Real

Things get real on this week's episode of The Mal Thursday Show, as Mal spins a series of songs with Real and Really in the title. Presented in Ultrasonic Stereophonic and Living Monophonic Sound. Originally broadcast 30 April 2026. 

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Playlist:
Jim Valley: I'm Real
Jet Harris: Real Wild Child (Wild One)
The Merseybeats: Really Mystified
The Kinks: You Really Got Me (BBC)
The Small Faces: You Really Got a Hold on Me
The Alan Bown Set: I Really Really Care
Manfred Mann: I Really Do Believe
Doc Thomas Group: She Was Really Saying Something
Lulu: That's Some Really Good
The Wimple Winch: I Really Love You
The Zombies: Play It for Real
Larry Page Orchestra: You Really Got Me (bed)
The Action: It Really Doesn't Matter Anymore
The Warlords: Real Fine Lady
The Invaders: You Really Tear Me Up
The Tempos: All That I Really Want
The Ravin' Blue: It's Not Real
Cher: All I Really Want to Do
The Cowsills: All I Really Want to Be Is Me
The Henchmen VI: Is Love Real?
Reasons Why: All I Really Want Is Love
Jose Feliciano: If I Really Bug You
Matthew Moore Plus Four: Codyne (She's Real)
The Velvet Underground: We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together
The Stooges: Real Cool Time 
The Doors: You Make Me Real
The Who: The Real Me
Eddie & The Hot Rods: (I Don't Know) What's Really Going on
The Detroit Cobras: The Real Thing
The Wrong Society: I Really Don't Care  
Lyres: I Really Want You Right Now (live 1985)
The Greenhornes: It's Not Real
Faces: Had Me a Real Good Time
Mott the Hoople: You Really Got Me (bed)
Elvis Costello: A Town Called Big Nothing (Really Big Nothing)

Mal Thursday's Texas Tyme Machine:
Willie Nelson with Neil Young: Are There Any More Real Cowboys
Ivan (Jerry Allison with Buddy Holly): Real Wild Child
The Warlocks: If You Really Want Me to Stay
Sir Douglas Quintet: If You Really Want Me to I'll Go
The Mullens: You Really Move Me

John Lennon: Real Love

School

Mal Thursday goes back to school in an episode inspired by the news that his alma mater, Hampshire College, will be closing its doors at the end of 2026. Songs about school, plus a set of songs by Hampshire alumni. Presented in Ultrasonic Stereophonic and Living Monophonic Sound. Originally broadcast 23 April 2026.

Donate to The Mal Thursday Show HERE 

Playlist:
The Fleshtones: Back to School
Graham Parker & The Rumour: Back to Schooldays
Starjets: School Days
The Kinks: Schooldays
AC/DC: School Days
The Runaways: School Days
The Yardbirds: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
The Hollies: Schoolgirl
The Cynics: Be True to Your School
The Super Stocks: School Is a Drag
DMZ: Go to School
Jerry Lee Lewis: High School Confidential
MC5: High School
Reigning Sound: Time Bomb High School
The Ramones: Rock 'n' Roll High School
The Cramps:  High School Hellcats
The Chesterfield Kings: Hot Rod High
Cheap Trick: Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School
The Mountain Goats: Fall of the Star High School Running Back
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: Exit from Vince Lombardi High (bed)
The Kinks: David Watts
The Minitmen: Smokin' in the Boys Room
Brownsville Station: Smokin' in the Boys Room
Otis Redding: Stay in School
James Brown & The Famous Flames: Don't Be a Dropout
Van Halen: Hot for Teacher
Jethro Tull: Teacher
Alice Cooper: Alma Mater/School's Out
David Bowie: Kooks
Mott the Hoople: You Are One of Us
The Jam: Art School
Elliot Smith: Thirteen
Beatrice UTB: To Be in America
Lonely Moans: Rotting
The Malarians: Once Upon a Time (In Your Mind) 
Jimm Chanson: Gentleman Jimm
Charlie Nieland: Expecting to Fly
Nirvana: School

Bonus Tracks:
Chuck Berry: School Days
Steely Dan: My Old School
The Kinks: Education
Elvis Costello & The Attractions: Secondary Modern
The Beatstalkers: Silver Tree Top School for Boys
Benny Joy: Hey High School Baby
Hy Tyde: Let's Go to College
The Dwarves: College Town
Firesign Theater: High School Madness

Mal Thursday Quintet: Mods & Gods

 

 Mal Thursday Quintet: Mods & Gods (Teen Sound Records)

The difficult second album from Mal's multi-regional supergroup is out now on LP, CD, and digital, and you should buy it! But don't take my word for it. Here are some recent reviews:

