Instrumentals: Tom Waits Edition

Tom Waits: Cinny's Waltz

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Tom Waits: Rainbirds

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Tom Waits: Good Old World (Gypsy Instrumental)

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Tom Waits: Knife Chase

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Isn't that an amazing photo at the top of this post? I don't think I've ever seen a picture of Tom Waits that looks exactly the way his music sounds. A hobo breaking into a carnival in the middle of the night, having the time of his life.

At first glance it might look like an odd choice for Instrumentals Week to pick an artist who's so known for his voice, but his wordless pieces are not to be missed. He (and his wife/collaborator Kathleen Brennan) have always had a knack for creating haunting images with their sonic landscapes.

It's no wonder he's contributed to so many movies over the years, both as a songwriter and as an actor - a more cinematic performer is hard to find.

Instrumentals: R.E.M. B-Sides

R.E.M.: Fruity Organ

R.E.M.: Mandolin Strum

R.E.M.: Memphis Train Blues

R.E.M.: New Orleans Instrumental #2

R.E.M.: Tricycle

R.E.M.: Winged Mammal Theme

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At the risk once again of becoming the guy who only posts R.E.M. songs... here's another post full of R.E.M. songs. The difference in this post being that most of these are rarities that only the most hardcore fans know about. These are all non-album tracks that mainly appeared as B-side recordings to singles the band put out at various points in their career. They mostly exist just to show a different side of the band that didn't always make it to the records. The "purchase" link for this post simply points to the R.E.M. store at Amazon.com.

R.E.M.'s studio sessions typically yield many of these types of recordings. Peter Buck says he writes hundreds of songs every year, and many of them end up as nothing more than musical workouts for the band in the studio. Buck has also said that recording sessions for each R.E.M. album can produce roughly 20 or 30 of these "unfinished songs."

Some of these musical nuggets are born out of other songs... "Memphis Train Blues" was an improvised piece performed in the studio after the band grew tired of playing the repetitive chord structure of the song "Hairshirt" from Green. Drummer Bill Berry plays mandolin.

Some of them started out as jokes and just kept hanging around... "Tricycle" was a goofy exercise that grew out of sound checks during the Monster tour. Guitarist Peter Buck says the song kept getting "stupider and stupider" as they worked it out, but they were having too much fun to stop playing it. Buck originally wanted to call it "Four Wheels to Hell" but felt "Tricycle" was much less melodramatic.

Some are self explanitory... "Fruity Organ" and "Mandolin Strum" would seem to need no explanation.

Others just kind of appeared and had no where else to go... "New Orleans Instrumental #2" came out of the Automatic for the People sessions and was recorded the same day as that album's "New Orleans Instrumental #1." "Winged Mammal Theme" was submitted to Tim Burton for inclusion on one of the Batman movie soundtracks. It didn't make the cut.

Instrumentals: Punchdrunks Edition

Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks: Buzz Aldrin

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Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks: Stuck In Tunisia

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When told this week's theme would be instrumentals I immediately thought of surf rock. The next logical step was to think of my favorite band in this genre: Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks. A band whose "tropical exotic rock" I once described on my blog as:

"...sweaty, feverish, horny, violent, furious and ferocious. It's surf rock all coked up and with a thirst for blood.

Imagine four people losing their minds on a mezcal & tequila binge being so pissed off at their instruments they're trying to beat them to death while the tape's running.

Imagine the motion picture soundtrack to Tony Montana vs. James Bond.

Imagine the sound of Lux Interior and Larry Parypa taking turns buggering Link Wray behind a burning whorehouse in Shanghai."

Pretty accurate if I may say so myself.

Lately the band has for some reason evolved into some sort of electronic dub thing that I find hard to maintain interest in, but between circa 1994 and 2004, Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks were the kings of underproduced, roughneck surfabilly.

Instrumentals: I Miss You Kate

Sting: I Miss You Kate

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Near as I can tell, in the two years since Star Maker Machine opened for business, we've never posted two separate posts by the same artist in a single week. To post two consecutive posts by the same artist is just plain weird, a rarity in the blogosphere at large.

But I'm doing it anyway. Because this particular instrumental is hauntingly beautiful, and though its middle section contains a hint of the same jazz modality that underlies Dream of the Blue Turtles, and the first and last sections coincide audiographically with Sting's Contemporary Pop period, in many ways, this carefully constructed composition - a piano-led jazz ballad, with subtle bass and drums, and a swelling string section to support it all -sounds utterly nothing like Sting in any other guise.

I did a genuine double take when I first encountered the track, purely by accident, as a b-side to the CD single for All This Time, which I purchased upon its release in '91. For a long time, I Miss You Kate was a mainstay of my mixtape compilation catalog, and I still treasure its very existence. Fair warning, though: the other b-side on the single - an 8 minute live take of King of Pain, sans the other members of The Police - goes on a bit long.

Instrumentals: The Dream of the Blue Turtles

Sting: The Dream of the Blue Turtles

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The statement of our theme clearly states that there are to be no voices at all. I hope I may be forgiven for the laughter at the end of this one. It has everything to do with how this song came to be.

Sting said in interviews at the beginning of his solo career that he had come to feel stifled in the Police. He was seeking a spontaneity he had been missing. So he sought to put together a band of jazz musicians for his first solo album. They all said yes, and what a band it was! Drummer Omar Hakim came from Weather Report. Sax Player Branford Marsalis was a well known bandleader, and he brought with him his keyboard player Kenny Kirkland. And bassist Darryl Jones had just finished a stint with Miles Davis. All took the music seriously, but they had a lot of fun together as well. One day in the studio, the band was just jamming for fun, but the tape was rolling. This was where the song The Dream of the Blue Turtles came from. Sheet music had to be written up afterwards, because this one just happened. I suppose, for Sting, the song epitomized the spontaneity he was looking for, because this became the title track of the album.

