In The Past: Garage Rock Podcast

What a riff! What great rock 'n' roll asides! What joy in the chorus!! It's "Sweet Jane" by  The Velvet Underground ! A cavalcade of covers by  Brownsville Station ,  Lou Reed  (solo from '74),  Eater ,  Friends Again , and of course,  Cowboy Junkies . This is one of the episodes where  we  crack the code and tell you what the lyrics mean so listen and find out! Smoot...

It's time for a beautiful song this week... namely,  "I Only Have Eyes For You" by Harry Warren (composer) and Al Dubin (lyrics). We start with the original by Dick Powell in 1934 and listen to us tell you about the 1930s style of crooning! But we're back on familiar ground with the most famous version by Doo-Woppers The Flamingos, from 1959! The most beautiful nocturnal song o...

Our word on the Bird this week - "Surfin' Bird," that is! We have to start with two songs by The Rivingtons : "Papa Oom-Mow-Mow" & "The Bird's The Word," which laid the foundation for future ornithological madness. After seeing The Sorenson Brothers (formerly The Revels ) perform a mash-up of the two songs, The Trashmen added the tune to their repertoire...

Over the holidays, we were in Canada's Royal City - Victoria, BC - and Erik suggested we take on The Kinks song of the same name. She reigned for 63 years so her impact was large, on both Ray Davies and the city of the newly wed & nearly dead! Mexico's Los Rockin Devils covered the song the same year and we don't speak Spanish, but we think they changed the lyrics to make it a l...

It's time to celebrate the brightest and Bo Diddliest of 2025 on our Year-End roundup! Categories this year are ... Bo Diddliest Song From a Series Episode Bo Diddliest Cymbal Work Bo Diddiest Song From a Theme Episode and the one everyone  really  waits for ... Most Insane Song!! Thanks to all the Pastronauts and see you in 2026!

It's less than a week before the big day, so let's get the big ball of twine out to wrap up some Xmas gifts, starting with  The Wailers , who are out of their (Christmas) tree once again to lambaste the consumerism of the holiday season with the Dylan-esque "Christmas Spirit" ... a couple of Yuletide yowlers by  The Hallmarks  and the freaky-peaky  A440 follow. Santa's sle...

Pastronauts have been asking "Please Please Please" for a new episode, so here's  James Brown & The Famous Flames ' 1956 debut ... what a way to begin a career! He basically sings two words the entire song and it's an unequalled vocal performance. After that, we have renditions by  The Five Royales  and a bizarre one by  Ike & Tina Turner   which is more speech tha...

Back to our roots this week for a two-pack! "Too Many Lovers" - an original 1966 song by Manchester/Netherlands beat combo  The Scorpions and the only cover we could find anywhere -  The Tell Tale Hearts from 1987. We dive deep  into the tune and also ruminate on the commerciality (or lack thereof) of garage rock. A real throwback! We said!!!

Another theme episode! This time we explore 60s garage & psych tunes that aim to rewire your mind ... you're going to have a Herculaneum cranium after hearing all the mind-blowing riffs and sounds that permeate these 6 (!) tunes!!

This week, it's the great Goffin/King chestnut "I'm into Something Good" - but did you know the original version was recorded by Earl-Jean of girl group greats, The Cookies ? Something tells us you'll like it every bit as much as the more famous version by Herman's Hermits , which of course we also cover. Ever wanted to hear the song in Mandarin? Then lend your ears t...

To discuss, "You Can't Sit Down" by  The Dovells , you need to go back to "Sit Down Servant" by  The Staple Singers , a joyous hymn to entering heaven with syncopated handclaps. You also need to return to the raucous instrumental version by  The Philip Upchurch Combo and then you'll hear where the South Street singers got all those elements for their 1963 hit. Did you...

We've made it to another milestone, and to celebrate, we've picked some garage and garage-adjacent tunes to toot our own horn! Prepare to hear a lot of  fuzz  and friendship - we couldn't have done it without us!!!!

We're bagging on The Beatles for a second week in a row! This time it's The Rutles who snatch the laurels off of the Fab Four's shaggy heads. Just like before, we pick SIX songs wherein to make our case, so just tune in and find out how amazing the song craft of Neil Innes (Ron Nasty) was, as well as the playing of Ricky Fataar (Stig O'Hara), Ollie Halsall (the voice of Dirk Mc...

