I Have Never Heard These Bands That Start With The Letter M

Minny Pops were a Factory band. They made little impression on me. I strongly suspect they too have their adherents here though...

Middle Class - first hardcore single ever, probably, in 1978 - LA band fast as fuck for the time, pretty good.

Malaria - synthy post-punk ladies from Germany, early 80s, Chicks On Speed covered one of their songs. I have a remix album that came out about five years ago, but it's not terrifically good

In order:

Minimal Man: SF-based dude on Subterrenean and then elsewhere who was friends with Tuxedomoon. First album The Shroud Of now rereleased through LTM -- slots in with early T-moon, Chrome, etc. Pretty good actually.

Minny Pops as mentioned, also LTM rereleased. I like 'em but they're pretty low key.

Modern Eon -- the Great Lost Early Eighties UK Band (now that the Homosexuals got rereleased). Tim Finney has the best write-up on them in the archives somewhere.

R. Stevie Moore -- the original home recorder or something, eight million albums and tapes. Friendly enough guy, Sparks freak, was on the Sparks list I ran for a while, and maybe is still on.

Elton Motello -- the dude! The guy who wrote/sang "Ca Plane Pour Moi," which then became "Jet Boy Jet Girl"! Etc.

I am enjoying these lists, by the way...

Ladies and gentlemen, The Jam, only from a different town.

I thought it was the other way around. Motello did "Jet Boy Jet Girl" and Plastic Bertrand did the "Ca Plane Pour Moi." Anyway, I had the Motello record before the latter. "Jet Boy Jet Girl" had the repeated hook, "He gave me head -- Hoo hoo hoo hoo" and "I'm gonna make you be a girl," nothing of which seemed to be in the Bertrand version. Or else I wasn't listening closely enough.

Mortal Micronotz were a Kansas indie-altie rock band. Chuck liked them.

Man Sized Action -- Part of a long tradition of boring Chicago post-Pezband/pre-Green (er, maybe even pre-Naked Raygun/Effigies) powerpop. Or something. I dunno, maybe they weren't boring. Or even powerpop. But I'm pretty sure they were from Chicago.

Paul Marotta (solo) -- The Mirrors guy, right? From Cleveland? Avant solo piano (I think) stuff. Kinda nifty, though not as nifty as his Mirrors stuff. Unless he was in the Styrenes instead. (Well,actually, all of those Cleveland guys were in all those Cleveland bands...)

Men & Volts -- New England off-kilter Beefheart fans, or okay maybe Hampton Grease Band (Dixie Dregs?) fans. Kinda rootsy like 2nd/3rd album Meat Puppies, though less so, okay maybe more like Minutemen. I reviewed them in the Boston Phoenix once, actually.

Method Actors - Athens off-kilter art-punk funksters. Not as good as Pylon; probably better than Love Tractor (who weren't bad) (and whose name rhymed with the Method Actors) though.

Mo-Dettes -- Brit sub-Lilliput artpunk goils, I think. Didn't they do "White Mice Disco" or soemthing like that? It was on some compilation CD a few years back

Morells - The pride of Springfield Missouri, later turned in the Skeletons, or maybe they were the Skeltons first, or only one guy joined the Skeletons. Vaguely rockabilly-ish/proto-alt country (the roots of Uncle Tupelo? only better. But not *that* much better)

Micronotz/Mortal Micronotz -- Best band ever to come out of Lawrence, Kansas, probably. Slightly Stoogey teenage punks. I was a big fan of their first album and followup EP; even used to own a cassette w/ stuff they recorded BEFORE the first album. (A Lawrence compilation I guess). I don't own any of it anymore. One of the first bands I reviewed in the Voice; Xgau turned down my initial pitch, and then I convinced him by saying I was going to emphasize a growing up bored in the Midwest nowhere motif. Which eventually became one of my early shticks, I guess. How sad I don't own any Micronotz rekkids anymore.

Elton Motello -- Did "Jet Boy Jet Girl," the English language version of Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi"; contrary to some early new wave guide books, they were apparently two different people. (I go into a paragraph or so spiel on all the competing covers of these songs -- all of which are great by definition) in the Jet Boy chapter of my second book.) The album with "Jet Boy Jet Girl" was always too expensive to buy (it was easier to find on gay disco comps around then), but Elton Motello's more robot-pop second album is always around everywhere, cheap, to this day I think. Nothing as good as "Jet Boy Jet Girl" on it, of course, but it's still worth looking around for.

