999,979: Bill Fox — Electrocution

Fox was the singer/guitarist for the 80s Cleveland band The Mice, who totally ripped it up and down; very mod-ish, but punkier/spunkier. Once they split, Fox had a well-documented series of breakdowns (What is a good rock'n'roll story if it doesn't include the phrase "naked and covered in blood"? ) and recorded two (or more) albums worth of material in his living room on a borrowed 4-track. This stuff is hard to come by, but you can find “Electrocution” on the I Stayed Up All Night Listening To Records comp. It's markedly different from his other solo material, in that it isn't acoustic-based, and may well have been a demo for a full-band track that never happened, but it gives you the basic idea. I've got a fantasy of finding a lost Who 45 with this track on the flip, rippling and bleeding all over the turntable.

It's pure yearning for love or motivation or something. God knows. Fox's songs tend to sound like love songs, only... not. He writes and sings like he a has a disconnect - maybe some kind of schizophrenic block - that he's trying to bridge to reach the world, or a girl, or anyone at all, goddammit. "I been bangin' on dials, I been bangin' on dials!" My god, my goodness, I can feel it. Tell me the truth, Brother Bill.

Note: There is another "Bill Fox" out there, but be warned: he is a warmed-over blues-hack old man. Don't be fooled.

Eclectrocution - Bill Fox