This Weekâs Embedded Earworm Tune goes back to 1981.
I know a lot of hardcore Tubes fans consider the bandâs trio of more pop-oriented albums â beginning with 1979âs Remote Control, to The Completion Backward Principle (1981) and ending with 1983âs Outside Inside â to be where The Tubes lost all sense of inspiration and originality.
That they pandered to the shiny, slick new toy of MTV.
I understand how hard it can be when your favorite band gets popular and starts recording music with choruses and refrains and earworm-worthy melodies. I was more than a little bummed when I promised a little band from Ireland that âI Will Followâ them to âWhere the Streets Have No Name,â only to find that every street seemed to be named Bono Boulevard or Edge Avenue. So, I get it when your favorite band becomes big. Or big-ger. Itâs not like The Tubes had become the new U2. Then again, I was never much of a Tubes fan before the band went in a more power-pop direction. I was more âSheâs a Beautyâ and âAttack of the Fifty Foot Womanâ than a âWhite Punk/s on Dope.â (Though I later came to appreciate their entire oeuvre.)
One of my favorite songs by The Tubes is âTalk To Ya Laterâ from The Completion Backward Principle.
Timing is indeed everything. The Tubes releasing easily their most commercial-sounding song â and album â to date in 1981 was huge. I remember watching the music video for âTalk To Ya Laterâ all the time during that first year of MTV. I was 14 and gobbling up everything the channel was airing. I was surprised to learn that the song only made it to 101 on the Billboard charts as it seemed to be huge at the time. Not top-10 huge like âSheâs a Beautyâ two years later, but in my mind pretty close.
It helped that lead vocalist Fee Waybill was tall, had nice wavy hair, and had a commanding presence, both in the video and on stage. The Tubes live shows were legendary, with tons of props and sets and Fee wearing a variety of outrageous costumes. I was lucky enough to see them perform a few times, as, being a Bay Area band (not originally), they tended to play where I lived quite often.
I should mention that âTalk To Ya Laterâ was co-written by Steve Lukather of Toto, who also plays the lead guitar solo in the song.
In terms of earwormminess, the song is chock full of the sticky stuff. Itâs the last line of the chorus that I canât get rid of.
Are you a fan of The Tubes? Of all their eras, or more tied to one in particular?
I will admit that the production of this song (and album) does sound dated. Iâm not sure David Foster was the best choice of producer. (Though he was used again on the follow-up, OutsideInside). Arenât we more forgiving with dated stuff from our younger years, as nostalgia softens the edges?
Did you ever see The Tubes live? How was the show?
Did you know that Fee Waybillâs siblings are named Fie, Foe, and Fum?
I only saw The Tubes live once, back in 1977 when I was a freshman in college. They did this three-week run of shows at the Whiskey A-Go-Go and I saw one of the sets. Maybe 2 1/2 hours long. If I recall correctly, there were recording the "Live" album at the time.
Wow....I'll chime in, Rick....Steve'll be with you in a moment. Amazing time to see The Tubes, then. While they may have had tapes rolling at the Whisky (which wouldn't surprise me), their double-live was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon. In boning up a bit on them just now, it's interesting to note that, upon their signing with Capitol (with this "CBP" album being their first after several with A&M), the label wanted them to make their show leaner and "cleaner," stripping down their previously X-rated tendencies (on-stage, anyway)!
So, not only the historical show at the Whisky, seeing them in '77 was a snapshot in time shared by few! Color me envious!
I'll be the first to admit that I was super lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I had just moved to L.A. from Southern Indiana to go to college. I was music obsessed and just saw a crazy number of what turned out to be really iconic shows. Lots of stuff at the Whiskey. Everyone from Van Halen (their now famous NY Eve show) and The Clash to a Ramones/Blondie double bill. Drove up to SF to see what turned out to be the final show of the Sex Pistols (actually a really terrible concert). I had no idea at the time I was seeing all of these amazing shows. Most of the bands were really fringe and not at all commercial. Although I did see the Fleetwood Mac set in Inglewood that is going to be released as a live album in a few weeks.
I spent most of the 80s in Chicago, where I saw a lot of great bands. Although most of them never broke nationally.
I moved from Houston to L.A. in January '80, and the Whisky and Madame Wong's were my usual haunts, mostly seeking out the skinny-tie power pop bands! Bumping into Rodney Bingenheimer and Kim Fowley in front of the Roxy, early on in my move, was like "Hit Parader" Mag come to life for me!
Not to mention bumping into Doug Fieger at Tower, as he was perusing the end-cap display of The Knack's debut album, which featured Bruce Gary's drumkit! That happened in June '79, when I playcationed to L.A. for a week to suss out the place before moving!