"It's SO good...funny, mind-breaking rock. Highly recommend!" - Sean Cole

"It is musically generous—both in spirit and in its arrangements—navigating effortlessly between 60s-style Garage Punk, 'Big Rock' (in the vein of the 1972-era Stones), Psych Folk, and pure David Johansen-esque swagger. This is all sprinkled with a touch of Heavy Garage (reminiscent of The Lords of Altamont, for instance) and a subtle Soul vibe here and there... An expansive musical spectrum, handled with the utmost dexterity and, as always, with sheer distinction!!! Pure class!!!! Absolute class!!!!" - Bertrand Tappez, Voix de Garage Grenoble

"The band, fronted by Austin, Texas-based creative Mal Thursday (vocals, harmonica), who is backed by a range of skilled musicians, delivers twelve uplifting rock ‘n roll songs—fuzzy garage rock meets hooky rhythm & blues—including a new tune called 'If 6 Was 5' (not the title track from the previous record or anything), two live versions, and a bonus track titled 'Excitement Transfusion.' Vibrant music wrapped in a vintage sound, tough yet charming, but above all catchy and danceable." - Add to Wantlist

"A full-throttle blast of Farfisa-driven energy and playful garage primitives. Mal Thursday has spent decades scraping the rust (which never sleeps) off the genre’s fuzz-soaked hemoglobin—nods to Sky Saxon, Roky Erickson, and Brian Jones are baked in." - Christopher Duda, Scene Point Blank  

"Beyond the recurring garage-rock vibes, three of the album’s most interesting tracks – ‘A SmellOf Honey, A Swallow Of Brine’, ‘Kitten WithA Whip’ and ‘The Defilers’ – showcase the Mal Thursday Quintet’s tidy sideline of coming up with would be theme songs for bona fide obscure ’60s exploitation movies." - Grahame Bent, Shindig! Magazine

US & Canada: malthursdayquintet.bandcamp.com

Europe & Elsewhere:Misty Lane Shop

Q & A

It's a rock 'n' roll questionnaire as Mal Thursday spins songs with Question, Answer, and Ask in the title, as well as songs that ask a musical question. Q & A! Presented in Ultrasonic Stereophonic and Living Monophonic Sound. Originally broadcast 9 April 2026.

Donate to The Mal Thursday Show HERE  

Playlist:
The Balloon Farm: A Question of Temperature
Manfred Mann: Don't Ask Me What I Say
The Beatles: Ask Me Why (BBC)/No Reply (mono)
The Downliners Sect: Why Don't You Smile Now
The Hollies: Have You Ever Loved Somebody
The Luvin' Kind: Answers Please
Billy Nichols: Question Mark
The Moody Blues: Question (BBC)
Chris Hall & The Torquays: Don't Ask Me Why
The Phantoms: Questions 
The Dream: Can I Ask You One More Question (Rebellion)
Chuck Berry: Thirteen Question Method
The Sidekicks: Ask Your Friend
The Seeds: Out of the Question (take 4)
Lord Charles & The Prophets: Ask Me No Questions
The Generals: For What More Could I Ask
The Beach Boys: I Know There's an Answer
The Buffalo Springfield: Questions

Mal Thursday's Texas Tyme Machine:
The Pack: Baby I Ask You Why
The Liberty Bell: Reality Is the Only Answer

The Changin' Times: How Is the Air Up There?
The Small Faces: Whatcha Gonna Do About It
Dale Gregory & The Shouters: Did You Need to Know?
Denise: Boy, What'll You Do Then
The Chocolate Watchband: Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)
The Mystic Five: Are You for Real Girl?
The Sonics: Do You Love Me
The Electric Prunes: Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoying It Less)
The End Result: Never Ask Again
The Swingin' Machine: Do You Have to Ask
The Grateful Dead: You Don't Have to Ask 
The Dovers: People Ask Me Why
The Lemon Pipers: Ask Me If I Care
The Sapians: Ask Yourself Why Babe
The Grapes of Wrath: If Anyone Should Ask
Randy & The Radiants: I Won't Ask Why
The Ramones: Questioningly
The Soundtrack of Our Lives: The Age of No Reply
Johnny Thunders: Ask Me No Questions
Lords of the New Church: A Question of Temperature

Bonus Tracks:
Don Atello: Questions I Cannot Answer
The Standells: Why Did You Hurt Me
The Barbarians: Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?
The Monkees: Long Title Do I Have to Do This All Over Again
Peggy Lee: Is That All There Is?

