We present, with reliable tardiness, the hypothetical May 2004 mix cd, comprised entirely of things purloined from diverse internet sites. The first version contained a continuity error too embarrassing to recount. Rest assured, it has been repaired, and you’ll never know.
1. Patsy Cline, “She’s Got You”: there is a live version of this done by Elvis Costello, included as an extra track on the Demon CD re-issue of the indispensable “Almost Blue” album, with gender reversal in place. But that Patsy, she’s hard to beat.
2. Suicide, “Dream Baby Dream”: the 12” of this is one of the things I would run back into the house to rescue in the event of fire. Then, having removed it to a verifiably safe location, I would head back in for the children, if I still had time.
3. Skip James, “Devil’s Got My Woman”: prototype blues. Ed Kuepper has done this in a number of different ways, as if working out its essence (the version on “Today Wonder” has probably not been bettered); it also appears on John Martyn’s “Solid Air”. Some pedigree. But it’s worth taking a step back to the original. Which this may well not be, anyway, things were at the one time more simple and much more complex back then.
4. Kraftwerk, “Das Modell”: you all know the song, but maybe not in the original German. Notable for being possibly the only Kraftwerk song to depart from their trademark monotonal vocal delivery (if only for one word), which is not repeated on the English version.
5. Tocotronic, “Jackpot K.O. Kompakt mix (Thomas and Dettinger)”: name and band name as downloaded. What would I know? Very (presumably) German dance number, nice and understated, some dub influence (can’t argue with that) until about half way through it gets all Giorgio Moroder on yo ass (I think they say), necessitating rapid and sustained increase in volume and somewhat embarrassing body movements.
6. Nuffwish, “Blu Cantrell v L Jones”: like, your teenage sister might have some idea what the novelty value of this is; a seemingly standard top 40 vocal number dumped on top of a classic Studio One-style dub track. I think this is known in the trade as a “bootleg”, or maybe it’s a “mash-up”. Whatever. It works for me.
7. Althia and Donna, “Uptown Top Ranking”: you want me to comment on this?
8. Novos Baianos, “Preta Pretinha”: my guess is that this is an authentic example of the "lost" Brazilian music that was “discovered” a while back (think Os Mutantes). It is totally lovely, the way it floats on a gentle wave, and floats, and floats, and you almost don’t notice that all the time it has been building up to something much more urgent and necessary. And then it ends. Seven minutes to heaven.
9. The Free Design, “Light My Fire”: now I can hear why Stereolab have for a long time been linked umbilically to these fellows. I also have a very nice version of the same song by Astrid Gilberto: “ze time to ’esitate is t’rough”.
10. T Rex, “Ride A White Swan”: for many years now, I never took the time to listen to this properly. That was my mistake.
11. The Only Ones, “Another Girl, Another Planet”: I guess you shouldn’t call them one hit wonders, but I’m not capable of linking them to anything else. Didn’t Peter Perrett succumb to “personal issues”? Not unlike “Marquee Moon” condensed to three minutes, this, too, hovered like a beacon of calmness in the eye of the punk hurricane. The first song I ever downloaded, too. Come and get me, lawyer types. Of course, I already own the seven-inch.
12. Josef K, “Revelation”: a fine band, lost somewhat in the shadows of Orange Juice, but noisier. You can buy “The Only Fun In Town” on CD. Did I say “can”?
13. Scritti Politti, “Wood Beez”: “Cupid & Psyche” would be high up on the list of records I never owned but wished I did. Smooth as silk.
14. Would-Be-Goods, “Emmanuelle Beart”: capturing the spirit of what made punk rock such a good time. Three minutes of fun. I used to own an El Records collection called “Sydney Opera House”. If you ever find it, would you mind returning it to me?
15. Au Revoire Simone, “Through The Backyards Of Our Neighbors”: yes, this is the kind of song that pushes certain buttons - languid, breathy female vocals working around a sublime, quiet pop moment. It won’t set any worlds on fire, but I suspect that’s a large part of its appeal. My psychoanalyst can figure out the rest.
16. Katerine, “8eme Ciel”: Bart once lent me a Katerine CD. I don’t remember it sounding quite as adventurous as this, but my ears have become somewhat differently tuned in recent years: more is getting in these days. It starts like it thinks it’s Simon and Garfunkel, but then weird stuff starts to happen in the margins, including some beat action around the two and three and a half minute marks, just the way we like it.
17. Stars As Eyes, “La Methode Francaise (Dwayne S”: whatever that means. The download came with the words “loud new shit”, which I suppose is about right, although you shouldn’t expect, say, Whitehouse, or even Jet. This is just a marginally more in-your-face example of what we fancy around here. Probably wouldn’t exist without My Bloody Valentine, but that’s not a crime, is it?
18. Pram, “The Owl Service”: this has a tone about it that reminds me of The Raincoats circa “Moving” (although I can’t be sure, since that’s a record I likely haven’t heard for 15 years). When we were in New York in 1996 I passed up an opportunity to see The Raincoats and the Bush Tetras on a double bill at Brownie’s. Proof of a line from a Butthole Surfers song, “It’s better to regret something you have done than something you haven’t done”.
19. Robert Wyatt, “Shipbuilding”: comfort food, of a sort, in time of war.
