changed since the thing above was written is the very existence and now-ubiquity of terrific mp3 blogs, several of which actually specialize in ye ye. Check BLOW-UP DOLL, SPIKED CANDY and YE YE LAND – just remember that Detailed Twang still picks the finest songs.

Play or Download ANOUK – “Jimmy Est Parti”
Play or Download CHRISTINE PILZER – “Champs Elysees”
Play or Download PUSSY CAT – “Les Temps Ont Change”

XMAS EVE – ONE OF THE AMERICAN UNDERGROUND’S LOST CHILDREN

I’ve written about it before – I was such a rabid teenage college radio junkie, totally ecstatic about the amazing amount of crazy music that I was hearing for the first time (1980-82), that I would spend hours actually writing down every song that the DJs would back-announce, and then “rate” them. This process gave me an insight into what records to purchase the next time I was in Berkeley, CA, a total record store mecca at the time (Rasputin’s, Universal, Rather Ripped and Leopold’s!), visiting my grandparents. I think I actually drew stars next to the songs – 5 stars was a must-purchase (and that’s how I bought my X “White Girl” 45, only I had missed the name of the band, and I’d really wanted THE VKTMS’ “100% White Girl” instead), 1 star was among the worst songs I’d heard to date. I only remember giving one song the dreaded single star, and I’m pretty sure it was something I heard on the Maximum Rock And Roll radio show – a song called “It’s Your Birthday” by XMAS EVE. Then again, I was 14 years old, and not quite ready for strange, rough, American post-punk jangle (and why this hardcore-only show was playing it, not sure). I’m guessing the song was from a demo tape or something, because there’s no record of it anywhere and it didn’t make XMAS EVE’s one and only 45.

The band were from El Sobrante, CA – I town I actually called home in the early 70s as an exceptionally young man (4 years old to be exact). Later, members went on to the bands YO and EL SOB. I have only heard the song I’m posting for you today, and it’s fantastic. It came out several years ago on an out-of-print compilation called HOMEWORK #5. It’s from 1982, and it exists in a time of rampant experimentation within standard rock and roll forms. It might sound pretty pedestrian to you, but I hear elements of WIRE and THE MINUTEMEN, as well as a tuff & arty presaging of what we later called “college rock” as made popular by acts like R.E.M.. Great track. Anyone know what the others sound like?

Play or Download XMAS EVE – “My House” (from 1982 single)

A SHORT RUN THROUGH A BIG PILE OF 45s

You folks who’ve sent us 45s the past couple months – this is your time. Thanks for your patience and for sending us stuff in the first place. Here are abbreviated reviews of several singles that the mailman brought Detailed Twang recently, along with two I purchased last month:

CHEAP TIME – “Spoiled Brat” 7”EP

Simple, snotty, RED CROSS-inspired rasp punk. Similar in style & spirit to early 90s Texas doofus-punks THE INHALANTS. Album coming soon on In The Red.

THE LAMPS – “Fred Astaire” 7”EP

Hands down best thing I’ve heard from LA distorto-garage kingpins THE LAMPS, debut LP included. Mud-caked primitive shit rock with bleary-eyed depresso vibe to spare.

GEISHA GIRLS – “In The Monotone / Last Touch” 45

Panicky angular 80s rock in the MISSION OF BURMA style, with a dose of Middle Class-ish barked vocals as well. In fact “Last Touch” was lifted straight off of the second Middle Class single, showing some serious class and taste. Not half bad!

CHEVEU – “My Answer Is Yes! / Lola Langusta” 45

(45 is the one pictured above) I remember the A-side from CHEVEU’s wild but star-crossed show last month here in San Francisco, when they essentially fried a P.A. with overloaded analog synth & static-chop guitar. They were outstanding, even though they kept profusely apologizing for almost destroying an entire club’s equipment. No problem! B-side’s the real winner here, a strange slide-guitar country skiffle with electro-drumbeat. Perhaps recorded in the South of France circa ’71 with Mick, Keith, Gram Parsons, and Gary Numan?

