iPod/MP3 Friday Shuffle — Happy Birthday Captain Beefheart!
It’s time to salute the reclusive damaged blues singer with the four and one-half octave range who gave the world such memorable albums as Trout Mask Replica and Bat Chain Puller and important songs such as “Nowadays a Woman’s Gotta Hit a Man” and “A Carrot Is As Close As A Rabbit Gets To A Diamond”. Yes, it’s Happy Birthday time for Captain Beefheart (a/k/a Don Van Vliet), who deconstructed classic American music and made it modern and dangerous, inspiring countless bands along the way. To honor the good Captain, please get your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
- Fleet Foxes — Ragged Wood (Fleet Foxes): I understand the My Morning Jacket comparisons, but that’s primarily due to Robin Pecknold’s vocal similarity with Jim James. But the Foxes have their own thing — making brilliant folk pop songs with masterful harmony vocals. Their performance at Pitchfork in 2008 was so special. To stun over 10,000 people into silence with the beauty of four voices is really something.
- Johnny Cash — Hey Porter (The Sun Years): My friend Jody introduced me in college to a collection of Johnny Cash train songs, all recorded for Sun Records. Of all of those songs, this is my favorite. It’s in Cash’s classic spartan style, with Cash at his most insistent, a man who wants his bag since he’s so happy to be back in Tennessee. He must be smelling the biscuits at the Loveless Cafe.
- Sparks — Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls (Lil’ Beethoven): The core concept of Lil’ Beethoven was stripping away the predictability of pop music, whether through odd song structures or odd sounds. This song actually has a verse-chorus-verse structure, but it is the hardest rocking Sparks song since 1973’s “Whippings and Apologies”, with Dean (Faith No More) Menta providing some blistering guitar and Russell Mael practically going metal in the piledriving choruses. The mix of blistering rock with Ron Mael’s classically influenced piano and typical smartass Sparks lyrics about what would attract a woman to an ugly dude make this something of a classic. And on stage, they always have a model type lady squired around the stage by Ron, to hammer home the title.
- The Kingsbury Manx — Shoulder Stories (Ascenseur Ouvert!): I played a track from this 2009 Manx album on my beta show last week, but didn’t say the album title, because I can’t pronounce it. This North Carolina band makes delicate indie pop, sometimes with a chamber pop feel. I’m sure The Velvet Underground and Nick Drake provided some inspiration to these guys, but they don’t sound like either of them. There’s a sweetness to their sound without succumbing to the preciousness that has subsumed so much modern indie rock.
- The Church — Too Fast For You (Under The Milky Way: The Best Of The Church): In America, this originally came out on the band’s first eponymous album, which took tracks from a few early Church songs. This is a fairly upbeat number featuring guitarist Marty Willson-Piper on lead vocals. This mixes some bright jangly guitars with a melody that pulls back and forth, followed by a nice contrast on the chorus, which is fueled by the drumming. The song has four distinct cool parts. Whoda thunk they’d still be going nearly 30 years later?
- Rosanne Cash — If I Were a Man (10 Song Demo): For all of her early success on the country charts, Cash’s best work came when she shifted into more of an adult-alternative mode. This, her debut album for Capitol, may be her peak. The demo was so good, the label decided to release it as is. And why not? Her clear emotive vocals and pithy yet detailed songs are models of economy and stick in the head and brain long after they fade out. I hear a bit of Rosanne Cash in a lot of artists, from Diane Christensen of Chicago’s very own Dolly Varden to Ron Sexsmith.
- Supergrass — Time (I Should Go Coco): Gaz Coombes seemed to come of the womb as a fully formed songwriter. He absorbed so much that was good about ’60s and ’70s pop music. This song has a subtle R & B undercurrent with a laid back feel that would have suited The Faces, though they probably would have approached it a bit differently. This is a cool breeze of a tune.
- Pointed Sticks — No Use For U (Perfect Youth): This early Vancouver pop-punk band is back together! I need to order their new album ASAP. This song is very R & B oriented, and actually sounds a little bit like the Boomtown Rats or Bruce Springsteen or Graham Parker with a whinier more adolescent singer (mind you, not too whiny).
