Thursday, February 25, 2010

02-25-10: In My Head, The Weather Never Changes

This week's mix features Sam Cooke's hit "Good Times" as well as a cover of that song by a very young version of The Rolling Stones.

Also repeating on here is "Rich Woman": the original by Li'l Millet & His Creoles as well as the recent cover by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss as well as two versions of Bob Dylan's "Honey, Just Give Me One More Chance": from his second album and from a studio rehearsal several years later.

Other stuff: the sweet "Love Is Here" by The Futures, the melodic "The Good Thing" by Talking Heads. the Afro-centric rap of Two Kings In A Cypher with "How U Figga?", a version of the Burt Bacharach standard "Walk On By" by East Of Underground, the airy "Feel Good Factor" by The Hermit Crabs, the poppy Jesus & Mary Chain b-side "Rocket", the original version of Barry White's "Love's Theme" by Love Unlimited Orchestra with vocals, April Stevens' pleading "Don't Do It", Ted Taylor's funky "Somebody's Gettin' It", the bouncy "The Fuzz" by Diane & Caroles With The Latin Whatchamacallits, the Buckwild remix of the spacey "Rock On" by Funkdoobiest, the dazed "Astro Travellin" by Quasimoto, the innocent "Now That School Is Through" by Cindy & The Playmates, Grant Goodeve's cheesy television show theme "Eight Is Enough", Cal Tjader's mellow "Nao Diga Nada", the rhythmic "Morning Sun" by Al Barry & The Cimarons, the hopeful "I Know There's An Answer" by The Beach Boys, the spiritual "Go To Me With That Land" by Blind Willie Johnson with female backing vocals by Willie B. Harris and the dreamy "Clear Day" by Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions.

Love Is Here The Futures
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Thursday, February 18, 2010

02-18-10: I Gave My Oopsy, Daisy, Now You've Got The Crazy

This week's mix features three versions of the hopeful Motown single"Darling Dear": the original recorded version by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and the later recording by The Jackson 5 as well as a "stripped" version of that song with the focus on Michael Jackson's vocals.

The other Motown song on her is Marvin Gaye's cover of The Beatles' "Yesterday", followed by a demo version of The Beatles' "I Will".

Also repeating this week is "Sleepless Nights": the duet by Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris as well as the earlier version by The Everly Brothers.

The rest: the odd "Rich Folks Hoax" by Rodriguez, the melancholic "Mother" by Pink Floyd, a live cover of Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" by David Bowie and Marianne Faithfull, the playful "They Want EFX" by Das EFX, Ministry's faux British "Everyday Is Halloween", Prince's funky "Irresistible Bitch", Schoolly D's witty "Saturday Night", Strong Arm Steady's dense "Cheeba Cheeba", Don Covay's soulful "Stop By", the airy "I'm Free" by The Rolling Stones, a duet on Bob Dylan's "If Not For You" between Bob and George Harrison during rehearsal for The Concert For Bangladesh, Waylon Jennings' graceful cover of Richard Harris' pop standard "MacArthur Park (Revisited)", the country-tinged "A Little Rain" by Tom Waits, the chipper "Down In Waikiki" by Eddy's Hawaiian Serenaders and a cover of Jay Wiggins' "Sad Girl" by Emperor's Soul '69.

Darling Dear ("stripped" ver) Michael Jackson
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Thursday, February 11, 2010

02-11-10: She'll Build You Up Just To Put You Down

Lou Reed wrote "Femme Fatale" for The Velvet Underground with the intention of performing the lead vocal. Yet, it was decided that Nico would sing it. As he still lives across the street from me, I should ask him how that sits with him. Regardless, on this week's mix I've included the original Nico-sung version along with a rare live Velvets version with Lou as the lead singer. I'm surprised there aren't more covers of this song: here I've included the 80s b-side by R.E.M. as well as an acoustic demo version of Big Star's cover.

Other songs that repeat on here include both the standard and undubbed versions of Buddy Holly's "Because I Love You" as well as "Green Onions": the original Booker T. & The MG's hit and a Latin-tinged cover by Jack Costanzo and Gerrie Woo.