TYVEK / CYGNUS split 45

TYVEK are a big recent favorite around this house (you gotta hear “Fast Metabolism”!); I bought this one off the band the same night as the Cheveu show. Their untitled side is a spookhouse dirge, a ’79-style UK-influenced echo-laden weirdo. Cool. CYGNUS are like that, but a comparatively formless, tuneless, dark and impenetrable charnel house of horrors. Decent single, I can think of better ones even in this list.

JUNIOR MAKHNO – “The Theater Of The Macabre” 7”EP

Strange and pleasingly ill-fitting mash of distorted horror rap, electronic tweedling, screams, monster sounds, and manipulations of all sorts. Mostly instrumental, and heavy in every sense of the word. Kindred spirits of the aforementioned CHEVEU for sure.

THE TOUCHED – “Funeral Dress” 7”EP

Loads of chaos, feedback and lo-fidelity cheap punk thrills. Fans of THE LEWD and other alcoholiday-taking, trackmarks-up-the-arms gutter-punk bands will find the spirit dutifully kept here.

TOUCH-ME-NOTS - “Cool Enough For California” / GRAVE BLANKETS “Foreward” split 45

The TOUCH-ME-NOTS jog outside of their comfort zone for a relative ballad, a hooky pop song delivered in their southern fried rockabilly tear-it-up style. GRAVE BLANKETS present a live, loud, distorted blues. Very middling.

TOUCH-ME-NOTS / RED ROCKETS split 7”EP

“Life Of Crime” (no, not that one) is easily in the Touch-Me-Nots’ top five so far, a bouncy, one-take scorcher with a swaggering NY DOLLS feel to it. “This Kind of Music” is nearly as hot, with vocals multi-tracked and echoing off of every surface. RED ROCKETS are standard-issue, government cheese bar punk.

TEENGENERATE’S ONE TO BEAT

In retrospect it’s hard for me to get overly excited about TEENGENERATE, a mid-90s Japanese garage punk band who were a hit with the kidz at the time. They did everything right and yet almost never strayed from an unerring template of fast, buzzsaw-raw, distorted ’77-meets-’81 splatter-punk, with harshly barked vocals and way, way too many covers. Sort of like a whiplash version of early RADIO BIRDMAN or first-LP RAMONES. In the end they won a few hearts, taught a few youngsters how to pogo, and then splintered up into a couple new, similarly laser-focused bands. There is one 45 of theirs that lords mightily over the rest of their catalog, as well as over their likewise unimaginative peers. It’s a 1-sided, two song 45 that came out in 1995 on Rip Off records called “Out of Sight/Pushin’ Me Around”. An absolutely note-perfect, louder-than-loud blast of punk rock blur, with both songs clocking in well under two minutes. A perfect candidate for the “tonearm repeat” feature on your 1970s-era turntable. Or in the digital age, downloading ‘em right here.

Play or Download TEENGENERATE – “Out of Sight”
Play or Download TEENGENERATE – “Pushin’ Me Around”

A YOUNG PERSON’S GUIDE TO JOSEPHINE FOSTER

JOSEPHINE FOSTER’s bizarre, avant-folk songs travel musical history via a ghostly linkage with the Appalachian porch whisperers of the pre-WWII era, with a pinch of the British Isles folk touch to boot. One thing for certain about her these days is that she doesn’t stand in one place for too long – witness her most recent CD, “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing”, a German-language run through 19^th century tunes that was even too much for me to take. Recently I heard some new material of hers and it was weird-ass, free-form noise. It’s OK – I am fully on board, because I think she is a singular talent, and one of this decade’s true originals. I love the delicate complexity of each ringing tone she coaxes out of her guitar with strange tunings and stranger patterns, and with a voice that's equally as eerie (and beautiful beyond doubt), and which goes through every imaginable permutation to get to the deep emotional truth at each song's core. Foster’s lungs take a little bit of patience for the uninitiated, but at least she sounds like a w-o-m-a-n, albeit a woman transported from 16th century England tearooms by way of Mary Poppins films.

