WFMU: Put The Needle On The Record with Billy Jam: Playlist from April 9, 2010

Listener comments!
	12:31pm Will York (sfbg): Bring home the baking Would you like a slice of Pop-O-Pies with that cuppa Joe? ’MOST OF THE bands that you go out to see / Save the hit till the end and it’s all real cheese-y / But there’s only one group, and it comes from San Fran / That will play you the hit over and over again." So go the words to "Pop-O-Rap," possibly the only song anyone’s ever written to brag about how they only play one song. The "hit" was a cover of the Grateful Dead warhorse, "Truckin’," the band was the Pop-O-Pies, and before you get any funny ideas, no, they were not a joke band. Still hot off the presses, Pop-O-Pies’ Pop-O-Anthology 1984-1993 (www.pop-o-pie.com) is a classic time capsule of San Francisco punk rock history. The disc brings together the hard-to-find Joe’s Second Record (Subterranean, 1984), Joe’s Third Record (Subterranean, 1986), and a later, long-out-of-print single, "In Frisco"/"Squarehead" (Amarillo, 1993). Their first record, 1983’s The White EP, was originally released through Columbia subsidiary 415 and its material had to be left off the comp due to publishing issues. Pop-O-Anthology’s 18 songs cover a surprising range for a band who, true to their word, played nothing but "Truckin’ " during their first two years of live shows. There are catchy, Sex Pistols-style punk rock songs, spoken word diatribes and early experiments with rap, a squalling cover of "I Am the Walrus," and a couple of droning, proto-noise rock workouts spilling over with lead guitar that sounds like it was played by Black Flag shredder Greg Ginn if he’d stayed in one key at a time. Out of time Pop-O-Anthology is, among other things, a very of-its-time .., which accounts for the time-capsule quality. The rap songs sound like Kurtis Blow, and they even bleep out a curse word in one particularly quaint moment. Meanwhile, the lyrics address a specific time and place in history, taking on arrogant scenesters, cokeheads, New York City, the music industry, and dumb hardcore bands. Indeed, a lot of it is punk rock about punk rock, but rather than coming off as insider-type snobbery, band leader Joe Pop-O-Pie’s sarcastic, observational lyrics resonate with a truthfulness and sense of humor anybody can relate to. On the other hand, while Pop-O-Pie knew how to skewer punk pretensions as well as anyone, he only did it because he cared. Before becoming a punk convert in the late ’70s, Pop-O-Pie, who prefers not to use his real name, was a classical composition major and a follower of the ultra-intellectual serial music of Anton Webern, and his punk rock conversion story is worthy of the Minutemen – "Punk rock changed our lives" and all that. "I was really stressed out during that time," the Tenderloin resident recounted the day before Halloween at a coffee shop south of Market. A Pop-O-Pies clock hangs from the wall. "I had a lot of ulcers, and I had a bad back ... and I swear, I heard this music, and it was like this whole world opened up to me. I thought it was magical because it healed all these stress-related diseases I had. I thought, ’There’s something to this, so I gotta get into it.’ " Rough stuff In light of Pop-O-Pie’s classical background, it’s remarkable that his band’s music was so rough-edged. Throughout Pop-O-Anthology, vocals fall flat, guitars feed back, false starts are left on the tape, and the whole approach seems guided by a one-take aesthetic that flies in the face of stereotypical music-schooled anal-retentiveness. But it’s part of the all-inclusive ethos of the Pop-O-Pies, whose lineup completely changed (apart from Pop-O-Pie himself) for each recording. "I never wanted to alienate anybody by being too concerned with virtuosity or getting too complicated," explained Pop-O-Pie, who’ll be unveiling a new version of the band this spring for their first live shows in more than a decade. Playing the same song for two years was certainly one way of keeping things uncomplicated. The idea of covering "Truckin’ " originally came to Pop-O-Pie in 1979, when he was still in college in New Jersey. "The big bands back then who were still considered kind of underground were Devo and the Talking Heads and the Ramones," he said. "And so I said, ’What if you got those three elements together and they were to write the Grateful Dead’s "Truckin’ " instead of the Grateful Dead – what would it sound like?’ " The answer came when he recorded a demo version of "Truckin’ " after moving to San Francisco in the early ’80s. As the story goes, that demo wound up becoming the most requested song on KUSF 90.3 FM in late 1981. So for their live shows, he reasoned, why not give the people what they want and just play the hit? That’s exactly what they did, although they didn’t just play it once and then call it a night – they’d play the song and then play it again. And again. For an entire 40-minute set. "You’d think that might be boring," Pop-O-Pie admitted. But it wasn’t, because it was different every time." They’d start off playing their original version, which sounded roughly like the one on Joe’s Second Record. "And then we began to do an improvisational thing where we’d kinda take it out there, so by the end it would sound like John Cage was sitting in with the Pop-O-Pies – like the Residents doing ’(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,’ " referring to the masked band’s brilliant deconstruction of the Rolling Stones hit. Doing ’Donuts’ At first, audiences were confused and irritated, but as he explained, "It became like this cult thing that you just had to come see in San Francisco, like the Coit Tower." "Flipper was kind of the