Thursday, July 7, 2011

07-07-11: Until You've Kissed And Had To Pay The Cost

"You Don't Know What Love Is" was written for a 1941 Abbott & Costello film, and by the mid 50s became a jazz standard. From that time period, this week's mix features versions by Chet Baker and Sonny Rollins as well as a are performance by Nina Simone.

"Single Girl, Married Girl" is a song from The Carter Family dating back to the 1930s. In addition to the original, here is Johnny Cash's 1960s version with The Carter Family along with a live version by Petra Haden some forty years later.

"To Know You Is To Love You" was written and produced by Stevie Wonder for his ex-wife Syreeta's debut album. In addition to her version featuring his vocals, this week's mix includes a cover by B. B. King.

"Love -> Building Fire" was the first single by Talking Heads, appearing before but not on their debut album.

"Baby Go Go" is a non-album track by Prince.

"Pinch Me" is by an unidentified artist from a collection of "song-poems": songs recorded by session musicians written by aspiring songwriters responding to mail order ads.

The rest: the determined "Maintain" by Organized Konfusion, the frenetic "Know The Ledge" by Eric B. & Rakim, the full 12 inch single of Donna Summer's "I feel Love", the epic "L.A. Woman" by The Doors, the spare "Silent" by GZA with Ghostface Killah and Streetlife and the soulful "Ain't No Big Thing" by The Radiants.

You Don't Know What Love Is Chet Baker
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

06-30-11: A Thought That Never Changes Remains A Stupid Lie

"Night Time Is The Right Time" is an R&B standard made popular by Ray Charles' hit version in 1959, but had roots in earlier blues songs like Roosevelt Sykes' "Night Time Is The Right Time" from 1937. Previous mixes included versions by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aretha Franklin and a long practice take by Ray Charles. This week includes both the Sykes and Charles versions as well as a take by Joe Williams with The Mel Lewis Orchestra.

"Toot Toot Tootsie! (Goodbye) had already long been a standard, popularized by Eddie Cantor, by the time Al Jolson sang it in the first film with dialogue, The Jazz Singer, in 1927. On this week's mix is a version by him along with versions by Sonny Rollins and Dean Martin.

One other song repeats this week: Al Green's "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)": the original and a cover by Marcia Griffiths.

New Order emerged as a band when Joy Division dissolved after their lead singer Ian Curtis' suicide. This week's mix is bookended with an early song of theirs, "Your Silent Face", and a single released by Joy Division, "Atmosphere", after they had broken up but before they became New Order.

The rest: a version of the R&B standard "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Roy Ayers Ubiquity, the spare "Escapism (Gettin' Free)" by Digable Planets, the oft-smapled "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds, the dramatic "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" by Bobby Womack, the sweeping "Last Goodbye" by Jeff Buckley, the determined "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" by Tami Lynn, the sly "A Century Of Fakers" by Belle & Sebastian, the name-dropping "Jazz Cats Pt. 1" by Madlib alter ego Quasimoto, the loping "Ghetto's Of The Mind" by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth and Hank Williams' forlorn "I Watched My Dream World Crumble Like Clay".

Your Silent Face New Order
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Thursday, June 23, 2011

06-23-11: I Hope My Premonition Misses

"The Letter" was written by country songwriter Wayne Carson and first recorded by The Box Tops in 1967. Previous mixes included that version as well as versions by Al Green and Aretha Franklin. This week includes versions by Lou Rawls, Bob Marley & The Wailers and the famous live version by Joe Cocker.

The Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton was a teenager when they recorded "The Letter". From his later band Big Star this mix includes a demo version of "Big Black Car".

Also featured here is Lee Hazlewood's "Houston", with covers by Bobby Bare and Dean Martin.

One other song repeats here: Radiohead's "Black Star", the original and a live cover by Gillian Welch.

The rest: Common's witty "Orange Pineapple Juice", Vernon Burch's bouncy "Get Up", Troy Rainey's primitive "Tricky Tee Rap", Michael Jackson's Quincy Jones-produced "Off The Wall", Twilight's lush "Still Loving You", Fela Kuti's hypnotic "Shakara (Oloje)", Masta Killa's Wu-Tang Clan-assisted "Iron God Chamber", the old country tune "West Virginia Gals" by Al Hopkins & His Kuckle Busters and the bittersweet "Lately" by Stevie Wonder.

Houston Lee Hazlewood
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Thursday, June 16, 2011

06-16-11: Is It Hard To Make Arrangements With Yourself?