I’m picking a representative smattering of five songs from her catalog for ya. Two are from a heavy psych/folk CD she put out with a backing band called The Supposed (“All The Leaves Are Gone"); one is from her second-ever homemade CD-R (“Little Life") – she has about a half-dozen of those, and you can order some of them right here; one is from her fantastic CD from 2005 “Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You” ; and one was a freebie cover song of THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS, whom Foster has collaborated with) on a comp that came with THE BELIEVER literary magazine. All are superlative. If you like this, there’s a lot, lot more to delve into.

Play or Download JOSEPHINE FOSTER & THE SUPPOSED – “Well-Heeled Men” (from 2004 “All The Leaves Are Gone” CD)
Play or Download JOSEPHINE FOSTER – “The Golden Window” (from June 2005 compilation CD included with “The Believer” magazine)
Play or Download JOSEPHINE FOSTER – “There Are Eyes Above” (from 2005 “Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You” CD)
Play or Download JOSEPHINE FOSTER – “Francie’s Song” (from 2001 “Little Life” CD-R)
Play or Download JOSEPHINE FOSTER & THE SUPPOSED – “John Ave. Seen From The Gray Train” (from 2004 “All The Leaves Are Gone” CD)

LIVING IN A WHITE GHETTO

Among the pearls buried on an unduly unheralded late 80s compilation of “driving bands from Los Angeles” called “GIMME THE KEYS” was a band called THE THIRSTY BRATS. There wasn’t a lot to these fellas – their thing was raw, dirty, 50s-inspired drunk-and-roll in the vein of then-current acts like the LAZY COWGIRLS and slightly earlier bands like the SUICIDE KINGS. Little did I know it until today, but SCOTT “DELUXE” DRAKE claims to have been a member of the band at one juncture. I believe him.

(Note, 7/2/07 – Drake not only confirmed this for us, but sent the photograph you see here as proof. It replaces the one we had up previously).

I saw the band one time only, at an all-day free festival/alcoholiday of Trigon Records acts in Isla Vista, California. This’d be around 1989, I’d say. I think the Thirsty Brats might have been hopped up on goofballs, as their set was exceptionally sloppy, the singer harangued the crowd unduly and often, and loads of drunk people danced their asses off to the dirty rock and roll beat. Other acts that appeared that day included CLAW HAMMER, a tripping-on-acid CRAWLSPACE (confirmed to me personally by the band), FEARLESS LEADER (stymied by the Isla Vista Park Service in their attempt to “let a chicken loose” during their set), and MOIST-N-MEATY. In other words, pretty much all the bands on “Gimme The Keys”. Eighteen years later I spin the record and my favorite track not by Claw Hammer is easily “White Ghetto” by those same Thirsty Brats. In fact, I kinda think it’s a classic. Whatever that means.

Play or Download THIRSTY BRATS – “White Ghetto” (from 1988 compilation “Gimme The Keys”)

ASTEROID GARAGE BOP FROM THE ETTES

One of my favorite tracks of the past year is “Reputation” from an LA mersh-garage act called THE ETTES. They say that they are a cross between “Nancy Sinatra + The Stooges + Thee Headcoats + Thee Headcoatees + The Strokes + The Sonics + The Rolling Stones + Compulsive Gamblers + Patsy Cline”. Well there’s at least a few ringers in there, aren’t there? So I got the CD and I wasn’t particularly thrilled by it – but I’ll admit I probably need to give it another spin or two before reflexively chucking it. But “Reputation” is a wowzer. Loud, over-amped multitracked vocals, a killer set of riffs, SIMPLY SAUCER-ish “space sounds”, and all knocking by in under two minutes. A great one, one that it’s hard not to play over and over and over. I’m certain you’ll agree.