Those early Clash and Ramones/Blondie shows were primo, too! If you're interested, here's my piece on visiting the Ramones backstage in '77 and then, a personal invite to their Houston hotel room the following year: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/keyless-entry-my-night-in-the-ramones
When I was teen back in Indiana, my dream was to write for Creem. And honestly, my writing style is more than slightly inspired by Lester Bangs and some of the other music journalists I grew up reading.
Great piece on the Ramones. I never was lucky enough to talk to them.
I really loved the Knack. Saw them live just after they signed their deal & wore out that first album. Although when I hear the name, I always remember this guy making a fortune selling "Nuke The Knack" T-shirts and buttons at the old overnight record convention that used to happen in the Capital Records parking lot.
I think that's why I loved the 80s/early 90s Chicago scene so much. Lots of great Power Pop/Pop Rock bands: Off Broadway, The Elvis Brothers, Bad Examples, Insiders. It had the makings of a scene, but it never quite took off.
You betcha it is, Rick! We oughta find a way to extend it, or "use" it somehow as content! We sound like we'd make a great podcast team! Holler if you have experience or know-how of how to make that happen, if you're interested!
Short of all that, a thread or article where we have a topic question or statement to get us started! I'm glad you liked the Ramones article. They were a fun bunch. Check out my Dolls/Todd Rundgren one, if you haven't! I spent 2 weekends with the Dolls in '73, then met Todd 5 years later. Oooh, what Sylvain said about his production of their debut!!đ±
I used to go to my share of those Capitol parking lot record convos in the early '80s, myself! We may have bumped into each other unwittingly at some point! I had Off Broadway's debut album, and have always wondered why they never made it (well, I think I know), but why they never seemed to get any love in the Power Pop community!
For about a month, now, I've had a post page already Q-ed up with the title: "Audio Autopsy, Late '70s Shadow Power Pop: Fotomaker, 1978 and Off Broadway, 1979-Too Little or Too Late?"
If you're game to collab on it, you can "cover" Off Broadway from a hometown POV, and I could dig into Fotomaker as to what was their deal, and why they missed the mark! Holler if interested!
Aaargh. Sorry, I just noticed this reply. In my defense, it's been a crazy week.
Yes, let's try and do something together. I've appeared on a few podcasts and did talk radio for a few years back in the day. But I don't have a podcast of my own.
And I'm up for the Off Broadway piece. My recollection of Fotomaker was that I didn't love the production of their debut album.
And weirdly enough, I did a very short Off Broadway piece about six weeks ago, although there wasn't much to it:
Nice one, Steve...especially sharing your teen exposure to them (and especially via MTV)....you were the prime audience for both (any Tubes video and MTV)! I followed the band with more curiosity than anything resembling out'n'out fandom. Because their career swept thru the mid- to late-'70s punk scene (I loved calling their hit song, "White Dopes on Punk"), I, of course, had to track their progress!
I never saw them live....Rick wins the early award for Tubes shows....not only at the vaunted Whisky, but early enough in their career to have seen their classic "balls-out" iteration before Capitol (if nothing else) "cleaned 'em up" and trimmed 'em down, show-wise.
To that end, with this album being their first for Capitol (after their first 6 with A&M), a definite direction-change was intentional and label-directed (I think the band saw the need, too).
As for the Waybill offspring, it's too bad Fee's not British: "Fee, Fie, Foe, Fum....I smell the brood of an Englishman!"
David Foster (who's amassed some 16 Grammys in the decades since): Six years before he co-wrote "TTYL" and produced this album (after Capitol had considered Jeff "Skunk" Baxter....how might THAT have sounded?), he was a 25-year-old music director and keyboardist for Stephen Michael Schwartz's second RCA Records sessions in '75 (said album was never finished)!
Stephen, along with telling the story of those sessions, in his own words, Stephen was kind enough to provide rare, exclusive photos from the sessions, where you can see Foster at the keys (and listening to playbacks), along with photos of the just-fired-by-Elton rhythm section of Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson on drums! I'm hoping you and your readers might enjoy: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/musical-storm-the-stephen-michael
Thanks, Steve, for another bitchin' 'Worm! I'll........uh, talk to ya later!đ¶đ
Thanks for the bit oâ music history! Itâs amazing how connected it all is! I think
if I was 5-6 years older I would have been more influenced by their early stuff I think. I didnât get to see The Tubes perform until way past their prime, like maybe 2000? Prairie Prince was there and a couple other original members but it was hardly peak Tubes.
