From the Record Collection (8 of 8)_ Squeeze "Argybargy"

We conclude this series with the third record from the British new wave band Squeeze entitled "Argybargy," which was released in 1980; the album is best-known for its catchy cult hit "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," which I once included on my perfect album side for the radio station 96.3-FM (Roanoke,Va.) way back in 1991.

One of my other favorite tracks on the record "If I Didn't Love You" which is the first song on side two in the American version of the album was surprisingly not a single even though it features a perfect keyboard sound from Jools Holland coupled with excellent drums from Gilson Lavis.

All songs on "Argybargy" were written by the song-writing duo of Chris Difford ad Glenn Tilbrook; the album also features the perfect break-up pop song "Another Nail in My Heart."

Later songs from Squeeze, a band that was more commercially successful in the United Kingdom (but critically acclaimed here in America as well) include "Tempted" and "Is That Love" from "East Side Story" (1981) and "Black Coffee in Bed" from "Sweets from Strangers" (1982).

I was very surprised to see that the band is not only still active, but on the verge of a North American tour.

Squeeze kicks things off by playing at the House of Blues in San Diego on April 10th. They then play some east coast dates, including a concert at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore on April 27th.

From the Record Collection (7 of 8) Blondie "Eat to the Beat"

Today, we profile the punk band Blondie's fourth studio album "Eat to the Beat" (1979) which I found for a mere four bucks at a flea market in Greensboro, NC. The record had huge expectations as it followed the band's breakthrough smash "Parallel Lines" (1978), an album that included Blondie's arguably most-famous song "Heart of Glass."

"Eat to the Beat" had three singles of its own, including "Dreaming," "Union City Blue" and (my personal favorite Blondie tune) "Atomic," which was covered by the band Sleeper for the soundtrack of "Trainspotting." Subsequently, it has also been covered by Party Animals.

The video for "Atomic," featured the famous fashion model Gia Carangi, who died from AIDS at age 26. That troubled icon who was also a heroin addict was played by Angelina Jolie in the HBO film "Gia" (1998).

The fact that Blondie's lead singer Debroah Harry, who was also a regular at Studio 54 in New York and who has acted in many films, had blonde hair created mass confusion as many thought Blondie and Harry were one in the same. In order to clarify this, the band came up with a "Blondie is a group" campaign.

Harry founded the band with her lover Chris Stein, a guitarist.

A fourth single "Slow Motion" was meant to be released but the band was a victim of its own success as "Call Me," the theme from the Richard Gere movie "American Gigolo" recorded by Blondie became a number-one smash hit.

Harry was recently interview by the NPR-show "Sound Opinions."

Quote of the Day- Sid Vicious

The late punk rocker Sid Vicious (1957-1979), of The Sex Pistols, predicted he would not live to be 25. And, he did in fact die at age 21. His life was the subject of the 1986 feature film "Sid and Nancy" by English director Alex Cox. Gary Oldman played the title role in the film.

The lead singer of The Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten, is amazingly enough still alive. Their most-recognized song is the immortal anthem "Anarachy in the UK."

We thought with the recent unfortunate riots in London, which makes one recall the turbulent punk rock period of the 1970s which produced the like of The Sex Pistols and The Clash (we will quote the late Joe Strummer on our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" today), we would quip Vivious, the epitamy of an out-of-control rock n roller:

"American audiences are just the same as any other audience. Except a bit more boring."

Quote of the Week- Angela Davis

Today, we conclude our quotes from radical left-wingers for the month of May with a quip from Angela Davis, who is alive and well in Oakland, Calif., at age 67. Though today she makes the rounds in speaking engagements, she was a headline-maker from 1969-1972 as she became a controversial figure involved with both The Black Panthers movement and Communist Party, USA.

Davis spent time in jail from 1971-1972 because (according to Wikipedia) guns registered in her name were used in the infamous Marin County Courthouse Incident on Aug. 7, 1970. The sensational event involved guns being brought into a courtroom, hostage-taking, and an exchange of gunfire which alas lead to the killing of a judge.

Her quote comes to us us by way of the interesting graphic novel-inspired book "Self-Defense for Radicals" which I purchased on a whim from The Internationalist Bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC, several weeks ago.

Though I'm not a radical or a socialist myself (nor am I a Tea Partier or a Republican), I found Mickey Z's book, which features quotes from Davis and Malcolm X, to be quite fascinating. The author uses both expressions of his left-wing political views alongside boxing tips from pro boxing trainer Joe Goosen. The book was released by PM Press, which also has the ever-radical illustrated manifesto "Abolish Restaurants" by the writer/artist Prote.

On June 25, The Internationalist has a unique event as they host Duckmandu (Aaron Seeman), a self-described punk accordianist who plays everything from klezmer to Broadway to The Dead Kennedys (?!)

Here is the quote from Davis:

"Radical simply means grasping things at the root."

SIDEBAR: We want to take a moment to congratulate the University of Virginia men's lacrosse team on winning their fifth NCAA title. The Cavaliers beat the University of Maryland in a title game that was played in the Terps' home state in Baltimore. Colin Briggs scored five goals for the Cavs in the 9-7 victory. But, we loved the Terps' team motto which was "Fear the Turtle."