big band here at the time, and it was a similar sense of humor," added Bill Gould, former Faith No More bassist and a member of the Pop-O-Pies circa Joe’s Second Record. "But when we went to L.A. or Texas, people would freak out. They’d get pissed off." Another song that used to piss off unsuspecting audiences was a Pop-O-Pies original called "Fascists Eat Donuts," which appeared on The White EP. That song consisted of a single chord played over and over, while Pop-O-Pie repeated the lines "Make those donuts with extra grease / This batch is for the chief of police." "That was actually one of the highlights of my life," Gould said about performing the song live and watching unsuspecting audiences go from nervous laughter to mild annoyance and then to full-fledged anger and, finally, passive acceptance. "There was this one [show] we did in Texas, like in Dallas at this warehouse, where we just played ’Fascists Eat Donuts’ for so long that I was actually starting to hallucinate. I was starting to hear new melodies and new songs, because it was just this drone that was going on relentlessly." In a bit of trivia that’s usually omitted from the rock history books, Pop-O-Pie was actually the first vocalist for Faith No More in their early days as a "shitty local band that nobody cared about," as Gould put it, or "the greatest band to come out of Frisco since the Pop-O-Pies," as the singer himself once boasted. In 1983, Gould and Pop-O-Pie shared a house with FNM keyboardist Roddy Bottum on Shotwell Street in the Mission District. Another early FNM vocalist also lived there: Courtney Love. "What a house," Pop-O-Pie said with a laugh. "Those guys used to use my name to get gigs," Pop-O-Pie added. Now, he’s returned the favor by pasting Faith No More’s name on the Pop-O-Anthology cover in prominent bold print – right above equally bold pronouncements of the band’s personnel connections to Mr. Bungle and the Dead Kennedys. It’s beautifully tacky, and whether it’s crass self-promotion, intentional self-parody, or a little bit of both is anyone’s guess – which fits the Pop-O-aesthetic perfectly. "There’s a certain sense of humor where it’s hard to find where it’s real and when it’s a joke," Gould said, putting the Pop-O-Pies’ audience-confounding antics in context. "But it’s a certain kind of mentality that San Francisco produced that was really good.... Flipper, Pop-O-Pies, Zip Code Rapists ... even the Dead Kennedys had that a little. It was very interactive. It’s like a theatrical kind of blurring the lines between reality and art, in a way."
	12:43pm Billy Jam: good day mate......good to be back in the WFMU studios in Jersey CIty - Shout out to all the people over in Galway who made WFMU so welcome last week including Paul Deacy at Bell Book and Candle and Jimmy Penguin of the Vince Mack Mahon crew and all the folks invloved in the Community Skratch Games. - This show is dedicated to Malcolm McLaren who died of cancer at age 64 yesterday. Today's guest (on phone from the West Coast) is Joe Pop-O-Pie. The photos on top and bottom of today's playlist are ones I snapped last October in a castle over in the island of Jersey in the UK Channel Islands last October when this show and WFMU broadcast live from the Branchage Film Festival. Shout out to Xanthe! - Thanks for listening. Please send your thoughts on life, music, and your plans for the summer of 2010 in these here COMMENTS - peace Billy Pop O Jam
	3:06pm Carmichael: No room left to post! Hiya Billy!
	3:11pm chris: Too godamn early to be as pissed as I can tell I'm gonna need to be to really feel this show. well, i'll do my best... rock the fuck on, BillyJam!
	3:12pm Bad Ronald: Happy freakin Friday everyone! RIP Malcolm M.
	3:23pm postmanpaul: hi billy boy! v nice tunes indeed. what am i up to? preparing to meet my birthday girl down town! hi bad ronald. yeah, rip malcolm. he deserves it.
	3:24pm Timothy Devlin: Right back @ ya Ronald....
	3:30pm Timi Dz...Nutz: Heeeyyyyy BIIILLLLLLLYYYYY........it's Timi Time!!!!
	3:30pm djspiderman Z: exactly what i need to hear--- chillin me right out, Cheers Billy J thoughts life = love music = love summer 2010 plans = go raintcoat shopping (UK resident ) happy Jam day to y'all on the board ,,,,,
	3:32pm Cecile: Life = the only thing worth living for music = makes the people come together summer = hopefully getting a dog and visiting Lake Superior.
	3:39pm Cecile: pop-o-pies were on my playlist back in the day at WCBN, too. They were/are great!
	3:41pm Cecile: that must have been because 415 was bought by Columbia when they acquired Romeo Void. You'd think they would put them out!
	3:51pm Robert: I met Leary too, a few yrs. earlier. He spoke before small audiences, so it wasn't hard to meet him. This was a somewhat disappointing presentation on virtual reality with Robert Anton Wilson and Timothy Leary at NYU, or nearby it at least. About, oh, 1989.
	3:54pm Sean Daily: Not even close to first comment! Woo hoo!
	3:55pm Cecile: Sean Daily! As I live and breathe!
	3:57pm Billy Jam: hey Sean Daily - great to hear from you....Where ya been buddy? -
	4:01pm Sean Daily: Gettin' my sh!t together. Sitting with elders of a gentle race this world has seldom seen, who talked of days for which they sit and wait when all will be revealed. You know, stuff. How are you, Cecile, Billyjamicus Maximus?
	4:03pm Seamas: What was the last song about the Catholics are attacking?
	4:04pm dc pat: hey Sean. welp gotta go.
	4:04pm Cecile: I'm doing quite all right. Glad to hear you're doing well!
	4:06pm Sean Daily: Glad to know Billy Jam's still here and you guys are okay. I fianlly figured out a way to listen to WFMU at work without getting fired. This, of course, rawks.
