Bubblegum!

Date:
March 16, 2009

Miracler:
John Gunther

General notes regarding this mix
It's all vinyl, baby. Clicks and pops are the real thing and intentionally left in to keep it Bubblegum-in-the-baseball-cards real. As a result, some songs are served up regular and some extra-crunchy, depending on how many plays they received back at the Gunther homestead.

Yeah! Liner Notes. Chew 'em up.
1 Ah, classic bubblegum pop. Actually, the only Partridges to perform were David Cassidy (Keith) and Shirley Jones (Shirley). The rest of the “band” was a group of some of the most talented and sought-after singers, songwriters, and studio musicians of the time. The episode featuring this song included Richard Pryor and Lou Gossett, Jr. As Keith mentions during the episode, the song is “sort of an Afro thing”. Yep, dripping with African musical sensibilities, this song was written 16 years before Paul Simon released “Graceland”. 1970 Funky video of the Partridges and friends "playing" the song here.

2 The alter ego of Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Klark Kent released this boppin’ solo effort in 1978, and plays all the instruments himself. Copeland’s father was in the CIA, and he grew up in the Middle East.

3 As most of you already know, The Buggles’ version of this tune was the first MTV music video ever. However, it was first recorded by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club, which included “Tom” Dolby on keyboard. Woolley co-wrote the song with The Buggles’ Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes. 1979

4 Named after the sci-fi movie, Westworld was formed in 1986 by ex-Generation X guitarist Bob “Derwood” Andrews, American singer Elizabeth Westwood and drummer Nick Burton. Comic book meets glam-punk-beatbox bubblegum. 1988

5 The squeaky-clean side of the British Invasion. This song (co written by Carole King) was No. 1 in the UK and No. 13 here in 1964. They went on to record some US No. 1 hits, including the dreadful “I’m Henry the Eighth I Am”. Peter Noone (Herman) is currently touring the US, but why?

6 Though never huge commercially, Marshall Crenshaw is a brilliant songwriter with wide critical acclaim. Crenshaw played Buddy Holly in the 1987 film “La Bamba”. 1982

7 Of course this is here! Originally a minor (and pretty cool) hit for The Strangeloves in 1965, Annabella Lwin made it all her own with Bow Wow Wow in 1982. Hate the song? Pull up the video and turn off the sound…

8 A No. 1 hit from the original made-for-TV bubblegum band in 1966. Derisively called the “Prefab Four”, the members of The Monkees were actually very friendly with the all of the Beatles.

9 Is anyone as cool as this guy? 1978

10 This band is why the other The Beat had to add “English” to their name in the US. These guys are known as Paul Collins Beat in the UK. This tune is from their 1979 debut album “The Beat”, considered by many a power pop classic.

11 Bonnie Hayes should be a household name, but her performing got overshadowed by her writing. She wrote the smash “Have a Heart” on Bonnie Raitt’s breakthrough album “Nick of Time”, among many others. She still performs occasionally at small clubs around the Bay Area, and shouldn’t be missed. 1982

12 Half pirate, half court jester, Adam Ant (aka Stuart Goddard) was once in a band called Bazooka Joe. 1982

13 When not fronting the brooding, edgy King Crimson, Adrian Belew produces lighter solo fare, like this 1989 ditty from “Mr. Music Head”, on which he plays all instruments. Belew has also done extensive session work with Talking Heads, David Bowie, Tori Amos and many others.

14 I know I’ll catch hell for this one. 1975

15 American girl transplanted to England as a teenager. Lovich worked as a go-go dancer and recorded screams for horror movies before joining Stiff Records in 1978.

16 Berserkly Records’ answer to the Bay City Rollers? So sappy, so catchy; bubblegum at its best.

17 Even dinosaurs like bubblegum.

18 Invented punk. But not always hard core. From Too Tough to Die in 1983, probably their last decent album.

19 Why are you looking at me like that? Debuted on the Eurovision TV contest in 1974. Won.

20 Bubblegum from The Clash? You bet. From rock and roll’s best album of all time, 1979’s “London Calling”. Interestingly, this little foot-tapper is not listed on the album cover, the record sleeve, or the label. Hmm… They say it was a scheduling issue with the printer. I say they were embarrassed. What really happened? The song was written one night and recorded the next day as a promo giveaway for New Musical Express magazine. When that deal fell through, they just stuffed it on the end of London Calling, where it’s stuck out like a big, pink, sore thumb ever since. This song was never meant to share album space with “Death or Glory”.

Mix is here.