December 09, 2005
"The Fittest Shall Survive, Yet The Unfit May Live"
Pops Staples, 1915-2000. I believe one of his last appearance was in helping Willie Nelson come up with the war anthem in Wag The Dog
It's Friday, and time to make sure that you gauge your worth as a human being on this planet via the Musical Audit; you can check previous editions in the Musique Non-Stop category. Don't worry, I deleted Imagine from the jukebox so that we won't have any unwanted current events tie-in where I would just end up angering a bunch of people, not the least of whom is my good friend in Houston who writes Mark David Chapman hate mail. Fire up the jukebox, don't skip over anything, and take the first eleven that pop up:
(1) Last Train To Clarksville (The Monkees) They're supposed to sound like an American version of the Beatles? I'm not hearing it. You have to admit, these are some really great arrangements and melodies. The lyrics are probably pretty advanced for 1966, considering the brain trust they had working for the Colgems empire. Fuck it, it gets a 7/10.
(2) Fire on High (Electric Light Orchestra) Damn, I wish I was playing this on vinyl right now. Backwards, so I could hear "The music is reversible, but time is not...turn back! Turn back! Turn back!" Forwards, it's only really interesting for about half the time, and overblown the other half. 5/10.
(3) Simple (The Beta Band) A nice little slice of electro-pop and psychedelia, although if you listen really closely, you detect the unmistakable influence of The Alan Parsons Project. The 1977 incarnation who did songs about Sherlock Holmes or something. 6.5/10.
(4) Where The Hell is Bill? (Camper Van Beethoven): Maybe he went to see the Circle Jerks. What's a sideways haircut? What's a stripe-ed shirt? An inconsequential slice of slow country detailing the adventures of some SoCal slacker from everybody's favorite conservative band. 6/10.
(5) She's As Beautiful As a Foot (Blue Oyster Cult): They are a really, really strange band. This sounds like The Doors if Jim Morrison managed to get his graduate degree in Shitty Poetry. 3/10. I suppose I should explain that. I assume that Jim Morrison was an autodidact when it came to his shitty poetry.
(6) The Weight (Staple Singers) One of the high points of Martin Scorsese's documentary on The Band (The Last Waltz) is when the group does a live version of this song, exchanging verses with Mavis and Pops. This studio version, featuring Mavis, is one of the better covers you're ever likely to hear, even if the strings are a bit extraneous. 9/10.
(7) Wiggly World (Devo) I think this must be the unreleased theme song for some vaguely disturbing children's show called Wiggly World. In fact, I'm sure of it. There's really no other plausible explanation. 7.5/10.
(8) Where Was You At (War) One of the more eccentric and underappreciated bands from the 70s; it's too bad that their novelty songs (Low Rider, The Cisco Kid) seem to have gotten the most airplay. This song sounds like a great update of the sound of The Impressions. 8/10.
(9) My Favourite Game (The Cardigans) I suppose I should be ashamed about this, but I have a weakness for Scandinavian pop bands with airy, female vocals. I think this song is their half-assed attempt to blend the grunge-pop wall-of-sound of Garbage with the disturbing sound of Portishead. Did I already say half-assed? 4/10.
(10) When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around (The Police) That song title took so long to type, I'm not sure I want to really go into it that much. You all know it, right? 7/10. You know, Sting is a pretty good bassist, it's too bad he funneled all of his time and effort into becoming a pretentious shitwad.
(11) Guitar Cha-Cha (Link Wray) The inventor of the power chord is no longer with us, but his dirty instrumentals live on 45 years after the fact. Insufferable Music Snob Apprentice sez: listen to more guitar instrumentals from Chet Atkins, Link Wray and Duane Eddy e-ver-y day! 8/10.
It's probably somewhere in the 6-7 range. I'll trust my math instincts. Bonus track from Adam Green (Country Road), a singer-songwriter I can live with, because he's absolutely insane, picking up where Ween left off about five years ago.
I just shot Three Bulls! wad over that line about Jim Morrisson, and in my haste I missed your degradation of that Cardigans tune. I thought you'd said you'd respect me in the morning?
Posted by: Pinko Punko at December 9, 2005 01:19 AMHadn't planned on making this a habit, but here I go again...
