Hello, partygoers!
“Procrastinist”? Yes, not only is David playing you some fabulous songs this week, he’s also making up words. What a renaissance man!
Speaking og music, this week we listen to Side One of Jamie Fong’s mixtape featuring a band of drummers, rockin’ acoustics, Australian snark, shimmering power pop, a generational weirdo, mannered vocals, and a little gratitude.
This episode we are spinning:
- Drummer – “Good Golly” – Feel Good Together, 2009 – 25:35
- XTC – “Rocket from a Bottle” – Black Sea, 1980 – 36:32
- Dry Ice – “Running to the Convent” – B&C single b/w “Nowhere to Go”, 1969 – 1:07:06
- Courtney Barnett – “Out of the Woodwork” – The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, 2013 – 1:24:22
- Pernice Brothers – “The Ballad of Bjorn Borg” – The World Won’t End, 2000 – 1:35:35
- Richard Buckner – “Portrait” – Surrounded, 2013 – 1:51:28
- John Cale – “Sylvia Said” – Island Records single “The Man Who Couldn’t Afford to Orgy” b/w “Sylvia Said”, 1974 – 2:01:13
- Wilco – “Theologians” – A Ghost Is Born, 2006 – 2:15:56
- Badfinger – “Andy Norris” – Badfinger, 1974 – 2:39:47
- Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel – Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) – The Best Years of Our Lives, 1975 – 2:55:08
- Cornelius – “Thank You for the Music” – Fantasma, 1997 – 3:08:22
Also playing on the old Victrola:
- The Who – “I’m Free” – Tommy, 1969 – 1:19:19
- Loose Fur – “Pretty Sparks” – Born Again in the USA, 2006 – 2:36:03
Thanks for listening.
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On the subject of lyrics…
I guess I’m on the fence a bit but I have to agree with you David, I too will be hooked first by the music if I like what I hear then lean in closer to understand the lyrics. Concerning The Beatles first off, I have a magazine somewhere that kind of outlines what each of their songs is about. Whether the lyrics are nonsense or not, it still give whatever context to each song as well as it can. My first Beatles album was The White Album, so you can imagine what I thought of some of the songs and what they meant. Wasn’t “Sexy Sadie” all about how The Beatles had some sort of regret from hanging out with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi? I’ve also had the feeling that Lennon was more lyric-centric about his songwriting and McCartney was in it just to write some happy tunes. Isn’t that what “Silly Love Songs” by Wings is aimed at? Kind of a jab at Lennon for taking himself too seriously? When lyrics have this kind of meaning, I’m intrigued by them. I’m sure you covered much of this on Compleatly Beatles, which I haven’t listened to yet, I have to wait until I get my Beatles inspiration which hits me every three years or so. I can get burned out on them.
I’m also intrigued by the lyrics of Elton John’s music, well Bernie Taupin actually. The nonsensical meaning or lack thereof, has always drawn me into Sir Elton’s music. I’m not sure how to explain it but I’ve found myself looking the lyrics up…even after years of hearing them. I guess I like his work just enough to look into it for more because it resonates with me.
Other balladeers demand my attention with their story telling in songs, singers like Arlo Guthrie, James Taylor and Gerry Rafferty who I grew up with. “Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground” by Taylor in “Fire and Rain” seems like a very powerful lyric burned into my consciousness and for the life of me I can’t quote any more of the song. I guess my visual artist brain wants to visualize what that might look like or even mean. Is it a plane crash? These kind of questions come to mind for me but only after I’ve found myself enjoying the music first and dove in deeper for the meaning. I hope this makes sense, I’m rambling….
Then there’s songs like Eurythmics “I Saved The World Today” that I love and listen to every word, only because I get a very cinematic visual from it. As I listen to that song, I can imagine an ending of a superhero film, could be any one of them, where the heroes are finished saving the World and they’re just spent from it. The hordes of people are cheering for them but they’re looking as if they could have done more. It’s almost a somber and sad song for them, but because I have a cinematic backdrop in my mind for it, I hear every word.
I also agree with Mary, I want a website that tells me every instrument played on every song…because I got questions man….
Also Thank YOU for “Thank You for the Music” by Cornelius, that was righteous…
As always, a great show…keep those tunes coming.
Please forgive the strong language, people, but – oh mylanta! – I think that may have been (makes disastrous attempt at Comic Book Guy voice) the Best. Episode. Ever.
I’m giving the song-by-song breakdown a pass this biweek, as each comment would just be a variation of ‘Holy Moley, how great was that?’
Special mention, however, has to go to John Cale. I have a vague memory of having heard Sylvia Said long, long ago, but it absolutely floored me this time. Incredibly beautiful and moving. And Cornelius – wow!
The sequencing of the mix was brilliant and the stories behind the songs well researched and told. I also laughed out loud many times, especially the ‘raising your daughters to be clowns’ bit and the Airplane!-like confusion over that classic Harry Nilsson smash, Without You Mary.
Lyrics are super-important to me, but no more than melody, harmony, rhythm or chord structure. A good lyric can sometimes stand as a poem, but it doesn’t have to and that’s not its job in the context of the song that it’s a part of. Equally, words in a song can achieve wonderful effects without being literary. I mean, is Manamana a good lyric? Or Louie Louie? You bet!
I heard someone recently express the opinion that Dylan was a superior lyricist to Lennon or McCartney because he wrote Mr Tambourine Man at pretty much the same time they composed I Want to Hold Your Hand. To me, though, these are both songs that I love, and each lyric is great in its own context. To judge one as somehow better than the other is like saying chocolate tastes better than lasagne.
I’ll sign off now. I’m feeling hungry for some reason.
Thanks once again to both of you for a truly fantastic episode!