December 30, 2005
"We Get The Kind of Games You Can't Rent At Blockbuster"
Tucson, Arizona's finest.
Y'all know what to do, right?
1. Ride a White Swan (T. Rex) Seriously, what was wrong with Marc Bolan? His buddy David Bowie went on to do stuff like Station to Station, and we get this glam rock equivalent of the 1910 Fruitgum Company. Blech. 3/10.
2. On The Floor (Mary Timony) One of my favorite voices from the 90s, the ex-lead singer of Helium, comes out strong with a hard-rockin' song with what sounds like Fugazi as a backing band. Should give indie credibility lessons to Liz Phair. 7/10.
3. Shake It On the Floor (Son House): From his 1965 session, the seventy-something Son House has a few starts and stops on the recording tape before uncorking a rollickin' little piece of acoustic Delta blues. 7/10.
4. Stretch Your Rubber Band (The Meters): About as fine a piece of New Orleans funk as you can find. Do yourself a favor and find/download all the Meters you can find. 10/10.
5. Sucks (KMFDM): God only knows why I keep ten or so songs by these guys on the jukebox; I think it's for the camp/self-deprecation value ("Our music is simple, totally fake / It's done by machines 'cause they don't make mistakes"). I don't know how these guys ever influenced the Columbine killers. 5/10.
6. In The City (The Eagles): I think a previous musical audit was ruined by the inclusion of The Eagles; however, this song is more of Joe Walsh's showcase. Great power chords, pretty dopey lyrics. 6/10.
7. Do You Want To (Franz Ferdinand): I guess these guys are at the head of the current power-pop class. This song reminds me a little bit of the J. Geils Band mixed with late-era Squeeze, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. 6.5/10.
8. Delta 88 (X): Kind of sounds like that old song Hot Rod Lincoln, given a lo-fi remix and compressed into about half the original's running time. Not my favorite song off the Los Angeles album (I like the more Chuck Berry-sounding stuff), but passable. 6/10.
9. Zero Bars [Mr. Smith] (Gary Numan and Tubeway Army): Oh dear Lord. Sounds like Devo on quaaludes and self-importance. 2/10.
10. Supersucker Drive-By Blues (The Supersuckers): At least they ain't killin' motherfuckers dead. A fitting successor to the playful acoustic/electric mix perfected by Van Halen's Ice Cream Man. I might have mentioned this before, but these guys put on a hell of a fun live show. 8/10.
11. Proto Culture (Deltron 3030): The robotic incarnation of the artist formerly known as Del tha Funkee Homosapien seamlessly merges crazy-ass lyrics with synth samples and 70's electric piano, thanks to the help of legendary DJ Dan The Automator. 8/10.
Maybe a little grade inflation to get me up to about a 6.5/10. As you can see, I am in desperate need of further musical improvement. I downloaded a bunch of stuff from Napster, but you can drop your suggestions in the comments for new/old music I should be scouring in the New Year. If you haven't seen a previous recommendation of yours appear in previous audits, it's probably just a glitch, not the fact that I deleted it with extreme prejudice because no rational human being could listen to that shit.
The Meters, aka The Funky Meters. In the holy trinity of Funk, along with James Brown and Parliament. Highest recommendation. See also: Isley Brothers.
"Tucson, Arizona's finest"? Hah! Finest exports, maybe. The 'Suckers are Seattle boys, down and dirty, and have been for well over a decade now. Two of 'em live in my neighborhood, and their long-time (but now former) manager lives literally right behind me, on the next block over (my Lovely Bride worked at SubPop for several years, so it's like old home week whenever we run into various members of the 'Suckers' entourage in the microbrews section down at the Ballard Market).
Hell, the damn picture was taken in Seattle - recognize the Space Needle in the left background? I got married in a park about 150 yards from where this picture was taken.
Listen, we don't get the cover of Newsweek any more, and we don't have Beavis and Butthead reminding the world that "everyone in Seattle is cool - heh heh, heh heh." All we have left is the Seahawks who, this year aside, have consistently sucked since 1984, and a few cool leftover bands. Please, leave us our remaining shreds of dignity. Because you know we're fucking desperate when we think dignity comes in the form of a guy who calls himself Eddie Spaghetti!
(And you're right - they're a really fun live show.)
Posted by: rod at December 30, 2005 12:20 AMaww whe should be friends check out my site and send me pics. :) woof woof
Posted by: Agi T. Prop at December 30, 2005 01:56 AMSorry I used my daddys name in the last comment. check out my site at http://cairotheboxer.com
Posted by: cairo at December 30, 2005 01:57 AMMinor correction on your Proto Culture entry, Norb. That was off "Both Sides of the Brain", not Deltron 3030 and it was Khaos Unique who did the beat for it.
Yes, I own the album and I am a rap nerd.
