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Unusual Rock Trivia?

What does the pop band Looking Glass "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" and "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne" have in common with the 1970s glam pop metal band Starz?

After Looking Glass disbanded, the three remaining members—keyboardist Larry Gonsky, bassist Pieter Sweval, and drummer Jeff Grob (who adopted the stage name Joe X. Dube)—teamed up with vocalist Michael Lee Smith and guitarist Brendan Harkin to continue the band, changing the name to Fallen Angels. Eventually, the band changed the lineup and Pieter Sweval and Joe X. Dube and the band became Starz.





 


In 2011, Aimee Mann appeared on the IFC series Portlandia, where Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen run into her while she is cleaning. The entire scene is funny, where they admit to being super fans of her work. I must also admit, this scene made me an even bigger fan of Portlandia than ever before.
 


In 2011, Aimee Mann appeared on the IFC series Portlandia, where Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen run into her while she is cleaning. The entire scene is funny, where they admit to being super fans of her work. I must also admit, this scene made me an even bigger fan of Portlandia than ever before.

They did something similar in a bit with Sarah McLaughlin. Not only have they had all sorts of other notable musicians on…Annie Clarke, Glenn Danzig, Steve Jones, Mike Nesmith, J Mascis, Joanna Newsom, Jello Biafra, Johnny Marr and many, many more, but Fred is a long time drummer, and guitarist Carrie burst onto the scene in 1994 with the band Sleater-Kinney. My favorite band/music sketch, though, features comedian Kristin Wiig as a psycho fan of Carrie and Fred’s(and cat)band, who holds them hostage so they don’t go on tour and “sell out”. There are people like that out there, you know.
 
Bo Diddley has a cameo in the 1983 comedy Trading Places. In the scene, Bo Diddley plays a pawn shop owner who refuses to buy the watch Dan Aykroyd is desperately trying to sell to him.


“In Philadelphia it’s worth 50 bucks.”


:D
 
The song "At This Moment", written by Billy Vera and recorded live by his band as Billy & the Beaters in 1981 during a string of performances at The Roxy in West Hollywood, had two lives several years apart.

It was first released as a single in 1981 on the American subsidiary of Japan's Alfa Records and only made it to #79 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Chart. As fate, and a little luck, would have it, the song was re-released in 1986 and sold over a million copies in 1987 reaching #1 on the U.S. Billboard Pop and Adult Contemporary Charts as well has becoming a hit in several other countries.

This round of success is entirely due to the fact that five years after the original release, "At This Moment" was included on several episodes of the NBC sitcom Family Ties during the 1985-86 season as the love song associated with Alex P. Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox) and his girlfriend Ellen Reed (played by Tracy Pollan), They eventually married in real life. Its exposure on Family Ties renewed interest in the song and Rhino Records purchased the track from the band's original record label, Alfa which was then inactive and reissued it.

The song has become a standard and covered by many acts since then.

The studio version of the song was never released as a single.









At This Moment (studio Version)



I'm watching Family Ties in reruns and this song I had forgotten about was just featured. Very special in the fact that they got married in real life after this.
I remember wondering why it was released on Rhino Records at the time.
 
Bloodvessel, Holland and Bruford - not a new supergroup (although. . .) but the team on an episode of BBC TV's Pop Quiz. Originally aired in April 1983, Bill is game for a laugh which is just as well as he's just about to go and start the tortuous sessions for Three Of A Perfect Pair with King Crimson after this recording.

IMG_0728.png
 
The movie Rock 'n' Roll High School was originally going to be called Disco High. After several name changes, it was named Rock 'n' Roll High School. Todd Rundgren and Cheap Trick were both offered the part of the band in the movie but were not able to come to an agreement. Devo and Van Halen were suggested but The Ramones were selected to be the band featured in the movie.



 
I'm going to out myself (and I never would have admitted this to a bunch of musicians, back in the 70s): I was ... not quite a fan, but I liked some disco music. Donna Summer, in particular, was a favorite. Franz Jolie ... I'm stuck for names ... Even K.C. and The Sunshine Band was okay.

The only reason I think "Disco High School" wouldn't have worked back then was disco was pretty popular. The music/movie would have to be rebellious.

Of course, I wouldn't call The Ramones "Rock And Roll". I would call them "Punk".

I gave that movie a miss (so far, all of my life).
 
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According to Mike Score from A Flock Of Seagulls, their song and video hit I Ran (So Far Away) was filmed in a couple hours one day after meeting their record label executives who gave them money to buy clothes and come back and film it with no real direction. The video was edited quickly and appeared on MTV less than 2 days later. Music videos were still a new thing and MTV did not have many videos to broadcast and aired it quickly in rotation. Also, there were 3 versions of the song.
Length
  • 5:07 (album version)
  • 3:58 (video version)
  • 3:43 (radio edit)

 
Although he was primarily a guitarist, Jeff Beck actually played bass on one track off of his groundbreaking album, Truth: a cover of Ol Man River by Jerome Kern. Not sure on what bass he used for that track, but it was probably the Fender Jazz Bass Ron Wood played throughout that album.

 
Jorma Kaukonen (later of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna) met a singer named Janis Joplin at a hootenanny in San Jose, California, in the fall of 1962. Over the following years, Janis would call on Jorma to accompany her at gigs. As they continued to play together, the Bay Area was changing musically and developing into the legendary San Francisco scene to which both Janis and Jorma would be integral. During a rehearsal for a show in North Beach, Jorma started his reel-to-reel machine to capture what they were working on.

The Legendary Typewriter Tape: 6/25/64 Jorma's House contains this legendary recording, featuring Restoration and Mastering from acclaimed, Grammy®-winner Michael Graves. The tracks include Joplin on vocals, Kaukonen on guitar. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. This may have just been a rehearsal, but it is so much more. Featuring Joplin originals, as well as blues classics, The Legendary Typewriter Tape is an intimate glimpse into two major artists at the beginnings of what would become highly influential careers. As Jorma says in his liner notes: "This is indeed a window into a simpler time when the music truly was everything."
 
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I'm going to out myself (and I never would have admitted this to a bunch of musicians, back in the 70s): I was ... not quite a fan, but I liked some disco music. Donna Summer, in particular, was a favorite. Franz Jolie ... I'm stuck for names ... Even K.C. and The Sunshine Band was okay.

The only reason I think "Disco High School" wouldn't have worked back then was disco was pretty popular. The music/movie would have to be rebellious.

Of course, I wouldn't call The Ramones "Rock And Roll". I would call them "Punk".

I gave that movie a miss (so far, all of my life).
Punk is Rock and Roll, in its purest form, a return to original basics.
 
Cool track, but I can't stand the hard L/R panning! Probably sounds better through speakers, but through headphones it's very distracting and annoying.
Blame it on Ken Scott. The first Cream album isn’t any better. Neither is Are You Experienced. They were working with four tracks, stereo wasn’t the norm yet, and in those days there was a curious attitude about the mix, to accentuate the separation to show off the novelty of stereo. Original early Beatles recordings are more maddening…vocals on one side, instruments on the other.