The rest: the Phil Spector production "He's Sure The Boy I Love" by The Crystals, a frantic remix of "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Kool G. Rap, the spooky "I Am The Walrus" by The Beatles, the swaggering "Dirty Money" by Clipse, the melodic "Johnny Too Bad" by The Slickers, the menacing "Brooklyn's Finest" by Jay-Z with The Notorious B.I.G., the 12" version of Rick James' funky "Super Freak", the cautionary "Blonde Women" by Marlene Dietrich, Patti Smith's passionate version of the rock standard "Gloria" originally by Van Morrison and Them, Marvin Gaye's melancholic "Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)', a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On" by Richie Havens, Jim Croce's sweet "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song" and John Coltrane's majestic version of the standard "You Don't Know What Love Is".

He's Sure The Boy I Love The Crystals
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Thursday, February 4, 2010

02-04-10: Because I'm Like Noah's Ark, My Bitches Come In Pairs

This week's mix features two versions of the standard "In Love In Vain", one by the Bill Evans Trio and the other a solo piano rendition by Nina Simone. Also repeating are two takes of Van Morrison's "When That Evening Sun Goes Down", the album version and an acoustic demo. I also have two versions of Bettie Serveert's "Palomine", the single and an alternate version dubbed "small".

Other stuff: the frantic "We're Coming Out" by The Replacements, the 80s teen ballad "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds, the trippy "She Said She Said" by The Beatles, a mash up of Talib Kweli over The Doobie Brothers called "Listen Up", Erykah Badu's soulful "Window Seat", DJ Quik's graphic "Sweet Black Pussy", the playful "King Size Papa" by Julia Lee And Her Boyfriends, the smitten "Gigantic" by The Pixies, the ethereal "Walking On The Moon" by The Police, the chipper "Raspberry Beret" by Prince, Eddie Kendrick's melodic "Day By Day", the Michael Jackson-sampling "Our Dreams" by Method Man with Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, Gil Scott-Heron's rhythmic "New York Is Killing Me", the stately "Love Her" by The Walker Brothers, the tender "The Fox In The Snow" by Belle & Sebastain, and Artie Shaw and his orchestra with Helen Forrest on the hopeful "They Say".

We're Coming Out The Replacements
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Thursday, January 28, 2010

01-28-10: Freedom's Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose

This week's mix is bookended with two Janis Joplin versions of Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee": both her posthumous hit and a rare demo recording.

"Isolation" by Matthew Sweet is a cover of John Lennon, who does a cover of his own with a goofy and affectionate version of Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue", complete with a not bad imitation of Holly. Buddy is also on here with the standard "Fireballs Overdub" version of "Learning The Game".

The rest: the sweet and sour "No Hope" by The Vaselines, an enchanting cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding" by Pastel Vespa, the J Dilla-produced "The Bizness" by De La Soul with Common, the supremely funky "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)" by Parliament, the sly "Ain't No Nigga" by Jay-Z with Foxy Brown, the winsome "Heart Of Gold" by Neil Young, the hushed "The Wolves (Acts I and II)" by Bon Iver, the bitter "Idiot Wind" by Bob Dylan, a gentle cover of Dylan's "Just Like A Woman" by Roberta Flack, a brilliant remix of Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day" sampling the Curtis Mayfield-written "Let's Do It Again' by The Staple Singers, the spooky "End Of The Night" by The Doors, the dreamy "Lovely Sky Boat" by Alice Coltrane and the haunting "Naima" by her husband John Coltrane.

Me And Bobby McGee Janis Joplin
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Thursday, January 21, 2010

01-21-10: I Just Might Have A Problem That You'd Understand

I was inspired by a great new documentary on Bill Withers called Still Bill. From his album of the same name, this week's mix begins with his "Lean On Me". Also on here is Big Daddy Kane's "Rap Summary (Lean On Me)" which samples the Withers song.

Bill Withers is also on here trading vocals with Billy Preston on Quincy Jones' cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", with Stevie also guesting on harmonica. Quincy credits them on the album as "help by three beautiful brothers". Hard to argue with that description.

