Fabulous Memories, Please Weigh In

A week or so ago, as a part of my ongoing analog to digital conversion process, I was intent on posting a lengthy piece that would re-enact the playlist at a party at the JunkPlex circa 1983. It started getting a bit more complex and tedious than my current schedule could accommodate and made me wonder if anyone would really care. The idea was to post some music from favorite bands, solo acts and oddities from the Junk Thief archives that you won't find on iTunes or other mainstream sources. I started doing short bios, photo sketches and background info with links to each song. I got about 10 songs or so into the project and got diverted.

So, starting somewhat randomly, I'd like to share an example that is not exactly the most obscure track but fairly representative of this project.

In 1979, I discovered Brit band The Fabulous Poodles, sort of a bridge to '70s rock and early '80s punk. They had a dynamite fiddle play that could keep up with Papa John Creach and what seemed at the time to be fairly silly, pointless tunes on the order of the B52s. A quarter of a century later, I see that they had more gravitas than I gave them credit with somewhat snarky but serious takes on suicide and eating disorders. Sadly, it was their swan song, Think Pink, that lead me to them. Amazingly, this group sold more units in the U.S. in 1979 than the Clash, but few folks remember them.

For a taste of their mix of whimsy and a good beat, check out "Pink City Twist" (as with future posts, I'll have the tune in red with a hyperlink to the MP3.

Let me know what you think of this ditty and if you'd like to hear more similar tunes, especially the more obscure ones. On an obscure scale, this one is on the lesser scale of the unknown.