Only Three Lads - Classic Alternative Music Podcast

This week, we take a look back at the incredible albums of 1978. In a year when Uncle Gregg was just playing with his squeezebox and Brett was gettin' down to Sesame Street Fever, our Third Lad Jim Basnight was right in the thick of the Seattle music scene. 1978 was the year Basnight's power pop combo The Moberlys formed, straddling the line between melodic Beatlesque songcraft and tightly wound, hormonally charged garage rock. From those nascent days (which have been compiled on the recent Early Years compilation) to his latest solo album, 2019's aptly titled Not Changing, Jim Basnight has been delighting pop music fans for well over 40 years.   In this insightful, fun-filled episode, we talk about early musical influences, opening for Ramones, The Police and Greg Kihn, the New York punk scene, Seattle grunge, drunken nights, hard rock, bubblegum and blues roots, and a whole lot more. Plus, we play both sides of the latest single off of Early Years, "Live In The Sun" and "Bebe I'm Gonna Leave You."   It's the show that caused Jim to exclaim, "I didn't realize what kind of complete nerds you guys are!"   It's just what you needed!   #musicpodcast #musicpodcasts #podnation #1stwave #classicalternative #70smusic #1978music #1978albums #punkrock #newwave #powerpop #classicrock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to Vince Clarke, we just can't get enough (was that too obvious?).  So "don't go" anywhere (how 'bout that one?)! Born Vincent John Martin on July 3, 1960 in South Woodford, Essex, England, Vince Clarke is a classically trained musician who got the bug to make electronic music after hearing Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in the late ‘70s, which led to the formation of a band with school chum Andy Fletcher called No Romance In China.  Shortly after, the duo added Martin Gore to the mix and called themselves Composition of Sound.  With the addition of lead vocalist Dave Gahan, Composition of Sound morphed into Depeche Mode.  Following the first Depeche Mode album Speak & Spell, Clarke teamed up with Alison Moyet for Yazoo, releasing two huge albums and a string of singles that hovered near the top of the charts. After Yaz, Clarke took up various production duties and projects, most notably The Assembly, before landing upon his most formidable partnership with Andy Bell in Erasure - an alliance that has resulted in 19 studio albums to date, including 5 that have hit #1 in the UK, and some of the most beloved singles of the past nearly 40 years.  That’s only scratching the surface, of course, but let’s just put it this way…he is an electronic music pioneer, a synth-pop legend, someone who helped to expand the definition of what a rock star looks like and sounds like.  Because some might say that we have trouble at times sticking to the topic at hand, we also cover the newly minted adult in Uncle Gregg's house (hint: it's not him), intimacy issues, a genius (question mark?) way to save the planet, jorts, hot knees, and cuddles.  Lots o' cuddles.  And what does Hollywood legend Jamie Kennedy have to do with Vince Clarke?  We're not sure either. One thing's for certain...we will NOT be calling ourselves Only Three Lads US! Awww yeah! Our O3L Spotlight Artist of the Week is UK garage rock trio The Len Price 3, whose 2007 debut album is being reissued on April 7th by Little Steven's Wicked Cool Records.  The record will be available on vinyl for the first time, and also contains four unreleased bonus tracks on CD and digital.  We are thrilled to play one of those unreleased tracks, the incendiary "Break Your Neck" on this week's episode.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we unleash the beasts and spotlight songs that reference animals in the title...for example, the 1997 UK Top 40 hit "Hello Tiger" by Scottish lo-fi indie rock band band Urusei Yatsura. It's a happy coincidence, then, that our Third Lad this week is none other than singer/songwriter/guitarist GRAHAM KEMP from URUSEI YATSURA!   Urusei Yatsura was formed in Glasgow 30 years ago this week, and released three full length albums from 1996 to 2000, a clutch of singles & EPs, as well as compilations of rarities, live tracks and BBC radio sessions. Taking their name from a popular Japanese anime/manga (and simply known as Yatsura in the US and Japan due to legal reasons), the noisy "geek rock" band carved out a unique place in the British musical landscape. And there's another great reason to celebrate - their 1996 debt album, We Are Urusei Yatsura, has recently been expanded to a 2 LP reissue, complete with b-sides, demos and unreleased tracks! It's out now on Rocket Girl Records at https://uruseiyatsuraband.bandcamp.com, or try https://t.co/Y3rsuSFW00 in the US.   Join us as we discuss the formation of Urusei Yatsura, the Glasgow music scene, the importance of John Peel, hard-to-pronounce names, keeping a well stocked larder, Megan Thee Stallion lyrics, The Wallflowers, and much, much more. Plus, we introduce the latest (and dumbest) world famous O3L game, "Only Three Lads Had A Farm." So don't you get fresh with us...E-I-E-I-O, suckas!   #musicpodcast #musicpodcasts #classicalternative #indierock #geekrock #punkrock #newwave #1stwave #britpop #grunge #indiepop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh my stars!  