This week's mix is bookended with two versions of Neil Young's "Tell Me Why": a cover by Luff and a live version of Neil performing with Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Two other songs repeat across the mix: Bob Dylan's "Visions Of Johanna" with covers by Robyn Hitchcock and Marianne Faithfull and Mott The Hoople's David Bowie-produced "All The Young Dudes" with covers by World Party and The Church.

The rest: the cautionary "Don't Worry About The Joneses" by Dyson's Faces and Hard Times, the persistent "I Will Follow" by U2, the dense "The Rat" by The Walkmen, the jangly "This Boy Can Wait" by The Wedding Present, a cover of The Beatles' "Dear Prudence" by The Five Stairsteps, the Beatles-sampling "Help" by Lil Wayne, the socially conscious "It's Rough Out Here" by The Modulations, the Madlib-produced "Extra Extra" by Jay Electronica, the melodic Stax ballad "The Sweeter He Is (Pts. 1 and 2)" by The Soul Children, Run-D.M.C.'s brash "My Adidas", a cover of The Band's "The Weight" by Diana Ross & The Supremes with The Temptations and Waylon Jennings' version of "The Dark Side Of Fame" written by Ted Harris.

Tell Me Why Luff
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Thursday, June 9, 2011

06-09-11: Sometimes I Wonder What I'm A Gonna Do

This week's mix is bookended with two versions of Van Morrison's "Madame George": a loose early version with back-up singers and the gentler album version from Astral Weeks.

"Gamblin' Bar Room Blues 2" is an alternate version of the Jimmie Rodgers song. Also on here are covers of the original by John Mellencamp and Primal Scream.

"Summertime Blues" was a hit single by twenty year old Eddie Cochran in 158, two years before he died. This week's mix also includes covers by T. Rex and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.

The rest: the swaggering "Jimbrowski" by The Jungle Brothers, the tender "Baby It's You" by Curtis Mayfield, the witty "Feel Me" by Lil Wayne, a more stripped down alternate version of "Dedicated Follower Of Fashion" by The Kinks, the Fat Albert show theme sampling "Early To Rise" by Nice & Smooth, Doris Troy's lusty "Just One Look", a live version of The Beatles' "Dear Prudence" by Jerry Garcia, the mellow "That's How I Feel" by Sun Ra and a live version of the obscure standard "The Desperate Ones" by Nina Simone.

Madame George (early ver) Van Morrison
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Thursday, June 2, 2011

06-02-11: It's Memories That I'm Stealing

"Innocent When You Dream" appears in two different versions on Tom Waits' "Frank's Wild Years" album: "barroom" and "78". Additionally, this week's mix features covers by Elvis Costello and Kathryn Williams with Neil MacColl.

There are three versions of Gram Parsons' "$1,000 Wedding" here: the original from his posthumously released album "Grievous Angel" as well as covers by The Mekons and Evan Dando with Juliana Hatfield.

Also appearing more than once is Elton John's "Daniel": the original and a cover by Tortoise with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

The rest: the horn-accented "The Ruler's Back" by Slick Rick, the Madlib-produced "Chants" by Strong Arm Steady, the debut album opening track "Push It Along" by A Tribe Called Quest, the Todd Rundgren-sampling "If You Want It" by TV Girl, the sweet "I'm Your Puppet" by James & Bobby Purify, Mos Def's first solo single "Universal Magnetic", the mellow "Never Gonna Leave You" by Eddie Kendricks, the atmospheric "Into Dust" by Mazzy Star, a symphonic version of his old band The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by Sting and Charlie Parker's studio version of the standard "Everything Happens To Me".

Innocent When You Dream Elvis Costello
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Friday, May 27, 2011

05-26-11: You Wanna Meet'cha Maker, I'm A Take Ya

This week's mix features three versions of Bill Withers' "Kissing My Love" with covers by Spanky Wilson and Cold Blooded to accompany the original.

Also featured three times is Radiohead's "Street Spirit (Fade Out)": the original album version as well a live acoustic version and a cover by Peter Gabriel.

One more song appears twice: "Main Man" from T. Rex's classic album The Slider as well as an acoustic version from a radio session.

The rest: the dissonant "I Hate Myself And Want To Die" by Nirvana, a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" by Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Supremes' performing their hit "You Can't Hurry Love" in Italian titled as ""L'Amore Verra" or "Love Will Come", the brash "Something To Swing By" by Levi 167, the determined "Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot)" by Gang Starr, the aptly titled "Ain't That (Mellow, Mellow)" by Willie Hutch, the languid "Doobie Ashtray" by Devin The Dude and a live version of John Coltrane's "Naima" performed at The Village Vanguard by his pianist McCoy Tyner.

