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.

Last Ten Cds I've Listened To: Lots of '70s Stuff

This list of the last ten cds that I had listened to as of Tuesday night is indeed a journaey back in time as the latest album was recorded in 2004 and the earliest in 1963.

Most of the music I listened to tends to be from the years 1979-1991 though here there are some exceptions. And, yes, I do indeed listen to lots of New Wave and Turkish psychedelic music! Here is the list:

1. Sonic Youth. "Goo." 1990. Key Tracks: "Dirty Boots," "My Friend Goo" and "Mildred Pierce."

2. The Cars. "Candy-O." 1979. Key Tracks: "Let's Go," "It's All I Can Do" and "Dangerous Type."

3. Selda (Selda Bagcan). "Selda, Vol.2" 1976 (comp). Selda is a Turkish folk singer who was prosecuted for her highly political song lyrics during Turkey's somewhat turbulent 1980s.

4. David Bowie. "Hunky Dory." 1971. Key Tracks: "Changes," "Life on Mars?," "Kooks" and "Queen Bitch."

5. The Cure. "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me." 1987. Key Tracks: "Why Can't I Be You?," "Just Like Heaven" and "All I Want."

6. The Replacements "Pleased to Meet Me." 1987. Key Tracks: "Alex Chilton" and "Can't Hardly Wait."

7. 3 Hurel. "3 Hurel." 1963. The 'Anatolian rock band' 3 Hurel consisted of brothers Onus, Haldun and Feridun Hurel; hence the name of the band.

8. REM. "Out of Time." 1991. Key Tracks: "Losing My Religion," "Shinny Happy People" and "Half a World Away."

9. Tom Waits. "The Heart of Saturday Night." 1974.

10. Mercan Dede. "Su (Water)." 2004. Mercan Dede is a Turkish instrumentalist.


SIDEBAR: The answer to our Rabbit Ears Quiz from last week is b) 1975; that is the year when "Wonder Woman" made its network debut.

Quote of the Day- Jean-Luc Godard

Today, we start our series of quotes from famous French people with Jean-Luc Godard, one of our favorite people to quip.

Initially, we were hoping to feature an image of a poster from his 1965 film "Alphaville" as opposed to his 1960 film "Breathless," which is shown here.

"Alphaville" is quite a unique film because it is the only Godard film that features elements of of futurist cinema stories and American detective films of the 1940s. The 1965 film starred the late Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina.

Alphaville is also the name of the 1980s German synthpop band which spawned the hit singles "Forever Young" and "Big in Japan," which became a big hit in Japan! "Forever Young" was immortalized 20 years after its release in 1984 when it was featured in the memorable prom dance sequence in the 2004 film "Napoleon Dynamite."

"Breathless" turned 50 last year and it is still considered to be among the best Godard films and the best New Wave films. It also includes a great performance from the actress Jean Seberg who died at age 40 in 1979.

Here is the quote from Godard:

"I don't think you should feel about a film. You should feel about a woman, not a movie. You can't kiss a movie."