This week we play and discuss six (6!) songs by The Mascots ,  also known as the Swedish Beatles! Before there was ABBA, there were The Mascots, whose songs had that early Lennon/McCartney fairy dust. Tune in and you'll find your new favourite song!!

Too much freedom can be a bad thing, but not when it's us giving you several versions of The Rolling Stones ' "I'm Free" from 1965! The original is a carefree song that strolls along, with a moment where the tune gets tripped up but quickly recovers. Then we have All-American boys The Lovin' Kind , whose version is organ-soaked, with a chorus really explodes! Next up...

Everyone's a winner in this episode, well, almost - only one will get the coveted Bo Diddley Award . At pole position is the original version by The Turtles , who could be tough when they wanted to be. And it's also the original cowbell clanger- take that , Blue Oyster Cult! The second horse in the race came out the same year as the original and it's by The Sounds Like Us . We waltz...

Each version of  Jackie DeShannon 's "Each Time" is a treasure! We start with Jackie's original 1964 demo, which swerves from the Spectorian template and adds Mexican mariachi horns ... with backing vocals by The Blossoms , it's a winner! The same year,  The Bon Bon 's made the song a proper Girl Group Great with some nice doo-wop touches and cash register percussion!...

This week we're listening to Huey "Piano" Smith & The Clowns 1958 hit "Don't You Just Know It" - an ebullient call-and-response rocker that's also a Goofy Great!  The Fendermen's 1960 cover gives the song some Midwestern hillbilly hyuks and Cramp-y guitar. The song then crossed some ponds when Casey Jones & The Governors added the tune to their reper...

What the heck is Keith Richards doing on the  Rolling Stones ' "Empty Heart"? If you know him, ask him. The tune is a down n dirty bluesy number from the band's early days and even  Ian Stewart gets in on the action.  Thee Midniters  did a groovy rendition in '65 - but are the happy horns too much? Later that same year  The First Four covered the tune and hoo-boy! is it ga...

By request from Chris & Val of the Cavern Club, we're playing "Searchin'"  by The Coasters!  It's a Table-Topper and a Goofy Great with an oompah beat and an amazing vocal performance by Billy Guy - what else do you want? On New Year's Day 1962, The Beatles recorded a version that wasn't released for years and that's because it stinks! Isn't the sto...

On this episode, we honour the 60s music of our home province, Alberta. We start on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton with two songs by The King-Beezz : a cover of The Kinks ' "I Gotta Move" and their original "Found & Lost." Then we drive down Highway 2 to Calgary to hear The 49th Parallel 's "Laborer." Maybe we'll stop at Peter's for a burger and sha...

John & Bobby from The Gruesomes are not only back on the podcast, they are back with a NEW LP!! -- "The Dimension of Fear," which comes out on September 5 on Soundflat Records. To celebrate the joyous occasion, we listen to and discuss the insane garage classic, "Fluctuation," originally by Texas horndogs The Shades of Night - along with a 1982 cover by The Chesterfield Kin...

Hark! What song through yonder window breaks? It is "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet" by The Reflections , from 1964. It may be the last gasp of doo-wop, but what a way to go out! You wouldn't believe how many other houses have covered this song - let's start with The Fadin' Colours from the land of Shakespeare. They add fuzz! , horns, and a turbulent arrangement that match...

Is "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" by The Barbarians the greatest 60s haircut song? Is it a goofy great? a protest song? You better listen and find out ... The Ravens from Columbus, Ohio grew the song out in '66 and add fuzz ... but it's not exactly garage ... or effective. The punk era saw short haircuts but a paradoxically longer version of the song by The Dogs , from Mich...

In June, the great and underrated Lou Christie  died, so it was time to save him from Masterlist limbo. In this episode, we've picked our favourite bangers by him - most off of the great 1988 anthology Enlightninment - and prepare for his falsetto to appear in every one! There's doo-wop, girl group sounds, and teenage symphonies galore - let's celebrate the great farmboy from Pennsy...