Motor Boys Motor -- Brit blooze punks, later evolved into the excellent Screaming Blue Messiahs, one of whose main riffs is accidentally swiped in the title/opening track of Miranda Lambert's very good *Kerosene*, currently the #1 album on the country chart.

Mutants (San Fran) -- Never heard them, but the DETROIT Mutants (of "So American" fame) were cool, and got their self-released 45 played on Detroit AOR stations in 1979 that I much preferred to the Romantics' self-released 45 ("Tell it to Carrie") that got played regularly on Detroit AOR stations the same year, before they got famous (and better -- if you're gonna buy a Romantics LP, go for the second one, *National Breakout*, obviously)

Ladies and gentlemen, The Jam, only from a different town.

Imdeed, so much so keyboardist formed the Style Council with Paul Weller.

Indeed, so much so keyboardist Mick Talbot formed the Style Council with Paul Weller

The Morrells were too "peppy" and 60s-pop-influenced to qualify as alt-country. Their hook was a beehived middleaged gal keyboarder.

Man Size Action came way after powerpop/Pezband, more of the Big Black generation. Might've even been from Minneapolis?

Method Actors were no way better than not-bad Love Tractor IMHO. But now that I think about, haven't listened to either in years so who knows? Do hearts still skip a beat for Pylon? That Athens scene feels like ancient history this afternoon.

And mentions of the Detroit Mutants and Skafish in the same day! The flip to "So American" was of course the imortal "Piece O' Shit." HAHAHAHAGAG

And the Elton Motello CD is too expensive, also. Toobad, because "I Am The Marshal" was also a great song and many more people should hear it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00020H2JU/qid%3D1113157194/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-9133968-6622246

R. Stevie Moore was home-recordist of quirky pop songs who used to release lots of cassettes, I think, some of which made it into records. New Jersey based? He also made it to the age of CD.

from the American Hardcore book:

1978 7" EP (Joke records): "Out Of Vogue; You Belong; Situations; Insurgence" Jeff A - Vocals * Mike A - guitar * Mike Patton - bass * Bruce Atta - drums [surely a different Mike Patton]

And the first strictly Hardcore record? That's up to debate. If you lived on the West Coast, you'd say the "Out Of Vogue" single by Middle Class of Santa Ana, who played an ultra-fast, monotonal style -- two minutes per song max. East Coasters would cite Bad Brains' legendary "Pay To Cum" 7"

LOU BARLOW (Deep Wound): The Middle Class 7" -- I'm convinced that is the first Hardcore record. I got it before I heard Minor Threat. I got the first Meat Puppets 7" too -- a whole other side. It resonates deeply to me because it's fierce yet melodic ... a real sense of melody and soul. There were so many weird, cool bands for a while. It was people craving noise.

JACK RABID (editor,The Big Takeover): Anyone who heard "Pay To Cum" by the Bad Brains had to have a copy. There was nothing like it. Then I heard "Out Of Vogue" by Middle Class, and around the same time Rhino 39's Dangerhouse single came out. But those groups weren't nearly as good as the Bad Brains. "Out Of Vogue" may have predated "Pay To Cum" but it's not all that good ... a historical piece, the first of its kind, but it had no impact. Without question, The Germs' album impacted the most. The DC scene owes its entire raison d'être to "Pay To Cum."

(and ok, i guess you're right about neg approach; I can never remember where they fit in. but again, what about the necros?)

TS: The Prats vs. The Silver

I had a Men & Volts album at one point,I think it was one of their later ones. Off-kilter Mid-West pop, they were a like a comfort blanket version of Pere Ubu. Had seen them compared to MX-80 but the thing I had was frankly no way as noisy or as good as that. Maybe they were more like Mofungo. Pals of Kramer and the main guy (Dave Greenberger) ran that 'Duplex Planet' fanzine. Scott, you must have read about these fellows in Chemical Imbalance all the time!

(oh and I had a Green album too - Elaine McKenzie. Didn't like it all that much, but it did have one really good pop song on it, 'Radio Caroline'. That guy had a horrible voice though.)

