Friday, August 21, 2009

Radios appear as the sun greets the dawn

The Birdmen cover the Elevators. This was the first version of the song I ever heard, and it was a few years before I realized it wasn't a Radio Birdman original. It's still my favorite version of the song.



Radio Birdman took their name from a misheard lyric in the Stooges' "1970" ("radio burnin' up above") the title of their debut album from the lyrics of BOC's "Dominance & Submission", but their sound was more heavily influenced by 60s garage punk.

I think their best songs were their covers ("You're Gonna Miss Me", "TV Eye") which were excluded from Sub Pop's Essential Radio Birdman compilation. They reformed in 2006 for a reunion album that was better than either the Stooges or New York Dolls reunion albums, but nowhere near as good as Radios Appear.

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