- The Detroit Cobras — Can’t Miss Nothing (Life, Love and Leaving): The second Detroit Cobras is pretty much the ultimate statement by the band. Rachel Nagy sounds as sultry as ever, the covers are so well chosen and the band’s playing is spot on. Subsequent recordings have been fine, but they don’t have the same magic as this effort, which is simply great R & B played with a bit of a garage rock attitude.
- The Beatles — Help! (Help!): The coolest thing about this totally cool Beatles song? That the backing vocals start the lyrics of the second line of each verse before John Lennon begins singing. For all of the influence of the Fabs, I don’t know if I’ve heard many other songs that try that trick. Help! is also a fun movie, though it’s so much looser than the brilliant Hard Day’s Night, and it’s pretty obvious that the boys were stoned during a lot of the filming.
Recent Articles
- Chicago Theatre Off Book: Feb. 3, 2012 Ed.
- Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Dave Davies Edition
- Weekly Voyages: Friday 12/03 to Thursday 2/09
- CHIRP Podcast: Keith Morris and OFF!
- Chicago Theatre Off Book: Jan. 27, 2012 Ed.
- Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Tricky Edition
- CHIRP Radio News: The Pastor on the Roof
- Weekly Voyages: Friday 01/27 to Thursday 02/02
- Chicago Theatre Off Book: Jan. 20, 2012 Ed.
- January 20, 2012 iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Paul Stanley Edition
Recent Comments
- flash chat commented on Chicago Theatre Off Book: Jan. 6, 2012 Ed.
- Craig Reptile commented on Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Syd Barrett Edition
- Pinto and the Bean commented on Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Syd Barrett Edition
- Roz commented on CHIRP Radio Profiles: Meet Carolyn Kassnoff
- Craig Reptile commented on Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Andy Partridge Edition
Join our e-mail list
Click to Signup for the CHIRP E-List. No junk. Just info, contests & more…
→
The work of the Chicago Independent Radio Project is supported in part by a generous grant from the Crossroads Fund. More information at crossroadsfund.org.
Leave a Comment
Commenting is closed for this article.
What They're Saying
Mark N, on Jan 15, 07:56 AM, wrote:
1. Silver Jews – Aloyisius, Bluegrass Drummer (Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea)
2. Elliott Smith – New Disaster (New Moon)
3. MF Doom – Sarsaparilla (Special Herbs, The Box Set)
4. Guided By Voices – Game of Pricks (Hardcore UFOS: Live At The Wheelchair Races)
5. Damien Jurado – Gillian Was A Horse (Caught In The Trees)
6. Stephen Malkmus – METS To Infinity (PDX Pop Now!)
7. Neil Young – Human Highway (Comes A Time)
8. Herman Dune – The Static Comes From My Broken Heart (Mas Cambios)
9. Superchunk – Untied (On The Mouth)
10. The Troggs – I Can Only Give You Everything (From Nowhere)
This is why I never use shuffle. Let me know if that new Pointed Sticks is any good.
Mike Scales, on Jan 15, 08:36 AM, wrote:
Nice Friday mix! A short metal intro, funny Ween b-side, a song I haven’t heard in a minute from Modest Mouse and prob my fave track from Graduation.