The only R.Stevie Moore track I know is "I Wish I Could Sing" from 1978. I remember mentally filing it along with the quirky-modern Akron lot.

i still have a chemical imbalance 7-inch. it has mofungo and galaxie 500 on it. and maybe daniel johnston. yeah, i remember the name men & volts and i remember seeing the records, i just never heard any. David Greenberger lives next to my dad. They are pals. i never understood the game theory love in chemical imbalance. but maybe i never heard the right album.

thats the english version of 'solang man traeume noch leben kann'! i had no idea such a thing existed. 'herz aus glas' is worth a listen as well if you dont mind falsetto singing and plodding paul mccartney style production with italo disco leanings; it has a very catchy chorus

Well good for your Dad, cos Greenberger always seemed like a really nice guy in those pieces, both interesting and thoughtful. Never really tried to hear Game Theory, never seemed like my sort of thing.

Hmmmmm.

So I read a few columns and thought they were supremely wretched, the idea bankrupt and exploiting just for the sake of weirdness, and never sent the records.

they were also kinda very very good, though, yeah, not one of the best 100 ever. it's bar-band rock played with twang, taste, lots and lots of humor, and no doubt lots and lots of coasters LPs lying around the living room floor. they became the skeletons after they were the morells and made exactly the same kind of music. they were a damn good backing band for jonathan richman (on jonathan goes country), dave alvin and sundry others.

minny pops were one of factory's oddest bands, which is saying something. there's not an ounce of pop in their songs but they're still compelling enough to be worthwhile.

the only modettes song i know is 'white mice' and it's brilliant. i can't tell if the vocals are in english or not.

I remember one of the Modettes girls had very striking Joan Crawford-ish eyebrows, for the time.

As I recall, though, they did indeed turn out to be Mortal, as one of the main guys, as I recall, commited suicide a few years ago. Sad. (I went back and read my 20-year-old Voice review this morning; pretty sloppy writing, but it made me really want to hear "Subterfuge" on that *Fresh Sounds from Middle America* tape and "Song 16" from the first album again. I wonder if I ever will. I also wrote about their subsequent 12-inch and 7-inch EPs, which didn't sound as good, judging from what I wrote, though who knows, maybe I was wrong. Also, they had a fellow named Steve Eddy in the band. I'd forgotten that!)

Modern Eon - whew! 'Fiction Tales' is wonderful. After 10 seconds you know they could only be from Liverpool, just like The Wild Swans or OMD. It's that Catholic thing running through the music. I think drummer Cliff Hewitt, and maybe someone else from the band, are involved with Apollo 440 now.

Middle Class: two tracks (definitely "Out Of Vogue" and I think "Situations") were released in the UK on Fast Product?s third(?) Earcom compilation. I think I?m right in saying that Jeff A (Vocals), Mike A (guitar) and Bruce Atta (drums) were brothers. Jack Rabid is a good man and a fine man and what ever he says about the impact and historical significance of these items is above question by a mere mortal like me ? however I can't remember whether I heard "Out Of Vogue" before "Pay To Cum" or vice versa but at the time they were both equally good and equally thrilling. Shame 99% of the hardcore scene they inspired was such complete shit.

Mo-Dettes The Mo-dettes started off brilliantly with the independently released "White Mice" / "Masochistic Opposite" but sadly seemed to rapidly run out of momentum thereafter. Guitarist Kate Korus had been in The Castrators and a very early incarnation of The Slits and bassist Jane Crockford was also a bit of a "face" on the London punk scene in the early days, having shared a flat with Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, and was famously filmed by Don Letts biting off a lump of a very young Shane MacGowan?s earlobe during a Clash gig. She later married Woody, the drummer of Madness / Voice Of The Beehive. Kate apparently met drummer June Miles-Kingston on the set of The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. June subsequently went on to play with (amongst others) Funboy Three, Everything But The Girl and The Communards. The one with "very striking Joan Crawford-ish eyebrows" was probably vocalist Ramona Carlier.

I'm sure I've burbled on about Elton Motello before.

Supported by The Flatbackers IIRC?

THE MIDDLE CLASS! OUTofVoguewyryoiwuoyiwoiyowieuertreeOUTofVoguewedonnneednoTVOUTofVoguewedonwannnopictureshowwwOUTofVoguewedonwannaknowwwwwwwww

Miltown Stowaways - NZ band from mid-80's, can't remember much about them - lots of horns? Probably saw them live, but who knows?

