Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to violence. Welcome,
welcome back to Pop Rocks Radio. As always, I
am your host, Bijan. This is our first episode
for a while. We can get into why that is in a
little bit, but I gotta say it is great to be
back. And before you say I didn't get you anything
for Christmas, here are The Leopards with Block
Party. You can thank me later.
That was our friends The Voltz with their latest
single, Over and Done. And we kicked off the
show with Block Party from The Leopards' 1987
album, Magic Still Exists. That was put out on
Voxx Records, a sister label to Bomp, both run
by Greg and Suzy Shaw. We lost Greg in 2004,
but Suzy still runs the mail order herself out
of her office in Burbank. Speaking of which,
for any of you collectors out there, one of her
hobbies, if you want to call it that, is to go
through the Bomp archives and put together just
the most fascinating bundles for sale on her
site. She recently put together an amazing Flamin'
Groovies bundle. The Groovies' single, You Tore
Me Down, is the single that launched Bomp Records
back in 1974, and Greg Shaw managed the band
later as well. Go and have a look at that and
all the other cool stuff they have at bompstore
.com. Here's a clip from a recently unearthed
recording of an interview that Greg Shaw did
back in 1977 for a Boston radio show. Greg, why
don't you tell us a little bit about Bomp Records
and the distribution that you're setting up.
Well, Bomp Records is our record label, and we're
releasing underground records just like Stiff
Records is doing in England and other labels
around the world. Bomp Records is also a distribution
thing. All of the records you play in your show
are available by mail order through our... bomb
records operation and anybody that wants to write
to that address can get a catalog but some of
these records are hard to find in stores although
if stores want to order them we'll take care
of them but it's been hard getting stores to
recognize that why they should carry a seven
inch record with three songs on it and a cover
of some weird looking group you know so we're
trying to push them so they'll understand it
right and aren't you also trying to find like
stores in every major city too hopefully carry
a lot of the underground sounds? I think it's
the next step, really. If these bands are going
to get beyond the dingy clubs they're playing
now, they're going to have to get national exposure
through records, and the records have to be on
sale. We found that whenever the records are
on sale, they sell like crazy. We have Tower
Records in Hollywood now is carrying punk rock.
They're selling about 2 ,000 singles a week,
and they've got a whole section for it, punk
rock, and it's the category that attracts people.
People are interested in it because it's weird.
It's just a matter of getting it out in front
of them, just like these bands, once they are
seen, are appreciated nationally. We closed out that set
With Joe Glass who you may know of as part of
Kai Slater's Sharp Pins that was Freight Train
Woman from his new album Snakewards before that
we had the Webstirs from Chicago with King of
Distortion from their latest album High Up in
the Trees and we kicked off that set with Kim
Theory from Los Angeles with Child Star Teeny
bopper that is from their latest ep Bitch Scene
If you've ever wondered what an animated movie
scored by Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and
Cheap Trick would look like when it completely
loses its mind, 1983's Rock and Rule is your
answer. Here's the basic setup, and I use the
word basic generously. Rock and Rule takes place
in a future where humans are gone, animals somehow
survived, evolved, and turned into a... fully
sentient mutant race. Why animals? No idea. No
explanation. It's just weird Planet of the Apes
logic that you either accept immediately or you're
lost forever. In this world, rock and roll has
actual power. Journey to a world where the cosmic
forces of music, magic, and technology collide.
Fame isn't metaphorical. It's... Currency, religion,
magic. Which brings us to our villain, Mok. Mok
is a decadent aging rock star who looks like
glam excess weaponized. He's famous, rich, worshipped,
but his popularity slips just enough to send
him spiraling into a full cosmic narcissism.
His solution? Open a hell portal and unleash
a literal demon using the perfect voice of a
young singer named Angel. Because when you're
already on top of the world, obviously the next
move is summon a beast from another dimension.
Angel is the innocent with the voice. Omar is
the scrappy musician boyfriend trying to save
her. And somewhere in the background, the universe
is hanging in the balance. The vibe is pure heavy
metal. Adult animation, drugs, sex, nihilism,
spectacle. But filtered through Canadian weirdness
and art school ambition. There's a club scene
that plays like Studio 54 for mutant animals.
complete with Earth, Wind, and Fire on the soundtrack,
and a moment where you suddenly notice, yes,
all the female animals have nipples. And that
soundtrack? Absolutely stacked. Music isn't background
here. Music does things. It controls crowds,
it opens portals, it literally shapes reality.
The animation studio behind this madness was
Canada's Nelvana. And at the time, they were
among the very few North American studios seriously
attempting adult cinematic animation. Combining
dark themes, expressive character acting, experimental
pacing, and rock music in ways most studios simply
wouldn't risk. One of my favorite details? Character
animator Robin Budd said Mok's movement was
inspired by a young Peter O'Toole in heavy makeup
pretending to be Mick Jagger. And once you know
that, you can't unsee it. The plot eventually
escalates to the point where the demon gets unleashed.