Instrumentals: Journey in Satchidananda

Alice Coltrane: Journey in Satchidananda

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There aren't enough harpists in jazz these days.

Alice Coltrane may have never completely escaped the shadow of her iconic husband, but she did create some fascinating music. Conversant on piano and harp, she uses both to good effect on this funky bit of free jazz. (And let me just say...a bit of funk goes a long way towards making free jazz more accessible, IMHO.)

With a few of her late husband's former sidemen on board (Pharoah Sanders on soprano sax and Rashied Ali on drums), Cecil McBee holding everything together with a slow, funky bass line, Tulsi providing the tambura drone, and Majid Shabazz sprinkling the works with Middle-Eastern percussion, "Journey in Satchidananda" sounds better than the sum of its parts might suggest.

Satchidananda, by the way, may be a reference to Swami Satchidananda, whom Alice had become a disciple of, but it is also an Indian compound word for a concept that is (very) roughly akin to the Buddhist concept of Nirvāṇa.

Instrumentals: Whiplash

101 Strings: Whiplash

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Think of 101 Strings and you are thinking of elevators or shopping centres or people your parents didn't like very much. !01 Strings - the orchestra used up to 142 Strings but that didn't sound so catchy - took schmaltz down to new depths, then along came Astro Sounds from Beyond the Year 2000. In reality (if that's the word to use here) this was an album by Jerry Cole, session musician with the Byrds and on Pet Sounds, with 101 Strings layered on top. Still, they got the credit for it. One can wonder what their loyal fans thought when they heard Whiplash. As for the album title's claim; in so many ways it stands up.

Guest post by John from One Man’s Treasure. Please give him a warm welcome.

Instrumentals: Swan Lake

Madness: Swan Lake

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First of all, thanks to both BWR and Bert. Swan Lake was the first song I thought of for our Instrumentals theme, but I didn’t have it. So, I put out a call, and both of these fine gentlemen answered.

Why Swan Lake? First, because it’s just so much fun. Just imagine the black and white checked tutus that go with this version. Yes, this is Swan Lake as in the ballet, but is also pure ska in this version. It comes from Madness’ debut album, and shows what wonderful musical imagination they had from the start. And the talent to back it up.

Instrumentals: Duane Allman

Duane Allman: Little Martha

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My fave instrumental just might be the only song brother Duane Allman ever wrote in his too-short life. Significant detail: the instrument Skydog achieved so much well-deserved fame with, the slide guitar, is nowhere to be found here. Little Martha is a timeless acoustic ode to an extramarital girlfriend who in real life was called Dixie.

Trios / Instrumentals: California Guitar Trio

California Guitar Trio: The Marsh

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Forged in the aftermath of a chance meeting at King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp's famous zen-influenced Guitar Craft courses in the late eighties, the California Guitar Trio - comprised of three master musicians from Brussels, Utah, and Tokyo - plays technically challenging yet fluid instrumentals that teeter at the intersection of classical, jazz, surf, rock, world music, bluegrass, and anything else they can get their talented hands on.

This original piece, the lead track from 2004 release Whitewater, is a personal favorite: crisp enough for a movie soundtrack, mellow enough to compliment or even stand in for a soothing massage or a quick recharging dip in the hot tub.

Trios: The Kingston Trio

The Kingston Trio: Charlie on the MTA

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I call it pop-folk. In the 1950s, a number of groups arise who played and sang traditional songs on acoustic instruments, but were not folk artists, exactly. These groups had carefully developed stage routines, and there performances were scrubbed clean of any roughness. Often they cultivated a clean-cut image by appearing in matching outfits. All of this applied to The Kingston Trio, but they also showed how much could be done within this set of limitations. Charlie on the MTA is a fine example. This is a protest song, but not one that would provoke much controversy. The song concerns a transit fare increase in Boston, and it uses humor to make its point. The Kingston Trio's reputation for using humor in their act actually helps put this one over, and the limitations of the pop-folk form become a strength. By putting over their objections to a fare increase in the most non-threatening manner, The Kingston Trio assured that their protest would reach the widest possible audience.

Trios: Ebba Grön

Ebba Grön: Schweden Schweden

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I don't think there's a single Swedish youth who didn't in one way or another grow up listening to Ebba Grön. I was certainly one of them. I shudder at the thought of what a terrible taste in music I would've had today if I hadn't discovered them in 1992 at the tender age of 11.

Inspired by the likes of The Clash, Eater and The Sex Pistols, they formed in the outskirts of Stockholm in 1977 by members of bands such as Urin and Pink Champagne, and soon became one of the most reputable bands in the country. They left behind three albums and a string of singles before parting ways in 1983 after their bassist Lennart "Fjodor" Eriksson (the one with the mohawk) got sent to prison for refusing to do his mandatory military service. Ironically, one of the band's songs, Totalvägra, was about written to inspire young people to refuse do their military service. At least the band practiced what they preached.

Singer, guitarist and frontman Joakim Thåström (the one in the middle) continued his career in bands like Imperiet, Peace Love & Pitbulls and Sällskapet and is today the biggest and most respected male artist in Sweden. Not to pimp my own blog or anything, but according to my humble little countdown he made the 10th best album of 2009.

Eriksson and drummer Gustav "Gurra" Ljungstedt however have both faded into obscurity.

But despite the band being inactive for 27 years (they've consistently refused to reunite no matter how many millions they're offered) their reputation lives ever on and on - various box sets and compilations have been released since the band's break-up and they've all rocketed to the top of the charts.