Laika & the Cosmonauts - Mission Impossible (10/10)
Los Lobos - Someday (9/10)
Korla Pandit - Nautch Dance (9/10)
David Byrne - What a Day That Was (6/10)
Ramones - Bop Til You Drop (7/10)
Hüsker Dü - Tell You Why Tomorrow (9/10)
Original Surfaris - Exotic (10/10)
Savage Republic - Next to Nothing (6/10)
Wanda De Sah & Sergio Mendes - So Nice (6/10)
Wailers - Road Runner (10/10)
Bonus I-got-this-awesome-CD-for-Christmas track:
William Onyeabor - Better Change Your Mind (10/10)
Average (not counting the bonus track): 8.2/10. This was a particularly good week for me.
Posted by: Tom Hilton at December 30, 2005 10:37 AMNo recs on the music, but here's my 10 (no self audit cuz the Police and the Rush ruined any chance it had):
1. She's Hot from the album “Out My Way (Reissue)” by Meat Puppets
2. 2112 from the album “Different Stages 2” by Rush Stop your snickering. You've got a copy somewhere, admit it. I almost took a mulligan on this one, but hey! WTF, right?
3. Idol from the album “Ghost Stories” by Amanda Ghost Holy shit, where did this come from? I have no idea. Don't really care for it. Kinda Jewel-y. Kinda of a whiplash after the preceding. Kinda hurts, actually
4. The Modern World from the album “Compact Snap!” by The Jam. Yes it is.
5. Never Go Back from the album “Camper Vantiquities” by Camper Van Beethoven
6. The Big Heat from the album “The Big Heat” by Stan Ridgway
7. Bombs Away from the album “Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings (Disc 2)” by The Police
8. Do It Clean (Live, 1983) from the album “Crystal Days (1979-1999) (4)” by Echo & The Bunnymen
9. John from the album “In The Mud” by Split Lip Rayfield
10. The Glory of Man from the album “Double Nickels on the Dime” by Minutemen finishing up with a hideously appropriate one.
Visit http:empireofthesenseless.blogspot.com for commentary and fear.
Checking out the Meters. Thanks for the recommendation. BTW, I have your Xmas present. I forgot to give it to you earlier.
Posted by: Amanda Marcotte at December 30, 2005 11:40 AMokherewergo. entries marked with a * are norb-o-mended:
* 1. M.A.R.R.S. - "Pump Up The Volume" - How did uncleared sampling get so cool so fast? Just goes to show you, stolen things are more satisfying. - 8/10
2. Virgo Four - "Take Me Higher" - I guess iTunes is feeling kinda old skool today? Not to knock classic Chicago acid house, but this is a little dull, with the benefit of hindsight. - 5/10
3. Immortal Technique - "Positive Balance" - Most of I.T.'s stuff bugs the shit out of me. This is less self-indulgent than usual, but still boring. - 4/10
4. Tit Wrench - "Untitled" - Ahh! Crazy noise! Broken sound! Eerie samples! 27 blistering seconds! - 7/10
* 4. Newcleus - "Jam On It" - Old school, you said? One of the finest songs of all time. Wiki wiki wiki, indeed. - 10/10
* 5. Mr. Scruff - "Beyond" - He makes pretty hip-hop, that Mr. Scruff does. Kind of a spy movie vibe on this song. - 7/10
6. E40 & Mugzi - What the? There's no track name or anything. But it does have a kraftwerk sample. I'm confused. - 5/10
* 7. The Majesticons - "Prom Night Party" - Yes! The Majesticons will defeat those nasty Infesticons with their unstoppable party sound! - 8/10
* 8. Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa 70 - "Water No Get Enemy" - Can anybody tell me why Fela had so many middle names? Regardless, everything he did was amazing. - 9/10
* 9. Funkadelic - "Good Thoughts Bad Thoughts" - I love it when Funkadelic gets all pretty and ballad-y. First of all it highlights Eddie Hazel's unreal guitar technique, and second of all it's like a DMT elf telling you they love you. - 8/10
* 10. Kool Keith - "Lost in Space" - Metric bypass computes on overload retrace cuz we're lost in space: what more is there to say? Oh, and the chick from Cibo Matto guests on this track. - 8/10
* 11. Future Sound of London - "Her Face Forms in Summertime" - The né plus ultra of beautiful music made by antisocial computer nerds. - 8/10
I think I had some grad inflation going on, too, but this was a solid playlist. 7/10. Super dynamic retro lymon bonus track: "Casual Friday", by Lineland, who makes great glitchy pretty electronic whatever it is, and is also a very nice guy. Downloadable at: http://www.lineland.net/home.html, and recommended.
Posted by: Sifu Tweety at December 30, 2005 12:41 PMGet ready for next Christmas and get "Django Bells" by the Gypsy Hombres. Best Christmas album ever. Except for maybe the Nat King Cole album, but I may be biased by my upbringing regarding ol Nat. Eastern European Gypsy music Jazz interpretations of Christmas classics. Even including the Grinch song. Unbelievably good. Available on CD Baby.
Posted by: buckethead at December 30, 2005 12:47 PMIn 1975 Fela Ransome Kuti changed his middle name to Anikulapo. He considered Ransome a slave name.
Posted by: JDC at December 30, 2005 01:22 PMJust as you ought to never get pudding in your eye, you should not submerge your iPod in water. They don't quite work the same afterwards.