I have never heard these "M" bands from Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1996 book:

(At least I don't think I have. At least not much. Unless I'm wrong about a couple, but so what):

Tony MacAlpine
Mac Band featuring the McCampbell Brothers
Madame X
Madhouse
The Mad Lads
Mad River
Mad Season
Mad Skillz
Madura
Cledus Maggard and the Citizen's Band
The Magic Organ
The Magnificent Men
Mama's Boys
Manchild
Mandre
Charlie Manna
The Marmalade
Neville Marriner
Marilyn Martin
Carolyne Mas
Mason Proffit
Mass Production
Material Issue
Max Q
Mazarati
Letta Mbulu
M.C. Pooh
MC Shy D
MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob
McBride and the Ride
Alton McClain & Destiny
The McCrarys
Brother Jack McDuff
McGuffey Lane
McKendree Spring
Kristy and Jimmy McNichol
Zubin Mehtra
George Melchrino and his Orchestra
Men At Large
Men Of Vizion
Mercy
The Merry-Go-Round
Midnight String Quartet
The Mighty Lemon Drops
Mrs. Miller
Millions Like Us
Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters
Minor Detail
Mirabai
Missouri
Mista
Mr. Mike
Mistress
Mokenstef
The Moms & Dads
The Monroes
Montana Orchestra
The Moog Machine
Mother Earth
Motherlode
Moving Pictures
Idris Muhammad
Gerry Mulligan's Jazz Combo
Murder Squad
Gary Myrick
The Mystic Moods

There is a jazz drummer on the list, and also an actress I had a crush on as a teenager, who I have almost definitely "heard," though never on their own albums. It's very possible I've heard Mother Earth, too, though I don't think so; also, there are some one-hit wonders whose hits would probably ring a bell if I managed to hear them again. The artist above who placed the most albums in the Top 200 is Mystic Moods, who placed 12. (Though even they can't match Moms Mabley, who placed 13, all in the '60s, which I never would have guessed. But I've heard at least a couple of hers before, I'm pretty sure.)

Mighty Lemon Drops are the only band listed above I can cop to having heard..."Inside Out" was their big college radio hit...similar to Echo & The Bunnymen, but blander...saw them too, sold-out show at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit...

as everyone knows, mystic moods are the bomb.

mirabai is not the bomb.

idris muhammad is totally the bomb.

mother earth were not very bomb-like.

i have a mistress album. that's all for them.

mrs. miller was a hollywood pawn.

mighty lemon drops had two really good songs.

the merry-go-round were mod awesomeness.

i have a mercy album.

hahaha, i have lots of zubin mehta albums!

i was just listening to mckendree spring yesterday.

material issue had one great song.

i have four mason profitt albums. why?

i have two mandre albums.

cledus maggard and the citizen's band were a CONVOY tribute band! for real. i've got loads of their stuff. they just wanted to sound c.w. mccall.

i have the first mad river album. it's great. but they mastered it too fast or something, so it sounds like speed metal psych. i'd like to hear the reissue.

i had a mad season record. i never played it.

material issue gratuitously and blatantly ripped off fellow chicagoans green.

the marmalade's "i see the rain" (1968, i think) is the source point for everything aimee mann ever recorded.

gerry mulligan was a baritone saxophonist, played a key role in the miles davis "birth of the cool" sessions.

brother jack mcduff was a great organist, in a similar vein to jimmy smith and wild bill davis.

tony macalpine was a hella wanky yngwie-styled guitarist.

the mad lads were a stax group ("i don't want to lose your love" was the hit).

cledus maggard and the citizen's band were a CONVOY tribute band!

They allegedly had a hit called "White Knight" (went to #19 pop*; followup "Kentucky Moonrunner" went #89.) The "Convoy" wannabe song I remember actually hearing on the radio on the time, though, was something called "C.B. Savage," recited in a lispy, swishy voice by, um, one Rod Hart (just looked it up -- it went #67 in 1976; Whitburn calls it a "'gay' answer to C.W. McCall's hit 'Convoy'"!)

* -- except, uh, I just checked my 45s shelf, and it was there! (I must have bought it really cheap once a long time ago, played it once or twice, and then filed it.) Mercury 73751; "The White Knight" on both A and B sides; "produced by Leslie Advertising Agency." Guess I should listen to it...

As for Material Issue, I probably heard them and tuned them out. But yeah, that's what I sort of remembered -- limp powerpop-without-much-power in the great Chicago tradition of the Pezband and Off Broadway (who both might have been better than I thought at the time; haven't really checked lately.)

