Bands in the "Lurking in the Shadows" appendix of the 1980 new wave guide I just bought for $2 off a seemingly homeless guy set up on the sidewalk of St Marks

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Just photos for all of them; no text. This was gonna be the future!:

nervus rex
the elevators
the mo-dettes
the korgis
willie nile
the inmates
the skids
fingerprintz
the ruts
the undertones
bruce woolley
jules & the polar bears
robin lane & the chartbusters
joan jett
the a's
john hiatt
the models
u.k. subs
the roches
moon martin
the sinceros
the scooters
tommy tutone
martha & the muffins

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:08 (twenty years ago)

I recognize half. Whatever did happen to Tommy Tutone anyway? Besides appearing on One More Time thing.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:14 (twenty years ago)

jules & the polar bears
People were always talking about what a great songwriter Jules Shear (sp?) was. All I know is that he wrote one pretty good song for the Bangles, "If She Knew What She Wanted." Not to be confused with Adrian Belew's group called The Bears.

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

All these threads have piqued my curiosity: Was that guy on St. Marks really homeless or not? Can't we send someone down there to find out?

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:21 (twenty years ago)

Whatever did happen to Tommy Tutone anyway?

The lead guy still tours, but the original line-up are over and done with. I recognized the guitarist in the Soho Apple store two years ago (turns out we were both looking for digital cameras). He was amazed that I recognized him (from the video).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:21 (twenty years ago)

The Inmates' cover of "Dirty Water" was amazing. The Ruts and the Skids and the Undertones are all fantastic (or were, I should say).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

Nervus Rex were good to great, an LP produced by MIke Chapman or some other member of blondie, and a better single Don't Look/Love Affair. Part of what I always think of as the sub-Blondie scene, other often great New York bands like Student Teachers, US Ape, who were both on the Roir NY Singles Scene comp w/ Nervus Rex.

Mo-Dettes were great and through post-riot grrl indie-rock I'd say they're still relevant.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

>People were always talking about what a great songwriter Jules Shear (sp?) was. All I know is that he wrote one pretty good song for the Bangles, "If She Knew What She Wanted." Not to be confused with Adrian Belew's group called The Bears. <

Or the Art Bears, for that matter, though as I recall, Jon Pareles liked both bands (if not all three) at the time. I never understood the Shears as great songwriter stuff myself, but I do like his yelping and the band's off-kilter forward motion on the first two Polar Bears albums, especially in the faster songs, which were sorta like the Police's fastest punkiest early tracks; there's more of those on the first J&PBs album. I remember buying a later EP or album or two though (post-*fenetiks*), and they were totally bleh; ditto Jules's solo stuff I've heard, though it did seem to have a rep among certain pure-pop fetishists who wrote for Creem in the late '80s.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:32 (twenty years ago)

yep, these are weirdly artsy lists, so i'm gonna list 'em:

jon pareles, pazz & jop ballot 1978:

captain beefheart/shiny beast (bat chain puller) 10
air/open air suit 10
nrbq/at yankee stadium 10
steve reich/music for 18 musicians 10
brian eno/before and after science 10
happy the man/crafty hands 10
jules & the polar bears/got no breeding 10
weather report/mr. gone 10
talking heads/more songs about buildings and food 10
carla bley band/european tour 1977 10

jon pareles, pazz & jop ballot 1979:

pere ubu/dub housing 15
talking heads/fear of music 15
james white and the blacks/off white 15
philip glass-robert wilson/einstein on the beach 15
art bears/winter songs 15
david bowie/lodger 5
xtc/drums and wires 5
police/regatta de blanc 5
wire/154 5
tom verlaine 5

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

Which reminds me: Were Happy the Man actually ever any good? (I've never heard them. Part of the "Canterbury Sound" or something, right?)

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

martha & the muffins were playing in toronto when i was there the other week on a bill with... DJ SPOOKY!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

These days DJ Spooky is more dated.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

I liked how she sang the repeated line of the big hit with a different emphasis the first and second time.

"Echo BEACH, faraway in time
Echo beach, faraway in time"

Did they ever get annoyed at Mojo Nixon's nothing-to-do-with-them "Stuffin' Martha's Muffin"?

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

Echo beach has always haunted me - she puts so much sadness into a minimal-to-nonexistant lyric.

― Soukesian, Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

xp:

and what the hell (i know this a tangent that has nothing to do with the rest of the thread, but i can't help it, i love this ballot, but i'll stop after this one, i promise) an even proggier list from 1977:

charley walters, pazz & jop ballot, 1877:

yes/going for the one 16
genesis/wind and wuthering 12
steely dan/aja 10
dave edmunds/get it 10
david bowie/low 10
gentle giant/the missing piece 10
sex pistols/never mind the bullocks 10
tom newman/fine old tom 9
steve hillage/motivation radio 8
talking heads/77 5

who the hell is tom newman, i wonder???