No one can send it back, except somehow two people
can. Don't ask how. Drugs may have been involved
in the writing process. Rock and Roll is confusing,
excessive, horny, overreaching, and visually
unbelievable. It doesn't always make sense, but
it absolutely commits. It's a movie from a moment
when people genuinely believe rock and roll could
change reality or end it. And honestly, I kind
of miss that confidence. I haven't found Rock
and Rule for rent anywhere, but someone has a
full rip of the film up on YouTube, which is
where I was lucky enough to have watched it.
I didn't see it in the theater. I was about 14
when it came out. I can only imagine how colorful
my teenage years would have been if I had. And
now, this. I would like to buy a hamburger. That was The Vandalias
from the great city of Minneapolis with Buzzbomb!
from their 1998 album of the same name.
Before that, we had The Goods with their latest
single back to you on Dandy Boy records from
Oakland. That is a cover of the Riverdales song
from 1995. And we kicked off that set with everything
considered from Joint Pains, latest album, Ouch,
more to come here on Pop Rocks Radio. But first
a word from our sponsor, but. Since we still
don't have a sponsor, it's really just a word.
Want to stick it to the corporate overlords and
help your community at the same time? Head on
down to your local record store and show them
some love. Sure, you could probably buy that
record on Amazon, but shopping at your local
record store is an adventure. And instead of
funding somebody's second private jet, the dollars
you spend there will likely stay right in your
community. Don't have a local record store? Then
head on over to bompstore.com where you'll be
supporting one of the last of the true independents.
Not to mention finding stuff that is just too
cool to be found anywhere else. Okay, back to
the show. That was, of course, the Go-Go's with
Beneath the Blue Sky from their 1984 album Talk
Show. If memory serves, I spent 1984 shooting
at the walls of heartache. Bang, bang. Glad that's
over. Hey, everybody! An old man's talking! Okay,
for our featured artists this week, I have decided
to spend the next few shows showcasing the work
from the individual members of the seminal band
The Nerves. Jack Lee, Paul Collins, and Peter
Case did more for independent music, both as
a highly volatile and underappreciated team,
as well as their various other projects, than
I think they are ever given credit for. This
week, let's start out with friend of the show
and one hell of a nice guy, Paul Collins. As
drummer for The Nerves, he has carved out his
own path since as a solo artist and as part of
The Beat. This is from that band's classic 1979
debut, which also provided the name for a very
fun sub stack by Laurie Christian, who has many
rock and roll stories to share. Check that out.
This is Rock and Roll Girl. That was That's What
Life Is All About from Paul Collins Beat's 1982
album The Kids Are The Same. The Paul Collins
Beat is a project that Paul has returned to over
the years with different personnel, but always
with that unmistakable sound. Here's one from
Ribbon of Gold, his album from 2008. This is
I Still Want You. That was Kind
of Girl from 2018's Out of My Head, the, I believe,
eighth solo album by Paul Collins. Paul has been
touring both the U .S. and Europe for the past
couple years. I actually made a trip down to
L .A. to see him at the end of 2024, but they
got grounded coming from back east due to a hurricane,
so I missed them on that tour. Still on the bucket
list, though. When I interviewed Paul for the
Pop Rocks Radio YouTube channel, he told me that
the enthusiasm from the crowds in Europe was
just otherworldly. So, well-deserved for him.
Let's do one more from Paul. This is from 2014's
Feel the Noise. Really a great album out on Alive
Records. This is All Eyes to See. And that is
it for our featured artists this week. Next week,
we'll dig into some of the amazing songwriting
of the larger -than -life force behind The Nerves,
Jack Lee. So tune in next time for that. Whatever,
dude. Whatever. Peace. God bless. Okay, we have
time for a couple more sets. This is the new
single from Uni Boys off their upcoming album
due out in March. This is I Don't Wanna Dream
Anymore. That was Seattle's own The Darts with
Apocalypse from their upcoming album Halloween
Love Songs. Before that, we played Kai Slater's
band Sharp Pins with I Could Find Out from their
latest Balloon, Balloon, Balloon. Something just
wonderful about how the jangle of that Sharp
Pins track and the organ of that Darts track
just make sense together, you know? Okay, before
we head into our last set, just want to take
a sec to thank all the artists and their promoters
for sharing this music with me. And remember,
everyone, if you really want to support independent
artists, show them what they mean to you by buying
their music, okay? This is from our friends Drugs
and Sport from Newcastle, Australia. From, If
Only We Could Use These Powers for Good, this
is Cooked. We closed out that set with Bellevie
from Sweden with their latest Feel So Far Away.
Before that, we had The Arcs from Athens, Georgia
with She's Just That Kind of Girl from their
album Athens Avenue. And with that, we have come
to the end of another episode of Pop Rocks Radio.
Join us again next time when we'll try to shoo
some of the craziness of these days away with
just some cool goddamn music that will take care
of just about anything. Playing us out today,
we have The Primitives with Way Behind Me from
their classic album, Lovely. And this is Bijan
from Pop Rocks Radio. Thanks for listening. Be
good, be weird, and we'll see you next time.