"If You Were My Woman" by The Ohio Players was not released until the recent reissue of the Pain album and is an interpolation of the Gladys Knight & The Pips hit "If I Were Your Woman". Both of them are on here.

The version of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" on here is a 60s recording without the spare production and back-up singing of the original 50s version. By contrast, the version of Bob Dylan's "You're A Big Girl Now" is not the ornate album version from Blood On the Tracks, but the original demo version.

The rest: the a cappella version of "Strong Island" by J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E, Kristin Hersh's cover of Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane", Neil Young's droll "Roll Another Number (For The Road)", Ferlin Husky's tragic "Drunken Driver", the funky "If The Papes Come" by A Tribe Called Quest, the whimsical "Starfish And Coffee" by Prince, Al Green's devoted "Loving You", the bouncy "For Those Who Like To Groove" by Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio, a spare "stripped" version of The Jackson 5"s "I Want You Back" with Michael's vocals up front, the sweet "Nothing From Nothing" by French Coffey, Billy Paul's mystical "East" and Charlie Parker's gorgeous version of the standard "Dancing In the Dark".

Lean On Me Bill Withers
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Thursday, January 14, 2010

01-14-10: Love Is The Answer And You Know That For Sure

The song featured on this week's mix is the standard "It Was A Very Good Year", written in the early 60s by Ervin Drake for Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio, A few years later, it became a massive hit for Frank Sinatra, and the song became most associated with him.

In addition to Sinatra's version, I've included versions by Lou Rawls, Eddie Harris, Richie Havens, Della Reese, Lee Hazelwood, Lizzy Parks, The Flaming Lips and Eartha Kitt performing live.

This week's mix falls a little after the death of Teddy Pendergrass, so I've include a great reggae cover of Teddy's hit with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, "The Love I Lost", as well as Teddy's solo smash "Come Go With Me".

The rest: the wailing of Johnny Rotten on Public Image Ltd.'s "Memories", Strong Arm Ready's JJ Fad-sampling "Get Started" with Talib Kweli, the socially conscious "Freedom Time" by The Pharoahs, the bass-heavy "Don't Beat This Dog" by Alamo Race Track, Betty Hall Jones' wry "Buddy, Stay Off The Wine", the Coldcut remix of Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid In Full", Apache's old school jam "Gangsta Bitch" and the sweeping "Mind Games" by John Lennon.

It Was A Very Good Year Lou Rawls
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Thursday, January 7, 2010

01-07-10: Ain't Nothing But A Stranger In This World

Finally, after an extended look back on mixes past with new "best ofs" for previous years, here is the first new mix of music for 2010.

I wasn't sure I was going to keep doing this, as creating the "best of" mixes felt both exhausting and faintly valedictory. I had spent all of last year throwing up old mixes and annotating them, as well as doing the same for a new one each week. Now, with tidy "best ofs", it felt like this little hobby might have run its course.

Yet, even in the face of unpopular demand, the mixes serve the utility of separating the best of my ever-growing music collection from the huge pile that thousands of mp3s represent. So, I go on.

Before this mix, the sum of all the mixes, all found in last year's archives, total some 6,849 songs. Out of around 100,000 that I own. So putting them aside over the years, never repeating the same version of any given song, is a way to keep my favorites in heavy rotation. That aggregate rotation is pretty robust and eclectic by now.

The "best ofs" total some 685 songs, or the top 10% of the mixes. The "Countdowns" of each year total my favorite 70 of those 685, or 6,849 or of the 100 some thousand I own.

The "best ofs" were a fun way to highlight the songs I really, really like for the reader who might find my entire collection of mixes too daunting. Yet many of my favorites fell away in those lists and the aggregate list of songs in the "best ofs" lacks some of the weirdness and sense of surprise that a typical mix might have.

So, by all means please go back to last year to pick from previous mixes. For now, my focus is at last on the future as opposed to looking back.

This week features the song "We Had It All", originally written by Donnie Fritts and Troy Seals and was recorded by the former but is best known as a country standard. The versions included on here are by cult vocalist Maggie Bell, Waylon Jennings, and a bootleg version attributed to The Rolling Stones that is actually Keith Richards in his outlaw country phase.