I thought it was cool a couple years ago when there started being all these dub-reggae compilation covers of "Echo Beach," emphasizing the *echo* part, which was kinda sorta just *implied* in the original...

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:18 (twenty years ago)

oops 1977 not 1877 (though Yes sort of *do* sound like 1877...)

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

nervus rex (Dunno)
the elevators (dunno)
the mo-dettes (i think i know but i forget)
the korgis (only doctor c likes them)
willie nile (no need for him)
the inmates (i remember the inmates album! sorta.)
the skids (love the skids!)
fingerprintz (love fingerprintz!)
the ruts (love the ruts!)
the undertones (love the undertones!)
bruce woolley (video killed him!)
jules & the polar bears (I am not the biggest jules fan!)
robin lane & the chartbusters (they shoulda conquered the world! maybe)
joan jett (the queen of rock & roll)
the a's (they were cool!)
john hiatt (he's boring!)
the models (cool!)
u.k. subs (very cool!)
the roches (I love suzzy!)
moon martin (chuck like him, at least! he is kinda boring though!)
the sinceros ("take me to your leader" is my theme-song!)
the scooters (great name!)
tommy tutone (great phone number!)
martha & the muffins (brilliant at times!)

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:25 (twenty years ago)

Tom Newman was sort of the house producer at Virgin Records in their pre-Sex Pistols days, producing Tubular Bells and the like. If he has a connection to new wave, I think it would be lurking in very dark shadows indeed.

― Dr Benway (dr benway), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

Oh wait, I just realized that's not the list Tom Newman appears on. Sorry!

― Dr Benway (dr benway), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

I have the Inmates album. It's not very good. The Dirty Water cover is good, and I think maybe 1 or 2 other songs. The rest is total mediocrity. It cost me a pound, so I'm happy enough with it!

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

I don't know who Doctor C is, but I sort of like the Korgis, too! Didn't they used to be Stackridge, before they went new wave? Or Starcastle? Or somebody? Anyway, "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" was a good sappy 10cc-style tune. Great cover by undervalued Pet Shop Boys wannabees Sensation, on their *Burger Habit* album in the early '90s (which also includes excellent tunes like "High on the Grass" and "Tell Your Parents That I Hate Their Guts," I believe.)

The Inmates rocked, too! I don't have their album anymore, but I wish I did. They were better than Southside Johnny for sure! Though not as good as the Count Bishops! Anyway, a couple other tracks on their LP got brief radio play in Detroit besides "Dirty Water," which was HUGE there - as big as the Kings and Kingbees combined maybe! Okay, maybe not that big. But I think their second album might've been Ok, too.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

Tom Newman

* Fine Old Tom [Antilles, 1977] B+

Consumer Guide Reviews:
Fine Old Tom [Antilles, 1977]
Tom seems to have recorded this far across the sea in 1975, but more than that even my Anglophile sources can't tell me. Analogies: Dave Edmunds (studiomania and general non-esoteric musical orientation, although Newman isn't interested in overpowering anyone), Ray Davies (vaguely but persistently, for both eccentricity and vocal approach), Eno (more precisely, not only for eccentricity and vocal approach but also for style of smarts, although Newman isn't so blatantly avant-garde). Pretty catchy. B+

― Sang Freud (jeff_s), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:44 (twenty years ago)

**the korgis (only doctor c likes them)**

(x-post) Yes, they used to be Stackridge. EGLS was great, but their best single was the supreme wimp-pop 'If I Had You'. I love them.

I went to school with an Inmate!

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

And oh yeah, as I've said before, John Hiatt didn't get REALLY boring til later (when he was new wave he was kind of fun, in a way) (as for the album or two he did BEFORE he was new wave, I've never heard 'em, just like the album or two David Werner did before *he* was new wave.)

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

I wish our old pal Stewart was still around to participate on these threads.

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

In answer to Chuck's question upthread, Happy The Man were a way-out-of-time American prog band from the late 1970's. Their stuff gets reissued by Cuneiform, I think they reformed and release new albums actually! I used to have an album, pretty much Gentle Giant meets Caravan as I remember.

― Matt #2 (Matt #2), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

Osborne? He posted yesterday.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

>u.k. subs (very cool!)<

best song: "Down on the Farm," which is also the best Guns N Roses song since 1988.

second best song: "Stranglehold," which sounds more like "Tenderloin" by Rancid than "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent.

Unless there are other songs I'm not thinking of (like that one about living in a car, which was great. That was them too, right?)

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:54 (twenty years ago)

Yes it was. xpost.

Yeah, the Korgis were Stackridge before they tried to go 'new wave' with "Young and ussian" which was rub and I said so on the telly which upset mr Korgi, who ws the mystery guest...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

x-post "Live In A Car" - yep.