"C.B. Savage" by Rod Hart:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnRJdju5G_Y

(S F) Mutants had a cool ditty i recall hearing back around 1982 called "my girlfriend is a rock". that's all i recall
also had a early R. Stevie Moore cassette long time ago; the only memorable thing was a great cover of the Andy Griffith theme

here is what i wrote about mistress on my blog:

Mistress – S/T (RSO – 1979) Lite southern-style rock and pop. “High On The Ride” is some catchy stuff. One of these days I will listen to the second side to hear their version of “Cinnamon Girl”. Mistress would like to thank the Aphex Aural Exciter. Cover shot: Completely white cover with raised letters that spell Mistress. Wouldn’t you just know that the M in Mistress takes the form of long lovely legs in high heels.

i just bought a 415 records comp yesterday from the early 80's with mutants on it. full band-listing (actually the comp made me think of these threads):

the readymades

times 5

the mutants

391

sudden fun

the donuts

svt

the symptoms

the vips

jo allen and the shapes

the offs

Madhouse - Prince related project

Mama's Boys - Heavy Metal band from Northern Ireland

The Marmalade - Late 60's pop act from Glasgow, biggest hit a cover of Ob-La-Di Oh-bla-Da

Marilyn Martin - (Broadway ?) Baladeer, biggest hit was duet 'Separate Lives' with Phil Collins.

Max Q - Michael Hutchence dance project

Millions Like Us - Another drab mid-80's UK soul act, name was a tribute to the Average White Band

The Moog Machine - never heard of them. but I bet they're the best thing here.

There was another Madhouse who were an Aussie dance act who covered 'Like a Prayer' but that was late 90s/early 00's so guess the one in the book is the Prince one.

Madame X -- too early hair metal band featuring Sebastian Bach and the Petrucci girls. Album produced by Rick Derringer. Scary, and not in a good way.

Mama's Boys -- a group made up of brothers cashing in on the NWOBHM. Perpetual undercard band.

Gary Myrick -- well regarded LA guitarist/singer/songwriter. Made an album -- Gary Myrick and the Big Picture (?) which I had once but didn't think highly enough of to keep.

The Madhouse album has one of my favourite sleeves...

http://www.thelastmiles.com/gfx/interviews/eric-leeds/madhouse-8.jpg

http://www.dickdestiny.madamx.jpg
Madame X -- Scary, and not in a good way.

http://dickdestiny.com/madamx.jpg

Oh wait, I have that Madame X album too, duh! Yeah, perty skeery....(Actually the cover is hilarious. The guys in the band have cucumbers in their pants.)

Apparently Mama's Boys covered "Mama We're All Crazee Now" by Slade on an album that came out a week after the album where Quiet Riot covered the same song, but Quiet Riot had a bigger U.S. hit with it. Now I'm wondering if Mama's Boys' version was any good, and how Slade-like their other stuff was.

Also, Marilyn Martin had a #28 hit called "Night Moves" in 1986. Not sure if it was a Bob Seger cover.

Gary Myrick and the Big Picture

I thought it was Gary Myrick and the Figures. (That's what google says, too; album was 1980, but maybe he had more than one band. I used to see the Figures one in the store a lot, but was never remotely tempted to but the thing, for some reason. His charting solo album came out in 1983, though.)

And yeah, this Madhouse were apparently Prince-related. As were alleged "funk-rock group" Mazerati.

Zubin Mehta is a classical conductor, most famous for conducting the 'Three Tenors' concert at the 1990 World Cup.

Mama's Boys were pretty much boring blues rock, they had one smoky-jazzish single called "Needle In The Groove" that was ok but that was about it. Rock festival perennials, they bored the arse off me in muddy fields more times than I care to remember. One of the McManus brothers died I think (maybe they were all brothers? - hence the name I suppose), and one of the others is in Celtus now, who are Irish folk fiddle-dee-dumb bullshit as far as I know. There, that's lots of info about a band not really deserving of it!

Manchild, isn't this a solo project by the guy from Consolidated?

Yeah, Gary Myrick and the Figures, that was it. And, no, Mama's Boys -- as indicated by Matt #2, aren't worth further investigation unless it's for 25 cents to 50 cents per item.

That is a young woman in Madame X, BTW, not a transvestite with a Les Paul.

Manchild, isn't this a solo project by the guy from Consolidated?

Not this Manchild, unless his solo project was "formed in Indianalopis in 1974" and featured....what the hell?....Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. I had no idea that Babyface was in a band whose album charted (#154) in 1977, were you?