Trios: Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney: Little Babies

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Sleater-Kinney started as Carrie Brownstein's and Corin Tucker's side project as they were both in other bands at the time (Excuse 17 and Heavens to Betsy). Slowly Sleater-Kinney became their main focus but they didn't have a consistent drummer until they introduced Janet Weiss into the equation. The three Pacific-Northwest natives were a good fit and went on to make the rest of their catalog together.

They were one of the bigger names to come out of the Riot Grrl scene and one that was able to stay popular and current with the changing music scene. Their last album The Woods, was critically acclaimed and left people shocked when they went on hiatus on such a high note.

They made seven full-length albums in total before going on indefinite hiatus in 2006, but there's talks of reunions and side project albums in the meantime. Carrie has dabbled in other artist endeavors like acting and producing video, Janet has focused on her other band, Quasi, and Corin has focused her attentions on being a mother, though she's also been in the studio.

Trios: Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr.: Raisans

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Power trio Dinosaur Jr. recorded and released sophomore album You're Living All Over Me in '87, and like the early work of several other similar late eighties Boston-based grunge trios - Blake Babies, Sebadoh and The Lemonheads among them - the album became a seminal part of my musical development as I was moved from public school to private school in the middle of my high school years. The vomitous, psychedelic cover, with its double-skull faces turned away from the viewer, was an apt reflection of my inner turmoil at the time; twenty years later, the transformed and transformative pre-emo, post-punk feedback-heavy sound which filled my headphones and friends' smoky bedrooms still brings me back to adolescence in a single chord.

Listen loud - this stuff is meant to overwhelm the senses, prime for wallowing in teenage malaise, or merely reliving it.

Trios: Bill Evans Trio

Bill Evans Trio: All of You

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Despite being one of the most influential pianists of the last 50 years, Bill Evans democratized the piano trio. Instead of making it a piano showcase, he saw the rhythm section as equal musical partners.

On June 25, 1961, Evans brought his trio--Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums--to the now legendary Village Vanguard in New York for a full day (and night) of shows, five sets in all. The shows were recorded for a pair of influential albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debbie (later expanded, appropriately, to a trio with More from the Vanguard). But the way to get them is to go for the whole package, The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (and that's what the "purchase" link will take you to).

Sadly, Scott LaFaro died in a car crash less than two weeks after these recordings were made, so they stand as the final statement of this legendary trio.

Trios: Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross

Lambert Hendricks and Ross: A Night in Tunisia

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So, am I cheating by including this one for our Trios theme? Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross were not together long, but they left a body of work that established them as one of the great jazz vocal trios. As will be heard on this track, they were usually accompanied by a band of jazz instrumentalists, so you hear the work of three singers, but a total of about seven or eight musicians. Susan avoided this problem with The Roches by posting an a capella track. My own opinion is that vocal trios in various musical genres have made great contributions to music, and deserve to be honored this week. I can think of only three covers that Joni Mitchell has done in her career, and two were covers of Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, (Twisted and Centerpiece, if you were wondering). And A Night in Tunisia shows off their talent beautifully. The song is originally by Dizzy Gillespie, and someone else wrote the lyrics. But Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross deliver the definitive vocal version of the song. After all, there aren’t that many people who can sing it at all!

Trios: Blake Babies

Blake Babies: Rain

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The Blake Babies are Juliana Hatfield, John Strohm and Freda Love. They met while all were attending college in Boston in 1986. The story is this: Juliana painfully shy but desperate to play music and find kindred spirits; Freda, outgoing, loved by many follows Juliana to her dorm one day after seeing her walking through campus all the time with her guitar...asks her to come jam with her and a friend some time. At the tme Juliana had never played an electric guitar let alone a bass, but a bass player is what they need, so she borrows John's and learns and becomes their main vocalist and bassist. Shortly there after they go to a talk by poet Allen Ginsberg and in the questions and answer part they ask him to name their band, he suggests "Blake Babies", inspired by William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience". The name seems fitting and sticks, a band is born.

They got a lot of great reviews and garnered a following in that late 80s and early 90s college scene. Soon after Juliana went solo and did even better. In 2001 they got back together for a reunion album, and Juliana and Freda have had a side band (Some Girls) that's been off and on for a while as well. They remain friends but now live in different parts of the country, the rest is history.

Their music is folk-tinged rock, Juliana's innocent sounding voice is even more so in her early days when she was even more shy, but the music is charming.

Trios: Pugh & Friends

Pugh Rogefeldt: Här Kommer Natten

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In 1969, Torbjörn "Pugh" Rogefeldt was recording his debut album Ja, Dä Ä Dä with two giants in the Swedish psych rock scene: drummer Jan Carlsson (far left in that pic) from renowned drums & organ duo Hansson & Carlsson, one of Jimi Hendrix's favorite bands. Georg Wadenius (the one in the middle) from jazz rockers Made In Sweden, later of Blood Sweat & Tears, handled bass and electric guitar.

Pugh was only 21 when this album was cut, and you can tell from the youthful energy and playfulness that shimmers all over the whole recording, even the mellow songs.

It was rather unusual for Swedish performers to sing in their own language in 1969, and it definitely set a trend. Ja, Dä Ä Dä made it fashionable to sing in Swedish, and before you knew it you had to sing in Swedish or the huge progg movement (which should not be confused with prog) deemed you a corporate whore, America lover, a capitalist and a sellout.

Pugh made two more album in a similar style before leaving the psychedelic world for more mainstream rock that wasn't very interesting. Ja, Dä Ä Dä is perhaps the best album ever recorded in Sweden, certainly the best album ever recorded in Swedish. A whimsical, psychedelic masterpiece!

Trios: Speed, Glue & Shinki

Speed, Glue & Shinki: Stoned Out Of My Mind

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I´ve been a huge fan of that stripped-down, transparent power trio sound as long as I can remember, so this week´s theme really got my juices flowing. Lots of obvious choices immediately came to mind, but in the end I decided to settle for something just a tad more obscure.

Enter the hard rockin´ free-blues of Speed, Glue & Shinki. These Tokyo-based stoners made two rip-roaring albums in the early seventies, which ended up as (shared) number 1 and number 15 in Julian ´Japrocksampler´ Cope´s top 50 of Japanese sixties and seventies rock. Totally deserved, as the triumvirate of Masayoshi Kabe on bass, Philippines-born Joey ´Pepe´ Smith on drums and snotty vocals, and the amazing Shinki Chen on guitar put many a Western counterpart to shame. Banzai!

Trios: Ben Folds Five

Ben Folds Five: Philosophy

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Ben Folds Five? Wait... I thought this was supposed to be "Trios Week."

Don't worry, I'm not breaking the rules. Ben Folds five was a trio out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina led by the eponymous Ben Folds on piano. The band also featured Robert Sledge on bass and Darren Jessee on drums. Notice the absence of a lead guitar (or any guitar) in that line-up.

As for the name... they chose it simply because of its alliterative aspects and because "Ben Folds Five" sounded better than "Ben Folds Three." It was just another idiosyncrasy from this, often quirky, group that released three amazing piano pop records in the 1990's before disbanding at the end of the decade.

This song comes from their self-titled 1995 debut album and does a great job of showcasing the template of their sound. Ben is up front with vocals and piano. Robert's bass is fuzzed out in places and combines with Darren's drumming to provide the power of the track. Robert and Darren can also always be relied upon to provide ready harmonies to augment the sound.

Trios: Cream

Cream: Strange Brew

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For me, our Trios week must begin with Cream. I’ll explain.

I am the youngest of three brothers. My oldest brother was the perfect age to be aware of the “hippest” music that was coming out in the 1960s, and to build his record collection accordingly. He would sneer at the music that dominated the charts and AM radio, and bring home the music the hippies were listening to. One day, that meant the band Cream. As always, he would gather his younger brothers, and take us into his room, (it was the only time we were allowed in!) He would then put his newest acquisition on the record player, and we would listen. The day he first brought Cream home, we got to the end of the first side, and he exclaimed, “And can you believe that’s just three musicians?” These days, I can describe how Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker filled the space that a second guitarist would have occupied, but back then I could only marvel. I still do.

Trios: The Roches

The Roches: The Anti-Sex Backlash of the 80's

[purchase] - this CD is out of stock on their website so I'm providing the Amazon.com link

I have shared this trio of sisters before - at this point, it was just a matter of which song to choose...

After much pondering between mellow or upbeat, pulling their full catalog of CDs from my shelves and perusing tracklists until my eyes lost focus... I finally decided on this tune which, in my opinion, completely captures their wacky view of life... as well as showcases their amazing harmonies, even when they *intend* (and they do) to sing off-key - plus, frankly, I can't imagine this song ever fitting into any of our upcoming themes!

I'm still saving Mr. Sellack for Waitress Week, Cloud Dancing for Songs Based on Poems Week... and their version of The Hallelujah Chorus for A Cappella Week - are you listening, BH?... :-)

Jail: He’s in the Jailhouse Now

Whistler’s Jug Band, date unknown

Blind Blake: He‘s in the Jailhouse Now

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On February 15, 1928, Jimmie Rodgers went into the studio and recorded In the Jailhouse Now. The song became a country classic. Webb Pierce would later take the song to #1, and Johnny Cash also recorded it, among many others. For a tribute album to Jimmie Rodgers, the song was recorded by Steve Earle.

All of which is fine, but there’s one little problem. Jimmie Rodgers didn’t write the song, and he wasn’t the first to record it. The earliest known recording, from 1924, was by Whistler‘s Jug Band, under the title Jail House Blues. This is the version of the song that Blind Blake recorded in 1927, as He’s in the Jailhouse Now. Notice that Blake’s version also preceded Jimmie Rodgers. Now Rodgers was a great artist, but this was another case, so common in those days, of white businessmen ripping off black artists. I don’t know if the song was brought to Rodgers by his handlers, or if he knew its origin, so I don’t hold him to blame. But I am glad for this chance to set the record straight. And what became of the first man who decided to rip off a black artist without giving credit? I hope the title of this post says it all.

Jail: I Shall Be Released

Jerry Garcia Band: I Shall Be Released

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I could get lost in this song. The mournful vocals, the defiant lyrics, the curly-cues of cascading notes emanating from Jerry Garcia's guitar on both of his lengthy solos. It all works for me. Many have tackled this song, and some have excelled, but this version, this is the one for me.

As for the song itself, what can one say? It is one of Dylan's simplest, yet more effective songs. Three short verses, and not a wasted word. Nominally about a wrongfully imprisoned man, but thanks to covers by the likes of Joan Baez and others, it almost immediately became a metaphor for any and all injustice and repression. It is perhaps his most powerful song.

Jail: For My Lover

Tracy Chapman: For My Lover

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There are many songs which make extravagant, even obsessive, declarations of love. Tracy Chapman’s For My Lover is the only one I know of where the singer is willing to go to jail for him. In a 1988 interview in Rolling Stone, Chapman made a connection between this song and Mountains of Things. She explained it this way:

One thing that really concerns me is a sense of balance. You know, when you’re talking about material things, it’s where those things fit into your life. Then, with relationships, too, how do you position yourself in relation to other people ? It’s a fine line sometimes, trying to hold on to yourself and your own identity and either being lured into having other people define them for you or having the things around you define them for you.

Jail: Blue Wing

Tracy Grammer: Blue Wing

[purchase] - scroll down to Book of Sparrows EP

One of the things I appreciate about the acoustic folk genre is that some of my favorite artists also choose a few cover songs to sprinkle into their repertoire... and they're usually obscure gems - I have fallen in love with many a song, only to discover it's not an original... and then go happily in search of yet another new songwriter to collect and enjoy their catalog...

After Dave Carter died, Tracy Grammer put out a few CDs of his unreleased material... and then set about recording stunning tunes by some of her contemporaries - her version of Tom Russell's Blue Wing is gorgeous and haunting, and the tattoo becomes a metaphor for freedom, despite prison bars...

Jail: Attica Blues

Archie Shepp: Attica Blues

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"If I had the chance to make the decisions, every man could walk this earth on equal conditions..."

On September 9, 1971, inmates of the Attica Corrections Facility in New York State rose up in response to the death of George Jackson, the famous Black Panther radical who had recently been fatally shot by correction officers while trying to escape from San Quentin. The prisoners of Attica demanded better living conditions - one shower a week and one roll of toilet paper a month anyone? - in their overcrowded jail, where all the wardens were white and the majority of the inmates either black or Puerto Rican.

After four days of negotiations, state police took back control of Attica prison under order of then Governor Nelson Rockefeller, which resulted in the deaths of nine hostages and twenty-eight inmates. The New York State Special Commission on Attica would later state that ´with the exception of Indian massacres in the late 19th century, the state police assault which ended the four-day prison uprising was the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War´.

In outraged response, free jazz giant Archie Shepp wrote the steaming Attica Blues, which remains an amazing piece of music long after the smoke of the prison riot has lifted. Do check this one out even if you´re not really into jazz or the avant-garde, as Attica Blues has more in common with the hard-hitting funk and soul of Sly & The Family Stone or Funkadelic than one would expect from a jazz cat.

Retrospective: The Aristocrats

Neil Young: Old King
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Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate: Queen Bee
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The Kinks: She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina
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Stevie Wonder: Sir Duke
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I've mentioned numerous times here that I used to have an weekly web radio show, FiL With Sound. I played a mix of old and new music, and was fond of themed sets (and sometimes themed shows.) It ran for two years, and somewhere in the middle of it, I discovered Star Maker Machine.

I occasionally played songs on the show that I found on SMM, and it helped give the appearance that I had a bigger, more diverse music collection than I actually had. At some point, I decided I wanted to join in on the fun, but not being a writer, I started playing my own version of Star Maker Machine on the show. I would make a four- or five-track set out of songs that fit the previous week's SMM theme but had not been posted. I did some digging through my playlists, and discovered that the first time I did this was on November 18, 2008. The previous week's theme had been "The Aristocrats", so that's what my first SMM set was about.

The songs I picked to play that day were perhaps not the most adventurous of choices, but this was an important step in the journey that lead me to become a contributor here. And really, if there's a better song than "Sir Duke" out there, I've yet to hear it.

Retrospective: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

Cowboy Junkies: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

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This post is dedicated to Paul (a Hank Williams fan of the highest degree), for the vision and start-up of Star Maker Machine - synchronistically, the day Boyhowdy invited me to contribute a guest post (late-October 2008) was the day *after* I had just been laid off from my job of 19 months. SMM was just what I needed... just when I needed it: a validating reassurance of my self-worth - the economy might be crumbling... but if there's one thing I know, it's music... d*mmit (stomps foot!)...

I then made a point of reading back through the archives (starting with the Days of the Week theme, April 2008) to familiarize myself with the contributors, content and style of writing (such an enjoyable time) - however, what I also discovered was that the blog began in another incarnation a few months before that, in early-February 2008...

I adore the diversity of the submissions: the vintage... the techno... the country... the metal... the rock... the rockabilly... the Celtic... the world... etc., in addition to my comfort zone of folk, and I think our strength has been in our differences - our readership honors them all... and it feeds my personal learning and growing process too...

I realize I'm wordy... and I personalize everything... and I tend toward a Pollyanna mindset - however, my love of songs is deep and passionate and fulfilling, as is evident in all of my fellow (and sister) Star Makers as well...

I just wanted to send out my appreciation to those of you who started and evolved the SMM concept... and to those who segued from readers to contributors - whether you still post or have stepped back for one reason or another, your passion for the music is evident... and it is a joy to follow the historical stepping stones... as well as attempt to continue the tradition...

Retrospective: Songwriting

Jeff Buckley: Hallelujah

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It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth,
the minor fall, the major lift
the baffled king composing Hallelujah.

My absolute favorite theme to write for, here on Star Maker Machine? No question about it: Songwriting week.

The task was to address the process of song craft - to switch from speaking of sound and sense to attend to the development process from which music springs forth. And man, did it get intellectual in here. Our small hearty band of bloggers took to the task like a pack of starving college professors trying to prove their readiness for tenure. Several of us even emerged with highly specified sub-themes, focusing on a particular aspect or type of the songwriting process; I myself cranked out three lengthy posts on songwriting through adaptation of existing texts, as befits a coverblogger who spends his days teaching communications and culture, and his nights considering the folkways.

There were less posts that week, as it turns out - this was back when we were at it fast and furious, averaging well over 30 posts per theme, but the sheer work it required to crank out the type of depth and detail that the theme demanded resulted in but 17 entries on our logsheet. And the songs are long-gone, of course. But for sheer chutzpah and analytical depth, the writing is not to be missed. Head back into the depths of 2008 for more.

