Monday, July 05, 2004

An Argument Against Authenticity

Bubblegum, after all, is the bottom line of rock and roll. It matters because the real truth is that there will always be at least one tender spot deep in the heart of rock and roll which should never grow up and never will. So you're all welcome to your hash pipes, I'm a Fleer man myself.
- Lester Bangs in "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll", 1980


Friday and Saturday I downloaded twelve songs and made myself a "Billy's Best Of Bubblegum" disc:

1) "Indian Giver" - 1910 Fruitgum Company
2) "Little Bit O' Soul" - The Music Explosion
3) "Green Tambourine" - The Lemon Pipers
4) "Jam Up Jelly Tight" - Tommy Roe
5) "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" - Boyce & Hart
6) "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" - Crazy Elephant
7) "Bang-Shang-A-Lang" - The Archies
8) "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" - The Ohio Express
9) "Last Train To Clarksville" - The Monkees
10) "Quick Joey Small" - Kasenetz Katz Super Circus
11) "The Rapper" - Jaggerz
12) "Crystal Blue Persuasion" - Tommy James & The Shondells

I've been playing this disc to death and can't wait to unleash its addictive catchiness on unsuspecting friends. (Hello Spunk Studio.)

I think this bubblegum infatuation started as a reaction to my late-spring love affair with same-era (sixties turning into seventies) heavy proto-stoner rockers such as Blue Cheer, Vanilla Fudge, and Sir Lord Baltimore. In fact, the bubblegum seed was planted in my mind when I read a review of Sir Lord Baltimore's first album in a Creem review by Mike Saunders (link via Rockcritics Daily) in which he states that he is still has a fondness for "Indian Giver."