Warhead was good. Also Tomorrow's Girls (Ain't no factory girls...). They're still around, Charlie Harper's about 65.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

UK Subs had a decent run of chart hits. Tomorrow's Girls, Stranglehold, She's Not There....any more?

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:58 (twenty years ago)

More great songs written by the underappreciated Jules Shear:

"All Through the Night" (Cyndi Lauper)
"Whispering Your Name" (covered by Alison Moyet)

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Thursday, 22 September 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

"Party in Paris" springs to mind (UK Subs xpost)

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:00 (twenty years ago)

What's great about "All Through the Night"? Just curious; to me, that's always seemed like a pretty darn dull song, not half as good as scores of Diane Warren ballads I could name, but it's always cited by Jules fans as evidence of his greatness. So I'm still skeptical. xp

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, the Korgis were Stackridge before they tried to go 'new wave' with "Young and ussian" which was rub and I said so on the telly which upset mr Korgi, who ws the mystery guest...

Which telly prog was that?

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:18 (twenty years ago)

UK Subs are one of my favourite UK punk bands. Their late 80's stuff (Japan Today, Killing Time) is pretty bad but they managed to put out some decent albums in the 90's (Riot, Occupied, etc).

Their first 4 studio albums all rock, especially A, B and E.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)

I like the Korgis. I was just listening to Dumb Waiters the other day.

Happy the Man were actually American, I think. Never heard them, though.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:41 (twenty years ago)

"The Saturday Morning Show" with Steve Jones, not of the Sex Pistols.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

The Roches did "Hammond Song" later covered gorgeously by The Colour Field on their album "Virgins & Philistines".

― There's a Tipsy Ghost on the edge of my couch (Bimble...), Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

I had a Mo-dettes single and sold it. Fingerprintz weren't all that special either.

― There's a Tipsy Ghost on the edge of my couch (Bimble...), Thursday, 22 September 2005 15:50 (twenty years ago)

The Models featured Marco Pirroni pre Rema Rema nd Adam and the Ants.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:23 (twenty years ago)

Which single? "White Mice Disco" is great. (on Razor & Tie's deleted, semi-great Totally Wired comp, and yeh incl Fall song of that name)(hey how's this fall's Fall album?) Some of E.Logic's good sax white shadow disco wave too.Tom Newman track on one of those (Island) 99 Cents Antilles Sampler LPs: pretty bland, as I recall. But Pareles, Walters P&J Ballots overall fab gear, and no more arty than myne last year. (With Arthur Russell, Albert Ayler, Smile Wilson, though Texas Terri Bomb! is a different arty.)(She could fit right on this Lurking list, since Joan Jett's there.)

― don, Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:26 (twenty years ago)

It was "White Mice" but there certainly was no "disco" involved. Maybe a remix of some kind?

― There's a Tipsy Ghost on the edge of my couch (Bimble...), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:34 (twenty years ago)

The Roches did a lot more than just "Hammond Song"! First album (first trio album anyway) is great as village boho folk crapola goes, especially when Mr. Sellack makes them clean beneath the steam table and when the fat scary man sits down next to them on the train and when they don't give out their ages or phone numbers but sometimes their voices give out but not their ages or their phone numbers; second album *Nerds* has moments too. After that, I'm not so sure.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:42 (twenty years ago)

I sure did like the way Terre Roche sang that song "Everyone Is Good."

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 16:52 (twenty years ago)

Fingerprintz were really good! All 3 albums, but especially "Distinguishing Marks" and "Beat Noir" are well worth listening to. Jimmie O'Neill wrote for Lene Lovich at one time, which is why I was interested originally. I'm not sure who to compare them with, but the songs are catchy and well-written. I never got very far with The Silencers, as I found them kind of dull at the time, but I could easily have just overlooked them.

― Pangolino 2, Thursday, 22 September 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

Tom Newman also produced the second gutless (but oddly cool) Adverts album. And some other stuff I can't recall.

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Thursday, 22 September 2005 17:45 (twenty years ago)

I recognized the guitarist in the Soho Apple store two years ago... He was amazed that I recognized him (from the video).

He wouldn't have been if he hung out here. Your visual memory is like a mutant power.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 22 September 2005 19:15 (twenty years ago)

I don't think this is the same Models that featured the Adam & the Ants member - that band released one single in 1977 and that's it as far as I know. Could be another band with the same name?

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 22 September 2005 19:25 (twenty years ago)

"only the lonely" models ? marco pirroni models, which I've never heard of, does it? Rema Rema slays me, what's this 1977 single sound like?

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 22 September 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)

"Only The Lonely"? Wasn't that the Motels?

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 19:34 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah!

