Special treble clef edition.
Open your music collection, sort the songs by first letter and list the first song that begins with 'E', then 'G', 'B', 'D', 'F'. No skipping or selecting. First song, period. Describe each of them.
- E : Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz - E Luxo So. A pleasant little bit of Brazilian tropicalia. Guitar and Getz' soft saxophone. Ahh.. This would've been a nicer way to start the day than what I really had to deal with.
- G : Smaller Animals - galapagos. Initially, a slow, creeping thing: Tortoise-like; Bass simulator + ring modulated guitar. It picks up speed in the second half; that's the finch section, I guess ?
- B : Love And Rockets - B-Side, No 1. A mercifully short bit of audio collage. Can't find this on YouTube.
- D : Codeine - D. One of my favorite Codeine songs. "D for effort. D for intent. D because you pay the rent." And, the last chorus/bridge section is oddly quick for a Codeine song - it's so fast, you can almost tap your foot to it!
- F : Neil Young & C.H. - F*!#in' Up (live, from Weld). A pretty good 90's-era Neil song. Lots of growly guitar, some nice interplay between Neil and Poncho, a howling, screaming Neil solo. What more could you ask for?
OK, that was easy. Now you try!
Work at home in the wake of the hurricane!
E: “E, Mama Ea” by Sol Ho’opi’i and his Novelty Trio. Nice ukes, nice voice, nice traditional Hawai’ian melody. Not my favorite Ho’opi’i song but I’m glad to listen to it.
G: “G Minor Spin”, by George Barnes and Ernie Varner. A short bit of complex jazz guitar.
B: “B & O Blues #2”, by Blind Willie McTell. Goin back to Baltimore. Maybe the definitive plaintive McTell blues.
D: “Daddy’s Home”, by SPANK. A great NYC doo-wop group, they sing in subway stations and sell their CD’s. Great a capella vocals.
F: “Face of Death”, by the Soft Boys.
The normal random shuffle thingy is giving me some pleasant tracks as well.
Not my favorite Ho’opi’i song
Later in the shuffle we get “Aloha No Au I Ko Maka” which is for my money a way better example of the genre.
Louis Jordan – Early In The Mornin’
When Louis Jordan signed with Mercury in 1956, he re-recorded a bunch of his big hits from the earlier Tympany Five era. They were in stereo, with a bigger band, and peppier, almost a rock-and-roll sensibility. As somebody who habitually seeks out original versions, I should hate Jordan’s Mercury remakes, but instead I prefer them. Original here, Mercury version here.
It is a little bit embarrassing to hear Jordan do his vato voice, in either version.
Prokofiev – Gavotte (Romeo and Juliet)
It’s got a bunch of weird modulations, and you can dance to it.
Baba’s Beat
This is actually an electronic demo of a simple drum rhythm, put together by the guy who leads my local African drum circle. Named for Babatundi Olatunji, it’s just a simple “short bell” rhythm played on djembe, which makes for a pretty good foundation to improvise over.
Gloria Estefan – Dame Otra Oportunidad
Alma Caribena is the third-best of Gloria’s three Spanish language albums from the 90’s. It’s okay, but it just doesn’t have the fire that blew my speakers away on Abriendo Puertas.
Otis Redding – Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)
Damn you, Lake Monona.
Are you playing all instruments on Galapagos, or was Smaller Animals an actual multi-person band?
there were other people, many years ago. but these days it’s pretty much just me. once in a while my wife and i do something together.
More frequently than “once in a while”, one hopes.
well, we don’t always record the other things we do.
I love these exercises…
E: Charles Mingus, E’s Flat Ah’s Flat Too
From his Blues & Roots album, which I think might be my favorite by him because it’s so, er, bluesy and rootsy. Nothing against Black Saint, of course.
G: Jimmy Smith, G’wan Train
A little shorty from the Hammond organ master — 1:19. Over too soon!
B: Alex Chilton, B-A-B-Y
An excellent cover of the Carla Thomas song, from Chilton’s great mid-’80s EP, Feudalist Tarts (later munged with another EP and some singles into an album called Stuff).