1. Lamb Of God – The Passing (Wrath)
2. J Davis Trio – The Stony Island Union (These Things Happen)
3. cLOUDDEAD – I Promise Never To Get Paint On My Glasses Again (1) (s/t)
4. Ween – Israel (Shinola Vol. 1)
5. The Black Keys – So He Won’t Break (Attack & Release)
6. Modest Mouse – Doin’ The Cockroach (The Lonesome Crowded West)
7. The Beatles – I Want To Tell You (Revolver)
8. The Beatles – Black Bird (White Album)
9. Cali Agents – More Of The Same/Duck Down (Fire & Ice)
10. Kanye West – Champion (Graduation)
sjmick, on Jan 15, 09:19 AM, wrote:
1. University Goes Ska – The Skatalites (Guns of Navarone)
2. To See the Lights – Gene (To See the Lights)
3. Born Never Asked – Spiritualized (Pure Phase)
4. Leave This Off Your Fu@king Charts – Public Enemy (Fear of a Black Planet)
5. Filled – Area (Between Purple & Pink)
6. Neurotic Hope – Cyann & Ben (Spring)
7. I Can’t Get Enough – The Jesus & Mary Chain (Honey’s Dead)
8. Hey Hey Helen – Lush (Gala)
9. The Act We Act – Sugar (Copper Blue)
10. Haiti – The Arcade Fire (Funeral)
Mark, I love the shuffle and use it 8+ hours a day. It’s so scattershot, that some of the combinations seem downright inspired.
Then again, my list clearly shows that it’s time to do some spring cleaning on my iPod.
Erin, on Jan 15, 09:43 AM, wrote:
1. The Flaming Lips—Bohemian Rhapsody (Live at SXSW 3/15/2006)
2. Heartless Bastards—Done Got Old (Stairs and Elevators)
3. Bon Iver—Flume (For Emma, Forever Ago)
4. Eagles of Death Metal—San Berdoo Sunburn (Peace, Love, Death Metal)
5. Of Montreal—And I’ve Seen A Bloody Shadow (Skeletal Lamping)
6. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone—You Were Alone (Vs. Children)
7. Port O’Brien—In the Meantime (Threadbare)
8. The Capstan Shafts—Revenge Sex Theater (Chick Cigarettes)
9. Justice—D.A.N.C.E. (+)
10. Dead Man’s Bones—Pa Pa Power (Dead Man’s Bones)
Jenna, on Jan 15, 11:44 AM, wrote:
1. The Flaming Lips – Waitin’ For A Superman – The Soft Bulletin
2. Damien Jurado – What Were The Chances – And Now That I’m In Your Shadow
3. Devin Davis – Turtle and the Flightless Bird – Lonely People of the World Unite
4. Antony & The Johnsons – Kiss My Name – The Crying Light
5. Tom Verlaine – Orbit – Songs And Other Things
6. Muddy Waters – Big Leg Woman – Folk Singer
7. Tom Waits – You Can Never Hold Back Spring – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards
8. Common, featuring DJ Premier – The Game – Finding Forever
9. Evan Dando – Thirteen – Live at the Brattle Theatre
10. The Whitest Boy Alive – Promise Less Or Do More – Rules
Hmonte, on Jan 15, 12:52 PM, wrote:
1. Josh Rouse “Late Night Conversatation”
2. The Sadies “Milk and Scissors”
3. The Pernice Brothers “There Goes the Sun”
4. The Faint “I Disappear”
5. The Twilight Singers “I’m Ready”
6. Ryan Adams “Anybody Wanna Take Me Home”
7. Jesse Malin “Wendy”
8. Superchunk “Lying in State”
9. The Boo Radleys “Charles Bukowski is Dead”
10. Limblifter “In/Out”
julie atomic, on Jan 15, 07:36 PM, wrote:
happy bday, captain!
1. Mississippi John Hurt – K.C. Jones Blues (Memorial Anthology Vol. 1)
2. Soy Un Caballo – Les Vacances (Les Heures De Raison)
3. Loney, Dear – Distant Lights (Dear John)
4. Blonde Redhead – 23 (23)
5. Pinback – Offline P.K. (Blue Screen Life)
6. Leonard Cohen – Winter Lady (Songs of LC)
7. Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone With You (Seven Swans)
8. James Yuill – Head Over Heels (Turning Down Water For Air)
9. Elizabeth Cotten – I Don’t Love Nobody (Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folks Songs and Tunes)
10. Glenn Gould – Prelude No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor (The Well Tempered Clavier, book 2)
Tony, on Jan 16, 02:16 PM, wrote:
LOVE Fleet Foxes. I keep waiting to get tired of it, but it’s just so good.