Arrested Development's "Everyday People (Reprise)" was the hit version of the song of the same title on their debut album from 1992 and features an interpolation of Sly & The Family Stone's "Everyday People". They follow this song on here with "If It Were Left Up To Me".

The Arrested Development song reminds me so much of college as do the two songs that bookend the mix: the unfairly maligned (for being too "poppy") hit "Here Comes Your Man" by The Pixies and the anthemic "Left Of The Dial" by The Replacements.

The rest: an alternate version of "Got To Get You Into My Life" by The Beatles sans horns, a mash-up of Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money" featuring Kelis over "You Never Give Me Your Money" by The Beatles, the avant-garde jazz of Leon Gardner with "Be There", Van Morrison's mystical "Astral Weeks", Big Star's hopeful "Watch The Sunrise", an alternate mix of the morose "Who Loves The Sun" by The Velvet Underground, Benny Goodman's percussive "Sing Sing Sing", the frantic "House Of Flying Daggers" by Raekwon with Ghostface Killah and Method Man, the warm "Mighty Love" by The Spinners, the rockabilly "Ballin' Keen" by Bobby and Terry Carway, Beck's country-tinged "Sissyneck", Washington Phillips' spiritual "Take Your Burden To The Lord And Leave It There", Bob Dylan's soundtrack piece "Billy 1", a cover of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" by Jackie DeShannon and a cover of The Clash's "I'm Not Down" by Thea Gilmore.

Here Comes Your Man The Pixies
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Countdown 2003

The top 1% of the songs across my weekly mixes of 2003 total 4 songs. Here's a countdown of them to my favorite of the year.

4. "I Can't Go To Sleep" by The Wu-Tang Clan featuring Isaac Hayes

This weird, haunting song lodges in your head and stays there. It so heavily samples Isaac Hayes' soul-drenched cover of the Burt Bacharach standard "Walk On By" that they invite Isaac on to coo a few soothing words as the various members of the Wu detail all sorts of psychological and emotional trauma that would give anyone insomnia. This came out less than a year before 9/11 but stuck around for me the first couple years after and was a perfect mood piece for 2003.

3. "Rainbow Connection" by Willie Nelson

Willie's gentle cover of the ballad from the original Muppet movie is one of my very favorite songs ever. The original song brought me to tears as a little boy in the theater. It was the year I lived with my mom, after I lived with my dad but before I moved back with him. This song cut through all that chaos with one giant dose of hope for a more peaceful and happy future, one that never quite came but that we all hold onto like a dream. Willie's version, of course, gets to the heart of the lyrics in an understated but deeply effective way.

2. "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Tom Waits

As I started cataloguing songs with these weekly mixes, essentially ordering my very favorites, I started to enjoy the macabre game of picking songs for my funeral. This is the first song I ever attached that dubious distinction to and no other song has surpassed it. It combines the best of Waits' music: the casual cultural borrowing, in this case New Orleans horns, against a sort of maritime melody and his gloriously croaked fatalism, which on closer inspection reveals deep human optimism.

1. "Head Title" aka Distant Lover by Marvin Gaye

This in-studio improv by Marvin Gaye captures his genius like no other track I know. He is singing over a backing track for what later became the lushly romantic "Distant Lover". After he apologizes for not yet having the lyric, he promises to sing what comes "right from my soul". What follows is brilliant, uncharacteristically gospel singing with great clip-clop percussion over such effusive and heartfelt words. It grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go.

I Can't Go To Sleep The Wu-Tang Clan ft. Issac Hayes
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Best Of 2003

2003 was the year I started these weekly playlists, and will be the last year I look back on. Since I started late in the year, there were 377 songs across the mixes that year. Here are my favorite 38 of them.