This week, we get totally far out as we discuss some of our top songs of the era with a space theme.  It's totally out of this world. We cover a lot of ground...or space, as the case may be, since we determined that we've traveled hundreds of thousands of miles just during the course of the episode.  Yes, that's just one of several space facts that you will learn.  Also: We celebrate 50,000 downloads and counting!  Wiggy Rockstone!  Jean Nate'! All sorts of Kellies!  Peanut butter!  Trippy kids' TV (and the resulting crushes)!  Revolutionary teenage bands!  Gramps is no longer unemployed!  AI song lyrics!  John Taylor clones!   So hop on the O3L rocketship and let's gooooooooooo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#$@% yeah, it's another ^#%* episode of Only Three Lads!  And it's Uncle Gregg's $#!@-tastic birthday, and he'll ^@$& if he wants to! This week, we use a lot of four letter words...but it's not nearly as tawdry as you think.  We're covering songs with four letters in the title.   Plus: Uncle Gregg is unemployed!  Fee Waybill's #*@%!  Vampelephants! Our O3L Spotlight Artist of the Week is Nottingham, England's Peter Hall.  In a modern musical landscape that uses a term like "bangers," Hall revels in melodic indie rock that reminds listeners of what true songcraft can be.  His new mini-album, About Last Night, is out now on Subjangle: https://peterhallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/about-last-night From this release, we play the stunning "For Love." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our landmark 150th episode, we bring you an episode that made Brett so giddy that he nearly piddled.  That's right, folks, our Third Lad this week is none other than Phil Wilson from seminal UK indie pop band The June Brides.   During their initial run from 1983 - 1986, The June Brides released some of the most beloved singles of the era and the chart-topping album There Are Eight Million Stories... Originally under the spell of Postcard bands like Orange Juice and Josef K, the Brides' unique blend of guitar pop with viola and trumpet has in turn been wildly influential from C86 to Britpop and beyond.  High profile fans like Morrissey, Manic Street Preachers, and Belle & Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch have acknowledged The June Brides' impact.  Following the band's breakup, Phil recorded material for Creation and Caff before leaving the music business behind in the late '80s.   In the 21st century, The June Brides have returned for live gigs and recordings.  Phil also released an acclaimed solo album for Slumberland in 2010, God Bless Jim Kennedy, as well as self releasing collections of home recordings. Because your humble hosts of Only Three Lads are Only Two Idiots, it was a late realization that we already covered this topic in Episode 131.  Therefore, we present our first "Volume II" episode, where we take a previously covered topic and put a fresh spin on it with all new selections.  What do you think?  Should we add some more past topics back into the randomizer? As you would expect, we explore all kinds of dangerous diversions, dark alleyways and wabbit holes - Motley Crüe, Montrose, Andy Bell's "pendulum", a missed meeting with David Byrne, Coke mix-ups.   As Gregg would say: it's on like Donkey Kong! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three is a magic number, yes it is...and good thing it is, because this week we take a look at our top musical trios of the O3L era. Appropriately enough, our Third Lads are The Monkey Power Trio (who are actually five guys, but we only got three of them...so that counts as a trio, right?!?).  The MPT have a fascinating slant, as band member Dan Richardson told us: "We are the Monkey Power Trio, a band of dummies who pledged in our twenties to record music once a year for one day without practicing or planning ahead and then to release the 'best' of that one day as 'music.' The last guy alive, by pact, has to do a solo album, thereby completing the project and avoiding the hauntings of already departed members. We just finished our 26th year. None of us is dead yet." We had a blast hanging out with Dan, Mark and Matt for this episode.  We missed Mike and Dave.  Dave... Oh, and this one definitely earned its "explicit" tag.  It contains some language that will make your ears bleed and mind melt.  Hide the kiddies.   We recorded this episode a few hours before the news broke that we sadly lost Trugoy the Dove from hip-hop trio De La Soul.  Trugoy, this one's for you.   Finally, if you're listening to this on release day, Happy Valentine's Day from Only Three Lads.  We loves ya to pieces!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A-HA!  We go "back to the future" to 1985 to discuss our Top 5 Songs from that incredible year.  In many ways, 1985 was the heart of the BIG 80s...big hair, big, loud day-glo imagery, big booming snare drums, big synth sounds, big hits.  On the other hand, 1985 was also a year filled with a lot of incredible indie pop, garage rock, neo-pysch and post-punk music. One of those bands was The Dentists, a leading light of the Medway, UK scene in the mid-80s.  They debuted in 1985 with a prolific spate of releases: their first single, "Strawberries Are Growing In My Garden (And It's Wintertime)", the full-length album Some People Are On The Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now and a six-track EP, You And Your Bloody Oranges.  