	4:07pm dc pat: huh, what did you have to do to sneak the streams in?
	4:07pm Cecile: do you have State Violence , State Control by Discharge, Mr. BIlly Jam? see ya dcp
	4:08pm Sean Daily: Ah, punk AND hip hop on Friday. Does it get any better? I think not.
	4:09pm Cecile: It could only get better if I was sitting on Jemaine Clement from FLight of the Conchords' lap, he was feeding me nachos, and Sylvester and John Coltrane amd Jay Reatard just came back from the dead.
	4:10pm Cecile: I will just take nachos in a pinch.
	4:11pm Sean Daily: Gotta stream it on my personal laptop from an outside WiFi server AND make sure my production at work stays up, DCP. Took me a bit to get the second part worked o
	4:14pm chris: Life = Being able to enjoy Bill Jam's show Music = freeform WFMU, vis a vis Billy Jam's show Summer '10 = Life + Music + a pinch-o-lovin :-)
	4:15pm dc pat: I see, yeah the second part is hard for me too. Luckily they don't expect too much anyway, KNOW WHAT I MEAN? HAR, HAR,HAR.. ok, really leaving now.
	4:16pm Sean Daily: See ya, DCP.
	4:17pm dc pat: seeya, nice having you back Sean. y'know, I never really liked McLaren anyway...bye!
	4:17pm Jennique: THANK YOU FOR PLAYING DOUBLE DUTCH! This was my first introduction to Malcolm standing in front of the camera and singing. It's still a great song.
	4:19pm ALF of Hip Hop Slam: I remember Double Dutch. Never seen the video though.
	4:21pm Jennique: ~ALF~ You should def look up the video on youtube. It's great seeing all those girls and their moves doing double dutch. Apparently it was shot in some gymnasium in the Bronx.
	4:25pm Tall Paul: Yo Bill n Alf, what up? Checking in now. Bill good to catch up with you in Dub. Hope all is good with you.Oh sugar Buffalo Gals takes me back remember poppin to this at home. Peace, One Love
	4:28pm chris: Found myself watching the movie Fifth Element, that Bruce Willis future romp with the cutie in the skimpy costume... anyway, there's a scene where a space Diva is singing in Operatic fashion, backed by some techno kind of track... found myself wondering yesterday if there was a McLaren influence to that... he kinda made that sound first, didn't he?
	4:40pm Cecile: I love this Caribou. Do you have The Bells by Jeff Mills?
	4:44pm dj laz-e: hi billy.. what was that last tune??? rapaa!!
	4:47pm Bad Ronald: Dang! I step away and I miss the Malcolm tribute AND the second coming of Sean Woo Hoo Daily. I am chagrined.
	4:48pm ?: ahaaa!! a list
	4:48pm Billy Jam: hey Laz-E - sorry I missed you in Dublin this time - Saw Tu-Ki on Weds....I think song you mean is the instruemtal one by Caribou - who is producer Dan Smith
	4:54pm Cecile: Billy Jam, I like it when you bring the electro-funk.
	4:56pm Billy Jam: thanks Cecile - I love it too....Hey thanks for sending me that High Decibels on NPR link and for doing it. Am sending to the guys back in Oakland in case they dont know
	4:58pm Cecile: I think they might, they sent a photo, but thanks for doing that, just in case. I think they could be really huge. Like as big as Lady Gaga. But that's in my world.
	4:58pm demer: billy jam!!
	4:59pm demer: JJERSEY BURNS THE DVD..ABOUT TO DROP..BIG SHOUT OUT TO WFMU AND BILLY JAM!!
	5:00pm Cecile: OH. Kings Go Forth did a record with Tom Moulton, didn't they? I think they did! I think this might be it, right?
	5:01pm Billy Jam: hey Tall Paul Lowe - good seeing you too.....and thakns for all that music....will be playing some now and next week.......>>What up Chris! Good point you made in that comment! > Hey Bad Ronald.....He DEMER......we gotta schedule this years GRAFFITI special - email me and figure it out - Maybe late May? - They had a nice big GRAF exhibit ove in Dublin All CIty Tivoli Jam -
	5:03pm demer: for sure bill..will be in contact within a few days!! much love n respect bill..as always
	5:03pm DAVIDLEEROTH: great set jillybam! muchos muchos grassyas!
	5:03pm Sean Daily: Loving this Bonobo track, Billyjamicus Maximus.
	5:07pm JoeyStupid: Son Of Bazerk!!!
	5:11pm Cecile: what keyboard or whatever makes what I call that "heavy falling electronic sound"?
	5:12pm chris: Oaktown in da house! Yeeeya!
	5:20pm chris: Together = to get her = Classic!
	5:24pm dc pat: ...but, I'm starting to like the Pistols again...
	5:25pm billy jam: Hey DC Pat - talk about delayed reaction.......but nice how you could keep your mind on the one topic.......Mine had gone off elsewhere.....
	5:29pm mynameisjOhn: What a g'wan, Mr. Jam! Great to see you on Irish soil again, cousin - the weekend was the iLLnEss. Cuttin the Last Kreep all weekend. Massive props. Billy Jam - Knows the time....stays ahead of it.
	5:32pm Bad Ronald: Hey DCP how can you stop liking a tune like "Did You No Wrong"? I may havta screen "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle" this eve...