Bobby Womack's dramatic "Across 110th Street" has long been a favorite of mine, but in 2003 I heard a dj play a rare acoustic version of the song that I spend months tracking down. They are both really great. In addition to Neil Young, John Coltrane is a favorite artist that I was surprised didn't make more of these "best of" year compilations. But if I had to choose just one of his, the majestic "Aisha" would be it. It reminds me of walking alone in the jungles of Costa Rica. The live version of The Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet" by the Replacements is even more fierce than the original, such attitude and great lyrics. "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" by The Spinners is so sweet and lushly produced. Phillip Wynne's singing, as usual, is otherworldly and this version ends with a brief a cappella snippet. Mary J. Blige's "Deep Inside" features a brilliant interpolation of Elton John's "Bennie And The Jets" and such heart-wrenching lyrics and singing. The Kostars were an obscure one-off group of Luscious Jackson members. It's al album that reminds me so much of the summer of 96, my first in NY, dealing with heartbreak and poverty and uncertainty. The album is so soothing and hypnotic, and "Don't Know Why", with Ween singing harmony, is the very best song on that album. Bobby Brown's sweet "Every Little Step" reminds me of early college, when new jack swing and fades were the rage and this was the joint at school dances. I love the album version of Elvis Costello's exquisite "Every Day I Write The Book" but the alternate version here is rockier and ragged in a good way. "Games People Play" is The Spinners' masterpiece, so haunting and melodic and pretty. It reminds me of the year after college, when I really got into them and I was happy to rediscover them in 2004. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" is the most hopeful, human song George Harrison ever wrote.

One of these days, I need to spend more time with Joni Mitchell's music. Her biggest hit, "Help Me" will always be favorite of mine, so jazzy and light and sweet. The lonesome "Here Comes A Regular" by The Replacements conjures a perfect Midwestern autumn evening. "Hey Ya!" by Outkast was brand new when I started these mixes in the fall of 2003 and I had never heard anything quite like it. "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates is one of the only "white" tracks I would ever hear on the AM Radio Dusties in Chicago. It's such a well made record. Andy Gibb's "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" reminds me so much of my childhood and the innocence of crushes. Pavement had an uneven live reputation, but the live version of "In the Mouth Of A Desert" should put that to rest, it was one of my favorites of 2003. Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" features that great Jackson 5 sample via Kanye West. "Jack And Jill" by Raydio os so funky and sly, I used to love hearing it on heavy duty headphones. "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul, And Mary is so tender and gorgeous. I really love her singing on here. "Lil' Darlin'" by Count Basie was the theme song form the end of the end of the night Dusties AM radio show, where the dj Lon Dyson would wish his late wife good night. Missing Chciago, I called the station after aI moved to NY to ask for the name of this sweetly mournful tune. Mr. Dyson himself called me back personally to tell me, and years later he passed on, presumably to reunite with his wife.

Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" has such dark beauty and drama. "Me & My Bitch" by the Notorious B.I.G. is both lewd and poignant. "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison is so uplifting. The version of the Frank Sinatra standard "My Way" by The Sex Pistols is so delightfully packed with sneering attitude. It's such exciting music. Stevie Wonder's "Please Don't Go", off my favorite album of his Fulfillingness' First Finale, was a big one for me in 2003. So soulful and pleading and brave, and of course I love how he puts his name in the lyrics near the end. "Pop Shit" is the collaboration of The Neptunes, and Pharrell's singing, with one Dirt McGirt, aka Ol' Dirty Bastard. The sirens and falsetto singing perfectly complement Dirt's paranoid and hilarious lyrics. "Rocks Off" by the Rolling Stones is so loose and decadent, and I love Mick Jagger's tired drawl over the horns. "Roses" was my other favorite Outkast single of 2003, another Parliament pastiche, with funny lyrics and an unbeatable hook. "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" by P.M. Dawn reminds me so much of college. Love the Spandau Ballet sample. "Starlings Of The Slipstream" might be the prettiest song Pavement ever wrote. Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out" is so jazzy and uplifting, sounding very little like anything I ever heard on the radio growing up. Otis Redding's ragged acoustic guitar-driven version of the soul standard "You Left The Water Running" is one of the best things he ever did. "99 Problems" by Jay-Z was a new single in 2003 and I loved the Rick Rubin production complete with guitar and cowbell.

Across 110th Street Bobby Womack
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