Also had no idea that Sebastian Bach was in Madame X. He's not on the album I have (with or without a cucumber); maybe he was in a later version of the band? (Either way, turns out they're not the Madame X who charted in the Top 200, who were a "West Coast based female vocal trio" from 1987, featuring Alisa Randolph, a solo album by whom I reviewed and probably overrated in the Voice around 1990 or so.)

Mud Hutters were from Manchester and had Richard Harrison, later of the Spaceheads. Associated with the whole Manchester Musicians Collective (Bathroom Renovations, Dislocation Dance, Diagram Boys, Liggers--see the Unzipping the Abstract comp LP). They had two great diy 7"s, and then some more muted (Factory atmospherics) tracks on the Four Ways Out comp LP and on an LP of their own. Ripe for a small reissue. One song on a Messthetics cd.

Missing Presumed Dead had a couple diy/post punk LPs and a 7". UK 1980-ish. The "How's Your Bum for Cracking Walnuts?" LP is quite nice.

Middle Class were the first band to sound hardcore--by which I mean playing so stripped down and quickly that they were playing through the melodies that would have been there if they'd played the songs (on their first 7" and the Tooth and Nail comp) as punk songs. And, of course, they were the first post hardcore band...check out "Blueprint for Joy" on their second 7" (also on their Homeland LP in better fidelity). It's gorgeous.

Yeah, Chuck, if you know how to tunnel with Google, Bach was in Madame X. Not that it made a diff. Group -- too early hair metal defined by Seduce etc. Seduce were picked up by IRS. I remember you reviewing them in Creem. Like Madame X, they went nowhere. Bass player for Madame X went to LA and did OK in Vixen. Vixen live in front of Eddie Money at Montclair State, NJ, '89 == utterly ruling. Looked great, played great.

You were stuck in suburban Philly prior to grokking the Pennsy back room was up the northeast extension to the Quakertown Mart, after moving from Michigan. Pennsyltucky was the same as Livonia/Hamtramck/etc, as you found out, only more southern.

Madhouse - tried quite hard to get into them at the height of my Prince fandom circa 87/88, but it was just anonymous standard issue Paisley Park sort-of jazzy instrumentals as I recall.

Marmalade's 1972 UK hit "Radancer" is a feisty little Britgum rocker.

After my great uncle was killed in the First World War, his widow re-married, giving birth to the classical orchestral conducter Neville Marriner in 1924. So heaven knows what he's doing on this list...

Letta Mbulu is an absolutely fantastic old-school South African diva, srident and imperious in the manner of Miriam Makeba/Odetta, and comes highly recommended - try "What Is Wrong With Groovin'"

MC Shy D's "Got To Be Tough" (1987) was a big club hit in the places I used to go; quite uptempo, samples a familiar chant from Earth Wind & Fire.

Mrs Miller was easy listening's answer to Florence Foster Jenkins, ie. flagrantly bad singing seemingly done unwittingly. Her take on "Downtown" will live with me always.

Montana Orchestra was a Vince Montana project, had a big club hit (in the UK at least) with "Heavy Vibes", circa 1983 I think, which was essentially a jazz-funk re-working of MFSB "Love Is The Message" with, er, vibes.

Mother Earth were a bunch of hairies on the Acid Jazz label, nothing particuarly remarkable as I recall.

Marmalade - I have a re-issue on Tenth Planet that's not bad. The band was definitely second-tier fake pop-sike. If you’re a fan of that stuff though it might tickle your fancy.

Merry Go Round - This was Emmitt Rhodes' first band. They had amazing potential, but a combination of youthful stupidity (these guys were only 16-17) and record company incompetence did them in. Revola's re-issue scraped together most of their songs into one handy CD. Get it if it's still available. The band had a way of combining McCartney style melody, Byrdsian jangle, and garage band thump that was really special.

Mutants - There are a million bands called Mutants. I've only heard the "Hard Times" Mutants who I think are English. The single is catchy hard rock pretend punk. The SF Mutants I've certainly seen. Their pictures were plastered all over the book Hardcore California. From the photos they looked more performance art than punk.

Mortal Micronotz - The first LP is pretty good. Sludgy garage punks with a William Burroughs connect. They had a later LP on Homestead with a different singer that is more generic.

The Moog Machine - never heard of them. but I bet they're the best thing here.

