I have a lot on my mind, and I kind of feel an extended non-shuffle post coming on – when I have the time.
If you have not done so, I recommend watching the video of Michael Stipe singing “The Man Who Sold the World” on Fallon.
In short, the thoughts in mind are about the concept of limitations vs. the infinite. They are about the road to peace that is sometimes harder to walk but ultimately worth the extra effort. About the music “industry” and the value of art. About the “latest next big thing” vs. the really cool thing that may or may not someday be the “latest next big thing” but regardless is pretty amazing right in this moment.
It’s all kind of jumbled in my mind, and for me the only way to unjumble it (or at least the best way) is for me to write it all down. Anyway, some jumbled thoughts may be coming.
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People sometimes ask me, “How old does a song have to be to appear on “Throwback Thursday”. Usually, I just say, “Interesting question…” and wander off.. Really, though, it’s impolite to ask a song how old it is, so let’s just say the songs on this playlist are all of a “certain age”.
“Where Were You?” by The Mekons
We had Waco Brothers in the shuffle earlier this week. Now, we throw Jon Langford music back a few decades with this track from 1978 which was the second release by the band. You, like I, need to check out the 2014 Documentary “Revenge of the Mekons.” as soon as humanly possible.
“Yvonne” by Marshall Crenshaw
I have written extensively about Downtown – Crenshaw’s 1985 album and the place it holds in my sensory and physical memory. Downtown was Crenshaw’s third album and was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett, Crenshaw, and Larry Hirsch. It is very hard for me to separate the nostalgia from the music, but to me this – over 30 year old song, does not sound thirty years old – it just sounds like Marshall Crenshaw and that is never a bad thing.
“Down at the River” by Tim Lee
I first met Tim Lee – a couple of years ago after having been introduced to his band Tim Lee 3 via the late and lamented CXCW non-festival. Over time, I learned that he had a hand of some of my favorite music from back in the day. Besides being a part of Let’s Active for a short time (and appearing on an episode of IRS Records Presents: The Cutting Edge (which I no doubt watched on MTV), Tim Lee also produced the album Gawk by Will (Kimbrough) and the Bushmen. This song comes from Tim’s 1992 solo album, The New Thrill Parade, and it was later part of the compilation All That Stuff… (1993).
“Get Up and Dance” by The Weeks
I must be getting old, but it feels very weird to have The Weeks in the Throwback shuffle – as they seem like a “new” band to me. However, they recently made some of their earliest music available on Noisetrade in celebration of their 10th year as a band. This music was recorded when the members of the band were in their mid teens, but you really can’t tell by listening. By the way, in the “Connections” department. The Weeks and Tim Lee both have roots in the Jackson, Mississippi area.
“Mystery Wind” by Richard Thompson
Another track from Richard Thompson’s incredible Rumor and Sigh album.
“I Hate Music” by The Replacements
From Sorry Ma, Forget to Take Out the Trash.
“The Way of the World” by Flipper
From their debut album, Generic Flipper which was released in 1982. Time is funny, I was actually a kind of “late bloomer” when it came to cool music and so by the mid-80s when I started hearing about Flipper, they had taken on (in my mind) an almost mythical quality – like they had existed so long before (even though at that point this album was just a couple of years old, and they were still an active band.) A couple of years seems trivial now – some 30 odd years later, but back then, it seem to make a lot of difference. Truth be told, they were already legendary by the point I “discovered” them.
“Gone Daddy Gone” by Violent Femmes
This song from the seminal self-titled album includes a verse from the Willie Dixon song, “I Just Want to Make Love to You”, and is thus credited to Gordon Gano and Dixon. The song was covered in 2006 by Gnarls Barkley.
“Is She Really Going Out With Him?” by Joe Jackson
This was the first single by Joe Jackson released in 1978. It later appeared on his debut album, Look Sharp!
“The Only Minority” by Minutemen
We close with a Minutemen song that clocks in at exactly one minute. From What Make’s a Man Start Fires? The second album by this post-punk band from San Pedro.
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E2TG: MUSIC/WORDS 