Some FEATURED ARTISTS on this week’s Stronger Than Dirt (Saturday, February 10, 8-10pm) include Michael and the Messengers, Sparks, Richard Hell, Adam and the Ants, Bongos, Game Theory, Signals, Melenas, En Attendant Ana, lots of new music as well as the weekly Dusty Diamond.
COVER ART OF THE WEEK: “Nuggets: Original Artyfacts of the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968” was a seminal and influential compilation of 60s garage music. Created by Lenny Kaye (before he joined the Patti Smith Group) it was a precursor to the flood of 60s compilations like Pebbles, Rubble, and Back from the Grave that came out in the late 70s and throughout the 80s. Notably Kaye’s liner notes contained one of the first uses of the term “punk rock.” It was released in 1972 on Elektra Records with a cover that featured art by Abe Gurvin and art direction by Robert L. Heimall. (Click on image to enlarge)
DUSTY DIAMOND OF THE WEEK (a vintage gem from the STD vaults): The Leather Uppers are a garage punk band, more precisely duo, based in Toronto. They’ve been around since the early 90s and bill themselves as “Canada’s National Treasure.” “1000 Lashes” is classic Leather Uppers, catchy high energy garage punk with lyrics that make me chuckle. (“A thousand lashes with a wet noodle… on my heart!”) It appeared in 1994 on the essential “O.K., Don’t Say Hi” CD album on Past It Records (and reissued on vinyl in 2002 on Pantsuit City Records). Listen to it here:
Promo art from Sparks’ 1973 “A Woofer in Tweeter’s Clothing” on Bearsville Records. Photo by Larry DuPont.