	5:32pm Billy Jam: yo dOObs - great seeing you too....and your set on WFMU last weekend (as well as all your other CSG contributions) was off the hool......Saw Aidin )Tu-Ki) who said he would be playing alongside you down in Limerick this weekend.....And Steinski is heading over there too. Are you booking him this time?
	5:37pm mynameisjOhn: Nope, he's playing Galway as far as I know. We have Egadz and Dj Pain coming through for a show in May though. Should be boomin'. A lot of sore heads around town this week, but definately one of best CSGs yet. Biggup, the selection is awesome.
	5:40pm Bad Ronald: I concur deez raps is kickin!
	5:42pm Bad Ronald: I wanna get you to do vox one one of my tracks man!
	5:43pm Timi Dz...Nutz: Hey..I see Sean Daily is back. WooHoo!!
	5:45pm Shouties: ta Seanie! er and, Woo Hoo!!!
	5:48pm Timi Dz...Nutz: DJ C U Next Tuesday cut the music off so she could hook up a turntable play old Malcom records for a tribute....not so bad but sucks just the same...
	5:51pm Timi Dz...Nutz: Hey Billy..think you might have The High Decibels on the 30th show straight outa Oakland??? I'm the mutherfucker you read about....
	5:58pm Bad Ronald: Thanks again for another bang-up job Mr. Marmalade. Keep it slammin!!!

Put The Needle On The Record with Billy Jam: Playlist from April 9, 2010

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Hip-hop and rap, that's where my heart's at. But I'll play anything so long as it ain't crap!

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April 9, 2010: Anti-Reagan and stuff man...yeah! feat. Joe Pop-O-Pie + dedicated to Malcolm McLaren

Listen to this show: Pop-up listen Pop-up player!

(* = new)

Artist	Track	Album	Label	Year	Format	Comments	New	Approx. start time
Billy Pop O Jam + Bryce O Pie	reagan and stuff man, yeah		Vandals Took The Handles Tapes	2010
Pop-O-Pies	A Political Song "A Political Song" by "Pop-O-Pies"	Joe's Second Record	Subterranean Records	1984
Pop-O-Pies	The Industrial Rap "The Industrial Rap" by "Pop-O-Pies"	Joe's Second Record	Subterranean Records	1984				0:03:57 (Pop-up)
Pop-O-Pies	Truckin' (Slow Version)	Joe's Second Record	Subterranean Records	1984				0:06:30 (Pop-up)
Pop-O-Pies	Square Head "Square Head" by "Pop-O-Pies"	In Frisco / Squarehead	Amarillo Records	1993	7"			0:10:01 (Pop-up)
Pop-O-Pies	Christmas Time In Frisco	Pop-O:Anthology 1984 - 1993	Pop-O-Pies	2003				0:12:31 (Pop-up)
Bored Stiff	Sucka Free Spirit "Sucka Free Spirit" by "Bored Stiff"	Now More Than Ever		2010		Get the whole album right here: http://boredstiff.bandcamp.com/		0:13:59 (Pop-up)
Aloe Blacc	I Need A Dollar "I Need A Dollar" by "Aloe Blacc"	Good Times	Stones Throw	2010			*	0:16:49 (Pop-up)
Uncle Lew & Cam Russett	Cherry "Cherry" by "Uncle Lew & Cam Russett"	VA: Jimmy Penguin Presents, Volume Two	Community Skratch Music	2010			*	0:21:15 (Pop-up)

Joe Pop-O-Pie	Joe Pop-O-Pie, Phone Interview on Billy Jam's "Put The Needle on The Record", 04.09.2010	Not On Album	Not On Label	2010				0:30:25 (Pop-up)
Pop-O-Pies	The Catholics Are Attacking	The White EP	415 Records	1981				1:01:25 (Pop-up)
Pop-O-Pies	Fascists Eat Donuts "Fascists Eat Donuts" by "Pop-O-Pies"	The White EP	415 Records	1981				1:00:48 (Pop-up)
Anti-Pasti	Six Guns "Six Guns" by "Anti-Pasti"	Six Guns	Rondelet Music & Records	1981				1:03:31 (Pop-up)
Violent Society	Violent Society "Violent Society" by "Violent Society"	Special Duties Violent Society Split 7"	Rondelet Music & Records	1982				1:06:37 (Pop-up)
