PREMATURE BOWL CUT

Two and a half minutes to get noticed. Start with a guitar lick or some organ, up the tempo, throw in some fuzz and maybe some harmonica and, by all means, try to sound like you're a tough guy. Remember, job #1 is to piss off the parents. Okay, maybe getting laid goes before that, but now you're thinking about it too much. Just plug in and keep at it. If you can't write songs, lean on covers. Just remember, sound tough, piss off parents and get laid. What? Money? It's way too early to start talking about money.

Here's a handful of random garage sides. It's Friday, they sound good. [He sneers.] Soccer moms and scout dads, the pot luck is across the street.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Rationals - I Need You mp3 at Internet Archive
Third Bardo - I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time mp3 at Internet Archive
The Woolies - Who Do You Love mp3 at Internet Archive
The Uniques - You Ain't Tuff mp3 at Internet Archive
The Count Five - Declaration Of Independence mp3 at Internet Archive

THIS WOULD BE THE "LOOKING DOWN" SHOT

When all else fails, it's back to the garage. Here's four random cuts I ran across. A Count Five cut that isn't "Psychotic Reaction" and a Music Explosion cut that isn't "Little Bit of Soul". There's a certifiably crunchy cover of the Kinks' already crunchy "I Need You" and another by the lesser known Harbinger Complex because, well, fuzz.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Count Five - Declaration Of Independence mp3 at Internet Archive
The Music Explosion - Let Yourself Go mp3 at Internet Archive
The Rationals -I Need You mp3 at Internet Archive
Harbinger Complex - I Think I'm Down mp3 at Internet Archive

THAT'S A SWINGER?

Following a few links today, I ran into a video of Swingin' Time with Robin Seymour, a Detroit TV show from 1966.  What makes this worthy, apart from the variety of acts on the show, is that it appears to be the complete show, a 48 minute time capsule of what swingin' teens were tuning into in Detroit.  Robin Seymour was a DJ turned TV host, and Swingin' Time was on several times a week.  The line-ups feature regional acts, as well as national acts passing through town.  Obviously, being Detroit in the sixties, there were Motown acts to choose from: Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes.  Others included Frank Zappa and the Mothers (a couple years before they were at the best place around), James Brown, Dionne Warwick, Wayne Cochran, Bob Seger and the Last Herd and, if comments on a Stooges forum are to be believed, the MC5 and the Stooges.  Quite a salad bowl.
 

One band that Seymour was particularly fond of was the Rationals.  They appeared on his show more than any other band, and he apparently helped them get airplay, and assisted in getting their sole long player released in 1970. They open the show below, followed by Buddy Lamp, Tom & Jerrio, the Magnificent Men, Charlie & Inez Foxx, and, yes ladies, Wayne Cochran.  There's also a few songs by the Rationals below.  "Respect" is notable because the Rationals' cover predated both Aretha Franklin's cover and the Vagrants'.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen: 
The Rationals - Respect mp3 at The Calico Wall 
The Rationals - Feelin' Lost mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
The Rationals - Leavin' Here mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
The Rationals - Gave My Love mp3 at The Rising Storm
Video (all from Swingin' Time): 
Bob Seeger and the Last Herd - Eastside Story at YouTube
Question Mark and the Mysterians - 96 Tears at YouTube 
The Spike Drivers - Strange Mysterious Sounds at YouTube "I'm lo-oo-osing my mind"  Hilarious.
Visit: 
The Rationals official site