Light/Heavy

 It's a Light Heavyweight championship bout this on The Mal Thursday Show, as Mal spins songs with Light or Heavy in the title. Presented in Ultrasonic Stereophonic and Living Monophonic Sound. Originally broadcast 2 April 2026.

Donate to The Mal Thursday Show HERE    

Playlist:
The Easybeats: You Are the Light
The Animals: Bright Lights, Big City
Them: Turn on Your Love Light
The Yardbirds: Smokestack Lightning (BBC)
The Hollies: When Your Light's Turned on
The Walker Brothers: After the Lights Go Out
David Bowie: White Light White Heat (BBC)
Tyrannosaurus Rex: By the Light of the Magical Moon
The Rolling Stones: Shine a Light/Dancing in the Light (bed)
The Other Side: Out My Light
The Great Scots: The Light Hurts My Eyes
Chuck Berry: House of Blue Lights
North Atlantic Invasion Force: Blue Light in the Windown
The Lykes of Us: Tell Me Why Your Light Shines
The Doors: Light My Fire (mono)
Inca: Lights of Dawn
First Crow to the Moon: The Sun Lights Up the Shadows of Your Mind
The Shy Guys: Black Lightening Light
The Ventures: Light My Fire (bed)
The Rolling Stones: 2000 Light Years from Home (mono)
The Velvet Underground: I'm Beginning to See the Light (live 1969)
The Music Explosion: I See the Light
The One Way Street: I See the Light
The Glass Sun: I See the Light
The Ugly's: I See the Light

Mal Thursday's Texas Tyme Machine:
The Five Americans: I See the Light 
The Outcasts: Smokestack Lightning
The Argyles: White Lightnin'
The Ugly Beats: The Light Comes on
SEOMPI: Summer's Comin' on Heavy
Sir Douglas Quintet: You Never Get Too Big And You Sure Don't Get Too Heavy, That You Don't Have To Stop And Pay Some Dues Sometime

Bob Seger System: Heavy Music Pt. 1
Bob Dylan & The Band: Yea Heavy and a Bottle of Bread
Dale Hawkins: Heavy on My Mind
The Beatles: I Want You (She's So Heavy)
The Reverberations: Into the Light

Crazy Town

Mal Thursday is back with a semi-free-form episode ruminating on the state of the world and the story of his life. Crazy Town! Dedicated to the memory of Stefán Karl Stefánsson a.k.a Robbie Rotten. Presented in Ultrasonic Stereophonic and Living Monophonic Sound. Originally broadcast 26 March 2026.

Donate to The Mal Thursday Show HERE   

Playlist:
The Superfine Dandelion: Crazy Town (Move on Little Children)
The Unrelated Segments: The Story of My Life
The Riddles: I Tell You a Story of My Life
The Velvet Underground: That's the Story of My Life (mono)
The Lost Souls: This Life of Mine
Q65: The Live I Live
Thor's Hammer: My Life
Marcus: The Life Game
The Journeymen: Realities in Life
The Fleshtones: I've Gotta Change My Life
Mal Thursday Quintet: The Other Side of This Life
The Ventures: What is Life (bed)
Kevin Coughlin: I Gotta Be Me
Eric Burdon & The Animals: When I Was Young
Fire: Father's Name Was Dad
The Dictators: Teengenerate
Mott the Hoople: One of the Boys
The Kinks: The Hard Way
Ron Davies: It Ain't Easy
Guided By Voices: Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox
Flamin' Groovies: Headin' for the Texas Border
The Hour Glass: Down in Texas
Conway Twitty: Big Town
Boo Boo and Bunky: This Old Town
Frank Sinatra: This Town
Nancy Sinatra: I Gotta Get Out of This Town
The Gentlemen Wild: You Gotta Leave
The Hollies: Leave Me (mono)
The Rationals: Leaving Here
The Ventures: Lullaby of the Leaves (bed)
Greg 'Stackhouse' Prevost: Ain't Nothing Here Gonna Change My Mind
Randy & The Radiants: My Way of Thinking
The Preachers: Stay Out of My World
The Pretty Things: Come See Me
The Small Faces: Tin Soldier/Rene
The Children of Darkness: She's Mine
Fingers Lee: I'm Gonna Buy Me a Dog
The Weeklings: Diamond Dogs
The Magnificent Brotherhood: Lifetime

Pot Pourri

 I started losing my voice last Thursday at Austin Stomp! #7 and right now, it is a rocky rasp. So, in lieu of a new show, here is a selection of some of my favorite episodes from the past year or so.

All Night Stand

If

 Games of Chance 

Wrong

Grounded

Smoke/Fire

Dream

Night

Day 

 Please donate to The Mal Thursday Show HERE