Sid Vicious & Johnny Rotten	Bonnie Simmons Interviews Sid Vicious & Johnny Rotten on KSAN, 01.14.78	Never Mind The Filthy Lucre, Here's The Sex Pistols	Suck My Filthy	1999				1:09:01 (Pop-up)
The Sex Pistols	Pretty Vacant, Live at Winterland 01.14.1978	Never Mind The Filthy Lucre, Here's The Sex Pistols	Suck My Filthy	1999				1:11:33 (Pop-up)
Malcolm McLaren	Double Dutch "Double Dutch" by "Malcolm McLaren"	Double Dutch	Charisma	1982		produced by Trevor Horn		1:14:38 (Pop-up)
Malcolm McLaren And The World's Famous Supreme Team	Buffalo Gals	Buffalo Gals	Charisma	1982				1:22:27 (Pop-up)
Malcolm McLaren And The World's Famous Supreme Team	D'Ya Like Scratchin'	Double Dutch	Charisma	1982				1:26:10 (Pop-up)
Malcolm McLaren And The World's Famous Supreme Team	Legba (excerpt)	Duck Rock	Charisma	1983				1:31:52 (Pop-up)
Malcolm McLaren And The World's Famous Supreme Team	Song For Chango	Duck Rock	Charisma	1983				1:33:00 (Pop-up)
Caribou	Bowls "Bowls" by "Caribou"	Swim	Merge	2010			*	1:35:08 (Pop-up)
Art of Fresh	Get Money feat. Tona & JD Era	Back To The Earth	Northstarr Ent/Beatchild Prod	2010			*	1:41:26 (Pop-up)
Eulorhythmics	Leavin "Leavin" by "Eulorhythmics"	Green St. & Avers	All Natural Inc.	2010			*	1:45:13 (Pop-up)
Chiwawa Studios	Democracy "Democracy" by "Chiwawa Studios"	Nubiro Blues	Community Skratch Music	2010			*	1:47:55 (Pop-up)
Mux Mool	Crackers "Crackers" by "Mux Mool"	Skull Taste	Ghostly International	2010			*	1:51:13 (Pop-up)
Kings Go Forth	I Don't Love You No More	The Outsiders Are Back	Luaka Bop	2010			*	1:54:52 (Pop-up)
Bonobo	We Could Forever "We Could Forever" by "Bonobo"	Black Sands	Ninja Tune	2010			*	1:59:17 (Pop-up)
Son Of Bazerk Feat. No Self Control The Band	Bang (Get Down, Get Down)	Son Of Bazerk Featuring The No Self Control & The Band	MCA	1991				2:03:33 (Pop-up)
Amp Live	Dropp feat. Hot Tub "Dropp feat. Hot Tub" by "Amp Live"	Murder At The Discotech	Child's Play	2010				2:08:54 (Pop-up)
Jahcoozi	Barricaded feat. Barbara Panther	Barefoot Wanderer	BPitch Control	2010				2:12:12 (Pop-up)
Meth, Ghost, Rae	Our Dreams (produced by RZA)	Wu Massacre	Def Jam Recordings	2010				2:16:09 (Pop-up)
DJ Babu	Ghost Romper Room / Lil' Juanito	DJ Babu - The Beat Tape Vol. 2	Nature Sounds	2010			*	2:19:33 (Pop-up)
Alex B	Talk It Out "Talk It Out" by "Alex B"	Moments	Elm & Oak	2010				2:22:27 (Pop-up)
Nas	Nas Is Like "Nas Is Like" by "Nas"	I Am...	Columbia	1999				2:24:34 (Pop-up)
Black Sheep	Strobelite Honey "Strobelite Honey" by "Black Sheep"	Single	Mercury/PolyGram	1991				2:29:12 (Pop-up)
Nice and Smooth	Sometimes I Rhyme Slow (Wicked Mix)	Single	Rush Associated Labels	1992				2:32:45 (Pop-up)
Diabolic	Soldier's Logic "Soldier's Logic" by "Diabolic"	Liar & A Thief	Shayna's Pop	2010				2:36:04 (Pop-up)
RRR 500 Various Lock Grooves by 500 Various Artists vs. President Kennedy In Ireland			RRR vs. The Gramophone Limited					2:40:11 (Pop-up)
DJ Skizo	Ghetto Child "Ghetto Child" by "DJ Skizo"	Broken Dreams	Relief Records	2007		Tune in next week, DJ Skizo will be live in the Studio with DJ ALF, Shingo & Icewater		2:44:05 (Pop-up)
Rumbus Merrylegs	Boredom feat. Tweek	VA: Community Scratch Music Volume 2	Nozl Recordings					2:48:01 (Pop-up)
Neil Buchanan	GG Peniston "GG Peniston" by "Neil Buchanan"	VA: Community Scratch Music Volume 2	Nozl Recordings			Djaculuate & Moschops		2:50:47 (Pop-up)
Malcolm McLaren	madam Butterfly "madam Butterfly" by "Malcolm McLaren"	Fans	Charisma	1984				2:53:18 (Pop-up)

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Listener comments!
