Are there more songs like "Him Or Me (What's It Gonna Be)," "Your Auntie Grizelda," and "My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died?" And if so, what are they?

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You know. That stompin', busting-at-the-seams rock and roll thing, a little bit off-kilter and just about to be completely out of control? Piano seems to be a key ingredient. I think I've decided these three songs comprise my favorite genre of music. Where do I go from here?

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 26 February 2006 17:16 (eighteen years ago) link

You should check out the Boyce & Hart best of on Rev-Ola - 25 or so tracks of pretty much this sound. (They wrote a lot of the Monkees' material, but their own sound is a bit tougher.)

― dee xtro (dee xtro), Sunday, 26 February 2006 20:06 (eighteen years ago) link

Huhm, thanks for the tip! I checked out that comp on AllMusic, and while a lot of it sounds groovy, it's a little bit more laid-back than I'm looking for - heck, even the Monkees made "Teardrop City" sound rougher and tougher. I'm thinking more up-tempo, more raucous...

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 26 February 2006 20:23 (eighteen years ago) link

There's more Roger Miller stuff like that -- check out his version of "Heartbreak Hotel."
"Psycho Daisies," The Yardbirds
"Spaz," The Elastik Band
"Don't You Just Know It," "We Like Birdland," "Genevieve," "Would You Believe It (I Have a Cold)," "Beatnik Blues," Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns
"I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday," Fats Domino
"Ring Dang Doo," Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs
I heard a really wild version of "Mojo Workout" last night on a classic-soul show, but I had to get out of the car before I heard who it was.
"Temptation Inside Your Heart" by the Velvet Underground?
Maybe some Cramps.
"Dogs Part 2," The Who

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Sunday, 26 February 2006 21:46 (eighteen years ago) link

"You Got the Right String, Baby (but the wrong yo-yo)"
Dr. Feelgood & the Interns--Okeh Records. A righteous rollicking Pinetop Perkins piano and lots of fun.

― J Arthur Rank (Quin Tillian), Sunday, 26 February 2006 23:54 (eighteen years ago) link

"overboard," sugar boy crawford -- rollicking early new orleans rock'n'roll that sounds like it's about to careen off a cliff. sugar boy hollers his head off and gets breathless trying to keep up.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 27 February 2006 01:45 (eighteen years ago) link

OOh, all of these sound very exciting. Thanks, gang!

Was Dr. Feelgood the same person as Piano Red? I have a "Live at the Muhlenbrink's" record of the latter and "You Got The Right String" is definitely one of the highlights. I should have mentioned Red in my original post, along with "I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday," that's also close to where I'm going. OK, time to hit up SoulSeek and see what's out there.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Monday, 27 February 2006 02:32 (eighteen years ago) link

Dr. Feelgood and Piano Red were one and the same (Rufus Perryman).

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Monday, 27 February 2006 13:09 (eighteen years ago) link

three years pass...

I ended up liking Huey Smith & The Clowns most of anything from this, although of course I'd always loved "Don't You Just Know It." "We Like Birdland" is just bizarre - what the hell are they talking about? Great stuff though. Also love "Well I'll Be John Brown," a great entry in the "Yakety Yak" category of "songs where the payoff is a deep voice coming in to say just one line. "Don't You Know Yockomo" is a nice return to the "Don't You Just Know It" zone.

Less gonzo but really beautiful: "Free, Single, & Disengaged."

Let Us Now Celebrate "Don'tcha Just Know It" by Huey 'Piano' Smith & The Clowns

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 9 March 2009 00:18 (fifteen years ago) link

Huh, I guess I said a whole lot on that thread on this subject.

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 9 March 2009 00:18 (fifteen years ago) link

five years pass...

This is a great genre IMO and I'm always kinda surprised that "Him Or Me" isn't actually the Raiders' signature song, or even that well-known anymore.

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 13 October 2014 04:21 (nine years ago) link

I was looking at the budget bin at Fry's the other day, and among the titles they had was the expanded reissue of the Raiders original Greatest Hits. "Him Or Me" was one of the bonus tracks, so it actually post-dated the comp.

Seems like the Stones' '65-6 stuff (things like "Get Off My Cloud", "19th Nervous Breakdown" etc.) is an important touchstone for these kinds of songs. Along with "Him Or Me", Revere's earlier "Ups and Downs" is in a similar vein, and one of the writers of "Grizelda" was said that it was an attempt at Monkee "19th Breakdown".

― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 13 October 2014 05:00 (nine years ago) link

Another touchstone, The Dave Clark Five:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoRLIJJSG4o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P94S8IAv94w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INgNG5a5yQE

― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 13 October 2014 05:09 (nine years ago) link

I think "She's About A Mover" kinda fits the "Grizelda" mold.

― Dick Clownload (Dan Peterson), Monday, 13 October 2014 15:47 (nine years ago) link

"Him or Me" has always been my favorite Paul Revere and the Raiders song, it reminds me of being 10 years old, rushing home from school to watch "Where the Action Is." I was such a Fang/Harpo girlfan. My bedroom was covered wall to wall with pictures of The Beatles, the Monkees, and Fang and Harpo. Only Fang and Harpo, my little friends were all Mark Lindsay fans but I didn't find him quirky or interesting enough.

Also, DC5 rules.

― The Velvet Fog called me a motherfucker (Sandy), Monday, 13 October 2014 17:00 (nine years ago) link

Ha, that's interesting about 19th Nervous Breakdown - I can kinda hear that descending deedle-deedle-deedle thing, totally.

Never heard "Bits and Pieces" before, and that clip is awesome - they look like a fucking Kraftwerk Beatles, just robotically rocking back and forth and emoting in unison, apparently oblivious to this stompin, thrashin' song they may or may not have been trying to record (though it also comes out weirdly mechanical and circular).

"She's About A Mover" not quite thrashy and chaotic enough - pretty clearly just working over "What'd I Say" and/or "Hi-Heel Sneakers." But I'm fine with Sir Douglas doing his thing, been digging him lately thanks to some other ILM shoutouts.

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 13:41 (nine years ago) link

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