 I am an East Coast expatriate hiding out in the Midwest... I am an urban gal living in the suburbs and occasionally hiding in the country I am a yoga practitioner, fitness enthusiast, believer in the mind-body-spirit connection... I am a mid-life "revert" to the Roman Catholic faith in which I was raised and which has become an enormous source of support, encouragement, inspiration, and joy in my life... I am a mom, sister, daughter, and wife... I am an explorer; adventurous and curious about the world and people around me... I am educated in the formal sense but I gain insight through everyday living... I created this blog at a time of great fear and apprehension in my life. I chose to sustain it because of the discoveries about myself and the world around me that it has revealed. What you can expect to find here: the documentation of a love-hate relationship with the greater Philadelphia area
reminiscing about the good-ole-days (the 80's!)
complaints about my various ailments and injuries, both real and imagined
pictures and stories of gardening, decorating, shopping, sewing
my love of irony
links to kooky news stories
way too much scatological musing for sane people
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Sunday, May 30, 2004
As I was running on the treadmill I was jamming to tunes on my MP3 player. As I bounced along to "Rollover Deejay" by Aussie hit-makers, JET, I couldn't help but feel a bit of deja-vu. Then the next track rolled into my consciousness: "Just Walk Away Renee" by 60's "barque pop" band The Left Banke.
With that, it all made sense to me.
Back in the late 80's I was a DJ at a large college radio station. I had a rock show in the mid-afternoon and I was fortunate to have gained incredible exposure to music of all eras, genres, and geographies.
If you take a look at my record (as in VINYL) collection at home, you'd note a preponderance of so-called garage-punk - from the 60's mod stuff to more contemporary bands like The Cynics, The Pandoras, The Miracle Workers, etc.
Back in my radio days, I peppered my shows with oldies and modern garage bands, somehow interspersed with other genres from 50's country to Northwest grunge, to electronica and industrial.
At that time, there was an up-and-coming "power pop" trio in town who played endless shows and put out independently produced singles, striving for their big break. The lead singer and guitarist of this band, Jim, used to faithfully call up my radio show each week, first, to request that I play his band (he was a shameless self-promoter!) and then to talk about music. Jim also enjoyed the garage sound, and he and I shared a love of some lesser-known pop hits of the 60's. I distinctly remember him requesting the aforemetioned track from one-hit-wonders, The Left Banke, and then discussing it and other tunes after "listening" to it over the phone.
Eventually, Jim and his bandmates did get a major label record deal. Numerous billboard hits and MTV exposure followed. I was genuinely happy for them, as they had worked so hard for it, plus their fresh, poppy sound infused vigor into a rock scene that had previously been dominated by more vapid "hair" bands. One of their hits even included a character named "Renee" - and I have to wonder if that Left Banke tune played a part influencing its composition.
Sadly, as their band's shelf life began to wane, Jim took his own life, which was a tragic loss for this city and the music scene in general.
So, when I hear songs with tight pop hooks and the obvious 50's 60's and 70's influences, like "Rollover Deejay", I have to wonder if Jim provided some divine inspriation to JET as they put it all together.
Posted at 05:19 pm by brandy101
 | Posted by selfindulgence @ 11/13/2004 04:39 PM PST | | You don't know how much this post meant to me.
My interest in Ellison's music sadly came after his death, so I never had the chnace to see him perform. Reading your post made him seem so much more "alive" and later, when I get in my car and out on "international Pop Overthrow" I'm going to think about this post.
And about the Left Blanke.
And about what happens after what we want becomes what we had. Vanished like the last note, of the last song on the last disc of a life.
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