The Tell-Tale Hearts

Carl’s Rock Songbook #41: The Cramps, “Goo-Goo Muck”

by Carl Scott

The last Songbook post could have been titled What Martha Bayles Has to Learn from Retro Rock n’ Roll. This post could be titled What Retro Rock n’ Roll Has to Learn from Martha Bayles. The basic lesson: the primitivist aesthetic cultivated by many in the retro scenes, and particularly in . . . . Continue Reading »

Carl’s Rock Songbook #40: The Bangles, “I’m in Line”

by Carl Scott

Musically, my Songbook is grounded upon Martha Bayles’s theory of American popular music, and my last post gave an account of what I believe I’ve learned from her.  In the next several posts, I’ll be providing some elaborations upon or reactions to her theory. That theory is . . . . Continue Reading »