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 22 September 2005 19:51 (twenty years ago)

that Tom Newman album is pretty much dishwater; Xgau's review seems way off to me...just half-pastoral English rock of the '70s. altho his cover of "She Said She Said" is kinda cool with all these overdubbed voices. I have many friends who are crazy about John Hiatt...his new one with the Dickinson Familie I haven't heard. I don't really like him.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 22 September 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

He was ultimately a little boring. I guess "Perfectly Good Guitar" was kind of funny in its day.

― k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 22 September 2005 20:26 (twenty years ago)

Marco Pirroni Models, which I've never heard of. Rema Rema slays me, what's this 1977 single sound like?

It's called Man of the Year and it sounds like regular but good Anglo three chord punk. No weirdness from the much under rated Pirroni.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 September 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

Happy the Man's first two albums on Arista:

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd600/d629/d62965hn182.jpg
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd600/d629/d62966o719q.jpg

Anyone know what town/city these guys were from?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

Happy the Man were from the D.C. area, I believe.

― J.D. Considine, Thursday, 22 September 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

I'm attracted to some of the stuff from this early period of new wave because it was more down to earth and wacky. Later UK new wave gets less wacky/more serious and less down to earth/more post-Roxy Music fantasticalism. Like I feel like I'd rather listen to the Korgis than early OMD (not that I know that much about OMD).

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

early omd is great though. even doctor c would rather listen to early omd over his beloved korgis. (he's gonna hit me soon, i can feel it.)

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:12 (twenty years ago)

that first happy the man record is pretty good.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:12 (twenty years ago)

We're up for a Battle of the Bands.

http://homepage3.nifty.com/shy-korg/korgis07-2.jpg

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:23 (twenty years ago)

That is, in fact, an Izod that the guy in the middle is wearing there, by the way. And he does have it buttoned all the way up.

These dudes were badass. Used on the Dumb Waiters LP:

Fairlight CMI, Polymoog keyboard, Prophet Sequential Circuit 5, Wasp Synthesizer, Korg Micro - Preset, ARP Omni, ARP Solina, Yamaha CSYI organ, grand piano, Roland vocoder.

I also like some of the guitar playing on this record.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 22 September 2005 22:31 (twenty years ago)

I guess it's up to me to defend "All Through the Night." I do think it's a lovely and well written song, although it suffers from the arrangement and production stylings on Cyndi Lauper's recording. (Actually, having listened again to refresh my memory, I rather like the cascading synth arpeggios, and the arrangement as a whole doesn't really spoil things for me...)

What do I like about it? I especially like how both the verses and the bridge begin with the same long note, the former dropping down from it and the latter rising up. And I like how the chorus is such an effective contrast to the other parts, cycling on a shorter and more rhythmically active pattern.

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Friday, 23 September 2005 02:27 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, that first Roches album, esp when they sang about the fat guy on the morning commuter train "who is sweat-ting and he's drin-king two beeers. And reading, The New York, post(ah)" she's over-precise in her enunciation cos she's afraid about going to work and she says she wants to say to the man on the train, "Let's have a party! But I can't cos I'm so afraid, of the man on the tra-in." Chorus(all 3 Roches): "Once you get on, you can never get off! The commuter train (the commuter train) It's a trip and a ha-aaf--" yeah I used to have to listen to that every sweaty morning before I could go to this class I hated and sucked in. Also two of em did Seductive Reasoning , and all three did this above self-titled and Nerds yeah which I haven;t heard and Another World's good (and Fripp produced a lot of their best stuff! Just a thin early-morning surreal electronic sheen to the folkie stuff but not too slick, and he even got Larry Fast of one-man-one-synth-band Synergy in there a little bit) Cyndi's buddies the two guys who retained the Hooters name, were also in an earliet version I saw on The Hot Spot, which was one of the good rock shows on I swear USA Network, when they would go to clubs in a diff city every month, and record! That was the whole thing. And this version of the Hooters did the pub-rock-mod-reggae thing so many others tripped allover their platform shoes trying to do, allover the world, but these guys did it as a given, as a a basic, But then the two guys with the name-rights went away and worked with Cyndi and one of em wrote "What if God was one of us" about another man on the bus or maybe the same one the Roches saw, and wrote it cause he was jealous of his wife having gotten the hots for Leonard Cohen, who she wanted to see cos what old man could get Rebecca De Mornay, and Mrs. Hooter found out who (or what, if you prefer)

― don, Friday, 23 September 2005 05:13 (twenty years ago)

**early omd is great though. even doctor c would rather listen to early omd over his beloved korgis.**

You're not wrong.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 23 September 2005 06:20 (twenty years ago)

http://homepage3.nifty.com/shy-korg/korgis07-2.jpg http://www.adeptis.ru/vinci/bill_gates3.jpg

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Friday, 23 September 2005 06:34 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, the stroppy git was the one in the middle.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 23 September 2005 07:11 (twenty years ago)

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