The Moog Machine were a studio construct basically consisting of Kenny Ascher (keyboardist) and Alan Foust (arranger), put together by Norman Dolph, the same record executive who helped start The Velvet Underground! They produced two LPs in 1969/70, "Switched on Rock" (Beatles, Stones etc moog covers; by coincidence a CD rip version is sitting on my CD palyer at this very moment waiting to be played) and "Christmas Goes Electric" (moog versions of Christmas carols).

The Mystic Moods = early 70s funky-easy-listening-prog act later sampled by DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist

classical orchestral conducter Neville Marriner in 1924. So heaven knows what he's doing on this list...

He's there for his version of Amadeus, which charted in 1984 (in the wake of Falco? Or maybe the movie? I'm not sure which came first.)

Mother Earth were a bunch of hairies on the Acid Jazz label

Was this a revived version, or a different band? The charting Mother Earth were Tracy Nelson's hippie country-rock band, circa turn of the '70s.

Actually, if I'm understanding Whitburn correctly, Marriner's Amadeus apparently was the movie soundtrack. (It charted in Nov 1984; "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco not until February 1986.)

Re. Mother Earth: it was a different band. Definitely not the turn of the 70s bunch.

Idris Muhammad

Idris Muhammad is a great jazz drummer, better known for killer grooves than flashy soloing I guess. If you want to hear some tasty soulful playing with a touch of free/spiritual jazz, the Black Rhythm Revolution!/Peace & Rhythm two-albums-on-one-CD is a nice buy. After those he signed to the CTI/Kudu label and did some smoother fusion albums there. Out of them, my favourite is House of the Rising Sun. It has one of the best versions ever of the titular song, and also "Sudan", a 11-minute tune which is nothing but pure groove, no proper choruses or anything, just incredibly funky interplay between the bass and the drums.

Chicagoans Material Issue have their very own 20th Century Masters Millennium comp, featuring their big hit "Valerie Loves Me" - I believe the lead singer killed himself, the poor man.

The Marmalade hit I hear on oldies radio here is "Reflections."

Max Q was Michael Hutchence's side project during his time with INXS - the album came out in '90 I think and was darker than his main group's stuff - not bad at all.

just listened to this album recently for the first time in years etc etc, it's so goooooood.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416NP93HBQL._SS500_.jpg

Chicagoans Material Issue have their very own 20th Century Masters Millennium comp, featuring their big hit "Valerie Loves Me" - I believe the lead singer killed himself, the poor man.

Sadly, he did. Jim Ellison committed suicide in 1996 supposedly because of a failed relationship, or his struggles in the music business, or both. At the Who's show in Chicago that fall, Pete Townshend dedicated a song to him (but called him "Jim Allison").

You haven't heard Mad Season, an all-rehab Seattle supergroup fronted by Layne Stayley and featuring Mike McCready?

You're not actually missing all that much. Worse than Temple of the Dog. And one of those cds that's IMPOSSIBLE to sell. Anyone who knows who they are already knows that it sucks and that no one else wants it.

I used to have a Malaria! EP. It wasn't bad. Decent feminist post punk, at least as good as Delta 5.

I'm sick to death of the Mo-dettes. Want nothing to do with them.

Method Actors get bonus points for being bizarre, but not much else.

Monsoon!!!! I was just thinking about Monsoon like a few days ago! Oh my god. Gonna pull out that CD right now. Along with Minimal Man, because of this thread.

Mass Production - did "Firecracker," sample source for "Me So Horny"

Motherlode - Canadian OHW from '70, "When I Die"

Echoing the accolades above for the Marmalade. "Reflections of My Life" was their only hit in the States, but the aforementioned "I See the Rain" was covered by Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet on their covers album. They were pretty malleable; one of their releases was a version of "Lovin' Things" identical to the Grass Roots' while their later stuff was more power pop. And two pretty acoustic ballads, "Rainbow" and "My Little One."

George Melchrino and his Orchestra - I think he/they did a Music for Relaxation disc I own. Beloved of the Incredibly Strange Music set.

Mad Skillz - Rawkus affliliated rapper.
best track I've heard by him, was 'ghost writer' that featured on the Scratch Perverts mixtape of Rawkus tracks that was given away free with HHC.
Picked up the album proper many years later, but not as good.
Now known as just Skillz : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skillz

As for Material Issue, I probably heard them and tuned them out. But yeah, that's what I sort of remembered -- limp powerpop-without-much-power in the great Chicago tradition of the Pezband and Off Broadway

OTM. they are worshipped way, way, way out of proportion to their talent by power-pop fans. the touring "international pop overthrow" pop fest is named for one of their albums.

monroes -- early '80s one-hit wonders whose "what do all the people know" is also worshipped by power-pop fans, and deservedly so. i'm sure you've heard it. it's badfinger with '80s keybs. and it's delicious.