Street Spirit (Fade Out) Radiohead
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Thursday, May 19, 2011

05-19-11: And If A Double Decker Bus Crashes Into Us

"There'll Be Some Changes Made" is a jazz standard written in 1921. This week's mix features versions by W. O'Daniel & His Hillbilly Boys, Fats Waller and the legendary drummer Gene Krupa with Irene Day.

Also featured here is the twenty five year old song by The Smiths "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", along with covers released this year by Dum Dum Girls and Sara Lov.

Also featured on here more than once is Cat Stevens' "Miles From Nowhere": the album version along with an acoustic demo.

Snoop Dogg's "Who Am I? (What's My Name)" samples Tom Browne's "Funkin' For Jamaica".

The rest: the gently melancholic "Nowhere Man" by The Beatles, the mellow "Mushaboom" by Feist, the dramatic "May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone" by The Toys, the aptly titled "The Drum Thing" by The John Coltrane Quartet featuring Elvin Jones on drums, the loose "Loaded To The Gills" by Michael Liggins & The Super Souls, John Lee Hooker's driving "Boom Boom", Raheem's cocky "I'm The King", L.V. Johnson's purposeful "Don't Cha Mess With My Money, My Honey, Or My Woman", the cautionary "Shame On A Nigga" by Wu-Tang Clan, Glen Campbell's album take of the standard "My Way", and Tommy Stinson's ballad for Bash & Pop called "Nothing".

Nowhere Man The Beatles
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Friday, May 13, 2011

05-12-11: 'Cause Ain't No Such Things As Halfway Crooks

This week features the Tom T. Hall song "That's How I Got To Memphis" with versions by Scott Walker, Bobby Bare and Solomon Burke. Also featured is the Bruce Springsteen song "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City": the original demo recording which secured his first record contract, the debut album version and a cover by David Bowie from 1974 that never made an official album. Also on here is Springsteen's brooding "Darkness On The Edge Of Town".

One other song repeats this week: Curtis Mayfield's "Right On For The Darkness" with a cover by Willie Wright to accompany the original.

Latino Rockabilly War was the backing band for ex-Clash singer Joe Strummer assembled for movie soundtrack work and "Trash City" was one of five songs they recorded in 1988.

The rest: a cover of Depeche Mode's"Personal Jesus" by Candy Cane, the eerie "Survival Of The Fittest" by Mobb Deep, a cover of The Doobie Brothers' "Takin' It To The Streets" by Billy Paul, the reggae-tinged "Lucifer" by Jay-Z, a 12 inch version the spacey "City Too Hot" by Lee 'Scratch' Perry, the mellow "You Were Meant For Me" by Donny Hathaway, the lightly funky "Jacqueline" by Kostars, the loping "Jimi Diggin Cats" by Digable Planets, an acoustic version of the rare non-album track "My Friend" by Jimi Hendrix and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" by Waylon Jennings.

It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City (demo) Bruce Springsteen
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Thursday, May 5, 2011

05-05-11: But You Chose The Drunken Gigolo Instead

This week's mix features three versions of "I Can't Make You Love Me", written by Mike Reid and originally recorded by Bonnie Raitt. In addition to her version, here are versions by Prince and Bon Iver, who interpolates a bit of Raitt's "Nick Of Time".

Also repeating here are two versions of "April Anne" by John Phillips: the original and a cover by Okkervil River.

The rest: the jazz-inflected "Chuck E.'s in Love" by Rickie Lee Jones, the soul obscurity "Hangin' On To A Lie" by The Natural Four, the soul-sampling "Heartburn" by Sean Price, the playful "I'm Feelin' Devilish" by Fess Williams & His Royal Flush Orchestra, the wry "Me & Mr. Jones" by Amy Winehouse, a remix of the funky "Faded Lady" by S.S.O. Orchestra, the goofy "Mesopotamia" by the B-52's, the menacing "Chinese New Year" by Clipse with Roscoe P. Goldchain, the mellow "Just Because He Wants To Make Love (Doesn't Mean He Loves You)" by The Moments, a cover of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe" by Jackie Wilson with The Count Basie Orchestra, a cover of Bob Dylan's "The Man In Me" by The Persuasions, the tender "Teenage Love" by Slick Rick, the forlorn "We're Getting Closer To Being Apart" by Charlie Feathers and a live version of the jazz standard "The Peacocks" by The Bill Evans Trio with Stan Getz.

Chuck E.'s In Love Rickie Lee Jones
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