Shocking Blue May Day

Happy May Day everyone. A worker's holiday (not in the U.S.--too bad, workers--I guess you just have to celebrate having a job at all), a celebration of spring, AND my birthday. Today Keith and Jackson gave me one of those birthday cards that plays music when you open it and I was very pleased to hear Shocking Blue's Venus emanating forth. I mean, that's a pretty cool birthday song.

So without further ado, let's listen to some Shocking Blue, the Dutch band from The Hague with the distinct lead vocals of the late Mariska Veres.

Venus, 1970. Their only #1 hit. Sasha Frere-Jones recently wrote in The New Yorker (about Lady Gaga): one-hit wonders are weirder and cooler than the well-paid musicians who stretch their careers over seven years on the stage and twenty more behind it. That certainly applies to Mariska Veres and her haunting delivery in this song.

Live version.

Never Marry a Railroad Man - This would have sounded quite contemporary in the mid-80s San Francisco paisley underground scene, which was a rehash of the late-60s blues-folk-rock scene. What goes around, comes around.


Love Buzz - Kurt Cobain knew his stuff. I miss that cardigan-sweatered genius.


Daemon Lover - Have you ever had a daemon lover? Well, congratulations and too bad for you.


Hello Darkness - More inspiration for that long-ago, nearly forgotten paisley underground scene.


Mighty Joe live. Dig the groovy twangings.


I'll Follow the Sun - Fan video worth posting due to the intertwining guitars here. Simple yet complex.