Song Of the Day: November 2, 2005
The Nelsons - I Don't Mind
From the EP "Bag Your Face," Southpaw Records, 1982
From the EP "Bag Your Face," Southpaw Records, 1982
You would think that the town that produced Buddy Holly would maintain at least a small power pop scene, but my semi-hometown of Lubbock, Texas (actually, I was born in Denver City, about a hundred miles away, a town that makes Jon's hometown of Pratt, KS look like Paris) has never had a particularly active local music presence despite being home to the rather huge campus of Texas Tech University. When I was attending high school in Lubbock, the Nelsons were pretty much IT when it came to decent local bands, but as far as the kids at Monterey High were concerned, they were full-on rock stars. Pretty much the only new wave-influenced band in Lubbock through the first half of the '80s, the Nelsons took a lot of cues from the likes of the Rezillos and the B-52's, producing a jumpy, herky-jerky take on new wave bubblegum that favored scratchy-scratchy guitars, a cheap organ and a goofy comic outlook. (Singer Donnie Allison's closing spoken-word rant is saved from total dorkiness only by the gleeful abandon with which he delivers it.) It worked, for a while, and the Nelsons actually flirted with mainstream success, winning one round of MTV's Basement Tapes contest (remember that? It was like a battle of the bands where a lot of local bands sent in really crappy homemade videos in and we all sat around and laughed at how awful they were) with a deeply silly video for this very song. But then Ricky Nelson died and the Nelsons changed their name out of respect when they found out that his twin sons Gunnar and Matthew were using it in L.A. Only problem was, they changed their name to Unexplained Cattle Mutilations. Yeah, pretty much nobody ever heard from them again.
-Stewart Mason
posted by Jon Harrison at 7:12 AM
10 Comments:
Oh my god, I didn't even realize this song ever existed on vinyl, but I certainly remember the video on MTV, and have a copy of this song on aging cassette dubbed from holding the tape recorder in front of the set. Thanks so much, so happy!
omg -- i'm with erin -- same thing, i've been wondering very vaguely about this song over the years because i saw the video on mtv too!!! haha. this clinches it -- i've got a crush on YOU, little hits!
xxoo <3 c
How can you not love a band from Lubbock that sings in a pronounced Brit accent?
I have been searching for this song for 24 years. You have NO idea how excited I am that you posted it, and now I have to beg you for information on how to get a copy!!!
totally forgot the name of the album until this very moment...heard the Nelson's while dating a guy who was a friend of theirs. is it possible to get this album on cd?? have an old cassette somewhere, but would love to hear them in all their Texas Tech glory.
katie
My son found this site and sent it on to me. Donnie Allison is my nephew and he wrote the song and directed the video. He still lives in Lubbock, is married and has a son and still sings at the Cactus which is a live performance theater in downtown Lubbock. He appeared as Buddly Holly in The Buddy Holly Story 3 years running in the early 90's and has a cd of Buddy's songs along with a blues cd and a couple of others. Jeanie
Is there any place to get a copy of the EP? How about the video? I vaguely remember it from junior high, but that was some time ago.
Have been looking for this for years--my copy of the album lost years ago. I saw them play at the Continental Club here in Austin when the album was released. Fantastic. They ended with "God Save the Queen."
The Nelsons were a great band! They lasted; however, to 1993. The last time I saw them togther was at the Depot Beergarden, Sept 1993.
I had a lot of fun listening to them in LBB and throughout Texas. Reminds me of my college and graduate schools days.
But they never changed their name to UCM. In fact, that is why the Ricky Nelson boys named their band Nelson, because the Lubbock Nelsons had the name first. Now they call themseleves the Nelsons.
I heard about Donnie's cancer this past summer (2006). I hope he is doing better.
FRED
hey jon, where did you go to elementary school? in lubbock?
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