Start Your iPods

Having successfully slain Oracle, I can now do this...

Random five, describe:

  1. Sonic Youth - Kim's Chords. Don't know this one. Not very interesting. Takes a long time to not really go anywhere. It's an instrumental, though, which saves me from having to complain about them singing the same things in the same way they've been singing things for the past eighteen years. I'm so not interested in new SY. Oh well.
  2. Police - Masoko Tanga. A snappy tune from their first record, with mumbled nonsense lyrics. There's some wicked playing from Sting and Stewart on this, and Andy holds it all together with his steady spiky reggae chords. Precedes the Heads' "I Zimbra" by a year. The Beatles' nonsense-lyric song, "Sun King", precedes this by nine years, of course.
  3. Portishead - Undenied. Man, their first two records were just awesome, weren't they?
  4. The Doors - Tightrope Ride. A post-Morrison song in which the remaining three Doors get an early R&B Rolling Stones sound going. There's a bridge that shifts to a standard mid-era Doors vibe for a half minute or so. Dislike that part. Ray's voice is surprisingly decent here, even when he slips into Morrison-esque phrasing here and there.
  5. Robyn Hitchcock - September Cones. A solo-acoustic tune very much in the "I Don't Remember Guildford" vein. Not crazy about this one, though. I think it's the vocal melody - doesn't really grab me like "Guildford" does. Since this is an outtake, I won't count it against him.

Right.

Now you do it.

7 thoughts on “Start Your iPods”

  1. JPK

    1. Angie Martinez ft. Lil Mo & Sacario, “If I Could Go!” Nearly all top 40 from the past 15 years is lost on me and this is no exception. I admit it. But I keep trying. It’s stacked up there on my hard drive.
    http://youtu.be/ePmt1tFDtW8

    2. Peter & Gordon, “Lady Godiva” On the other hand, I am way too forgiving of top 40 of the ’60s and ’70s and this is an example of that, from 1966. It’s so wrapped up in Hugh Hefner-style sexual liberation and so silly that it’s practically a novelty, and I never, ever choose to play it. Shuffle does that for me (and oldies radio), at which point I’m happy to listen one more time. For the good times. (Better from this British Invasion act: “A World Without Love” and esp. the cover of Buddy Holly’s “True Love Ways.”)
    http://youtu.be/dJWBpq2dCF0

    3. John Lennon, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On +” Another likely outtake from the Rock N Roll sessions, complete with random dropouts and other bootleggy blemishes, this goes on for more than eight minutes, includes a nice guitar solo (maybe Jesse Ed Davis?), and then finishes with a handful of random radio PSAs with Yoko Ono and others for a children’s benefit show. You take what you get with those bootlegs, amirite?

    4. Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs, “Sugar Shack” Another one from the ’60s, this time 1963. This predates my active radio listening but I do remember hearing it and loving it as a kid when my dad had the car radio tuned to a pop station. It’s all lightweight all the time, lasting barely two minutes, with pop country feel, a funny organ sound, and beatnik lifestyle references, and it went to #1 for five weeks, much more of an achievement for those times. I still like it, but YMMV, I guarantee you.
    http://youtu.be/GBlR0jKXIvo

    5. Soft Machine, “10:30 Returns to the Bedroom” Part 5 of the “Esther’s Nose Job” suite from the second Soft Machine album (I think most agree that it’s the third album where they really got in gear, right?). It’s credited as a collaboration between Ratledge, Hopper, and Wyatt, but as a somewhat unfocused pastiche it’s not hard to pick out the individual contributions. Since I tend to favor Ratledge’s stuff over the others as a general rule those would be the points here that sound best to me, with that weird piercing reedy tone of his organ leading some energetic charges. God bless YouTube, they’ve got it.
    http://youtu.be/XWoYd-ghvPc

  2. Rob Caldecott

    Hello Autumn. Hello increasingly dark morning drive to the gym. Hello central heating and hot radiators.

    The Boo Radleys – Song From The Blueroom
    From the quite lovely 1998 album ‘Kingsize’ this is a mellow piano-led song with a dash of horns. Half-way through some drums and strings appear. It sounds very Beatle-esque indeed. I imagine the Fab Four had quite an influence on this band.

    Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper
    Will this song ever get old? This is the shorter 5m version – not the 8m monster that I have somewhere. Party like it’s 1976.

    Dr Feelgood – Milk And Alcohol
    Mmm. Interesting choice, although sounding very dated. Chugging power chords, wailing solo but struggling to find the love with this one.

    The Flaming Lips – Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell
    Never been a massive Lips fan but ‘Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots’ really grabbed me and as one of those albums I tend to listen to in full. This isn’t the highlight but it’s still pretty good. Without the funky bassline and sound effects it wouldn’t sound that different from the Boo Radleys.

    The Black Keys – Unknown Brother
    Superb lo-fi tune from 2010’s ‘Brothers’ album (which I bought this year – so all is not lost when it comes to new music). Love the vocals, the guitar and the whole vibe about this song, album and band in general. Toe-tapping tune plus lyrical sadness = win.

    Just been bouncing round the front room with my SG playing ‘What’s The Frequency Kenneth?’ – chords so simple even I can’t mess it up!

  3. Platosearwax

    Hello Autumn. Hello increasingly dark morning drive to the gym. Hello central heating and hot radiators.

    No kidding. I drove to work today in the mostly dark. Disappointing.

    1. Orchestral Manoevers in the Dark – Electricity
    Really nice electro-pop song. 1979. Seriously, 1979. Kind of hard to believe, though the keyboards they are using here are dated and nothing even close to what Kraftwerk were using 5 years before. I think when I first discovered this song it was year or so later when I was all into Kiss and Judas Priest. Thank god for that.

    2. Echo & the Bunnymen – People are Strange
    Ill conceived cover for one of my favorite 80’s bands. The Bunnymen were so much better than this. It does bring to mind this which I read week or so ago.

    3. Black Flag – Clocked In
    Keith Morris (later of Circle Jerks) on vocals on this early track. Totally Black Flag though. Reminds me of high school, zines, going to shows at the Unitarian church. Fun times.

    4. Dresden Dolls – First Orgasm
    Kind of a novelty song from Mrs. Neil Gaiman. There are better Dresden Dolls songs. When they start rocking out on just piano and drums and it is a thing to behold. I really like her.

    5. Fad Gadget – Lady Shave
    When I was really into synth, this was like one of the coolest songs. When the chorus starts and that bass synth takes off I just so wanted the keyboard he was using. Frank Tovey (RIP) was a pioneer and did not get nearly the credit he deserved. This song is not about what it seems either.

    Well, that was a bit obscure, retro and cheeky. Happy Monday!

  4. Platosearwax

    Holy crap. Seriously, I have never really listened to Soft Machine. So many other things to listen to and never got around to them. But that was AWESOME. Huge hole in my musical lexicon now filled. Thank you, JPK!

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