Farfisa organs and snotty adolescents: the return of Garage Rock

Little Steven Van Zandt has been a musical god of mine since the mid-70s with his work on Born to Run and the first few Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes LPs. Nowadays he splits his time between acting on the Sopranos (yeah, that’s him owning the Badda Bing), his solo career, playing with Springsteen, and leading the revival of Garage Rock. He posted an excellent essay on the history and current status of the genre on his website, which I encourage you to read even if (especially if) you don’t know what kind of music this means. Little Steven writes with a real attitude, the same kind of tone you hear in his music. If you haven’t heard his first solo record, Men Without Women, you don’t know the rock and roll nirvana you’re missing. Anyway, back to the Garage rock, Van Zandt is launching a nationwide weekly radio show called Little Steven’s Underground Garage on April 7, with him spinning favorite tracks and providing commentary. And rumors persist of a new, hard rocking Springsteen/E Street release in the Fall, keep your fingers crossed.