This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio remembers Parthenon Huxley.
I can't remember the specifics of when or how I first heard Huxley's music. Before hearing him, I'm sure I read about him (probably in the pages of Yellow Pills, courtesy of writer Jordan Oakes); when Huxley's fantastic Sunny Nights LP was released in 1988, I had already been dismissed from my job at a record store, and the album's sublime sounds didn't reach my ears until years after the fact.
But I did belatedly become aware of Parthenon Huxley, first by reputation, then by the eventual blessing of finally hearing the music. I bought a used copy of Sunny Nights, and I was particularly blown away by the track "Double Our Numbers," a song that has scored a deserved berth on my all-time Hot 100. When Rhino Records contracted me to write the liner notes for the 1997 various-artists compilation Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '90s (a collection which included "Every Minute" by Parthenon's group P. Hux), my essay included this paragraph about the artist and his work:
"Chapel Hill, NC's native son Rick Miller, aka Rick Rock, is better known in pop circles as the one and only Parthenon Huxley--the name he used for his stunning 1988 album Sunny Nights--and as producer of records by E (today better known as front man of the Eels). Nowadays, singer/guitarist Huxley fronts a threesome called P. Hux, aided and abetted by bassist Rob Miller and drummer Gordon Townsend. P. Hux is resolutely rock-solid and proved it on Deluxe, a record proclaimed by readers of Audities magazine ('The Journal Of Insanely Great Pop') as the very best of '95. If 'Every Minute' is your first dose of Huxley, then you've got some catching up to do."
I did some catching up of my own, too. As new P. Hux releases followed, I followed along. Some sequence of circumstances brought me into email contact with Parthenon himself, and he was always nice to me, providing his music for airplay on TIRnRR and even letting us use his swoon-worthy track "Better Than Good" on one of our This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation CDs. We thought the world of him.
In 2025, I had a series of communications with Parthenon, discussing the possibility of him recording a track for the Flashcubes tribute album I was curating for Big Stir Records. He was open to the idea, and tentatively settled on doing a 12-string solo acoustic cover of Arty Lenin's "I Won't Wait Another Night." Over the course of a few months' conversation, he had to bow out of the project because of health concerns, a cough that was causing him difficulty with his singing. Health first!, I agreed, and wished him well.
I had no idea of how soon he would leave us. I don't want to pretend we were close, but he was the real deal, and all of us in the pop world mourn his passing. Last year, I bought Parthenon's book Electric Light Odyssey, a memoir of his career and experiences. He autographed the book for me, and wrote:
To Carl--
Thanks for joining me on this rock n roll odyssey. I hope you enjoy the read. We need to meet in person someday, okay?
Best,
P Hux
I very much regret that wish will never come to pass.
If I ever do a second Greatest Record Ever Made! book, that book will include a chapter about Parthenon Huxley's "Double Our Numbers." And the chapter includes these lines:
"...'Double Our Numbers' is a stirring affirmation of the promise and possibility of love: The kind of love we hear in the midst of seductive la-la-las in the greatest pop songs, and the love we so hope to discover in real life.
"It would be unfair to say that real life is no fun. The fantasy world of pop music intersects with the mortal, physical world we know, each influencing the other on an ongoing basis. In reality, we know that it's sometimes prudent to wait, to review, to weigh the pros and cons of action versus inaction.
"But in pop songs, we believe, and we act. Sometimes. Even in song, there are tales of regret over missed opportunities, and in our lives there are true stories of love at first sight. I'm certain that it happens all the time.
"And that's it, isn't? That's not just the appeal of a pop song, but the core quality of what love's unfolding promise can mean to us, how it can motivate us, why we want it, the vital importance of reaching for it in its precise, fleeting moment. We fall. For our own good, or own detriment, we fall because that's the only way to get where we want to be.
"Double our numbers. Double our chances. Double our pleasure, double our fun.
"And if it doesn't work out? Double back and try again. Falling in love. I believe pop songs are right about love's promise. I know Parthenon Huxley is right with 'Double Our Numbers.' "
Godspeed, Parthenon. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO.
You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). You can follow Carl's daily blog at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).
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Carl's latest book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get Carl's previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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