Play or Download THE ETTES – “Reputation” (from “Shake The Dust” CD)

THE PROMISED X MASTERWORKS

In our fEEDTIME post a few weeks ago, some mention was made of three tracks from the incredible late 70s Australian punk band X. I said I’d post ‘em – here they are. Here’s what I wrote about the tracks in 2003:

If you ask me, the best pre-1980 Australian punk rock ever recorded was NOT necessarily by the SAINTS. nor the PSYCHO SURGEONS, nor the LEFTOVERS, nor RADIO BIRDMAN -- but by X. The Australian X, of course. The past decade has seen them garner some deserved attention, mostly for the low-profile Amphetamine Reptile reissue of their raw, spastic debut LP "X-Aspirations" (also known by some as simply "Aspirations"). I think they actually topped that monster with their amazing earliest recordings, though: the three tracks "Home Is Where The Floor Is", "Hate City" and "TV Cabaret Roll" that were posthumously cobbled together on the Aberrant Records' "Why March When You Can Riot?" compilation. If these tracks had been put out as a 45, you'd be seeing it on numerous "best punk records of all time" lists, certainly on mine (note: these were put out on a 45 a couple years ago on a US label, now out of print, I'm afraid). We're talking barreling, steamrolling punk rock, but minus the "snotty" vibe and the over-the-top antics that mark some other richly heralded Aussie punk of the era. Not particularly well recorded, mind, but you never cared about that much, right? About the closest equivalent I can think of would be a kindly US punk band like The CONTROLLERS -- not too aggro, not too "punk", but blazing nonetheless. Skip the recent "X - Live At The Civic" CD -- despite looking like it should be an out of control rock and roll juggernaut, it's -- uh -- a bit boring. One last thing: if you now desperately need those 3 aforementioned tracks, you're in luck -- there's a double-CD on Small Axe Records that collects three Aberrant Records comps into one package called "Go And Do It". You can find it here.

Or you can download them right here and put them on your own CD.

Play or Download X – “Hate City”
Play or Download X – “Home Is Where The Floor Is”
Play or Download X – “TV Cabaret Roll”

SONIC'S RENDEZVOUS BAND - “SWEET NUTHIN’”

For years the only way to hear the oft-talked-about, under-heard SONIC'S RENDEZVOUS BAND was to buy an expensive original 45 or cheaper bootleg 45 of the one-song single “City Slang” (with a stereo a-side version and a mono b-side version), trade live tapes or bootleg vinyl (extremely hard to come by), or to buy a semi-legit split LP from France with Ron Asheton’s DESTROY ALL MONSTERS 45s on the a-side and various SRB material on the back, including the stereo “City Slang”. Me, I’ve heard most of what this 1975-80 Detroit-based act had to offer up, and for the most part, it’s just-above-standard-issue FM power rock, electrified significantly by the wild guitar playing of axe hero Fred “Sonic” Smith, late of the MC5. I’d position it somewhere between The Stooges and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, except on the longer tracks where Smith gets to go ape, and then it’s “the 5” all the way. You can read a lot more about them here.

In 1990 I was in a band with a fella who saw the band in Detroit many times in their heyday, and we decided to do an instrumental cover of the song “Sweet Nuthin’” from that French LP. It was so easy to play that even I could do it – but the song remains, especially in this instrumental version, to be a singular moment in their catalog: a sprawling, repetitive, understated but nasty rock and roll mauler. The opening guitar riff is just filthy, as they say in baseball. No need for a 6-CD box set – all the magic’s on the “City Slang” 45 and right here!