Each release masterfully blended '60s psych-pop, garage, and chiming, harmony-laden folk-rock that was mercifully out of step with the "Big 80s" sound.  Over the course of the next decade, the band would release 1990's Heads And How To Read Them, 1993's Powdered Lobster Fiasco, 1994's Behind The Door I Keep The Universe, and 1995's Deep 6 (the last two for major label Warner subsidiary EastWest), as well as more singles, EPs, and compilations.   The AllMusic Guide refers to The Dentists as "arguably the first Britpop band." It is our great pleasure to welcome Dentists' guitarist Bob Collins and bassist Mark Matthews as our Third Lads this week.  Along with a 40 year history as friends, Mark and Bob are bandmates once again in The Treasures Of Mexico.  They offer great insights on their history, and took their homework assignment seriously, coming up with a fantastic and thoughtful list of 1985 tracks.  During the show, you will hear The Treasures Of Mexico's 2021 single "Always The Shadows" and vintage 1985 Dentists track "I Had An Excellent Dream."   Finally...a Dentists visit to look forward to! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, all you young (and not-so-young) dudes. electric warriors, starmen, and foxes on the run!  If UK glam rock is your bag, then you'll definitely want to feel this noize and get it on with these 20th century boys.  Put on your electric boots and mohair suits because it's, it's a podcast blitz! Translation for the squares out there: we're talking about our Top 5 UK Glam & Glitter songs this week.  While it just made a minor splash in the US underground with bands like New York Dolls. glam rock was THE sound of young Britain in the early-to-mid '70s.  A punchy mix of amped-up rock n' roll energy, anthemic pop hooks, teenage angst, and a flair for outlandish, flamboyant theatrics, glam ushered in a new era of pop stars who challenged gender stereotypes and brought a sense of fun and excitement back to a rock landscape that was beginning to take itself far too seriously.  Artists such as David Bowie, T.Rex, Slade, Sweet, and...uh...Mud became household names and fixtures on the pop charts and TV screens. One of the bands who carried the influence of glam into the '80s was Southern California's The Joneses, led by singer/songwriter/guitarist...and Third Lad this week, Jeff Drake.  Formed in 1981, The Joneses synthesized glam, garage punk, '50s rock n' roll, Stonesy swagger, rockabilly and country & western and became one of the biggest drawing bands in the LA and Orange County areas.  Their electrifying performances earned them a rapturous following and a nod as the "Best Live Band" in a 1984 LA Weekly readers poll.  They sang about drugs, booze, sex and criminals, but also had the lifestyle to back it up - leading to Drake's battle with heroin addiction and federal imprisonment for bank robbery.  Now, JD bears all with his unflinchingly honest memoir, Guilty! My Life As A Member of The Joneses, A Heroin Addict, A Bank Robber and A Federal Inmate, out now from HoZac Books.   Aside from the normal fun we have, this is a wild tale of rock n' roll and redemption that you do not want to miss!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the phrase "guitar riff"? Big, stadium filling, wall-rattling riffs like "Smoke On The Water", "Whole Lotta Love", "Iron Man" or "Brown Sugar"? Well, even if they're not as instantly recognizable as their classic rock brethren, we've got plenty of amazing displays of riffery (yeah, we realize that's not a real word, Webster's) going on in the classic alternative world too.   Our Third Lad this week is not only someone who has heard a heck of a lot of loud guitar riffs in his life, but has made a career of capturing iconic moments of some of the biggest artists in the world (The Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner), alternative legends (The Clash, Nirvana, REM, The Replacements, The Jam), and the lesser known heroes of the underground (Compulsive Gamblers, The Pudz, Tupelo Chain Sex). Now photographer Marty Perez has compiled some of his greatest portraits into a new compendium on Hozac Books called Kill A Punk For Rock & Roll: Photographs by Marty Perez 1976-2019. It's a veritable who's-who of rock & roll over the past 40+ years, and is an essential time capsule for any music fan. Marty was a blast, with terrific stories, insights and some unusual picks (hey, that's usually Brett's job).   We turn our first O3L Spotlight of Season 4 onto a power pop/punk band out of the Isle of Wight, Reminders. A failing transatlantic relationship and a timeless riff are all it took for Reminders to produce their most authentic power pop track to date.  “International Dial Tones” feels like summer, reads like infatuation, and sounds like (a Gen Z) Undertones/Ramones supergroup. They are a true punk rock power trio firing on all cylinders, straight from the garage, rough around the edges, and yet the most refined we’ve heard the band yet. The beach punk boys of 2022 enter 2023 having graduated into bonafide songsmiths, and there is no further proof necessary than “International Dial Tones.”   #musicpodcast #musicpodcasts #classicalternative #punkrock #newwave #1stwave #indierock #indiepop #alternativerock #guitar #guitarriffs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices