Rewind: The Wedding CD

As we put the finishing touches on the newest Scott family CD, it is an opportune time to revisit the first two.

Our wedding was 6 years ago last week and when I revisit the track list from our wedding CD today, there isn't much I would alter. There are a couple songs that are either new or new-to-me since 2005 that would have been nice to include, but that is cheating. We entered the wedding reception to Talking Heads and had our first dance to the Magnetic Fields, neither of which I would change. The mini-suite of tracks 5-8 represent our departure from New York and our cross-country journey to our new home in San Francisco, with a proposal along the way. If pushed, I would probably pull either David Byrne or Shuggie Otis from the bonus tracks, if only merely to streamline the thing a bit.

In the Grooveshark playlist below I was not able to include the Norah Jones track (the Tom Waits original is substituted) or the Shuggie Otis track.

Tracklist:

1. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) by Talking Heads
2. Thirteen by Big Star
3. Wild West End by Dire Straits
4. This Time by Los Lobos
5. Leaving New York by R.E.M.
6. The Long Way Home by Norah Jones
7. Question by Old 97s
8. California by Tom Petty
9. Beautiful Girl by INXS
10. The Book of Love by The Magnetic Fields
11. How Sweet It Is by Junior Walker & The All Stars
12. Your Song by Elton John
13. Moonlight Mile by The Rollings Stones
14. I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) by Stevie Wonder

Bonus Tracks

1. Emma Blowgun's Last Stand by Beulah
2. Sweet Thang by Shuggie Otis
3. Loco de Amor by David Byrne
4. Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Rewind: Top Songs of 1986

As someone born in 1978, I can assess pre-1983 music like a historian, appraising something that has effectively always existed without bias or emotion. Similarly, I can organize my thoughts on songs post-1992 (or thereabouts) without being distracted by the haze of nostalgia or lost youth. But for that interim period of the mid 80’s through early 90’s, all bets are off.

The list below actually isn’t too shameful, with only Bon Jovi making the guilty pleasure cut (Huey Lewis and Billy Joel just missed). Future lists for this period won’t be so pristine, however. I can’t even say with certainty that Billy Ocean won’t show up at some point. What can I say? I was a kid and didn’t know any damned better.

As for the below, 1986 is a return to form after relatively down years in 1981 and 1976. Three inner circle bands (for me) take the top spots. “Wild Wild Life” was the last great Talking Heads songs. “The Body of an American” was somehow left off of Rum, Sodomy & the Lash and was instead relegated to the Poguetry in Motion EP (and Baltimore police wakes). And while it is certainly deserving of its spot, “It’s Tricky” gets an extra lift because Raising Hell was the first rap album (cassette!) I ever bought.

Peter Gabriel is not on Grooveshark, but you know that song already.

Top 10 Songs of 1986

1. "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" / The Smiths / The Queen is Dead
   "To die by your side / is such a heavenly way to die"
2. "Wild Wild Life" / Talking Heads / True Stories
   "Check out Mr. Business Man / he bought some wild, wild life"
3. "The Body of an American" / The Pogues / Poguetry in Motion EP
   "And as the sunset came meet the evening on a hill / I told you I'd always love you / I always did / I always will"
4. "Graceland" / Paul Simon / Graceland
   "I am following the river / down the highway / through the cradle of the civil war"
5. "It's Tricky" / Run DMC / Raising Hell
   "They even bother my poor father 'cause he's down with me"
6. "Hymn to Her" / The Pretenders / Get Close
   "I dress as your daughter when the moon becomes round / you'll be my mother when everything's gone"
7. "Livin’ on a Prayer" / Bon Jovi / Slippery When Wet 
   "We're halfway there"
8. "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" / Beastie Boys / Licensed to Ill
   "Like a lemon to a lime / a lime to a lemon / I sip the def ale with all the fly women"
9. "Sledgehammer" / Peter Gabriel / So
   "I've kicked the habit"
10. "E=mc2" / Big Audio Dynamite / This is Big Audio Dynamite
    "Timeslide / place to hide / nudge reality"

Godlessnesslessness: The Son



This is the first in an aspiring series of playlists that are notable not for their religious themes but instead for their lack of failing to have religious themes. I acknowledge that statement makes extremely limited sense but it was fun to write and partially justifies the play on a Stephen Merritt lyric in the title.

Much as I enjoy early Staple Singers and The Blind Boys of Alabama, in general I have tried to avoid gospel and directly religious music in the playlist. Let's begin with a few tracks related to our mutual friend JC.

1. "What You Need is Jesus" / Public Enemy / He Got Game
   "Resurrection of the two-man vocal section / the spirit in your dark ass direction"
2. "Me and Jesus Don't Talk Much Anymore" / Beulah / YOKO
   "And though we are falling stars / we feel just fine"
3. "Jesus Fever" / Kurt Vile / Smoke Ring for My Halo
   " I packed my suitcase with myself / but I'm already gone"
4. "Stronger Than Jesus" / A Camp / Colonia
   "Love is a fire, a hot, hot blaster / and we're the Belgians burning in the Congo sun"
5. "Jesus, Walk With Me" / Club 8 / Jesus, Walk With Me
   "cause everywhere I go / everywhere I've been / everywhere I'm going / I only go with you "
6. "Jesus" / The Velvet Underground / The Velvet Underground
   "Jesus, help me find my proper place"
7. "Black Jesus" / Everlast / Eat at Whitey's
   "I spit kisses and hugs like .45 slugs"
8. "Jesus of Suburbia" / Green Day / American Idiot
   "In a land of make believe / that don't believe in me"
9. "Jesus Walks" / Kanye West / College Dropout
   "Well if this take away from my spins / which will probably take away from my ends / then I hope this take away from my sins"
10. "I Just Want to See His Face" / The Rolling Stones / Exile on Main St.
    "You don't want to walk and talk about Jesus / you just want to see his face"
11. "Head Rolls Off" / Frightened Rabbit / The Midnight Organ Fight
    "Jesus / is just a Spanish boy's name" 
12. "Christo Redemptor" (extended version) / Charlie Musselwhite / Tennessee Woman
    <instrumental>

Mountain Goats Playlist: Top Non Album Songs

One of the key draws of a Mountain Goats concert is the randomness of the set list. You are guaranteed a few tracks from the new album and perhaps "No Children", but the rest is up to the whims of John Darnielle and crew. It is a testament to the depths of their catalog that their concert at the Fillmore on Monday night included only one song (No Children) that was part of their show a year prior.

I have posted my rankings of Mountain Goats albums with a representative playlist here. Below is a list of my 10 favorite Mountain Goats tracks that don't appear on one of the LPs proper, including a mix of B-sides, EP tracks and unreleased tunes.

Thanks to the incredibly fulsome collection of Mountain Goats on Grooveshark, the playlist below has all songs save Sign of the Crow 2, a live mp3 of which can be found here

Top non-LP Mountain Goat Songs

1. "Attention All Pickpockets" (Letters from Belgium single)
   "And the cornet blows / where the oleander grows / and us two / not the same people that our old friends knew"
2. "New Chevrolet in Flames" (See America Right single)
   "Oh would that you would kiss me / with the kisses of your mouth / 'cause your mouth is sweeter than wine / and has a more complicated history / than the American South"
3. "Thank You Mario, But Our Princess is in Another Castle" (Black Pear Tree EP)
   "And I told you the one thing I know how to say / to the bright ringing drone of 8-bit choirs"
4. "Ethiopians" (Daytrotter Session)
   "And I can't think of one thing in this whole wide blessed world / that's more dangerous and frightening than you when you get bored"
5. "Alibi" (Babylon Springs EP)
   "Climb to the steps up to your doorway / like a man prepared to jump beneath a train"
6. "Black Pear Tree" (Black Pear Tree EP, vocals by Kaki King)
   "And when its time came I could see it happen / blossoms black and sweet as Texas crude / I saw the future flowering like a ruptured vessel / somebody's going to get screwed / it won't be me"
7. "Hawaiian Feeling aka The Day the Aliens Came" (Come, Come to the Sunset Tree)
   "The rooftops and sidewalks will all melt like plastic / oh friends, old friends, dear friends / I'm gonna look fantastic"
8. "Sign of the Crow 2" (unreleased)
   "And the story lived on for a decade or two / but no one really knows it anymore"
9. "Raid on Entebbe" (Jack and Faye 7")
   "If you'll just put your hand in mine / we're going to leave all out troubles behind"
10. "Mountain Goats Shirt Song" (Bottom of the Hill, 2005)
    "So if you're lonely / or shirtless"

Rewind: Top Songs of 1981

Like 1976 (the last rewind post in our twice-a-decade march to the best of 2011), 1981 was surrounded by more interesting music than the year itself contained. The Clash, Talking Heads, The Specials and several other favorites from the era mostly sat out the year. That said, there is still plenty to enjoy, including probably the last unquestionably classic Bowie and Jagger songs, some early new wave and the rise of a strange new form of music with record scratching, samples and spoken rhyme.

Grooveshark playlist is at the bottom of the post.

Top 10 Songs of 1981

1. "Under Pressure" / David Bowie and Queen / Under Pressure - Single
   "This is out last dance / this is ourselves"
2. "Don't Stop Believin'" / Journey / Escape
   "For a smile they can share the night"
3. "Start Me Up" / The Rolling Stones / Tattoo You
   " I can't compete / with the riders in the other heats"
4. "Tainted Love" / Soft Cell / Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
   "Take my tears and that's not nearly all"
5. "Rock This Town" / Stray Cats / Stray Cats
   "Well we found a little place that really didn't look half bad / I'll have a whiskey on the rocks and change of a dollar for the jukebox"
6. "Tempted" / Squeeze / East Side Story
   "At my bedside / empty pocket / a foot without a sock"
7. "Pretty in Pink" / The Psychedelic Furs / Talk Talk Talk 
   "All of her lovers all talk of her notes / and the flowers that they never sent"
8. "Master Blaster (Jammin')" / Stevie Wonder / Hotter than July
   "We're in the middle of the makings of the master blaster jammin'"
9. "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" / The Police / Ghost in the Machine
   "It's a big enough umbrella / but it's always me that ends up getting wet"
10. "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On the Wheels of Steel" / Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five / n/a
    "Grandmaster, cut faster"

Inspired by Toddlers: Counting

Because ELS can now count to 12, so can this playlist

1. "O.N.E." by Yeasayer
2. "Two" by The Antlers
3. "Three or Four" by The New Pornographers
4. "Four Horsemen" by The Clash
5. "Five Years Time" by Noah and the Whale
6. "Six Days on the Road" by Taj Mahal
7. "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes
8. "Eight Line Poem" by David Bowie
9. "Nine mm Goes Bang" by Boogie Down Productions
10. "Ten A.M. Automatic" by the Black Keys
11. "Elevenses" by Neil Halstead
12. "Twelve Fifty-One" by the Strokes

Bonus: "123 Goodbye" by Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Revisionist History: Retroactive Contenders for the Best of 2010

At year-end I put together my list of the top 100 songs of 2010, culminating here. As is always the case, the clock hadn't turned to February before there were several new-to-me songs I realized I had missed that merited consideration. Below are my ten favorite songs that weren't on my list at year-end but that might make a revised list today. Certainly the top two tracks would have broken the top 40.

Top 10 Songs of 2010 that weren't on my year-end list (as of May 2011 - subject to revision!)

1. "On Feathers and Arrows (on Burnt Pine)" / il gato / All These Slippery Things"
   "And I'll remember your life / as I change mine / and forget all your forests of evergreen /  because I'll survive / just fine / with burnt pine"
2. "Nothing Can Kill the Grimace" / Mixtapes / Maps
   "And I'm not saying that I'm any better / but at least I do all my dumb shit at home / 'cause everyone's the same, and everyone is lame / but they can sing bad songs and dance ironically"
3. "Trust" / Generationals / Trust EP
   " My friend / Olivia / said to me"
4. "Right Direction" / Dirty Diamonds / Monster Ballads
   "For the first time / in a long time"
5. "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" / Against Me! / White Crosses
   "Don't you remember? / When you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire"
6. "Digging Holes" / Icarus Himself / Mexico
   "Terrible things that I know and I know"
7. "Land Majestic" / Anni Rossi / Heavy Meadow
   "I am / an ant / stuck in / the cement"
8. "Water Hymn" / Painted Palms / Canopy EP
   <no lyrics>
9. "Kites" / Geographer / Animal Shapes
   " And my love is so quick / like the legs of my kids"
10. "Clockwatching" / Belleruche / 270 Stories
    "Put them back in the backseat / your dues have long been paid"