Wouldn't It Be Rubbery

Introduction

It was Dena Brown's birthday recently, and she mentioned that one of her favourite songs was "Rubberband Man" by The Detroit Spinners, and I shared "Rubberband Girl" by Kate Bush with her.

In the seventies, Rabid Records were going to put out a single by my band, The Bok, and they introduced me to The Akron Complication, although it was actually The Akron Compilation, but I liked Rabid's description better. The record has a scratch-and-sniff cover. Apparently, Akron is the rubber capital of the world, according to the label.

My Facebook Friend Mike Harding used to release his music on Rubber Records (that was the name of the company, the records were vinyl).

So on to the rubbery music:

The Detroit Spinners - "Rubberband Man"

This was Dena's birthday song. There was an insipid English folk group called The Spinners, so in the UK, they had to go under the name "Detroit Spinners". It was somilar with The Beat, who had to go under The English Beat in the USA.

Kate Bush - "Rubberband Girl" from "The Director's Cut"

The original of this song was on the album "The Red Shoes", but Kate released a triple CD of reimaginings called "The Director's Cut" with is part of my own collection.

The Smiths - "Rubber Ring" from "The Queen Is Dead"

I knew I could count on The Smiths for something relevant. Morrisey is an awful human being now, and his mannerisms were always annoying as hell, but Johnny Marr's guitar and the rest of the band hold it all together.

Radiohead - "India Rubber" from the "Fake Plastic Trees" single

While Radiohead are not everyone's favourite, they have so often musically smashed boundaries, though not always successfully. This is an interesting piece, though I could do without the laughter and screeches towards the finale.

Bobby Vee - "Rubber Ball"

I can only stand about five seconds of this awful song, but I have included it, for those who might wonder why I didn't include it.

The Gap Band - "Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" from "The Gap Band III"

This is an excellent slice of muscular funk and a great antidote to the previous song. "The Gap Band III" is the band's fifth studio album, so I am not sure why it has that title, but Google will probably disclose that secret.

David Bowie - "Rubber Band" from Kenneth Pitt’s film 'Love You Till Tuesday'

While this is very early Bowie, while he was still under Anthony Newley's influence, it is not as bad as I expected. It was his debut single on Deram in 1966. Don't expect classic Ziggy, but it is worth a watch and a listen.

10CC - "Rubber Bullets" from their eponymous debut album

10CC were four amazing musicians and songwriters, as well as being technically inventive with their "Gizmo" and the hundreds of voices on "I'm Not In Love", but the real creativity seemed to be in Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who went on to great solo success. Still one of Manchester's finest exports.

The Chips - "Rubber Biscuit"

I love this brilliant piece of rock and roll and doo-wop nonsense ,later covered by The Blues Brothers.

Meatloaf - "Where The Rubber Meets The Road" from "Welcome To The Neighbourhood"

A typical bombastic dose of AOR from Michael Lee Aday, and I will close this playlist with this musical as well as physical giant, who is sadly missed by those with musical taste.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have found something in here to enjoy.