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I ain’t gonna lie, it’s been a rough week… Music helps. Music always helps.
Here is our “Wild Wednesday” shuffle that lives up to the name and the concept. This week’s edition features experimental music, some newer Oklahoma music, a classic L.A. punk rock tune, an iconic rock ‘n’ roll song, a song that has been recorded by Rod Stewart and The Carpenters performed by a classic 80s collaboration, some cool jazz, a 1963 hit song, and a relatively obscure song from a British new wave band… hmm…
“Tearin’ Up My Ticket” by Wink Burcham
Another outstanding track from that Oklahoma Room CD I found sitting on a table at The 5 Spot. I am thinking that may be my new submission policy. Just leave a CD on a table at The 5 Spot, and I will be around to pick it up soon. Any way, Wink Burham is a singer-songwriter from Tulsa, and as I type this he is into the last four hours of a successful Kickstarter campaign for his next album, Cleveland Summer Night. So, if you are reading this within four hours of when I wrote it, you can still get in on some of the incentives.
“What We Do Is Secret” by The Germs
A few months ago, I watched the film, “What We Do Is Secret” – a fictionalized account of the short troubled life of Darby Crash and the formation of The Germs – one of the iconic bands of the early L.A. punk scene. Just as a film, I thought it could have been better, but for me, it was carried by my interest in the subject matter and the incredible performance of Shane West as Darby. Anyway, what I listened today was pour quality, ramshackle live performance of this song. In other words, it was absolutely perfect.
“Hound Dog” by Big Mama Thornton
Three or four years before Elvis, Big Mama Thornton recorded her version of this classic rock n roll song which became her biggest hit. Big Mama Thornton, as her name implies, was larger than life. Her gender-bending demeanor set the stage for so many rock and roll icons for the next sixty years (up to the present). This song – done by Big Mama – most definitely rocks!
“Centuries Ago on Prospect Street” by Atticus Floyd
Atticus Floyd now records under the Jolly Light Brigade (or Connection) name. As far as I can tell, the Atticus Floyd recordings are no longer on-line, but I downloaded some before they were gone. Atticus is part of the Dord Music Group.
“S.A.R. 429” by Smokey the Firebear
We have three Smokey the Firebear tracks in the shuffle today. This is some first class noise from the BNGFKR album. It is really fun when these tracks come up in a shuffle – I think of them like a palate clearing for the ears and the mind.
“Reason to Believe” by Camper Van Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne has been making his unique brand of experimental music for about forty years. After having worked with them previously, Chadbourne teamed up with college radio darlings, Camper Van Beethoven, for the album from which this track is taken. “Reason to Believe” is a Tim Hardin song, which was popularized by Rod Stewart and The Carpenters.
“P.S. Unless One Has” by Ornette Coleman
The legendary jazz saxophonist and his orchestra from a 1975 release of some 1959/1960 recording that were compiled without input from Coleman.
“All Our Heads Together” by Smokey the Firebear
Our second Smokey The Firebear song – this one from the Teshio Democracy EP. That record contains a Modest Mouse cover. E2TG 2014 artist of the year, Darrin Bradbury recently did a set of Modest Mouse songs at a recent Coverfest event. Isn’t it funny how music connects often in the most unlikely of ways?
“Distance” by Exedra
Another track from Elemental from a band that features Jeremy Gluck- who you may recall we featured several times last year when we were spinning songs from his Memory Deluxe record. Exedra is very ethereal and dreamy music. I dig it quite a bit.
“Song No. 4” by The Soft Boys
This is the band that featured the great Robyn Hitchcock along with Kimberley Rew (who would later be a part of Katrina and The Waves – who had the hit song, “Walking on Sunshine”). This track was included as a bonus track on the reissue of The Soft Boys second album Underwater Moonlight. It is very different from “Tainted Love” (which was by Soft Cell – an unrelated band of the same general era and who are mentioned here only as a semi-inside joke).
“Little Deuce Coupe” by The Beach Boys
Years ago, there was a theme park out by the Grand Ole Opry – called Opryland USA. Now, there is just a mall. But when it was open, I had countless good times. “Little Deuce Coupe” was a ride at Opryland. I remember how wonderful it was to spin around under a mirror ball and strobe lights on a hot summer day after eating heavy, greasy theme-park food. Good times…
“God Confirmed for Dead” by Smokey the Firebear
We close things out with our third Smokey the Firebear track – this one was released as a b-side to a single called “Timberwolf Atka”.
E2TG: MUSIC/WORDS 