Retrospective: Tangerine Speedo

Caviar: Tangerine Speedo

Oh, what an image and song to be posted not only once, but TWICE. But alas, this was a favorite moment for me. It was September of '08 and the theme was clothing. It seemed harmless enough, until mid-week when there was an absurd amount of female flesh appearing in the pictures that went along with the posts. There were body parts sticking out every which way (due to the songs in question and their subject matter) and even the guys were starting to think it a bit much.

Then an e-mail went out about it, how a few here were starting to feel bad about the objectification going on. Being the only active female participant at that time (I think), I felt it my duty to say or do something, so I countered it with some beefcake action. There aren't many songs that allow for such things, but thank goodness for Caviar's ode to the cabana boy "Tangerine Speedo". The original post for it is here. The whole experience that week was one of encouragement and fun, and it felt good to be a part of that. I was glad I was here to be able to give that other side of the story and have it accepted so graciously.

The song is silly (but catchy), and it was before anyone told me about the unwritten "no songs since the millennium" rule, so it wouldn't have made the cut happening now, but oh, it was a funny week. Most of the sexy lady pictures and posts have since disappeared, so sorry to those who might try going back for an eyeful, you'll have to settle for beefcake.

Retrospective: Burning Hell

R.E.M.: Burning Hell

[purchase]

Patterson Hood: Burning Hell

[purchase]

Although I visited Star Maker Machine from day one... my first post here didn't come until July 9th of 2008.

I was a little scared when I was told that my first week was something called "Hell Week." I had a brief flashback to my college days and wondered what sort of horrors would be foisted upon the newbie in his first week on the team. Then it was explained to me that "Hell Week" was merely the theme for the music that week and not some hazing ritual designed to make me "worthy." I felt a lot better.

That week, I chose to submit the song "Burning Hell" from the R.E.M. b-sides compilation Dead Letter Office. That post was the first thing I ever wrote for a blog (although I think it was actually posted after my first post at my site). I had no idea what I was doing, so I just followed the templates provided for me. I couldn't believe how simple it was.

That post gave me the courage I needed to finally get up off my butt and start my own site. I don't know that I ever would have started A Fifty Cent Lighter & A Whiskey Buzz if it wasn't for Star Maker Machine. That's why my initial post here was also my favorite moment*.

Today, I'm re-sharing that original R.E.M. song along with a cover by Patterson Hood from an R.E.M. tribute album.

*A close second to my favorite moment was this post by bowhowdy. That was the moment that really let me know that I might actually be doing something right with this whole blogging thing. The fact that another contributer here had such nice things to say really stopped me in my tracks. To boyhowdy, I want to say thank you again.

Retrospective: The Dutchman

The first thing I wanted to celebrate in my history with Star Maker is the folk-blogger sub-group. Not that we have ever given ourselves a formal title, and certainly not one so clunky. But there are three of us, and when we want to post folk music here, we often check with each other to see who will take the song. And we often find that it was a good thing we asked. In considering what song to post for this, I saw only one option: The Dutchman. Let me explain.

Michael P Smith: The Dutchman

[purchase]

It all began when Susan joined us. She and I quickly discovered that anything by Joni Mitchell was a duplication risk. Later, we added Dar Williams, and sometimes Tracey Grammar to the list. But during Silly Songs week, I posted a song by Steve Goodman. I had always assumed that Goodman had written The Dutchman, and blithely said so. Susan set me straight in the comments. The song is actually by Michael P Smith, and later that week, Susan introduced me to his work by posting The Princess and the Frog. That song has become a favorite in my family. So, even though The Dutchman was never posted before on Star Maker, it is my first choice for this theme.

Steve Goodman: The Dutchman

[purchase]

Alert readers will have noticed that I said there were three folk bloggers here. The third is Boyhowdy. If you have ever visited his own excellent blog, Cover Lay Down, you know that he specializes in folk cover songs. (If you haven’t visited there, you really must do so as soon as you finish with this post.) So, now that I know that Steve Goodman’s Dutchman is one of the greatest folk covers in history, it seemed all the more appropriate to start this week with the song. Boyhowdy and Susan, thank you so much for your friendship. I can’t wait to see where it takes us next.

Retrospective: Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night

Tom Waits: Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night

Purchase


My first post on SMM was as a guest on March 8th, 2008. I had no idea what I was getting into! As time has passed I have been surrounded by bloggers who are much better writers than I am and who have much deeper music libraries than I do. But, even though I feel outclassed most of the time, I cherish my opportunity to occasionally contribute here. I'm so happy to have been a part of something so positive, open-minded, and spirited. Thank you, Paul, for the initial invitation to join.

It may be so obvious that it doesn't even need to be said, but my favorite moments from my time here have been when I have been introduced to music and artists who I had previously either not known about or who I had ignored.

I knew a guy in high school who was really really into Tom Waits. I hated that guy! Because this particular Tom Waits fan was such a distasteful human being, I never gave Tom Waits himself a chance. That all changed on April 11th, 2008 when Paul wrote about Waits here on this blog. I found the song he posted to be so compelling and so beautiful that I immediately began the process of filling out my own Tom Waits collection.

I'm so glad to have been introduced to him as an artist. He is one of my favorite discoveries of the last several years.

Thanks for the introduction, Paul - and thanks to all of my blogging colleagues for Starmaker Machine.

Morning/Retrospective: Sunday Morning

Margo Guryan: Sunday Morning

[purchase]

Margo Guryan's Sunday Morning - a pleasant sixties pop-fluff track from 1968's Take A Picture, which easily predates barely postdates the Velvet Underground track of the same name - was the very first song posted at Star Maker Machine, two years ago to the Sunday. It was brought to us by our beloved founder, Paul, who described Guryan both aptly and tersely, calling her "a 1960's style Lilly Allen (but a bit more refined)."

