I had a cassette with a cover of the cramps “Human Fly.” I thought it was perhaps Iggy Pop but numerous searches yielded no results. It’s quite a bit heavier than the original and in my opinion even better. I would love to find it. Help me Alan Cross, you are my only hope. Thanks in advance.

“Human Fly” first showed up on the Cramps’ 1984 album, Bad Music for Bad People and along with “Goo Goo Much” is probably the band’s best-known song. It’s since been covered by a whack of different people. The Fuzztones included it on their 1987 album, Live in Europe. In 2000, a group called Sonovac covered it for a 2000 album called Bomb Boutique, Vol. 2 (which was subsequently re-worked by French DJ Frederic Sanchez on his 2002 self-titled album). But my guess is you had Music for Insect Minds, a 1991 album by Halo of Flies, which was released through Amphetamine Reptile. Their version sounds like Iggy Pop on acid.

I just bought the new Dinosaur Jr. album Beyond and was wondering if you have ever done a show on either Dinosaur Jr. and the evolution of the band, or J. Mascis as an artist including time with Dino, his solo work and other side projects (I hear he played drums for a few bands).
Thanks.

I haven’t, actually, partly because Dino Jr. was inactive for much of the last decade. A part of that was due to the fact that J. Mascis suffered two cracked vertebrae sustained in a serious bus accident in Sweden in June 2001. If you want to know more, Michael Azerrad (the author of Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana) includes a long chapter on Dino Jr. in his book, Our Band Could Be Your Life.

I am a recent graduate of Mohawk College, in the Radio Broadcasting program and have been having a hard time finding a job. I did a couple years of volunteering at the campus radio station and was part of a team that broadcasted Mohawk college basketball games live. In my 2nd year Barry Taylor and yourself came and spoke to our class.
My question is, since I am having a hard time finding a job, what advice can you give me to help me get my foot in the door to start my career off? I really want to get into sports on the radio, but anything to start off is fine. I just want to find any job in radio to start working my way up in the industry and also to learn a lot from the job. Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks again.

My advice is to be annoying—and I mean that in the most positive way possible. First, put together a kick-ass resume, cover letter (don’t forget the references!) and demo tape. Then identify ten or so stations across the country at which you’d like work. Start sending both MP3s and hard copies to the program director/news director/sports director every six weeks or so. Follow each one up with a friendly phone call. This helps develop a relationship with the person in charge of hiring at each station.
The key is to play into human nature. When an opening appears at a radio station, it creates a hole—and that hole begins to fill up with unfinished and neglected work. The manager in charge of that department already has a ton of work of his/her own and wants to fill that hole as soon as possible. However, smart managers will have a short list of people they’re constantly watching just in case something opens up. If you’ve managed to establish a relationship with that person, you’re on that short list.
And whatever you do, don’t be afraid to uproot yourself and travel to wherever in the country you can get that first job. You’ll be opening the door to a major, major life adventure. Good luck!

There was a rock video played on “The All-Night Show” with Chuck the Security Guard. It was a regular feature on the show in the 80’s and may have been titled “Hey You”. Do you know the title, artist and if it is possible to get a hold of a recording. Thanks

Chuck the Security Guard ran on CFMT-TV (Omni.1) in Toronto. In 1980, they became one of the very first Canadian stations to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The midnight-to-6am slot was held down by Chuck, who was played by comedian Chas Lawther. His all-night coup usually resulted in re-runs of The Outer Limits, The Prisoner and The Twilight Zone. An occasional guest was a young Jim Carrey who used the gig to work on his various celebrity impressions. Although Chuck was really popular with the late-night crowd, the gig lasted just one year (Sept 1980 to Aug 1981). As for that song, it doesn’t ring any bells. Can anyone help Roland? You might want to check out some of the clips that have been showing up on YouTube and Facebook. There’s also a 2008 documentary on the show called 10,000 Shiftless Nights.

Can you retrieve some Meatloaf CDs? Dead Ringer, Couldn’t of Said It Better, Live around the World, Story Tellers, Bat 3, Philharmonic orchestra CD and Meatloaf ID. Appreciate this! Thanks!

Let’s take these one at a time:

• Dead Ringer: Still available through Epic.
• Couldn’t Have Said It Better (Myself): This is an EP released in Germany through Universal International (catalogue 65684). It may be tough to track down, but it’s still in print.
• Live Around the World: Still available through Tommy Boy
• Meatloaf: VH1 Story Tellers: The CD is a little tough to find, but the DVD is still available through Eagle Rock Entertainment.
• Bat Out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony: Still available through Sanctuary
• Bat Out of Hell III: Still available through Virgin
• Meatloaf ID: Could you mean the interview CD released on Baktabak in 1995? If so, it’s still available.

Great forum! I was wondering if you were aware of any CD copying software
that can give artist/track info without connecting to an Internet database.