1. Frank Black Francis - Nimrod's Son - 6.5/10
2. Robert Johnson - Cross Road Blues (Take 2) - 9.0
3. Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun - 3.0/10
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Coffee Shop - 5.0/10
5. Radiohead - 2 +2 = 5 (The Lukewarm) - 7.5/10
6. Bad Religion - Automatic Man - 7.5/10
7. Beastie Boys - Triple Trouble - 5.5/10
8. Curve - Falling Free (Aphex Twin Remix) - 6.0/10
9. Curve - Zoo - 6.0/10
10. The Cure - Seventeen Seconds - 8.0/10
11. Nine Inch Nails - The Becoming - 8.5/10
Bonus #12: Sevendust - Speak - This song rocks.
Average: 6.6/10
Posted by: Montag at December 9, 2005 05:54 AM1. Billie Holiday - This Year's Kisses: Eh. 6/10
2. Fountains of Wayne - I Want You Around: My FOW outtakes collection is starting to be a bit of a liability. 5/10
3. The Smiths - Is It Really So Strange?: One of the most damning facts about this song is that no actual studio version of it exists: this, on Louder Than Bombs, is a Peel session. They didn't care enough about it to actually record it. Hence, it's pretty bland. 6/10
4. The Blood Brothers - Burn Piano Island Burn: This band is a pretty hard sell at first, but they're one of the few "screamo" bands out there who still have any cred, mainly because they write songs like Bunuel and Man Ray made movies. 8/10
5. Richard & Linda Thompson - Walking on a Wire: I'd like to cast my vote for "Most Underrated British Guitarist Ever" for R. Thompson, please. 9.5/10
6. The Decemberists - The Mariner's Revenge Song: This is pretty much a composite of every Decemberists song ever written: it's a nautical tale of being lost at sea, with lots of acoustic guitar and accordion, and (I think) Petra Haden contributing wispy female vocals. And it's nearly 9 minutes long. Basically, if that turns you off, you'll hate the Decemberists. 7.5/10
7. The New Pornographers - The New Face of Zero and One: The one thing direly missing from the new New Pornos album is lots more Neko Case. Thankfully, we'll always have Electric Version. 9.5/10
8. Eels - Marie Floating Over the Backyard: Ethereal Eels instrumental... eh. I think E's starting to go soft. 4/10
9. The Ramones - It's a Long Way Back to Germany: Why wasn't this originally on Rocket to Russia, instead of being a "UK B-side"? It's a hell of a lot better than that throwaway version of "Surfin' Bird". 8/10
10. The Hives - See Through Head: I remain a Hives loyalist, through thick and thin. Plus, Tyrannosaurus Hives was a totally bitchin' album. The Hives remain the best kinda-Stooges tribute band around. 9/10
11. Husker Du - Indecision Time: Bob Mould, why are you so angry? A couple of years ago, or whenever I got this song, it spent a lot of time in my CD player, because I thought it was hardcore, man. All first takes = spontaneous brilliance. 10/10
I dunno... somewhere in the area of 7. I don't feel like computing, mainly because my bonus track is Green Day - Give Me Novacaine (they even misspelled "Novocaine"!). Oh well.
Posted by: wilhelm at December 9, 2005 08:56 AMYou've got Blue Oyster Cult and Camper here and you have the gall to 'dis my list?
