All aboard the ... bus! This week we feature several songs about the poor man's chariot, the loser cruiser, etc - and the songs are comin' like London busses. Our first stop is "Midnight Bus" by Betty McQuade. From 1961, this one is an atmospheric tale of tragic young love, but more importantly, it sets up a crucial discussion of the "buzzer cord" ... where did the buzz go? Second on our route is "Bus Stop" by The Hollies. This one is also about young love but it has a happier ending, though the baroque arrangement carries an undercurrent of melancholy. While you wait at the stop, listen to "Red Box" by I Jog & the Tracksuits. Very suppressed rage and shy vocals meet the riff from "Love Rollercoaster"! Nobody walks in LA, except for the people Weird Al is stuck with on "Another One Rides The Bus." Legendary! The terminus is reached after we listen to "You're Crazy for Taking the Bus" by our favourite, Jonathan Richman. What a positive view of a long coach ride ... just like this episode!

We know you love us - but "Do You Love Me"? Berry Gordy got Motown started in 62 with The Contours and it might be a little revenge-romance fantasy. You will love Billy Gordon's vocal performance, the amazing backing vocal performance by FOUR other singers, to say nothing of The Funk Brothers. In '65, Paul Revere & The Raiders cranked out a version that's a lil bit ska, a lil bit surf. With palm muting - wild! The dawn of the 70s brought a strange, easy listening rendition by Essex's finest - Deep Feeling. Not far away, podcast faves Silicon Teens waxed the track in 79 and you know we love Daniel Miller's synth and soul (?) sounds ... The 80s got weird with Andy Fraser's attempt in 84 - the song is meh but the video is adorable. Finally, there's a version from 94 by Duke Baysee, and, true to the song, the dude is really working. Watch us now!

We're taking a second* kick at the ol' garage chestnut "I Can Only Give You Everything" (see episode 110 for our previous gabfest). We start with Them again to examine the RIFF and the rest. We quickly move on to The Ambertones and their version will make you carsick, so take some Gravol before this rough ride. If you like it, do the lurch! She'll be right by the next version, a swingin' rendition by Australia's Clefs. They're in the kangaroo pocket! Chicago's Little Boy Blues are up next and they have a cool, thin fuzztone and a foppier vocal delivery. We wind up with the weirdest version - by Texas's Iguanas. The vocals call to mind Frankenstein's assistant, Igor and the overall sound is super spacey, with some surprising electric jug! Just as you wanted, a little bit of this, a little bit of that - everything!

*third, actually - we recorded an episode in 2020 which we deleted

What a way to start 2025! A Happy/Sad New Year - the tune is "So Sad About Us" and we begin with Pete Townhend's demo which is probably from 1966. A melodic guitar ostinato with drone notes and sensitive soprano choirboy singing that ends abruptly. The song then gets overorchestrated by The Merseys - the first released version - but it's less a Wall of Sound and more a Ball of Mud. We're saved by The Who, who produce a proto-powepop masterpiece when they finally wax it. Sweden's The Mascots author a great garagey version in '67 but it's not exactly cricket, is it (listen to the garbled bridge)? ... The Jam brought the song back in 1978 and they "la la la la la la la" as well as anyone can. A discussion of wiry, leather-skinned British men ensues. In North America in '92, The Breeders delivered the song with a glint in their eyes before they blew up big. All this and palm muting tips for the gearheads!

It's time for our year-end gala! Categories include:

Bo Diddliest Goofy Great

Bo Diddliest Girl Group 

Bo Diddliest Song From A Theme Episode

Bo Diddliest Tambo

and the big one:

Most Insane Song!!

Xmas time is here! So we're bringing our annual Yuletide gifts to you in the form of rockin' and poppin' tunes. The first present under the tree is "I Want a Beatle For Christmas" by Patty Surbey & The Canadian VIPs. Requests for people put Santa Claus in an awkward position. The next gift is "Deck Five" by Saturday's Children. We think this one should be more well-known: it joins "Deck The Halls" with Dave Brubeck Quartet's "Take Five" and ... it works? Sometimes you get an inappropriate gift, and Bey Ireland's "All I Want For Christmas is a Go-Go Girl" is this year's example. It's a weird fusion of Northern Soul and lounge crooning ... Let's forget about all that and get back to the real Goofy Greats - "The Wildest Christmas" by The Rumbles Ltd. Santa makes an appearance in this one, and he sounds like Classy Freddie Blassie! And there's even a final stocking stuffer, so tune in to hear what it is - jing a linga, jing jing a linga!

Bo Diddley time! In this episode, we examine his 1955 b-side, "I'm A Man." The original is sparse, minimal, sexual, spiritual and powerful. We get real deep into the lyrics and textbooks get slammed. It took a long time, but in 1964, The Yardbirds authored a version that sounds like it comes from a utopian future of highly skilled R&B robots. And it has the ultimate Royalette! In 1965, Netherland's The Bintangs put out a garage version that's snotty, lazy, lethargic, hypnotic and cool. The Groupies brought the song back to the US - New York specifically, and they make the tune swampy, weird, and rhythmic: are there swamps in Manhattan? Finally, fast forward to the grungiest city of 1990 - Seattle - and listen to Dickless's version. Is it a protest of how the song and sound came to exemplify macho cock-rock attitudes? Probably! It has an extreme vocal performance and FUZZ and some wild slide gee-tar. OWWWW!

Ringo on the bongos! That's right, it's "You're Going to Lose That Girl" by The Beatles. John is at his snarly best in this number, and George & Paul provide some nice call-and-response. Anyways, the bongos and lyrics are our main focus, as they should be. And who sings "yeah" better?! - no one's better than the Beatles, there. The second version comes from The Villagers, a Zone Press Variation that comes from Florida - it's garage and great! Next up is Chicago's Cryan' Shames and who's gonna argue with a band whose lead singer is Toad? And it's about time we discussed JC Hooke, a hook-handed percussionist rival to Moulty! In 1971, Canada's Five Man Electrical Band did it and It's Absolutely Right - a post-Sgt. Pepper homage, a la ELO. The final word goes to Dwight Twilley, who covered the song in 2009 and it's a celebration. As it should be. Yeah!

This week, we feel the need ... the need - for speed! The first song out of the blocks is "Bad Girl" by The Zakary Thaks. Crazy words, great guitar work, and a fast tempo by a drummer whose snare sounds like two textbooks slamming! The second speedster is "7 & 7 is" by Love. More wild lyrics and singing, and again ... it's a drummer who holds the thing together ... barely, at times. It's a classic! The third throttler is "Love at Psychedelic Velocity" by The Human Expression - one of the all time great 66ers. This one is a true tire-melter! And finally, we swerve with two different versions of "Love's a Fire," by the mysterious Werps. Plug your grandpa's ears when we tell you what the band name means. It's the fastest hey!-ride you've ever been on! [Explosion sounds ...]

This one's as garage as it gets: 5 Versions of "I Need You"! - The Kinks, The Zakary Thaks, The Rationals, and two (!) versions by The Ascots.