Play or Download SONIC’S RENDEZVOUS BAND – “Sweet Nuthin’” (from posthumous split LP with Destroy All Monsters)

WHAT’S IN DETAILED TWANG’S CAR CD PLAYER, IPOD AND HOME STEREO SYSTEM

I don’t quite have the time or the patience to painstakingly write record/CD reviews the way I once did. That said, some of you out there have sent me 45s to listen to and/or review, and I’m going to do just that, in one fell swoop, in the next few days. There’s still an incredible amount of fantastic music being made or compiled, however. Here’s what’s been floating the proverbial boat this past month – all highly recommended:

TYVEK – “Fast Metabolism” download CD
CHEATER SLICKS – “Walk Into The Sea” LP
“REPORT FROM THE COUNTRY” 60s/70s country music comps from Derek Bostrom
THE BAD TRIPS – “The Bad Trips” LP
OPAL – “Early Recordings Volume 2” fake CD
THOMAS FUNCTION – “The Insignificants” EP
MESSTHETICS #103 – CD

SILVER DAGGERS GO SPLITTERTY SPLAT

Last year the outstanding radio show ART FOR SPASTICS gave me my first taste of Los Angeles band the SILVER DAGGERS, and I very much liked what I heard. I know I’m lazy, and do this all the time, but why repeat myself – here’s what I wrote about them in March 2006:

“Los Angeles’ SILVER DAGGERS are part of a new breed of exploratory, pummeling agit-noise acts operating on the NOT NOT FUN label, and for my money, and based on the evidence, they’re the best of ‘em. This EP from last year is a strange mix of aggressive, guitar-heavy EX-style sturm und drang, and freeform honking and tooting. Since they’ve taken their name from an ELECTRIC EELS song, I’m sure you’re as curious as I was to know which era Eels they’re emulating. The early “Agitated”, “Cyclotron”, “Refrigerator” Eels? Or the later “Pleasure Boating”, “Spin Age Blasters” Eels? I’d have to go with the latter, given the jarring sax and clarinet all over this EP, and if there’s not a serious STYRENES fan in the band then I’ll be damned. The lead track “We Didn’t Pay” is a monster, and has got to be a nutbuster live for all of its 75 seconds of pound. This one in particular should win the band fans from those who refuse to believe that Amphetamine Reptile are no longer putting out records. Heads up on this bunch – I suspect they’re not done wowing us quite yet”

So here they are with a brand-new CD on Load Records called “New High & Ord”, and it’s got quite a bit of pummel to go round. The EX comparison is far more evident, even though I think even The Ex would not stoop to title a song “Governkkk”, even during the “No war/no KKK/no fascist USA” Reagan era. But that’s just kids being kids, right? It’s a solid CD – and I still haven’t seen them live. Here are my two favorite tracks (so far).

Play or Download SILVER DAGGERS – “Displacement”
Play or Download SILVER DAGGERS – “Joy”

THE SECOND COMING OF THE ‘FLAG (OR THE FIX)

No, not BL’AST, and not even SUNSHINE SUPER SCUM – I’m talking about this very recent (late 2006) 45 from Michigan’s RED RED RED, one of the most ripping, wild, noxo punk rock records of the 21^st century thus far. Finding information on the band online was a bit of a chore, what with a malfunctioning band website, a poorly-updated page from their current label, and next-to-nothing written about them. After a bit of sleuthing I found their Myspace page, and from there learned that this project contains an ex-member of THE PIRANHAS, a band who, in retrospect, were pretty friggin’ great themselves. A must-purchase is their LP/CD collection of their first two 45s – I wrote about it here.

RED RED RED honestly sound like they were coughed from a rough night of coupling between ’81 BLACK FLAG (with Dez on vocals) and Michigan hardcore heroes THE FIX. It’s that intense and crazed, and I haven’t heard many punk rock tracks this great in a long while. There’s an LP/CD out right now called “MIND DESTROYER” (again, I had to work my ass off to find that out), and you can order it right here. I just did.