Before the rise of the CDDB (the Compact Disc DataBase, which later became
known as Gracenote) and www.freedb.org, there was a lot of different
software that allowed anyone to create their own databases without having to
connect to the Internet. The problem was that the second that these
programs were released, they were out of date. Pretty much all of them have
since disappeared, although have managed to stubbornly hang on. You might
want to try a program called Album Quest 1.00. It’s free to try and $49 USD
to buy.

I am trying to find a band from the early 90s. I believe they were called
Rev. I remember the album cover was black and silver and the music was
great and alternative. I had a cassette which has since been long lost.
Help me … please.

In the last 15 years, there have been several bands with the name Rev. I’m
wondering if your band was a Canadian group called “Rev.” (spelled with a
period at the end of their name). They had one album from 1995 called If
the Color Hurts (black cover with gold text). Does that sound familiar?

I was and still am an explorer in regards to seeking out new bands that
might fit my varied musical tastes. I remember finding a band by the name
of Luminary from mp3.com back a few years ago. I was able to download a few
of their sample tracks and that’s about all. I was wondering if they ever
published an album or really what happened to them at all.

It depends on which Luminary you mean. There was a band called Luminary
from Brisbane, Australia who specialized in a groove-y dance/electronic
sound and who released material on MP3.com. They don’t seem to have
anything available. Then there’s a trance/dance group from the UK called
with that name who still offers material on MP3.com. I’m pretty sure
they’re the same Luminary (www.luminarymusic.co.uk) which featured an
American singer named Ashely Tomberlin. Check her out on MySpace
(www.myspace.com/ashleytomberlin) or at her own website
www.ashleytomberlin.com for a discography and song listing.

Quite recently I have noticed a resurgence of interest with the band
Delerium who are on the Nettwerk label. Back in the mid-90s they were huge.
I have always been a fan (have most of their CDs). However I remember this
one song that is coincidentally not a Delerium track that sort of got me
into this music.
The problem is I have absolutely no idea what it is. I have asked several
friends who consider themselves pretty knowledgeable regarding electronic
and synthesizer music and they have no idea. I have spent several
frustrating hours on the Internet searching through 90s videos and blogs
about electronic music. I do however remember several things about the
song’s video.
The video came out somewhere between mid year 1996 and mid year 1997. There
is a type of female torso automaton type sculpture that poses and morphs its
shapes. The colour of the torso is a coppery gold metallic finish and moves
in a sort of stop-motion type photography. The beat for the music is slow
but very much within the Delerium style.
All of the colours in the video remind me of a dark baroque type of art wish
deep browns and rusty colours. It is very artsy in its photography and had
lent itself to the music almost perfectly.
Please note - it was in regular rotation on Much Music during the time frame
above (1996-1997). Any help would be appreciated -
P.S. - I have been listening to the history of the new music for years every
Sunday and am always astounded by your research. Everyone who I know has
ever listened to it thinks it is absolutely the best music history show they
have ever listened to. Have you ever been approached to make it into a
television show? Thanks for the years of great shows.

First of all, thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it. Second,
I’m wondering if the band you’re looking for is called the Rose Chronicles.
They were signed to Nettwerk in the middle 90s and featured singer Kristy
Thirsk, the woman who sings “Flowers Become Screens” on Delerium’s Semantic
Spaces album. The Rose Chronicles had several releases, which included a
song called “Awaiting Eternity” in 1993. It appeared on a Juno
award-winning album called Shiver. See the video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwC_IHn8Wjc, which has some of the hallmarks
of your description. More on Kristy and the Rose Chronicles at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Chronicles and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristy_Thirsk

Why do people just blow off the likes of an artist such as Todd Rundgren as
not relevant? God, the guy can play, record, and produce. So in essence why
does he not get his just dues and recognition? Also why is radio so damn
calculating and frankly boring? Surely not like when I was a teenager in
the 70’s. Guess the radio programmers are allowing the corporate yahoos to
squeeze them in the conformist corner. In all honesty, it feels like they
are cheating the public and placing them into a hypnotic trance to like the
crap they certify as real music.

Todd is one of those artists who insist on playing by his own rules and
tends to go against the grain of the music business. He has no interest in
doing things conventionally and consequently has found himself on the
outside of the mainstream music business. But it’s okay. He prefers it
that way.

As for radio, many millions of dollars are spend on audience research every
year in order to find out the wants, needs, demands and wishes of the people
who listen. The goal of any commercial radio station is to appeal to as
many people for as long as possible and as often as possible. In its purest
form, “broadcasting” means to appeal to as many people as possible at the
same time. That’s why it’s tough for any radio take too many risks with
music. And now with anyone able to get whatever they want whenever they
want it on the Internet, radio has to be even more careful about scaring
people away with music that might be too challenging or weird for the
average listener.