The Music Project, Pt. 13

In the very early 80s, I was shopping in one of the two small department stores in my home town. There was a little table up front with a few cut-out albums priced at 50 cents apiece. Being a vinyl junkie, and having very little money, I felt compelled to leaf through them. I didn't recognize any of the artists except for The Rubinoos. Not that I knew what The Rubinoos sounded like, I had just seen them in the Berserkley Chartbusters ads in Creem magazine (my all time favorite music rag, by the way). Berserkley was an indie record label that featured, along with The Rubinoos, Greg Kihn, Earthquake and Jonathan Richman. Anyway, I ended up buying 5 albums - mainly because they looked interesting. That's $2.50, before tax! This was one of the greatest deals I ever made, not just because of the small amount I spent, but because it introduced me to some amazing music.
Oh, I almost forgot - when I opened the Rubinoos album, it contained a Jonathan Richman disc! And since I have already mentioned him in this list, I'm going to feature the other four.
Elton Motello's "Pop Art" is a punk rock/new wave tour de force. It's leaps and bounds ahead of his first effort (even though that one featured "Jet Boy Jet Girl").
Roddy Frantz, of Urban Verbs, has a brother, Chris Frantz, who is the drummer for Talking Heads. Both bands have a girl bass player and were spawned in the same petri dish, more or less. I guess what I'm trying to say is, they have similarities. Now, while I like Talking Heads (I really do...), I have to say that I LOVE their off-shoot, Tom Tom Club. AND I love the space synth, feedback guitar, alienated vocals and tribal drumming of "Early Damage" by Urban Verbs.
Code Blue should have been HUGE. Ex members of The Motels, Mudcrutch and The Vibrators, they had a great live reputation, amazing songs and a big push from their record label. Some things just weren't meant to be, I guess. I'm awfully glad I found them, though.
Pearl Harbor and the Explosions had a great mix of 60s girl group pop, a little punk rock, new wave and rock-a-billy, and a guitar player who tossed in odd jazz licks. Headed by Filipino diva Pearl E. Gates (who was once married to Paul Simonon, from The Clash), this combination resulted in one fun record!
I searched long and hard to find these albums on CD. The only one I haven't been able to locate is Elton Motello's "Pop Art." If anyone has any information on this, PLEASE contact me. Thanks.