1. Við Spillum Endalaust — Sigur Rós — Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spillum Endalaust
Just yesterday I told another DJ that I am a dork for diacritics, and here you can see that I’ve got this Sigur Rós album in my iTunes with all the eths and accents written in (which is not how Gracenote wrote provided it). What can I say? I’m a language geek.
2. Things Are Not What They Appear (from The Penultimate Peril) — The Gothic Archies — The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events
When I think of the Gothic Archies, I think of this YouTube clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Ob9TJueBQ
Sthepin Merritt on Good Day Atlanta. I love the battle of energies: the manic host vs. the depressive guest.
3. Don’t Miss The Great Snatch — The Evolution Control Committee — Plagiarhythm Nation V2.0
This is a very entertaining album, with a couple of really good songs. This one is good, but “I Want a Cookie” is the best. The music is 100% sample-based.
4. The Hollows — Why? — Alopecia
5. (I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear — Blondie — The Best of Blondie
6. Sleet — The Futureheads — This Is Not The World
7. Angel Eyes (Layo & Bushwacka Mix) — Ella Fitzgerald — Verve Remixed 2
8. Home — Sean Lennon — Into the Sun
A very interesting album: musically, great; vocally lackluster. Sean Lennon is no singer.
9. Cheers Darlin’ — Damien Rice — O
10. Hounds Of Love — The Futureheads — The Futureheads
It’s Futureheads day! This is a great cover of Kate Bush.
Michael A, on Jan 16, 05:10 PM, wrote:
1. Michèle Arnaud – Ronsard 58 (Songs on Page One [Reissue]): When EL Records decided to reissue Serge Gainsbourg’s cheeky 1958 debut, they decided to augment it with notable covers from some of Gainsbourg’s contemporaries. Henceforth, this swinging French-pop number from the sultry Michèle Arnaud.
2. Portishead – Mourning Air (Portishead): I’ve never been part of the Portishead devoted. But, I certainly recognize that they were both the converging and diverging point for so many stylistic niches in the 90s. Context is important.
3. Angels of Light – New York Girls (How I Loved You): Who else balances the creepy and the sexy quite as well as Michael Gira? How I Loved You was such an exercise in restraint for Gira, the music is practically ripping at the seams. Fantastic and unsettling from start to finish.
4. Popol Vuh – Train Through Time (Affenstunde): I always thought that this might be what Kraftwerk sounded like if they had made music with field recorders instead of synthesizers. Fricke, Germany and Krautrock at its most hypnotic.
5. Ethan Rose – Scenes from When (Oaks): In my opinion, Ethan Rose is one of the most underrated ambient artists in the field today. Oaks wasn’t quite as good as his Locust releases, but his exclusive use of a 1926 Wurlitzer Theater Organ on this record is masterfully graceful.
6. EPMD – Who’s Booty (Unfinished Business): Man, c’mon now. You best know whose booty that is in your bed.
7. Collections of Colonies of Bees – Track 2 (Rance): One of the first recordings to appear out of Milwaukee’s Crouton Music camp (RIP), it’s backwoods post-rock doesn’t quite live up to the later albums. It is, however, some of the cleverest uses of banjo I’ve heard.
8. Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson – Back Home (Winter in America): Not really the most notable Heron/Jackson collaboration, though Winter in America was a rather epochal recording for them. Jackson’s groovy arrangements are the highlight here, while Scott-Heron is in full-on preacher-croon mode.
9. Parliament – Breakdown (Osmium…Plus): A bonus single from the Osmium re-release, there is some heavy foreshadowing of the exuberant psychedelic party-funk that would truly congeal five years later. It’s rad to hear the talented musicians in such an unpolished setting. Killer breaks too.
10. Grant Green – Morgan the Pirate (Retrospective 1961-66): A groovy mix of soul-jazz and hard-bop, this was supposed to be a showcase of Green’s limber guitar work, but trumpeter Lee Morgan really steals the show. It may have something to do with the fact that Morgan composed the piece AND named it after himself. (Also, one of the greatest track titles in Blue Note history.)