It IS amazing, and Stephen's essays are so valuable to help illustrate it! It's fun to see a 25-year-old David Foster, in all his Sears-best finery, and just another talented schlub pounding the pavements for a session gig, having no clue that he'd, in time, possess well over a dozen frickin' Grammys, and now being able to afford buying Sears (are they even still a thing?)!
"Prairie Prince"---I can't help but picture the little, late Minnesotan crooning "When Doves Cry" and "Little Red Corvette" in a fringe-festooned leather jacket, coonskin cap, chaps and cowboy boots surrounded by grassy fields, a ramshackle house, and several grassy hills!
Jul 25, 2023·edited Jul 25, 2023Liked by Steve Goldberg
I love The Tubes, and this is actually my favorite song by them. It sounds a little dated, but that just adds to the charm. I'm sure nostalgia plays a huge role here.
I haven't heard much, if any, of Waybill's solo stuff, though the idea that he and Richard Marx worked on a record together seems wild to me.
I only saw The Tubes live once, back in 1977 when I was a freshman in college. They did this three-week run of shows at the Whiskey A-Go-Go and I saw one of the sets. Maybe 2 1/2 hours long. If I recall correctly, there were recording the "Live" album at the time.
A great show, but ragged beyond belief.
Wow....I'll chime in, Rick....Steve'll be with you in a moment. Amazing time to see The Tubes, then. While they may have had tapes rolling at the Whisky (which wouldn't surprise me), their double-live was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon. In boning up a bit on them just now, it's interesting to note that, upon their signing with Capitol (with this "CBP" album being their first after several with A&M), the label wanted them to make their show leaner and "cleaner," stripping down their previously X-rated tendencies (on-stage, anyway)!
So, not only the historical show at the Whisky, seeing them in '77 was a snapshot in time shared by few! Color me envious!
I'll be the first to admit that I was super lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I had just moved to L.A. from Southern Indiana to go to college. I was music obsessed and just saw a crazy number of what turned out to be really iconic shows. Lots of stuff at the Whiskey. Everyone from Van Halen (their now famous NY Eve show) and The Clash to a Ramones/Blondie double bill. Drove up to SF to see what turned out to be the final show of the Sex Pistols (actually a really terrible concert). I had no idea at the time I was seeing all of these amazing shows. Most of the bands were really fringe and not at all commercial. Although I did see the Fleetwood Mac set in Inglewood that is going to be released as a live album in a few weeks.
I spent most of the 80s in Chicago, where I saw a lot of great bands. Although most of them never broke nationally.
I moved from Houston to L.A. in January '80, and the Whisky and Madame Wong's were my usual haunts, mostly seeking out the skinny-tie power pop bands! Bumping into Rodney Bingenheimer and Kim Fowley in front of the Roxy, early on in my move, was like "Hit Parader" Mag come to life for me!
Not to mention bumping into Doug Fieger at Tower, as he was perusing the end-cap display of The Knack's debut album, which featured Bruce Gary's drumkit! That happened in June '79, when I playcationed to L.A. for a week to suss out the place before moving!
Those early Clash and Ramones/Blondie shows were primo, too! If you're interested, here's my piece on visiting the Ramones backstage in '77 and then, a personal invite to their Houston hotel room the following year: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/keyless-entry-my-night-in-the-ramones
Plus, my experiences a few days before you saw the Pistols, when they played San Antonio (with a contribution from fellow Substack music writer, and former CREEM Mag and other pubs, Wayne Robins): https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/sid-johnny-and-me-live-and-up-close
Cool stories, Rick........and, Steve, thanks so much, again, for the generous use of your Earworm acreage!
When I was teen back in Indiana, my dream was to write for Creem. And honestly, my writing style is more than slightly inspired by Lester Bangs and some of the other music journalists I grew up reading.
Great piece on the Ramones. I never was lucky enough to talk to them.
I really loved the Knack. Saw them live just after they signed their deal & wore out that first album. Although when I hear the name, I always remember this guy making a fortune selling "Nuke The Knack" T-shirts and buttons at the old overnight record convention that used to happen in the Capital Records parking lot.
I think that's why I loved the 80s/early 90s Chicago scene so much. Lots of great Power Pop/Pop Rock bands: Off Broadway, The Elvis Brothers, Bad Examples, Insiders. It had the makings of a scene, but it never quite took off.
Great conversation.
You betcha it is, Rick! We oughta find a way to extend it, or "use" it somehow as content! We sound like we'd make a great podcast team! Holler if you have experience or know-how of how to make that happen, if you're interested!