Posted by: Roxanne at December 9, 2005 09:47 AM"Fire and Desire," Rick James & Teena Marie -- Egads! Could a song be any quieter or any stormier? I should delete this. 2/10
"Holding My Own," The Darkness -- It's about wanking. 5/10
"Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side," Magnetic Fields -- My, but this is a gay and jaunty little number. I don't get any extra points for the "LES" abbreviation in my notes. 4/10
"Fucked Up Once Again," Flipper -- Great band, great title, turgid results. (Still pretty cool, overall.) 7/10
"Leaves," Meat Puppets -- They're not exactly underrated, but they should certanly be more widely appreciated. Seriously, what's not to like about a great band that noticeably increased its competence on each successive album without sacrificing too much of its edge? 8/10
"Sunglasses at Night," Tiga & Zatherius -- Oh, my goodness. This should never have been made. It's basically just a karaoke-style cover with a top-shelf drum machine. I should delete this, too, because the original is more than sufficient for my purposes. 3/10
"Ruby," Silver Apples -- Whoa, now this here's the shit! One half of this odd, late-60s duo plays drums, and the other half sings and operates some sort of electronic device he calls the oscillator. (This particular song features some banjo, too.) Fans of Stereolab, Pere Ubu, Suicide and Spacemen 3 should definitely take note. 10/10
"Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam," The Vaselines -- Yes, I bought a number of records on Kurt Cobain's recommendation. (And a lot of 'em were pretty good, too.) 8/10
"Stand Back (Felix da Housecat remix)," Stevie Nicks -- This is actually much better than it sounds on paper (which is why musicians usually record to straight to digital or acetate). 4/10
"Love To Know," Unrest -- I wish you could buy stock in things like "Unrest will become a popular influence for young bands to cite." 7/10
"Kick It," Peaches & Iggy Pop -- The self-referential insults are cute for approximately three listens. 6/10
Aggregate: 5.81
Posted by: TravisG at December 9, 2005 10:50 AMNice call on the Staples. That's a great cover.
Posted by: Otto Man at December 9, 2005 11:37 AMAny list with Link Wray on it is pretty goddamn good; he makes up for The Police (but just barely).
Television - The Dream's Dream (8/10 -yeah, I know, you think they're overrated)
Gang of 4 - We Live As We Dream, Alone (9/10 - extra point for using a Joseph Conrad quote for a song title)
Gang of 4 - The History of the World (8/10)
Mikis Theodorakis - State of Siege (9/10 - only slightly inferior to the theme from Z)
Tom Jones - Kung Fu Fighting (6/10 - it's cheesy, but I love it)
The Wailers - Driftwood (9/10)
Talking Heads - Memories Can't Wait (7/10 - docked a point because everybody loves Talking Heads)
Shriekback - This Big Hush (8/10 - Shriekback in creepy and atmospheric mode, always a good time)
Bryan Ferry - Same Old Blues (6/10 - loving or hating this depends on your tolerance for Bryan Ferry's utterly bizarre...um...'accent')
Hüsker Dü - Tell You Why Tomorrow (9/10)
7.9/10--not too shabby.
Posted by: Tom Hilton at December 9, 2005 11:46 AMI have had to defend my Cardigans CD to a number of people. Usually the coup de grace is in using this sentence:
"They do a lounge cover of Iron Man!"
My musique du jour is here.
Posted by: VestalVespa at December 9, 2005 11:52 AMI have a weakness for Scandinavian pop bands with airy, female vocals.
Check out the Concretes! The Concretes are awesome! Especially their self-titled album, The Concretes!!!11!!1one1!
Posted by: Cryptic Ned at December 9, 2005 12:30 PMI have had to defend my Cardigans CD to a number of people. Usually the coup de grace is in using this sentence:
"They do a lounge cover of Iron Man!"
That is a beautiful cover. They also do "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" on another album.
The Cardigans will always be my secret shame. Well, that and when I hide in the bathroom and eat fresh flowers.
Posted by: Otto Man at December 9, 2005 04:45 PMAn all disco list:
1)Do It Till You're Satisfied (BT Express)
2)Theme from Midnight Express (Georgio Moroder)
3)There But For The Grace Of God (Machine)
4)Infatuation (Upfront)
5)Stubborn Kinda Fellow (Buffalo Smoke)
6)Why? (Bronski Beat)
7)Everybody Dance (Chic)
8)Reach Up (Queer Eye Version) (Duran Duran)
9)Rock Your Baby (Georger McCrae)
10)Don't Leave Me This Way (Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes)
11)Back In Love Again (LTD)
Bonus Track: Over My Head (Toni Basil)
Posted by: vachon at December 9, 2005 09:10 PMI third the praise of the "Iron Man" cover.
Also, I'm in agreement with the assessments of "The Weight," "Last Train to Clarksville," and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam." I've wanted that album (The Story of the Vaselines?) going on a full decade now but have never been able to find it.
Posted by: Clancy at December 11, 2005 05:21 PM