	12:31pm Will York (sfbg): Bring home the baking Would you like a slice of Pop-O-Pies with that cuppa Joe? ’MOST OF THE bands that you go out to see / Save the hit till the end and it’s all real cheese-y / But there’s only one group, and it comes from San Fran / That will play you the hit over and over again." So go the words to "Pop-O-Rap," possibly the only song anyone’s ever written to brag about how they only play one song. The "hit" was a cover of the Grateful Dead warhorse, "Truckin’," the band was the Pop-O-Pies, and before you get any funny ideas, no, they were not a joke band. Still hot off the presses, Pop-O-Pies’ Pop-O-Anthology 1984-1993 (www.pop-o-pie.com) is a classic time capsule of San Francisco punk rock history. The disc brings together the hard-to-find Joe’s Second Record (Subterranean, 1984), Joe’s Third Record (Subterranean, 1986), and a later, long-out-of-print single, "In Frisco"/"Squarehead" (Amarillo, 1993). Their first record, 1983’s The White EP, was originally released through Columbia subsidiary 415 and its material had to be left off the comp due to publishing issues. Pop-O-Anthology’s 18 songs cover a surprising range for a band who, true to their word, played nothing but "Truckin’ " during their first two years of live shows. There are catchy, Sex Pistols-style punk rock songs, spoken word diatribes and early experiments with rap, a squalling cover of "I Am the Walrus," and a couple of droning, proto-noise rock workouts spilling over with lead guitar that sounds like it was played by Black Flag shredder Greg Ginn if he’d stayed in one key at a time. Out of time Pop-O-Anthology is, among other things, a very of-its-time .., which accounts for the time-capsule quality. The rap songs sound like Kurtis Blow, and they even bleep out a curse word in one particularly quaint moment. Meanwhile, the lyrics address a specific time and place in history, taking on arrogant scenesters, cokeheads, New York City, the music industry, and dumb hardcore bands. Indeed, a lot of it is punk rock about punk rock, but rather than coming off as insider-type snobbery, band leader Joe Pop-O-Pie’s sarcastic, observational lyrics resonate with a truthfulness and sense of humor anybody can relate to. On the other hand, while Pop-O-Pie knew how to skewer punk pretensions as well as anyone, he only did it because he cared. Before becoming a punk convert in the late ’70s, Pop-O-Pie, who prefers not to use his real name, was a classical composition major and a follower of the ultra-intellectual serial music of Anton Webern, and his punk rock conversion story is worthy of the Minutemen – "Punk rock changed our lives" and all that. "I was really stressed out during that time," the Tenderloin resident recounted the day before Halloween at a coffee shop south of Market. A Pop-O-Pies clock hangs from the wall. "I had a lot of ulcers, and I had a bad back ... and I swear, I heard this music, and it was like this whole world opened up to me. I thought it was magical because it healed all these stress-related diseases I had. I thought, ’There’s something to this, so I gotta get into it.’ " Rough stuff In light of Pop-O-Pie’s classical background, it’s remarkable that his band’s music was so rough-edged. Throughout Pop-O-Anthology, vocals fall flat, guitars feed back, false starts are left on the tape, and the whole approach seems guided by a one-take aesthetic that flies in the face of stereotypical music-schooled anal-retentiveness. But it’s part of the all-inclusive ethos of the Pop-O-Pies, whose lineup completely changed (apart from Pop-O-Pie himself) for each recording. "I never wanted to alienate anybody by being too concerned with virtuosity or getting too complicated," explained Pop-O-Pie, who’ll be unveiling a new version of the band this spring for their first live shows in more than a decade. Playing the same song for two years was certainly one way of keeping things uncomplicated. The idea of covering "Truckin’ " originally came to Pop-O-Pie in 1979, when he was still in college in New Jersey. "The big bands back then who were still considered kind of underground were Devo and the Talking Heads and the Ramones," he said. "And so I said, ’What if you got those three elements together and they were to write the Grateful Dead’s "Truckin’ " instead of the Grateful Dead – what would it sound like?’ " The answer came when he recorded a demo version of "Truckin’ " after moving to San Francisco in the early ’80s. As the story goes, that demo wound up becoming the most requested song on KUSF 90.3 FM in late 1981. So for their live shows, he reasoned, why not give the people what they want and just play the hit? That’s exactly what they did, although they didn’t just play it once and then call it a night – they’d play the song and then play it again. And again. For an entire 40-minute set. "You’d think that might be boring," Pop-O-Pie admitted. But it wasn’t, because it was different every time." They’d start off playing their original version, which sounded roughly like the one on Joe’s Second Record. "And then we began to do an improvisational thing where we’d kinda take it out there, so by the end it would sound like John Cage was sitting in with the Pop-O-Pies – like the Residents doing ’(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,’ " referring to the masked band’s brilliant deconstruction of the Rolling Stones hit. Doing ’Donuts’ At first, audiences were confused and irritated, but as he explained, "It became like this cult thing that you just had to come see in San Francisco, like the Coit Tower." "Flipper was kind of the big band here at the time, and it was a similar sense of humor," added Bill Gould, former Faith No More bassist and a member of the Pop-O-Pies circa Joe’s Second Record. "But when we went to L.A. or Texas, people would freak out. They’d get pissed off." Another song that used to piss off unsuspecting audiences was a Pop-O-Pies original called "Fascists Eat Donuts," which appeared on The White EP. That song consisted of a single chord played over and over, while Pop-O-Pie repeated the lines "Make those donuts with extra grease / This batch is for the chief of police." "That was actually one of the highlights of my life," Gould said about performing the song live and watching unsuspecting audiences go from nervous laughter to mild annoyance and then to full-fledged anger and, finally, passive acceptance. "There was this one [show] we did in Texas, like in Dallas at this warehouse, where we just played ’Fascists Eat Donuts’ for so long that I was actually starting to hallucinate. I was starting to hear new melodies and new songs, because it was just this drone that was going on relentlessly." In a bit of trivia that’s usually omitted from the rock history books, Pop-O-Pie was actually the first vocalist for Faith No More in their early days as a "shitty local band that nobody cared about," as Gould put it, or "the greatest band to come out of Frisco since the Pop-O-Pies," as the singer himself once boasted. In 1983, Gould and Pop-O-Pie shared a house with FNM keyboardist Roddy Bottum on Shotwell Street in the Mission District. Another early FNM vocalist also lived there: Courtney Love. "What a house," Pop-O-Pie said with a laugh. "Those guys used to use my name to get gigs," Pop-O-Pie added. Now, he’s returned the favor by pasting Faith No More’s name on the Pop-O-Anthology cover in prominent bold print – right above equally bold pronouncements of the band’s personnel connections to Mr. Bungle and the Dead Kennedys. It’s beautifully tacky, and whether it’s crass self-promotion, intentional self-parody, or a little bit of both is anyone’s guess – which fits the Pop-O-aesthetic perfectly. "There’s a certain sense of humor where it’s hard to find where it’s real and when it’s a joke," Gould said, putting the Pop-O-Pies’ audience-confounding antics in context. "But it’s a certain kind of mentality that San Francisco produced that was really good.... Flipper, Pop-O-Pies, Zip Code Rapists ... even the Dead Kennedys had that a little. It was very interactive. It’s like a theatrical kind of blurring the lines between reality and art, in a way."