And since I'm dispensing advice, I'll agree with Sifuy Tweety and say you oughtta get anything by Funkadelic that you don't already have. Maggot Brain, of course, is the place to start, but the self-titeld debut, Hardcore Jollies and Standing on the Verge of Getting It On are awfully terrific as well. Don't settle for a greatest hits. I'd recommend Fad Gadget, too. I've only downloaded a few of their songs, but they're sort of like a coked-out Devo. Start with "Ricky's Hand," which is about the titular character's germ-ridden appendage.
1. "Hazy Jane II," Nick Drake -- Not only my favorite album by him, but one of my favorites by anyone. I could listen to this almost every day. 8/10
2. "All Of My Heart," ABC -- Ahahaha. 3/10
3. "Seven Nation Army (Adam Freeland remix)," White Stripes -- Better than it sounds on paper, but still totally unnecessary. The original, incidentally, has apparently become a Jock Jam. They play it three or four times at every Bengals game. Does that happen at other sporting events? Anyone? 3/10
4. "The Big Guns," Jenny Lewis -- I guess she's supposed to be hot or something? 4/10
5. "Hydro Theory," Drexciya -- This is pretty great dance music. I'm pleasantly surprised by it every time it comes on. 7/10
6. "Yankee Wheels," Jane Aire & The Belvederes --Stiff Records, blah blah blah. 6/10
7. "Captain Fantasy," Ween -- This is from The Pod, the best album of the 90s. I've passed out to this album many times, staring cross-eyed at a black light poster and nauseated. Those were the days. 10/10
8. "Baseball Hero Hits Home Run for Dying Billionaire," Onion Radio News -- Although these become less funny every single fucking time I hear them, I always chuckle at the part in this one about the "jewel-encrusted death bed." 2/10
9. "Aquarela d Brasil II," Caetano Veloso & Joao Gilberto -- This isn't one of his best offerings, but you should get any of Caetano Veloso's self-titled albums or 1972's Transa. I'm telling you, every single record store I've ever been into carries the wrong stuff in its world music section. They've got Putayama out the fucking ass, and you can't find anything by a goddamn giant of music -- seriously, he's on a par with Marley or Dylan. Truly fantastic. You should also check out Jorge Ben's Africa Brasil. Talk about wow. 8/10
10. "L'orage est fini," Brigitte Fontaine & Areski -- She's sort of like a French Nico. Very moody and dark, and very good. 7/10
Bonus: "Chinese Envoy," John Cale -- Might as well recommend a couple more: Buy his Paris 1919 and Fear. Two of my all-time favorites. 8/10
Add it up: 6.0
Posted by: TravisG at December 30, 2005 01:54 PMnow, now norbiz..."ride a white swan" was when marc bolan was still tyrannosaurus rex, the early days. THEN he met up with tony visconti, dropped steve perrigrine took for mickey finn, and shortened the name to t.rex...and went on to conquer! his later stuff after the glam era was a combination of metal-ish guitars, boogie rock, and funk. the inception of punk found him deemed "godfather of punk" by the nascent bands, but he died before he could make any use of the idolatry.
Posted by: pop renaissance at December 30, 2005 04:57 PMThat Mary Timony song is one of my favorites of the year. I, for one, am thrilled that she's off her "Lord of the Rings" trip and is back to rocking!
Posted by: Pepper at December 30, 2005 05:18 PMHas no one ever induced you to get yourself some Mountain Goats? Apparently they've got two new free songs to download from their site (I'm not sure the url right now) which I hear are quite good. This year's album "The Sunset Tree" is just about the best thing I've heard in years.
Posted by: The Critic at December 30, 2005 07:21 PMIn The City is from The Warriors film so you are way cool to include it. I saw that movie when it first came out in the Combat Zone in Boston, then took the subway home. I wasn't sure I'd ever left the theater.
My random 10:
1) All Blues by Larry Carlton. A beret, some reefer, pontificating about existentialism vis-a-vis the rise of Trotsky. 10/10
2)Double Violin Concerto in D Minor - Brahms 8/10
3)Telephone Song by BBKing (Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn) Eh, Lots of effort, but still a ho-hum song. 3/10
4)Strange Brew by Cream. Works directly against the War On Drugs. 10/10
5)Rock Me Right by Susan Tedeschi. Blech. 0/10
6)Brown Sugar by Rolling Stones. Whatever happened to them? 7/10.
7)Boogie Oogie Oogie (12 inch mix) by Taste of Honey. One of the catchiest hooks and best produced of the genre. 8/10.
8)Ave Maria by Mozart. 10/10.
9) The Story In Your Eyes by The Moody Blues. So, like, who knew? 10/10.
10)Janie's Got A Gun by Aerosmith. Before they went disco. 9/10.
Posted by: vachon at December 30, 2005 08:19 PMYeah, but "Jo The Waiter" from the same album is one of my favorite Gary Numan songs.
Posted by: Uncle Mike at December 31, 2005 01:18 AMNorbiz-
Last time I mentioned a bunch of Scottish bands. This time:
The Clientele- try their new one "Strange Geometry" or their last "The Violet Hour"