Play or Download RED RED RED – “Disconnected” (from 2006 45 on Perpetrator Records)

THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED GLORY OF THE INHALANTS

In the midst of the fireburst of raw, simple, gnarly American garage punk of the early 1990s, a few masterpieces stand out. I’ve been posting a few of them on this site, and have detailed a short list of them here as well. It’s probably time to get THE INHALANTS 45 up, don’t you think? As it turns out, this Texas band put out five 45s in the early 90s, but the one I “adored”, and I don’t say that lightly, is the “Kolchak, The Night Stalker / Middle Ages” single from 1994 on Bag of Hammers records (Jimmy The Bud Man! How are ya!!). I was incorrect only on chronology when I wrote on my old blog:

More Texas ineptitude from a short-lived band who nailed it on their first try. Hectic, sloppy and chaotic in all the right places, played about two beats faster than the band themselves can keep up with. Singer has one of those punk rock voices for the ages, all nasaly and fried like a true barroom poet.

‘Twas their second try. It’s such a demented, joyous piece of genius, one that I’d like to teach the whole world to sing if I can. Get started by clicking the links below.

Play or Download THE INHALANTS – “Kolchak, The Night Stalker” (A-side)
Play or Download THE INHALANTS – “Middle Ages” (B-side)

THE FABLED SOPHOMORE SLUMP

All this jawin’ on the comments section of my GUN CLUB post last week got me thinking about the much-discussed “sophomore slump”, a condition endemic to baseball, television seasons, film directorial follow-ups and of course to rock and roll albums. I figured it might make a great comment-starter to list some big sophomore slumps - records that alienated audiences, lost fans, disturbed critics, or perhaps just annoyed me and no one else. There is of course the opposite phenomenon, which is nearly as prevalent. That’s the band with the good or mediocre debut who then goes on to up the ante considerably the second time around, and record a disc much better than its predecessor. I have a few examples of those as well, though I didn’t think too much about either category, hoping that any readers of this site could do the thinking for me. Let the kerfuffles begin.

CLASSIC SOPHOMORE SLUMPS

Masterpiece debut album/Disappointing Follow Up

TELEVISION – “Marquee Moon” / “Adventure”
THE GUN CLUB – “Fire Of Love” / “Miami”
THE DREAM SYNDICATE – “The Days of Wine and Roses” / “The Medicine Show”
COME – “Eleven: Eleven” / “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
GIBSON BROS – “Big Pine Boogie” / “Dedicated Fool”
CIRCLE JERKS – “Group Sex” / “Wild In The Streets”
PINK FLOYD – “Piper At The Gates of Dawn” / “A Saucerful of Secrets”
UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTIONS – “In The Air Tonight” / “Financially Dissatisfied, Philosophically Trying”
THE GORDONS – “The Gordons” / “Volume Two"
ROYAL TRUX - "Royal Trux" / "Twin Infinitives"
BUZZCOCKS - "Another Music In a Different Kitchen" / "Love Bites"

BANDS THAT BEAT THE SLUMP & EVEN TOPPED THEMSELVES

Debut Album/Superior Follow Up

BIG STAR – “#1 Record / “Radio City”
THE STOOGES – “The Stooges” / “Funhouse”
NEIL YOUNG – “Neil Young” / “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere”
DINOSAUR (JR.) – “Dinosaur” / “You’re Living All Over Me”
LAZY COWGIRLS – “Lazy Cowgirls” / “Tapping The Source"
SUPERCHARGER – “Supercharger” / “Goes Way Out!"
CHEATER SLICKS - "On Your Knees" / "Whiskey"

FLESH EATERS 1981 “RIVER OF FEVER” LIVE!

I’ve written in many other places about the legendary 1981 one-camera Target Video of THE FLESH EATERS during the “A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die” era, but this is the first evidence I’ve seen of it on the web. I haven’t watched the video itself in at least seventeen years. Here’s a snippet from it – kudos to Classics2DVDdotcom to bringing it to the people.