Short of all that, a thread or article where we have a topic question or statement to get us started! I'm glad you liked the Ramones article. They were a fun bunch. Check out my Dolls/Todd Rundgren one, if you haven't! I spent 2 weekends with the Dolls in '73, then met Todd 5 years later. Oooh, what Sylvain said about his production of their debut!!đ±
I used to go to my share of those Capitol parking lot record convos in the early '80s, myself! We may have bumped into each other unwittingly at some point! I had Off Broadway's debut album, and have always wondered why they never made it (well, I think I know), but why they never seemed to get any love in the Power Pop community!
For about a month, now, I've had a post page already Q-ed up with the title: "Audio Autopsy, Late '70s Shadow Power Pop: Fotomaker, 1978 and Off Broadway, 1979-Too Little or Too Late?"
If you're game to collab on it, you can "cover" Off Broadway from a hometown POV, and I could dig into Fotomaker as to what was their deal, and why they missed the mark! Holler if interested!
Aaargh. Sorry, I just noticed this reply. In my defense, it's been a crazy week.
Yes, let's try and do something together. I've appeared on a few podcasts and did talk radio for a few years back in the day. But I don't have a podcast of my own.
And I'm up for the Off Broadway piece. My recollection of Fotomaker was that I didn't love the production of their debut album.
And weirdly enough, I did a very short Off Broadway piece about six weeks ago, although there wasn't much to it:
https://www.allyourscreens.com/en/component/k2/item/2455-today-s-70s-song-you-should-know-stay-in-time-by-off-broadway
Nice one, Steve...especially sharing your teen exposure to them (and especially via MTV)....you were the prime audience for both (any Tubes video and MTV)! I followed the band with more curiosity than anything resembling out'n'out fandom. Because their career swept thru the mid- to late-'70s punk scene (I loved calling their hit song, "White Dopes on Punk"), I, of course, had to track their progress!
I never saw them live....Rick wins the early award for Tubes shows....not only at the vaunted Whisky, but early enough in their career to have seen their classic "balls-out" iteration before Capitol (if nothing else) "cleaned 'em up" and trimmed 'em down, show-wise.
To that end, with this album being their first for Capitol (after their first 6 with A&M), a definite direction-change was intentional and label-directed (I think the band saw the need, too).
As for the Waybill offspring, it's too bad Fee's not British: "Fee, Fie, Foe, Fum....I smell the brood of an Englishman!"
David Foster (who's amassed some 16 Grammys in the decades since): Six years before he co-wrote "TTYL" and produced this album (after Capitol had considered Jeff "Skunk" Baxter....how might THAT have sounded?), he was a 25-year-old music director and keyboardist for Stephen Michael Schwartz's second RCA Records sessions in '75 (said album was never finished)!
Stephen, along with telling the story of those sessions, in his own words, Stephen was kind enough to provide rare, exclusive photos from the sessions, where you can see Foster at the keys (and listening to playbacks), along with photos of the just-fired-by-Elton rhythm section of Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson on drums! I'm hoping you and your readers might enjoy: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/musical-storm-the-stephen-michael
Thanks, Steve, for another bitchin' 'Worm! I'll........uh, talk to ya later!đ¶đ
Thanks for the bit oâ music history! Itâs amazing how connected it all is! I think
if I was 5-6 years older I would have been more influenced by their early stuff I think. I didnât get to see The Tubes perform until way past their prime, like maybe 2000? Prairie Prince was there and a couple other original members but it was hardly peak Tubes.
It IS amazing, and Stephen's essays are so valuable to help illustrate it! It's fun to see a 25-year-old David Foster, in all his Sears-best finery, and just another talented schlub pounding the pavements for a session gig, having no clue that he'd, in time, possess well over a dozen frickin' Grammys, and now being able to afford buying Sears (are they even still a thing?)!
"Prairie Prince"---I can't help but picture the little, late Minnesotan crooning "When Doves Cry" and "Little Red Corvette" in a fringe-festooned leather jacket, coonskin cap, chaps and cowboy boots surrounded by grassy fields, a ramshackle house, and several grassy hills!
More coffee?
I love The Tubes, and this is actually my favorite song by them. It sounds a little dated, but that just adds to the charm. I'm sure nostalgia plays a huge role here.
I haven't heard much, if any, of Waybill's solo stuff, though the idea that he and Richard Marx worked on a record together seems wild to me.
Lol. Isn't his real name something like John?
According to Wiki: John Waybill's nickname among the band was "Fee," short for "Fiji," thanks to his copious head of hippie hair.
The Tubes on « The Fishinâ Musician!!! »