	12:43pm Billy Jam: good day mate......good to be back in the WFMU studios in Jersey CIty - Shout out to all the people over in Galway who made WFMU so welcome last week including Paul Deacy at Bell Book and Candle and Jimmy Penguin of the Vince Mack Mahon crew and all the folks invloved in the Community Skratch Games. - This show is dedicated to Malcolm McLaren who died of cancer at age 64 yesterday. Today's guest (on phone from the West Coast) is Joe Pop-O-Pie. The photos on top and bottom of today's playlist are ones I snapped last October in a castle over in the island of Jersey in the UK Channel Islands last October when this show and WFMU broadcast live from the Branchage Film Festival. Shout out to Xanthe! - Thanks for listening. Please send your thoughts on life, music, and your plans for the summer of 2010 in these here COMMENTS - peace Billy Pop O Jam
	3:06pm Carmichael: No room left to post! Hiya Billy!
	3:11pm chris: Too godamn early to be as pissed as I can tell I'm gonna need to be to really feel this show. well, i'll do my best... rock the fuck on, BillyJam!
	3:12pm Bad Ronald: Happy freakin Friday everyone! RIP Malcolm M.
	3:23pm postmanpaul: hi billy boy! v nice tunes indeed. what am i up to? preparing to meet my birthday girl down town! hi bad ronald. yeah, rip malcolm. he deserves it.
	3:24pm Timothy Devlin: Right back @ ya Ronald....
	3:30pm Timi Dz...Nutz: Heeeyyyyy BIIILLLLLLLYYYYY........it's Timi Time!!!!
	3:30pm djspiderman Z: exactly what i need to hear--- chillin me right out, Cheers Billy J thoughts life = love music = love summer 2010 plans = go raintcoat shopping (UK resident ) happy Jam day to y'all on the board ,,,,,
	3:32pm Cecile: Life = the only thing worth living for music = makes the people come together summer = hopefully getting a dog and visiting Lake Superior.
	3:39pm Cecile: pop-o-pies were on my playlist back in the day at WCBN, too. They were/are great!
	3:41pm Cecile: that must have been because 415 was bought by Columbia when they acquired Romeo Void. You'd think they would put them out!
	3:51pm Robert: I met Leary too, a few yrs. earlier. He spoke before small audiences, so it wasn't hard to meet him. This was a somewhat disappointing presentation on virtual reality with Robert Anton Wilson and Timothy Leary at NYU, or nearby it at least. About, oh, 1989.
	3:54pm Sean Daily: Not even close to first comment! Woo hoo!
	3:55pm Cecile: Sean Daily! As I live and breathe!
	3:57pm Billy Jam: hey Sean Daily - great to hear from you....Where ya been buddy? -
	4:01pm Sean Daily: Gettin' my sh!t together. Sitting with elders of a gentle race this world has seldom seen, who talked of days for which they sit and wait when all will be revealed. You know, stuff. How are you, Cecile, Billyjamicus Maximus?
	4:03pm Seamas: What was the last song about the Catholics are attacking?
	4:04pm dc pat: hey Sean. welp gotta go.
	4:04pm Cecile: I'm doing quite all right. Glad to hear you're doing well!
	4:06pm Sean Daily: Glad to know Billy Jam's still here and you guys are okay. I fianlly figured out a way to listen to WFMU at work without getting fired. This, of course, rawks.
	4:07pm dc pat: huh, what did you have to do to sneak the streams in?
	4:07pm Cecile: do you have State Violence , State Control by Discharge, Mr. BIlly Jam? see ya dcp
	4:08pm Sean Daily: Ah, punk AND hip hop on Friday. Does it get any better? I think not.
	4:09pm Cecile: It could only get better if I was sitting on Jemaine Clement from FLight of the Conchords' lap, he was feeding me nachos, and Sylvester and John Coltrane amd Jay Reatard just came back from the dead.
	4:10pm Cecile: I will just take nachos in a pinch.
	4:11pm Sean Daily: Gotta stream it on my personal laptop from an outside WiFi server AND make sure my production at work stays up, DCP. Took me a bit to get the second part worked o
	4:14pm chris: Life = Being able to enjoy Bill Jam's show Music = freeform WFMU, vis a vis Billy Jam's show Summer '10 = Life + Music + a pinch-o-lovin :-)
	4:15pm dc pat: I see, yeah the second part is hard for me too. Luckily they don't expect too much anyway, KNOW WHAT I MEAN? HAR, HAR,HAR.. ok, really leaving now.
	4:16pm Sean Daily: See ya, DCP.
	4:17pm dc pat: seeya, nice having you back Sean. y'know, I never really liked McLaren anyway...bye!
	4:17pm Jennique: THANK YOU FOR PLAYING DOUBLE DUTCH! This was my first introduction to Malcolm standing in front of the camera and singing. It's still a great song.
	4:19pm ALF of Hip Hop Slam: I remember Double Dutch. Never seen the video though.
