The Vapids: Teenage Head (2002)

On this OUT-OF-PRINT 2002 album ($65.00 on Amazon!), Hamilton's The Vapids bring a Ramones-core sensibility to their cover of the entire first Teenage Head (more HERE) album. Unlike Screeching Weasel, the Vindictives, The Queers and MTX (see HERE) who re-recorded the first four Ramones albums in their entirety, The Vapids are dealing with a lesser classic and hence we can have as much fun as they do with these revved-way-up frat-punk anthems.





let us know what you think of The Vapids take on Teenage Head in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the TH link).

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Teenage Head: Heatwave Festival (1980)

I grew up under a promotional poster for Teenage Heads' Tornado that my older brother got for free from Pepper Records, a long since dead Winnipeg music store. The blurred images of the boys from Hamilton rockin' out never made me very curious about their music. In fact when they played at here at Wellington's in 1984, I was at the venue upstairs slamming to SNFU. Later, when I grew to quite like - but not exactly love - Teenage Head, I learned that Tornado was seen as their sell-out record. And not without reason. For that mini-album, they ditched much of their Flamin' Groovies worship, added slick sax and smooth arrangements and changed their fucking name. How is Teenage Heads, which sounds like a group of juvenile junkies to me, so much more radio-friendly than Teenage Head? And this sanitizing happened just after they had appeared playing their best song, "Ain't Got No Sense", in the sex and violence soaked dystopian 1982 horror flick, "The Class of 1984". The eighties were a weird time to have a recording contract.

So since my pal Midnight Rambler has generously posted EVERY out-of-print TH album over at the always-magnificent Sons of the Dolls, I'll offer up a bootleg of a professional  recording of Teenage Head's last-minute performance subbing for The Clash at the failed 1980 Heatwave Festival in Toronto. It's a great set and captures the band outside the clutches of the producers that usually compromised their studio work.





Let us know what you think of Teenage Head in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the link for Heatwave).


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Power-Popscurities: The Shakers (1979)

Power-Popscurites is a series meant to bring to unearth power-pop bands so unknown that they've even been missed (or possibly ignored) by the greater minds of the blogosphere.



The Shakers were Teenage Head-related late seventies/early-eighties Toronto power-pop-a-billy produced by future legend Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Emylou Harris etc).


The Shakers (Future Teenage Head member Dave Rave - Guitars/Vocals, Tim Gibbons - Guitar/Vocals, Claude DesRoches - Drums and Rick Andrews - Bass/Vocals) probably seemed unstuck in time even back in '79. Clearly enamored of a lot of the same sort of things, Chuck Berry, real early Beatles, cars with enormous fins etc. that inspired the later seventies Flamin' Groovies (they cover "Shake Some Action Here"). This collection is hopelessly out-of-print and since this here internet has almost no info about the band, you'll just have enjoy, "Out the Door" and then let us know what you think. (New player requires a teensy bit of patience but it works.)

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

The Shakers Self-Titled link is on the comments.


Speaking of comments, give us your quick review of the Shakers.



Check out this interview with Dave Rave!