D: Marie Laforet, D’etre a vous
French pop cover of Bob Dylan’s “I Want You,” complete with noodly harpsichord and cooing singing style. Weird, but affecting.
http://youtu.be/kN0HPj3AJGg
F: TV theme, F Troop
Self-explanatory. These collections of TV themes are something of a guilty pleasure for me, but I hate it when they’re remakes instead of the orginal versions. This one sounds right.
This ought to be interesting.
E. Sex Pistols – E.M.I.
Not my favorite Pistols song (that would be No Feelings…today) and this is a pretty awful version in the video. I remember in the 80’s smoking out posers by asking them if they caught the Sex Pistols show last week. About half the time they told us how awesome the show was. Morans.
G. Monty Python – Galaxy Song
Nice little humorous ditty by Eric Idle. The best part is the animation where the comet impregnates the grid woman.
B. Rammstein – B********(Bückstabü)
Ah, Rammstein. They put the heavy in heavy metal. Apparently, Bückstabü has no meaning in German. I really like Rammstein for their heaviness, their massively low bottom end. Everything is tuned low and the drums are so deep and powerful. Not to mention that he could sing “tip toe through the tulips” and it would sound menacing, particularly so in German.
D. Weather Report – Db Waltz
I didn’t remember that I even had this one. This is from the early 80’s, not my favorite era of jazz. But this song is pretty cool, with a nice groove and the beginning of some synth from Zawinul. I usually prefer my jazz pre-74 or so, but this one catches Weather Report just before they really started to slide.
F. Pig – F.O.M.
The video posted is not that song because I could not find something that obscure, but it is another song by Pig that would give you an idea of the industrial noise they produce. Pig is basically Raymond Watts who was an early member of KMFDM and worked with Einstürzende Neubauten. This sounds like the bastard child of that marriage, with a little Foetus and a little Rammstein thrown in. Noisy for sure, but really cathartic to listen to if you are pissed off.
And interesting it was.
Bizzarely, I have been on a bit of jazz bender this last week in the car and have listened to both the Mingus and the Jimmy Smith in the last two or three days. So bravo, JPK!
Back from camping in the New Forest. First time in a tent since I was a kid!
R.E.M. – E-Bow The Letter
From 1996’s ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’ this is quite a different sounding R.E.M. song and made me remember just how good this album is (perhaps their last great album?). It features something being bowed that’s for sure – it runs through the background of the entire song. Apparently Patti Smith sings backing vocals and it tells of a ‘letter never sent’ – apparently to River Phoenix concerning his drug abuse. Wikipedia eh? Amazing.
Supergrass – G-Song
Another cracking tune from 1995’s ‘In It For The Money’. I’ve tried to nail the guitar part on this time and time again to no avail. Great tune. They really get into it about 1m 20s in and it just SOARS. Brilliant. You’ll love it!
Blur – B.L.U.R.E.M.I.
They play this at 1000mph – a little slice of Blur-Punk. From their 1998 album ’13’ which has always been my favourite as it’s their most personal – less cockney chatter and more feeling. The only video I could find is this live one, which isn’t that great but you get the idea.
Led Zeppelin – D’Yer Maker
Mmmm. Not my favourite Zep song. One of my least favourite in fact. Sounds a but dated – rock band do the whole reggae thing. The temptation to skip is strong with this one.
Neil Young – F*!#in’ Up
Dare I say ‘Neil Young By Numbers’? Apart from the shock-sweary chorus this could of been generated by a ‘Write A Neil Young Song!’ computer program. There’s a bit of everything in here. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not a bad song but it’s not particularly memorable either.
Great idea. Loved it. More!!!
Right, I need a shower and a shave. Sleeping in a tent isn’t conducive to good personal hygiene.
Anyone heard anything by a band called ‘War on Drugs’? I’m hearing good things from a friend and wondered if any Cleekians know of them? “Hook filled Americana fed through Spiritualized’s veins.” is how my friend described them…