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(Telephone - huge in Europe. Over here? Well . . . )

I recently ran across a French Radio station online (Oui FM, which you should check out) that plays some fascinating stuff - old and new - French and non-French. During one of their sets they slipped in Dure Limite by the French punk/post-punk/new wave/hard rock group Telephone. They were enormous in France and throughout Europe in the late 1970s up to 1986, when they disbanded and went separate ways. They hardly made a dent in the States (again, that language thing), but I remembered the band pretty well, having been familiar with them since their first album, but I really hadn't played anything by them, or heard anything about them until the other day when Dure Limite came on. Not a massive seller at the time, it was produced by Bob Ezrin, who was responsible for a lot of memorable albums in the 70s - Doctor John and Peter Gabriel are two that come to mind. According to a website, the band did reunite in 2003. But what has happened since then is a mystery.

Still, it's nice to be reminded of the not-so-obvious 80s every once in a while.

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(Flop in 1993 - Sony was clueless)

Another fine example of a band, after years of struggling, gets signed to a major label who releases their album to weak initial sales and then dumps them like a bad habit a few months later.

Sound familiar? It's what major labels do, especially the past twenty or so years when it stopped being about music and artists and cultivating talent in favor of profit-and-loss statements and bottom lines.

Flop were a combination punk/pop/grunge band that came out of the Seattle area in the early 90s. They had a good local following and a few singles and eps put out by indie labels.

Since Seattle became something of a mecca for all things grunge (with the astounding success of Nirvana) in the early 90s, every major label sent A&R people to scour the streets, clubs and rehearsal rooms in search of the next Kurt Cobain.

Sony found Flop and signed them for their 550 imprint and teamed them with Martin Rushent to co-produce. The results became their second album Whenever You're Ready, a turbo-charged package of 17 cuts of which this track Woolworth is one of them.

It's a great album - loud, fast and out of control. Like a lot of albums should be, but sadly aren't.

Unfortunately, after the Sony debacle there was a personnel change and they recorded one more album for another indie label before calling it quits.

It does however beg the question that if Sony/Epic were an actual record company, would they still have gotten the same fate?

One never knows.

Two years ago, The Gaslight Anthem were an up and coming New Jersey band combining the hero of their home state (Springsteen) with the late-nineties beard-punk (really!) of Hot Water Music and Against Me. My band played with them about a year-and-a-half ago to a 3/4 full Knitting Factory in Hollywood and they tore the roof off the place; it was clear they'd go far, and quickly.

One year later, they're at Glastonbury playing "The '59 Sound" with Springsteen as a guest. If anyone deserves to be passed the NJ rock and roll torch, it's these guys. Enjoy.

Every Monday night, C&L's Late Nite Music Club showcases an act from every state, alphabetically by state, as part of LNMC's 50 State Strategy. Know a band or artist that you think is the best in their state? Email suggestions to latenitemusicclub [at] gmail.com. Next week: New Mexico.

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(City Boy - timing is the whole enchilada)

Somebody once told me that getting a movie made, no matter how bad it was, is a miracle - all the elements falling magically into place and hoping an audience finds it. And no matter how good a movie is, if there is no audience for it, nobody sees it.

The same is true with albums. The miracle of all the elements falling in place, the support and momentum of the record company - hoping an audience finds it.

In the case of City Boy, a folk outfit turned electric, their first several albums went nowhere, despite good reviews. 1975, when their self-titled first album came out, there was a change in the audience, and rock music was about to undergo a radical upheaval. Groups in Britain featuring lavish harmonies and progressive instrumentation just weren't cutting it with an audience who fell head over heels for all the raw viscera of Punk. And City Boy, during their first few outings sounded a little too much like Supertramp for comfort.

It wasn't until much later that their style changed and their audience changed its mind. They did score well with two hits, "5.7.0.5." and "The Day The Earth Caught Fire", but sadly things didn't work out and they broke up in 1982.

But whatever is to be said about timing, one thing is certain; City Boy were an excellent band who made some wonderful albums which, thanks to a recent reissue, are having a chance to be discovered all over again.

This track, (Moonlight) Shake My Head And Leave, opens their first album.

Good undiscovered albums, like good undiscovered movies are further evidence having an open mind has its rewards. Remember that next time you think you've heard and seen it all.