I have never heard these bands under "M" in Jasper & Oliver's International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal

Kathi McDonald
Machiavel
McKitty
Murray McLauchlan
Madder Lake
Mad Max
Mama Lion
Manilla Road
Marc Tanner Band
Mariner
Masai
Mass
Mean Street Dealers
Medusa
Mendes Prey
Message
Messendger (sic)
Hilly Michaels
Millions
Ben Mink
Mistress
The Mix
Mondo Rock
Money
Eve Moon
Moonquake
Mother's Ruin
MPG
Murasaki
Mychael
Myofist
Mythra

Mama Lion infamous for the cover shot of vocalist Lynn Carey breast-feeding a lion cub. The music?... meh.

Murray McLauchlan = "performance poet" given an enormous amount of money once to make an album, not sure exactly what drugs the person who signed him was on at the time

... no, hold on, that's someone else, isn't it?

Machiavel - Belgian prog, late 70's, album was called "Mechanical Moonbeams". Still going I think. Average.

Manilla Road - absolutely fucking awesome early 80's power metal, similar to Cirith Ungol but the musicians are better. I guess Pentagram is a better comparison. Lead singer / guitarist Mark "The Shark" Shelton has one of Those Voices, love it or hate it it'll slice through your brain. Actually they never split up, I believe they're playing some European festivals around about now. Recommended! Start with "Crystal Logic".

Mariner - Japanese prog-metal, late 70's, pretty mediocre.

Ben Mink was the violinist in Canadian prog-pompers FM. I think he played on a Rush track (on Grace Under Pressure?) too. Later on he was kd lang's arranger / producer and probably did very well out of it.

Money - more 70's Brit rockers riding in on the NWOBHM bandwagon, although they had an arty side to them that scuppered their commercial prospects really. Worth checking out, their album was called "First Investment" unfortunately.

Myofist changed their name to Fist and had a minor NWOBHM "hit" with "Name Rank And Serial Number". Pretty much comparable to Raven.

Mythra - more NWOBHM, their EP was great but I guess they didn't get picked up by a label and split. They shoulds moved to London!

wow, gorge, you've never heard manilla road?????????????? that really surprises me. they would be your favorite band for real.

i have a medusa album. not very great. same with mistress. chuck has them on his list too.

lynn carey did better stuff than mama lion, but i think they were okay. and she is justly famous for her vocals on the beyond the valley of the dolls soundtrack.

From last year's rolling country thread:

Possibly semi-country oriented thrift store and junk barn purchases in Maryland and Virginia this week (entire list is on recent purchases thread):

Hilly Michaels* - Calling All Girls LP $1.00
-- xhuxk, Saturday, April 7, 2007 4:11 AM

Hilly Michaels LP I bought is a more fun new wave era sideman going solo album than the Lindsey Buckingham album, I'd say. The cover is very colorful, not unlike the Dan Hartman Instant Replay album he'd appeared on two years before (before 1980, that is.) Dancey beats are stolen from Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man," Blondie's "Call Me," and some minor glam-rock hit I can't place, but in a coked-up bubblegum L.A. studio pop-rock context, I guess. Though maybe Hilly was from England, come to think of it. Producer is Roy Thomas Baker; guest contributions come from Greg Hawkes, Davey Johnstone, Ellen Foley, Karla de Vito, Liza Minnelli. G.E. Smith, and Dan Hartman, among others. Rolling Stone Record Guide gives it just one star, dismissing Hilly as a "jive new waver," a "finger popper in post punk clothing," but then again so is Lindsey, who they say sings like a '50s teen balladeer and who they give three stars. Lindsey does sing better, I guess. But Hilly has more energetic hooks to pull off the zaniness. (And less to do with country music, come to think of it.)
-- xhuxk, Sunday, April 8, 2007 12:54 PM

The Jim Basnight & the Moberlys compilation "Seattle-New York-Los Angeles" is really, really good. It's #140 on John Borac's Top 200 power pop albums book. They were a poppier Replacements from Seattle, active throughout the '80s. "Rest Up" is a killer track.