Honestly, these playlists are a lot easier
when you have a couple of 15-minute epics to help get you over the line. Not
this month.
"Kick Out The Chairs", by Munk.
We open this month with a very insistent bass line.
The involvement of James Murphy in this track is largely self-evident; the
interesting thing about Murphy's (anti)career in music is how he has managed to
be an entirely distinctive individual without at any point (my opinion) becoming a
parody of himself. The other selling point about this song is how winningly Nancy
Whang sings the word "motherfucker".
"Shadow", by Chromatics. Come for
the "It's raining outside, it's nice here beside the fire but it would be
nicer if there was somebody here with me" vibe, stay for the blast of Joy
Division / early New Order synths. The "Dear Tommy" album will be
with us one day (unless it isn't); until then, this is an excellent, if
frustrating, teaser.
"Black Night", by Frank Sinatra
Jr. A couple of It's Nots: it's not the Deep Purple song, and its not old Frank
(although Frank Jr. certainly sounds like he's been hewn from the same materials).
There's a lot of Lee Hazlewood in this song (perhaps not surprising, given that
he was Nancy Sinatra's brother), if Lee Hazlewood had an actual singing voice. Arranged
and conducted by Nelson Riddle, don't you know.
"Mister Dobolina", by Del Tha
Funkee Homosapien. If I'm being honest, which of course I always am, I am only here for the titular vocal
sample. But I have been attracted to songs for less than that. I think.
"Back To Life", by Soul II Soul.
I spent a bit of time in London in 1996. In my own mind, this was the
soundtrack to that time; I must be wrong, because this would have been more than five years old by then. But as imaginary soundtracks go, it could be plenty
worse.
"Turn Into Earth", by Al Stewart.
If you think you know this song, you probably do: it's a cover of a Yardbirds
tune. But in terms of atmosphere, this version (curiously, featuring one Jimmy
Page on guitar) goes places that the Yardbirds only hint at.
"Dallas", by Steely Dan. An early
non-LP single by The Dan. Not a bad place for me to start my Steely Dan
obsession (which I am going to embark upon just as soon as I have gotten The
Grateful Dead out of my system).
"Ballerina", by Vallerenga Blues
and Disko Combo. You may know Vallerenga Blues and Disko Combo by another name. Lindstrom and Prins Thomas.
Circa 2008. There, that got you interested. The bass on this track has been
known to destroy reinforced-concrete flooring. The piano is another story
entirely.
"I Want You", by Christine
Perfect. It's 1969. Christine Perfect records this blues-rock number, written by Tony Joe White. It appears
as the last song on an album on which, for one track, she is joined by Danny
Kirwan and a certain Mr John McVie. You can see where this story is going. Christine
Perfect becomes Christine McVie, joins Fleetwood Mac, and by 1977 they have
released "Rumours" and essentially taken over the world. "I Want
You" is a long way from "Rumours". But so is Peter Green-era
Fleetwood Mac (and Danny Kirwan-era Fleetwood Mac, for that matter).
"I Dig Everything", by David
Bowie. This is an early single by the late Mr Bowie, the same guy who brought
you "The Laughing Gnome". It's a pretty cool song. (I won't hear a
bad word spoken against "The Laughing Gnome", either, so watch it.) You can read more about the song here, on the very fine "Pushing Ahead of
the Dame" blog.
"Hungry, So Angry", by Medium
Medium. Kick-start the eighties with this blast of righteous noise. It's all
there: saxophone; funky-ass bass; spiky guitar; a superabundance of male angst. There is even
the hint of a mullet or two. You might have called Medium Medium a one-hit
wonder if only "Hungry, So Angry" had been the hit that it ought to
have been.
"A Forest", by James Leg. The
reader of this blog will know that I hold "A Forest", by The Cure, to
be an unassailable classic. Accordingly, I would not normally entertain anyone
attempting to tread on its sacred turf. But this? You got me where I am most
vulnerable, James Leg: throw a distorted Fender Rhodes into the mix and I'm
anybody's. (Bonus: record cover of the month. James Leg would appear to be
Barry Morgan's evil twin.)
"Koi
(Jessy and Jeremy Chemistry Mix)", by Le1f. If your opinion of Jessy Lanza
and Junior Boys is anywhere near as high as mine, you need this in your life.
Simple as that. And I don't even know who Le1f is.
"Release The Beast", by
Breakwater. Breakwater are bringing the funk, big time. I'll bet that's a
keytar. (Bonus: alternate record cover of the month. Moon boots. Yellow moon
boots.)
"If You Think Your God Is Dead, Try
Mine", by The Swan Silvertones. The world is a better place for there
being a musical genre called "funk gospel".
"Mystic Mood", by Billy Cole
Orchestra. Not a million miles away from "Soulful Strut", nor from the thousands of records put out
under the label "Phase 4 Stereo", but who's counting?
"Cassava Piece", by Augustus
Pablo. I must have a dozen tracks that rely on this riddim (first heard by me,
I think, as "Baby I Love You So", by Colourbox, or maybe as
"King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown"). But this one gets a prize for its
absolute focus on the Melodica King himself.
"Powers", by Jennifer Castle. Canadian
folk music to the world, 2011 edition. Warning: contains flute.
"August Rain", by Hirotaka
Shirotsubaki. This is a very attractive piece of sonic ambience. It turns out
Hirotaka Shirotsubaki has been self-releasing records for a few years. This is
the first time I have come across him. I hope it is not the last. It also turns
out you can download the entire album from here. For free. That's great and all, you know,
but in a way it's also kind of criminal.
