Richie's Reprisal
Blogging about whatever strikes meRichie’s Reprisal – A Blog
Below you will find a list of some of my blog-posts. This section continues to take shape. So keep checking back.
How a Church Instrument Made Rock Heavy: Four Essential Organ Songs from the Psychedelic Era
Hammond Organ Sliders & Keys By RICH ARITHMETIC Note: This is a somewhat revised post of a piece originally posted in the Cassette Culture Blog on April 23, 2026 I find it interesting and ironic how an affordable church organ became an essential instrument for...
What to Do After Louie Louie Falls Through
Paul Revere & The Raiders by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: A previous version of this post appeared on the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog on April 29, 2025 How did Louie Louie affect the birth of another classic garage rock record? Stop me if you've already heard...
When You’re Near Me, I Have Difficulty Respirating
XTC by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: This somewhat edited post was previously published in the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog on June 25, 2025 We're all acquainted with the obsessive, lustful declarations of a singer describing the effects their object of desire has on...
Quirky Is As Quirky Does
Edgar Schwartz by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: A previous version of this post was published in the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog on June 12, 2025 Awhile back, my pal Darrell Draeger, who publishes the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog, wrote about music whose sheer...
Film Noir With A New Wave Hook
Stan Ridgway By RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: A previous version of this post appeared in The 1980's Cassette Culture Blog on May 27, 2025 From the out-of-kilter words and quirky music of Wall of Voodoo's Mexican Radio, it was clear that their songwriter and lead...
The Cover Version I Didn’t Expect
The Yardbirds / Chris Isaak by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: This is a somewhat revised version of a post originally published in the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog on May 6, 2025 Cover versions are a tricky business. It can be fun to hear great songs reimagined by...
It May No Longer Be on Cassette, but Cassette Culture Still Thrives
Squires of the Subterrain by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: This is a somewhat revised version of a post originally published in the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog, March 5, 2026 No doubt many readers may be acquainted with the rise of Cassette Culture in the 1980's,...
Not The Beatles, Parts 1 & 2
The KNICKERBOCKERS by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: This post was originally published in two parts on the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog, May 13-14, 2025 PART ONE: It was early 1966, and I was dispiritedly doing my 8th grade math homework with my transistor radio on...
The World’s a Can for Your Fresh Garbage
Spirit by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: A somewhat different version of this post originally appeared in the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog, June 20, 2025 Teenage psychedelic guitar phenom Randy California (real name Randy Wolfe) missed his chance at superstardom when...
I Am . . . I Am Superman!
by RICH ARITHMETIC Editor's Note: A previous version of this post originally appeared on the 1980's Cassette Culture Blog, September 18, 2025 The Big Blue Boy Scout Over the Years I have to confess -- I love Superman, whom I first discovered in the 1950's as a child...