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(801 at The Reading Festival - Together for just a while to do some gigs and call it a day)

Very well received by the press at the time (1976), but not received all that well commercially (owing to a little thing called Punk in 1976), 801 was a sort of live-brainchild of Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno. Roxy Music (Manzanera's group and Eno's former group) temporarily split and 801 was conceived as a sort of performing stop-gap during the down time. Brian Eno had already established a solo career and was getting ready to branch off into bigger things. But 801 were great while they lasted. Primarily put together as a live band, the resulting albums have achieved a kind of cult status over the years - somewhat overshadowed by the introduction of Punk on to the scene, they've been revisited over the years and gained in popularity. Recent word is the original 801 Live album has been remastered, remixed and extended and should be out soon, if not already.

This track, Third Uncle closes the album and is off the original pressing. I understand the new version will have a different ending than this one.

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(Psychedelic Furs - Quintessential 80's)

A sort of homage to the passing of John Hughes tonight. I remember what impact his films had on that decade, more or less defining yet another generation of misunderstood youth - but not in a malevolent way. The music changed too - the rough edge of Punk smoothed out and New Wave took center stage, at least for a while.

One of those bands that seemed to epitomize the 80's was Psychedelic Furs. Maybe because you couldn't think of "Pretty In Pink" without thinking of them, or of Molly Ringwald, or both for that matter.

I dug this BBC Transcription out, a Radio One concert from May 28, 1984 featuring an hour with The Psychedelic Furs recorded live at The Hammersmith Odeon.

A visit to the 80's seemed like a good thing to do tonight.

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(Monochrome Set - another in a long line of unpredictable bands, for which we are forever grateful)

1979. The wave of Post-punk/pre-New Wave bands were starting to make their presences known over here in the States - eroding what was a pretty stodgy business during the mid-1970's. One of those bands were The Monochrome Set. Probably less commercially known than XTC, but no less interesting. They've enjoyed a pretty lengthy career, going from 1978 to 1985 and then picking up in 1990 to 1998. There was a one-off gig last year. So whether or not they will surface and regroup in the future is anyone's guess.

But for now - here's their second single "Eine Symphonie des Grauens".

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(The Tourists - around for a short time, but on to bigger things)

Before Eurythmics entered our lexicon of Band names, we had The Tourists, a punk/new wave band founded by Peet Coombes in 1977 and featuring Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox, Jim Toomey and Eddie Chin. Great band with good production by way of German Prog-rock producer Conny Plank. As with many bands of the day, The Tourists had trouble breaking into the charts and airplay was sporadic, especially in the States.

After releasing three albums, Coombes called it quits and Lennox and Stewart resurfaced as Eurythmics. And the rest, as they say, is history.

But long before things and fortunes changed, The Tourists issued their first single "Blind Among The Flowers" in 1979.

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I've always wondered how Green Day would fare in a long concert. Their music is so relentlessly anthemic, I always wondered if they'd be able to sustain the electricity necessary for those kinds of songs -- especially for the audience.

So I caught their kickoff concert for its world tour last night at Key Arena in Seattle. And you know what? They somehow pull it off.

Now, Billie Joe Armstrong was quoted in the Seattle Times as vowing to put on five-hour shows on this tour, and last night was only three and a half hours, including the warmup act, The Bravery. But no one really cared, because it was probably the most sustained high-energy performance most of us have seen in years.

How did they manage to keep it electric? By connecting with the audience.

The band opened with a number of selections from 21st Century Breakdown, but quickly began sprinkling in hits from American Idiot (including "Holiday," which I managed to catch on rather grainy vid). If you were coming for the Green Day hits alone, you went away sated, because they were all there. ("Basket Case" in particular was awfully good.)

But Billie Joe made it work by working hard to connect to the audience. In this video, you can see him calling a 10-year-old up onstage to help with the dancing. At other times, he invited audience members up to sing, too, with varying degrees of success, but it was cool. And in what looked like it could have been a classic prearranged stunt, he even had one young audience member climb up onstage and play the rhythm guitar part for "Jesus of Suburbia." Rather well, I might add.

It might have been schtick, but it worked. The audience was electrified, and the music made it even more so. It was a great, great show. If the rest of the dates on the tour are up to this level of play, it should be a very good tour indeed.

This week's 50 State Strategy installment comes from Whole Wheat Bread, self-described afro-punk from Jacksonville, FL.

Every Monday, C&L's Late Nite Music Club will feature an up-and-coming act from every state, alphabetically by state, as part of LNMC's 50 State Strategy. Know a band or artist that you think is the best in their state? Email suggestions to latenitemusicclub [at] gmail.com.