A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
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A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #39
My record collection: [321] Chris Stroffolino - I Never Cry (7”)
date: 2026-01-26 00:00 +0000
I first came across Chris Stroffolino† on the 30th August 2013 when his Twitter account tweeted that he was “recording an #AliceCooper song with #DeanWareham and #BrittaPhillips of #Luna, etc.” - on 6th September 2012 a video turned up on YouTube of him, with Dean & Britta, playing Luna’s Lost in Space in the back of a van.
Shortly after I posted about the video it was pulled off YouTube. A couple of days later Dean emailed me explaining that the video was removed for some audio improvements and would be replaced and he also linked me to an analysis of Lost in Space by Mr. Stroffolino that then takes the “you need/time off/for good/behaviour” lyric into a courtroom:
Prosecutor: [His] laziness is evident in his perpetual yearning for “something else” he can’t even name. Even his fantasy heroes who he once looked to as exemplary role models seem tame to him. He would rather be “crazy” than “tame” and thus cannot contribute to society in a functioning, or even productive, way. This case is “lost in space,” and will not listen to the advice of those who are trying to help him. His actions present no evidence of any rehabilitation, and clearly his sentence should not be shortened.
Judge: We will now hear from the advocate:
Advocate: The Prosecutor neglects to take into account all the evidence. The defendant is clearly overworked. He certainly acts tame: he’s tired, and needs time off, in order to continue to perform his exceptional, and exemplary—and even magical—duties that he has performed in the penitentiary.
The Feuerzeig Video Covers Project: Luna (Lost in Space), with Dean & Britta
The aforementioned “#AliceCooper song” finally arrived on the b-side of a 7” single released on Spanish label Munster in March of the following year and is a cover of I Never Cry from the 1976 album Alice Cooper Goes to Hell. I couldn’t find the track online anywhere so have ripped it from my single and popped it on YouTube (so apologies for any pops/crackles you might hear).
The a-side of the single is I’m Not Going Astray which also turned up on a whole album of “Piano Van” recordings called Griffith Park. The album was produced by Jeff Feuerzeig (who’s previously had a mention in this series, and has thirteen songs delivered as if played in the corner of a pub late on a Friday evening.
The album’s Bandcamp page describes Chris thus:
Chris Stroffolino is a former Silver Jews member, a Ph.D. holding Shakespearean scholar and published author of eight books of poetry who currently lives in his van with an rescued, upright piano bolted to the chassis.
Chris Stroffolino - Griffith Park (Bandcamp)
Since the album was released Chris appears to have gone fairly quiet.
- Catalogue Number: 11/064
- Artist: Chris Stroffolino
- Title: I’m Not Going Astray / Mess My Mind Up / I Never Cry
- Format: 7” single
- Bought direct from Munster for €6 plus postage (back when postage from overseas was bearable!)
† - actually while researching this I did find that Chris Stroffolino had supported Damon & Naomi in San Francisco in April 2005.
My record collection: [322] Damon & Naomi - Within These Walls (CD)
The LP version of Damon & Naomi’s Within These Walls turned up in this series just a couple of months back so I’m not too sure how much I have to add without repeating myself… but, here goes.
The album was originally only released on CD so this copy is my first, and most played, copy.
I saw Damon & Naomi around the time of release at The Scala on a bill with Sunburned Hand of the Man, I did go with my taping pal Andy but sadly he had a recorder failure and so I only have my memories… and the review I wrote for AHFoW where I…
- … was in awe of Kurihara
Kurihara for the most part stood in the dark and appeared to be playing entirely for his own enjoyment - it was almost as if he barely noticed that he was on a stage, he spent the evening looking down and caressing gorgeous sounds out of his guitar with a mix of fingers and e-bow.
- … and expressed frustration at D&N’s 45 minute slot and how Damon might not have made best use of it
Damon during the set had a couple of bouts rambling banter which would have been fine except I knew they had only 45 minutes and I'd rather have heard an extra song than the lengthy explanation of the _The Black Magic Triangle_ or the translation of Araca Azul. But we got our 45 minutes and nothing more, and all too soon it was over.
I do of course love Damon’s rambling introductions and understand that they are a key part of a D&N show, and i do adore how funny Naomi thinks they are!
I still love the album… but still don’t love the sleeve (see the end of the previous post for an explanation.
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/114
- Artist: Damon & Naomi
- Title: Within These Walls
- Format: CD
- Bought somewhere on first release.
- Buy ‘Within These Walls’ on Bandcamp
Previously in my record collection:
https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/the-luna-record-sleeve-art-gallery
The coming week in history
3rd February 1990 - Galaxie 500 at The Leadmill, Sheffield
3rd February 2001 - Luna at The Knitting Factory, NYC
I wrote about seeing Luna in NYC in 2001 in my post about Rock and Roll tourism
https://aheadfullofwishes.substack.com/p/being-a-rock-and-roll-tourist
6th February 1990 - Galaxie 500 at Leicester University
You can watch the whole of Galaxie 500’s set on their tour supporting The Sundays here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_RDoNcjbYQ&feature=youtu.be
This week’s rediscoveries
- I realised that while I was in London for the Damon & Naomi shows at the beginning of the year I missed what should have been Sandy Denny’s 79th birthday… here are Damon & Naomi covering No More Sad Refrains in Berlin in 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F20Os2GjLvo
- … I also missed what should have been David Bowie’s 79th … here’s Luna’s great cover of Starman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_kz3xtc4CQ