	4:21pm Jennique: ~ALF~ You should def look up the video on youtube. It's great seeing all those girls and their moves doing double dutch. Apparently it was shot in some gymnasium in the Bronx.
	4:25pm Tall Paul: Yo Bill n Alf, what up? Checking in now. Bill good to catch up with you in Dub. Hope all is good with you.Oh sugar Buffalo Gals takes me back remember poppin to this at home. Peace, One Love
	4:28pm chris: Found myself watching the movie Fifth Element, that Bruce Willis future romp with the cutie in the skimpy costume... anyway, there's a scene where a space Diva is singing in Operatic fashion, backed by some techno kind of track... found myself wondering yesterday if there was a McLaren influence to that... he kinda made that sound first, didn't he?
	4:40pm Cecile: I love this Caribou. Do you have The Bells by Jeff Mills?
	4:44pm dj laz-e: hi billy.. what was that last tune??? rapaa!!
	4:47pm Bad Ronald: Dang! I step away and I miss the Malcolm tribute AND the second coming of Sean Woo Hoo Daily. I am chagrined.
	4:48pm ?: ahaaa!! a list
	4:48pm Billy Jam: hey Laz-E - sorry I missed you in Dublin this time - Saw Tu-Ki on Weds....I think song you mean is the instruemtal one by Caribou - who is producer Dan Smith
	4:54pm Cecile: Billy Jam, I like it when you bring the electro-funk.
	4:56pm Billy Jam: thanks Cecile - I love it too....Hey thanks for sending me that High Decibels on NPR link and for doing it. Am sending to the guys back in Oakland in case they dont know
	4:58pm Cecile: I think they might, they sent a photo, but thanks for doing that, just in case. I think they could be really huge. Like as big as Lady Gaga. But that's in my world.
	4:58pm demer: billy jam!!
	4:59pm demer: JJERSEY BURNS THE DVD..ABOUT TO DROP..BIG SHOUT OUT TO WFMU AND BILLY JAM!!
	5:00pm Cecile: OH. Kings Go Forth did a record with Tom Moulton, didn't they? I think they did! I think this might be it, right?
	5:01pm Billy Jam: hey Tall Paul Lowe - good seeing you too.....and thakns for all that music....will be playing some now and next week.......>>What up Chris! Good point you made in that comment! > Hey Bad Ronald.....He DEMER......we gotta schedule this years GRAFFITI special - email me and figure it out - Maybe late May? - They had a nice big GRAF exhibit ove in Dublin All CIty Tivoli Jam -
	5:03pm demer: for sure bill..will be in contact within a few days!! much love n respect bill..as always
	5:03pm DAVIDLEEROTH: great set jillybam! muchos muchos grassyas!
	5:03pm Sean Daily: Loving this Bonobo track, Billyjamicus Maximus.
	5:07pm JoeyStupid: Son Of Bazerk!!!
	5:11pm Cecile: what keyboard or whatever makes what I call that "heavy falling electronic sound"?
	5:12pm chris: Oaktown in da house! Yeeeya!
	5:20pm chris: Together = to get her = Classic!
	5:24pm dc pat: ...but, I'm starting to like the Pistols again...
	5:25pm billy jam: Hey DC Pat - talk about delayed reaction.......but nice how you could keep your mind on the one topic.......Mine had gone off elsewhere.....
	5:29pm mynameisjOhn: What a g'wan, Mr. Jam! Great to see you on Irish soil again, cousin - the weekend was the iLLnEss. Cuttin the Last Kreep all weekend. Massive props. Billy Jam - Knows the time....stays ahead of it.
	5:32pm Bad Ronald: Hey DCP how can you stop liking a tune like "Did You No Wrong"? I may havta screen "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle" this eve...
	5:32pm Billy Jam: yo dOObs - great seeing you too....and your set on WFMU last weekend (as well as all your other CSG contributions) was off the hool......Saw Aidin )Tu-Ki) who said he would be playing alongside you down in Limerick this weekend.....And Steinski is heading over there too. Are you booking him this time?
	5:37pm mynameisjOhn: Nope, he's playing Galway as far as I know. We have Egadz and Dj Pain coming through for a show in May though. Should be boomin'. A lot of sore heads around town this week, but definately one of best CSGs yet. Biggup, the selection is awesome.
	5:40pm Bad Ronald: I concur deez raps is kickin!
	5:42pm Bad Ronald: I wanna get you to do vox one one of my tracks man!
	5:43pm Timi Dz...Nutz: Hey..I see Sean Daily is back. WooHoo!!
	5:45pm Shouties: ta Seanie! er and, Woo Hoo!!!
	5:48pm Timi Dz...Nutz: DJ C U Next Tuesday cut the music off so she could hook up a turntable play old Malcom records for a tribute....not so bad but sucks just the same...
	5:51pm Timi Dz...Nutz: Hey Billy..think you might have The High Decibels on the 30th show straight outa Oakland??? I'm the mutherfucker you read about....
	5:58pm Bad Ronald: Thanks again for another bang-up job Mr. Marmalade. Keep it slammin!!!

(C) 2024 WFMU. Generated by KenzoDB, written 2000-2024 by Ken Garson

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Put The Needle On The Record with Billy Jam: Playlist from April 9, 2010

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(C) 2024 WFMU. Generated by KenzoDB, written 2000-2024 by Ken Garson