We'll laugh at that old bloodshot moon: 8/10 show

I recorded this week's show, as I often do as a way of monitoring myself. How am I doing? Do I talk too much? Do I mumble? Anyway, after the show I drove up to northern Michigan, and listened to the tape on the way. Beyond being a good way to self-monitor, it's a nice way to revisit the songs I've played, especially the newer stuff.

I took a moment to really listen to the lyrics of "Train from Kansas City", Neko Case's cover of the Shangri-La's. I've heard the song many times, and just enjoyed the quality of Case's vocals, and the tune itself. But if you really listen to the story behind it, it's sort of moving in that way that pop from the 60's can be. She sings to the man she loves, telling him that she's gotten a letter from a man she used to know, who's in love with her and coming in on the train from Kansas City, and she has to go to the station to break his heart. Mary Weiss of the Shangri-La's, who was a teenager at the time, had a unique way of conveying emotion while sounding intimate and personal. Neko Case's gutsy vocals cover some of the same range; she's a worthy successor, and I think her version may even be better.

And a side note... after listening to a number of songs by the Shangri-La's, I think it's a shame that they are best known for "The Leader of the Pack." Of course, I like the song — who doesn't — but it comes off as a novelty song, not something serious, and so the group comes off as a novelty group. What about something like "Out in the Streets"? A heartfelt story of teen angst in the rough parts of town.

And speaking of novelty songs, we've got new They Might Be Giants in the studio. I admit I played the same song that's gotten the most play at the station, "Take Out the Trash," but it's a real standout track. It rocks with a 50's flair, and has clever lyrics about ending a relationship. It's not a quirky "Birdhouse in Your Soul" or "Particle Man"; it's more like "Don't Let's Start" (a song which is now about 20 years old; how about that?).

*: new stuff
(r): requests

Artist	Song	Album	Label
Tom Waits	New Coat of Paint	The Heart of Saturday Night	Asylum
Bebel Gilberto	Bring Back the Love (Bombay Dub Orchestra Remix)	Bring Back the Love Remixes	Six Degrees
*Balkan Beat Box	$20 for Boban	Nu-Med	JDUB
*Mark Ronson feat. Kenna	Amy	Version	RCA
Lady Sovereign	9 to 5	Public Warning	Island/Def Jam
*Chromeo	Opening Up (Ce Soir On Danse)	Fancy Footwork	Vice
Michael Nyman	Prospero's Curse	Prospero's Books Soundtrack	London
Nina Simone	Ne Me Quitte Pas	The Best of Nina Simone	Philips
*Billy Harvey	I May I May	Bearsick	Gold Records
Neko Case	Train from Kansas City	The Tigers Have Spoken	Anti-
Andrew Bird	Scythian Empires	Armchair Apocrypha	Fat Possum
*Patrick Cleandemin	Hollywood	Baby Come Home	Ba Da Bing
Haale	Morgue Sahar	Morning	Darya
The Velvet Underground and Nico	Run Run Run	The Velvet Underground and Nico	Polydor
The B-52's	Give Me Back My Man	Wild Planet	Warner Brothers
*Bonde do Role	Dança do Zumbi	With Lasers	Domino/Mad Decent
*Of Montreal	Du Og Meg	Suffer for Fashion	Polyvinyl
Mucca Pazza	Habibi	A Little Marching Band	Self-released
Gal Costa	Habib	New World Party	Putomayo
*The White Stripes	300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues	Icky Thump	Warner Brothers
*Copperpot feat/ Prince Po	WYLA?	WYLA?	EV Productions
The Wolfgang Press	Mama Told Me Not to Come	Everything is Beautiful	4AD
Fear of Pop	I Paid My Money	Fear of Pop	550 Music/Epic
Canasta	Microphone Song	We Were Set Up	Broken Middle C
Divine	Walk Like a Man	Native Love	Disco Classics
*YACHT	See a Penny (Pick It Up)	PDX Pop Now! 2007	Self-released
The Saints	(I'm) Stranded	(I'm) Stranded /
Luxury	Green Hearts	Yellow Pills Prefill	Numero Group
(r)The Stooges	Search and Destroy	Raw Power	Columbia/Legacy
*Thge Might Be Giants	Take Out the Trash	The Else	Idlewild
Marilyn Monroe	Heatwave	Divas Exotica	Capitol
Deee-Lite	Party Happening People	Dewdrops in the Garden	Elektra
*Justice	One Minute to Midnight	†	Ed Banger/Vice
*Tack, the Boy Disaster	Paris	Oh, Beatrice	Self-released
The Smoking Popes	Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart	The Party's Over	Double Zero
*Keren Ann	Lay Your Head Down	Keren Ann	Blue Note
*The Budos Band	Adeniji	The Budos Band II	Daptone
OK Go	A Good Idea at the Time	Oh No	Capitol
The Noisettes	The Bridge to Canada	What's the Time Mr. Wolf?	Universal/Motown
Paul Weller	Down in the Tube Station	Hit Parade	Yep Roc
Las Malas Amistades	Necesidad (Electro Mix)	Jardin Interior	Psych-O-Path

Labels: music, playlists

posted by Tony at 11:06 PM