Cub Coda, Radio deejay Pat Appleson and George Carlin
 
Ann Arbor’s Brownsville Station formed in 1969. Their style of rootsy, blues-based rock and pile-driving rockabilly along with their theatrical glammy threads and punky attitude put them in the same school as The NY Dolls, The Stooges, Alice Cooper and the MC5. Their 1973 hit, “Smokin’ In The Boy’s Room,” is an anthemic punk stomper later covered by Motley Crue and Alice Cooper. Brownsville Station was the definition of a one hit wonder but among hardcore rock fans they were always respected for their no bullshit approach to rock and roll. They kept it fun and real. And part of that was due to their lead singer and guitarist Cub Coda’s undying allegiance to keeping the music pure and unadulterated in the tradition of the legendary rockers who came before him: Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley and Link Wray.

The break-up of Brownsville Station in 1979 didn’t slow the beat of Coda’s rock ‘n’ roll heart. Coda was a smart cat with a huge record collection and a real passion for popular music’s history - a boogie woogie evangelist and rock ‘n’ renaissance man. He wrote dozens of liner notes (mostly for blues and roots albums) and was a regular contributor to several music magazines, including The Vinyl Junkie. He formed several bands over the years and played solo, mostly in small clubs and bars and continued to record right up to his death of kidney disease in 2000. He was all about the music.

I’ve been reading some of Coda’s liner notes and excerpts from a book he contributed to, “Blues For Dummies.” I think my favorite piece he wrote was this short review of the re-issue of The Shagg’s “Philosophy Of World.” He gets at the very essence of The Shagg’s goofy magic.

The guilelessness that permeates these performances is simply amazing, making a virtue out of artlessness. There’s an innocence to these songs and their performances that’s both charming and unsettling. Hacked-at drumbeats, whacked-around chords, songs that seem to have little or no meter to them (“My Pal Foot Foot,” “Who Are Parents,” “That Little Sports Car,” “I’m So Happy When You’re Near” are must-hears) being played on out-of-tune, pawn-shop-quality guitars all converge, creating dissonance and beauty, chaos and tranquility, causing any listener coming to this music to rearrange any pre-existing notions about the relationships between talent, originality, and ability. There is no album you might own that sounds remotely like this one.

Brownsville Station on The Midnight Special. Too cool for school.