Identify these two songs from the late 80's/early 90's.

December 4, 2010 8:53 AM

Help my father identify two songs he recorded off the radio in the late 80's / early 90's. One is bluegrass and the other is alternative rock.

My father has been trying to track down the names of these two tracks "since I first heard about the internet", in his own words. We've tried Shazam, we've searched the lyrics on Google, and we've dug around YouTube. All told, my father has been trying to identify them for almost 20 years to no avail.

They were both heard on Canadian radio in Toronto, Ontario some time in the late 80's to early 90's.

The bluegrass song was likely heard on the CBC Folk radio program at the time.

The alternative rock song is most likely a Canadian band, but that may not be the case.

Help me crack this mystery for him!

posted by wivy to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

I'm 80% sure that the alternative rock song is Better Off by Razed In Black, though I can't find any evidence to support my statement, so you may want to give it a 20% confidence factor rather than my 80%
posted by analogue at 9:09 AM on December 4, 2010

Response by poster: Checked on YouTube and unfortunately that's not it.
posted by wivy at 9:16 AM on December 4, 2010

I checked the Smithsonian folkways collection online for the bluegrass track, but it came up blank. So that's one resource you don't need to check.
posted by kch at 9:33 AM on December 4, 2010

I don't recognize the songs/artists, but they sound like local/independent recordings - if they were local to my area, I'd likely know who they were. I'd recommend contacting local non-commercial radio stations to see if they have a DJ who's been there since the late 80's or early 90's. Many college stations hold onto at least a handful of community DJs for that long, and I imagine a puzzle like this would appeal to such a person (being one myself, only from the wrong neck of the woods).

Good luck!
posted by pammeke at 9:35 AM on December 4, 2010

I suspect the alternative track might have been recorded off Toronto's CFNY - If you post the question on the station's fan page forum - someone is sure to know the song and artist.
posted by davebush at 9:39 AM on December 4, 2010

Best answer: "You're a Mess" is by The Hogwaller Ramblers. You can buy their cd on amazon. Their web site is here, and their myspace is here. You can listen to the song on myspace.
posted by snofoam at 9:39 AM on December 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

I totally recognize the second song and could even sing along to the chorus. Of course I don't know who it is. I'd actually guess it's from the mid to late 1990s because that's when I would have heard it. I also didn't listen to our local university station so it'd probably be a fairly popular song.
posted by hydrobatidae at 9:41 AM on December 4, 2010

Response by poster: snofoam you are amazing. Can't wait to show up at my parent's place with that CD! Thank you so much!

hydrobatidae, it is very possible that it is mid 90s. Apparently it was on the radio quite frequently for a brief period, which is how he was able to record it onto tape.
posted by wivy at 9:49 AM on December 4, 2010

Best answer: It's The Waltons: "Naked Rain" from the "Lik My Traktor" album.
posted by davebush at 10:09 AM on December 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

Amazon link
posted by davebush at 10:12 AM on December 4, 2010

Response by poster: You guys are unbelievable. Thank you so much!!
posted by wivy at 10:27 AM on December 4, 2010