This coming week, in honor of our second birthday, we'll be featuring similar looks back at our current contributors' favorite moments. I've got plenty of favorites to offer, myself - beloved themes, favorite posts, songs that changed my life, and more - but I just couldn't resist calling back to our very first post as the perfect kick-off, like sticking a birthing room picture on the first page of the baby book.

Happy Birthday, Star Maker Machine. May you continue to serve as a haven for all of us.

Morning: Chelsea Morning

Joni Mitchell: Chelsea Morning

[purchase]

"Chelsea Morning" is one of my favorite early Joni Mitchell songs - it appears on her 1969 album Clouds...

From Wikipedia:

The song was inspired by Mitchell's room in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The inspiration for the first verse comes partly from the distinct décor of her apartment. While in Philadelphia, Mitchell and friends had made a mobile from shards of colored glass they had found in the street and wire coat hangers, which filtered the light coming into her room through the window and created the "rainbow on the wall". During coffeehouse performances of this song in the late 1960s, Mitchell explained that the famous stained glass was rescued from the salvaged windows of a demolished home for unwed mothers.

Although she is speaking to a lover, I think ultimately this is Joni's love song to the experience of living in the city - as the verses unfold, her description of the sights, sounds and smells is rich and vibrant and delicious:

Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I knew There was milk and toast and honey and a bowl of oranges, too And the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses Oh, won't you stay, we'll put on the day, and we'll talk in present tenses

Morning: Through the Week Edition

Sometimes a week just gets away from you. Here it is Saturday, and I haven't had a chance to post anything yet. As I try to get out the door for a family gathering, I'll keep the yakking to a minimum and celebrate a week's worth of mornings.


The Move: Mist On a Monday Morning

[purchase]

We'll start on Monday, with a dark bit of British psychedelia from The Move.


Badfinger: Sweet Tuesday Morning

[purchase]

On to Tuesday, with a somber-sounding songs with surprisingly upbeat lyrics from Badfinger.


Simon and Garfunkel: Wednesday Morning, 3AM

[purchase]

A song that would have been appropriate for last week's theme, too.


The Roland Kirk Quartet: April Morning

[purchase]

OK, here's where my conceit falls apart. I could not find a Thursday morning song, so I'll substitute "April Morning", since we're now in April, and the first of the month was a Thursday. Plus, all that introspective folkie stuff earlier in the week was getting a little old.


Chris Hickey: Friday Morn'

[purchase]

Some sad-but-resilient singer-songwriter Americana to finish out the work week.


Eels: Saturday Morning

[purchase]

It's the weekend! Time to rock out with the Eels.


The Velvet Underground: Sunday Morning

[purchase]

There are several good Sunday morning songs, but this is one of my favorites.

Morning: Morning Dew

Bonnie Dobson: Morning Dew

[purchase]

Einstürzende Neubauten: Morning Dew

[purchase]

"Take me for a walk in the morning dew my honey, take me for a walk in the morning sun my love... You can´t go walking in the morning dew today, you can´t go walking in the morning sun today...." Bonnie Dobson´s Morning Dew has long been a favorite of mine. Her apocalyptic post-nuclear folksong from 1962 has been covered many times, most notably by Fred Neil and by Tim Rose, who falsely claimed a writing credit while he was at it.

But nothing beats the treatment German noisemeisters Einstürzende Neubauten gave it in 1987. Listening to their intense interpretation, you can almost picture that desolate, barren landscape after the smoke of the big blast has finally lifted... Berliner Blixa Bargeld, also a valued part of Nick Cave´s Bad Seeds at the time, plays his guitar like it´s a scythe and whispers Dobson´s tale of doom as if his life depended on it. "What they were saying all these years is true, ´cause there´s no more morning dew..."

Morning: February Morning Drive

David Francey: February Morning Drive

[purchase]

I would like to thank Kat of Keep the Coffee Coming for introducing me to the wonderful music of David Francey. I’m not including a link to Kat, because, as I write this, her blog is off line. If anyone has more information about this, please leave it in the comments. Thank you.

David Francey grew up to age 12 in Scotland. At that point, he and his family relocated to Canada. The Francey family loved going for Sunday drives and exploring their new country, and Francey continued these explorations as an adult. February Morning Drive reflects this. Each verse is a little painting, setting a different scene encountered on one of these rides.

The purchase link above is for Amazon’s Canadian site. The album is also listed on the US site, but at collectible prices. Of course, the price at the link I have provided is in Canadian dollars.

Morning: Hills of Morning

Bruce Cockburn: Hills of Morning

[purchase]

I first heard of Bruce Cockburn in 1979, when I read a review of Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws in Rolling Stone. I was intrigued, but I didn’t get the album at the time. I got his next one, Steeling Fire. I believe Dragon’s Jaws was the first Cockburn album to become available in the United States, and Stealing Fire marked his breakthrough with American audiences. What took us so long?

Hills of Morning comes from Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws, and is the closest thing to a title track. What is the song about? By 1986, even Cockburn couldn’t completely remember. Here is what he said at that time:

Phil Catalfo: What I want to get to here, is how some of that is reflected in some of your songs in a way that is really quite exhilarating, I think, to the listener who may be Christian or not. One song in particular I'm thinking of is from an album called Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws. The song is called "Hills of Morning" and that song has always fascinated me and I wish you'd tell us something about it, how, where that song came from. Perhaps we could listen to it in a moment.

