Chuck the Writer's K-Chuck Radio: TISM, "Thunderbirds are Coming Out"

TISM (short for "This Is Serious Mum") were an Australian rock-funk band who liked nothing better than to give an up-yours to society. They performed their songs while wearing obscuring masks, and many of the titles of their songs could not be repeated on a G-rated blog like this.

However, this track, "Thunderbirds are Coming Out," is a pretty cool song. The whole concept of the death of individuality by the acknowledgment of a classic 1960's children's TV series has a very strong vibe to it.

Now about this video. TISM invited several Australian rock bands to lip-synch to "Thunderbirds are Coming Out," and TISM (in their masks) show up in the final seconds of the clip - only to find that the song has ended without them.

Here's a clip of TISM, "Thunderbirds are Coming Out," on K-Chuck Radio.



And if you'd like to see what TISM look like actually PERFORMING the song, here's a clip from an Australian TV series, "Recovery," showing TISM in all their glory. Right here on K-Chuck Radio.

Chuck the Writer's K-Chuck Radio: The Shangri-Las, "Out In The Streets"

Here's a classic from the 1960's. You might have heard of the Shangri-La's, the girl group whose songs of teen angst and emotion brought them legions of fans with hits like "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." They would later be inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and there are still people who want the Shangri-La's inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This track, "Out in the Streets," was not one of their bigger hits, but it is significant in that this performance, from the old tv series "Shindig," changed the image of the Shangri-La's from goody-good teenagers next door to - well, you see for yourself.

Here's the Shangri-La's, with "Out in the Streets," on K-Chuck Radio.

Chuck the Writer's K-Chuck Radio: Tony Carey, "I Won't Be Home Tonight"

This is the first of what I hope will be several different trips back into the past, to provide some classic music that hasn't been heard in a long time - songs that should have been major hits, but for one reason or another fell through the cracks.



First off, I apologize for the bad video feed, this is the best I could pull up.

Tony Carey was originally a keyboardist for the band Rainbow; he later had some success with both a solo career and a concept project called Planet P. This track, "I Won't Be Home Tonight," was from the album of the same name, and was released on Rocshire Records back around 1983. The song actually charted into the lower regions of the Billboard Hot 100, and Carey had a second minor hit from that LP with "West Coast Summer Nights."

Unfortunately, Rocshire Records was a front for an elaborate embezzlement scheme, and the company is now a distant memory. Carey, however, moved to MCA Records, and had two Top 10 hits with "A Fine Fine Day" and "The First Day of Summer."

So here's Tony Carey with "I Won't Be Home Tonight" - here, on K-Chuck Radio.