17
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2006
h n ss ixt P I I ti r c e iti n e
Suzanne Gardner Simon Yarrow IMPRINT STAFF
l'here are things known and unknown and in between is a whole lot of musical pretension. 'X"e've at! \vitnessed it: people who write about music include in their articles an ubiquitous yet subtle message, namely, "I know vou're not familiar s;me of thes~ bands / songs, but should be - I'm clearly better <an you." This week's'mixtape seeks H ) do awav \Vitl1 all that holier-thand lOU arts geek silliness -~ no, wait, it tc doesn't. Seek out these songs, k now them, love them before your i,;; ino11lDce embarrasses you at a gallery () or something.
Fuller Four - "I Fought this isn't a Clash song? Nope, d lis track was originally performed by '(.os ruck group Bobby Fuller Four ltd by none other than singer/guit2,rist Bobby Fuller. While their first Tbp 40 hit was actually a cover of Buddy Holly's "Love Made a Fool You;' Bobby Fuller and friends rrlade their most triemorable splash b smging about tl fight against h,\\: Apparently
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lyrics rather nonsensically as \vell. In this track of an acquired-taste nature, Bjork sings about how she likes to throw car p,u·ts, bottles and cutlery off a mountain. \\J'hile her reasoning behind such actions may be uncertain, the ama:r:ingly danceablc quality of tlus song is most certainly not.
Joanna Newsonl - "Sadie" A newcomer on the indie sccne, Joanna Newsom is noteworthy for her insanely weird voice, awesomely clever lyrics and the fact that she plays the harp. It's seriously almost too much. Clocking in at a solid 6 minutes, this track is truly Newsom's magnum opus.
The Mountain Goats - "Dance Music" Underground music buffs will know the wonderfully prolific The Mountain Goats and their unique ability to create seemingly autobiographical tales which are, in reality, completely fictional. In the last few years they have finally been picked up by amajor label (4AD) yet amazingly, this has not had much effect on the group's overall sound. This track from their 2005 relcase, The Sumet Tree, sounds
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- "Pocket Calculator" tJh, those crazy electronic Germans!
(which is German for plant") and their avantapproach to electronica have insanch' influential to both 1Senre of electronic music and t; j modern pop music as well. Some millht sav they're as influenfial as ... "lieatfes?!?! Regardless, this song f(:atnres ridiculously quirky lyrics and instrumentals that truly command to listen to it as many times as line, "1 am the operator with my calculator" is repeated.
- "Isla de Encanta" I'fOfrl their 1987 debut EP Come on indie rockers the Pixies belt OIJt Spanish lyrics (v,,-ith a pinch of English thrown in for good mea~t!f(:) to this high.energy track. Led singer / guitarist Black Francis Frank Black, a.k.a. Charles Thompson (rockers sure do love dicit naJ:ne changes), this song is tt\c best demonstration of the Pixies orten random and obscure-soundtunes.
Bjork - "Hyper-Ballad" addition to dressing nonsensically (s eehers\vanoutfitfwmthc2001 OslfS for a prime example), Icelandic np;er/ son~'writer Bjork \vrites her [: !
and crazy band. Their stage presence and their fans were punk before puni( existed - prim~rily in their tendency to be brash and wantonly destructive. While the band may b~ most remembered for "ICick Out the Jams, Motherfucker," perhaps their finest musical moment was the weird and wonderful "Starship" -- and of course it must be a live recording to truly capture the greatness of the band.
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Pink Floyd - "The Gold it's in the ... " Of all Pink Floyd songs, this one goes on this mixtape because it's as un-Floyd as you're likely to find. It's almost- as if -Floyd su~med up the stereotypical sound of late '60s rock into one song, then gave it a weird title. This song is obscure, strange and fun!
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Brian Eno - "Baby'S On Fire" This song has everything you could ask for ~- bizarre and disturbing lyrics delivered in a pretentious style, rock and roll roots ~-isted into some sort of bizarre glam sound, some damn fine guitar work, everything! You mav remember Eno from the band Roxy Music. I'm sure you're oh-so-proud of yourself if you do. The scary thing is that I have a record full of dance remixes of this song in my basement.
Warsaw-"Lead-
like lead singer John Darnielle is still recording his songs by sitting crosslegged in front of a boombox ,'lith his acoustic guitar, pressing "record" and then releasing them on lo-fi cassette tapes. Awesome!
Denise James - "Hold on This Time" \1(:ben vou hear the nanle Denise James, 'think '60s girl group ... but recorded in 2004. She also manages to effectively integrate the influences of several French artists including Frans:oise Hardy, because although James is a native of Detroit her fam~ ily is actually French. For successfully replicating the sound of 40 years prior, this woman \1;-ins much respect.
Side B: Robert Johnson - "Crossroads" Elusive, legendary and one of the founding fathers of the blues as we know it, Robert Johnson is rumoured to have sold his soul to the devil (at a crossroads, no less) for his incredible guitar-playing skills. Not surprisingly, in another song he sings about a hellhound on his trail. Not oniv Eric Clapton, but every blues guitar 11layer who doesn't suck o'wes a great debt of gratitude to Johnson.
MC5 - "Starship" (live) The "I\Iotor City Fiye" \,'ere a loud
ers of Men" Before New Order there was Joy Division and before Joy Division there was (ever-so briefly) \'X'arsa'l.v; But of course, you knew that already. From the guys who brought you some of the best dance music of the '80s plus the late, great Ian Curtis who helped them bring vou some of the best svnth-punk ~r post-punk or pte-alt~rnati~e or \.vhatever-theheU-you-\vant,-to-callit comes this beauty of raw, simple punk goodness.
Coldcl.lt featuring JelIo Biafra - "Every Home a Prison" W'hat do you get when you take nvo influential Bri.tish DIs who dabble in pretty much every g~nre (if you don't believe me check out their excellent jazz / hip hop / house I drum'n'bass mix CD 70 MiTmtes ollvladnej'l) and the outspoken former frontma..'1 of the Dead Kenncdys? You get a truly singular song that's seven minutes of (sarcastic) ranting about how strict curfews should be enforced, all set to a funky beat. Neat!
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Pride and Prejudice (G; Fri -ThufS 9:05, Fri-Tues & Thurs 4:10, Fri-Sun 1:30, Wed 1:00
Capote
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Walk the uiw (PG)
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Broken Flowers
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Miles Davis - "In a Silent Way/ It's About That Time/In a Silent Way" This song is long, meditlltive, soothing, lacking structure, unpredictable and altogether dreamy. Jazz god lviiles Davis can soothe the savage beast and have it reading Shakespean: in twenty-one minutes. Throw this on, sit vo~rsdf down and fall in love with it ~ll over again.
The Dark Hours
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Fri 9:20, Sat-Sun 9:05, Mon 9:00
Deep Blue (Gl Sal 2:40, Sun 2:45
The Beat that my Heart Skipped (14A) Tues-Wed 7:00, Thurs 9:00
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