Some FEATURED ARTISTS on this week’s Stronger Than Dirt (Saturday, 8-10pm) include Powder, Dazzlers, Ideal, 100 Flowers, Moonie Suzuki, Deerhoof, Ugly Beats, Hammered Satin, new music by Leopardo (Switzerland), Pozi (London), Smirk (LA), Qlowski (London), and YORCHH (Spain), as well as the weekly Dusty Diamond.
PICTURE SLEEVE OF THE WEEK: This week’s picture sleeve isn’t so much about the design, though the photograph is cool enough. Instead, it’s one of those time capsule choices that screams “late 70s new wave.” The Dazzlers were a short-lived band that sprang from the London punk scene that included the Clash and U.K. Subs. Their sound, and clearly their look, were decidedly more new wave than punk, and that’s OK. The “Lovely Crash” single appeared in 1979 on the Charisma label. The photograph is uncredited.
LAST WEEK’S DUSTY DIAMOND (a forgotten gem from the STD vaults): The Von Zippers hailed from Calgary, and were active mainly from the mid to late 90s. Named after a film character, the quasi outlaw biker Eric Von Zipper from the 60s Beach Party movies, they had a classic 90s garage rock sound and schtick (they wore Prussian spiked helmets on stage). “Mighty Red Baron,” a sweaty mid-tempo dancer, channels the Mummies, and is possibly fueled by more than a few Molsons. It appeared in 1995 on a single (their first release) on the Roto-flex label. The cover art was done by renowned Canadian artist Darren Merinuk. Listen to it here:
Promo art from the Arrows’ 1974 “Toughen Up” single on RAK. The design is uncredited.