BC: Yeah, I'll keep it short because I can't remember very much about where it came from, at this point, it's a while back. Generally that whole album reflects probably the closest I've been able to come to expressing that particular kind of spirituality. The album was influenced partly by the fact that during the period that songs were being written I read all of the works of Charles Williams, who is an English writer with a particularly pronounced ability to describe spiritual things in very vivid terms. Most of his books are novels. They're sort of mystery novels almost, that deal with different elements of the occult, but bringing it around to a Christian point of view. And his own particular experience seems very strange. There's a sense of depth of being in those novels that is really both disturbing and thrilling at the same time. Anyway, that kind of pervaded the writing of the songs because the books were so much in my head at the time. But it's also the ... it was my own experience too that it was ... you know part of being a Christian is kinda getting to know Jesus. I mean you hear, again the TV guys are very quick to talk about a personal relationship with Jesus, and so on. It's a little unclear exactly what they mean by that. My own experience was that I felt that I was having a ...

Phil Catalfo: A personal relationship?

BC: A personal relationship, yeah, with a kind of ineffable being who was certainly no one other than Christ, who would occasionally put thoughts into my mind, and so on, you know, that were very clear, although the voice was a very quiet one and you had to listen for it. But it also sort of, after a while it got familiar enough, and I'd also without wanting to ... without getting into sort of being irreverent ... I kinda felt that that familiarity was something that should be encouraged, and talked about, in a way. So, you know, you hear in this song "a bunch of us were busy waiting" ... I sort of imagined myself being a street person in first century Jerusalem. And, here we are we're all sitting around in the street ...

Phil Catalfo: Pitching pennies ...

BC: In effect. Rolling bones, or whatever they did. That sort of led to the development of this song.

- from Bruce Cockburn interviewed by Phil Catalfo, "Music That Matters" programme, New Dimensions Radio, San Francisco, California,15 July 1986.

Before I found this quote, I found myself thinking of the Fool in the Tarot deck. The fool is open to new experiences, as he sets off heedlessly into the world. Is he foolish or wise? For me, it fits with this song.

Morning: Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise

Art Pepper: Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise

[purchase]

Art Pepper (´25-´82) was the west coast king of the alto saxophone. His career consisted of many highs. Some of these were related to his art, the others to heroin. Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of his extremely candid autobiography Straight Life for all the sordid details. A great read, it puts the excesses of many a rocker to shame.

Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise was originally a song from a twenties operetta. Pepper reworked it to fit his needs, assisted by Miles Davis Band heavyweights Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb, plus Conte Candoli on trumpet. You can find it on Gettin´ Together!, the follow-up to his undisputed masterpiece Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section.

Morning: Morning Comes Around

Lou Rawls: Morning Comes Around

[purchase]

Last week's theme was a tricky one - despite racking my brain for days I couldn't think of a single song I wanted to post. This week however, I knew which song I'd pick the second I was told of the theme.

Morning Comes Around is the final track on the soundtrack album for the 1973 film The Soul of Nigger Charley, the second in a trilogy of blaxploitation westerns about two escaped slaves played by Fred Williamson and D'Urville Martin.

The score was composed by Frank Sinatra's arranger Don Costa, with Lou Rawls contributing vocals on two cuts: the funky Sometime Day and this gorgeous wonder of a song. Almost half of its length consists of a slow-burning intro of strings, word-less vocals, harps and something which I'm pretty sure is a clarinet. Feel free to correct me.

Just when you start wondering if the song is ever going to take off, Rawls shows up with that mellifluous timbre of his and he soon proceeds to completely school any snotty brat who ever thought they could sing. By the time the rousing climax subsides you realise you've just heard one of the most wonderful little songs ever recorded.

They simply don't make music like this anymore.

After Midnight: After Midnight

JJ Cale: After Midnight

[purchase]

I'm unafraid to post the obvious this week, given how rare it is after all these years: JJ Cale's '71 version of his own composition After Midnight, first recorded as a demo in '66 and subsequently made famous by Sir Eric Clapton.

Thanks to pop radio repetition, After Midnight generally clings to the cultural memory in Clapton's fast-paced runaway train cocaine tones, but Cale's take on the song remains my favorite by far: bluesy and blurred with muted tictoc drumkit and guitar strings, aided and abetted by subtle barrelhouse piano, yet quiet enough not to wake the house. If you've never heard the "original", prepare to be surprised by its sultry subtleties.

After Midnight: The Vampire Edition

Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Vampire

[purchase]

Toadies: Possum Kingdom

[purchase]


I am attempting to be healthier in all areas of my life, so a midnight bedtime these days is my attempted-but-not-always-achieved goal - however, my true nature is noctural, long after everyone else has gone to bed. In the wee hours of 2 and 3 a.m., I can more easily tap into my full creativity and inspiration - I've always called it keeping "vampire hours"...

Given the fascination lately with "creatures of the night", Buffy Sainte-Marie's eerie and mysterious melody, with her vibrato voice telling a story of innocence turned to desolation, is goosebump-inducing - it's a cautionary tale to keep one's rosary close at hand...

I always thought Possum Kingdom was about a vampire, but read recently that's not the case - I will continue to believe my theory, immersing myself in the insistent beat and the erotic pull of danger... and promises of eternity...

After Midnight: The Nightfly

Donald Fagen: The Nightfly

[purchase]

I’m not sure where everyone is this week, but this post proves that, notwithstanding our theme, posts can be done in daylight hours. The Nightfly was the first song I thought of for this week’s theme. Donald Fagen recalls a time when a late-night DJ was a friend who informed his audience and played music you wouldn’t get to hear otherwise. It’s the same role we bloggers try to fill now.

After Midnight: Green Door

Cannonball Adderley with Ernie Andrews : Green Door

[purchase]

I usually tell my mother-in-law about our new theme every week. She often has suggestions for songs, and I almost never take them. But we have fun with it. She has a remarkable memory for hit songs from the late 50s and early 60s, songs she often has barely heard since then. This is one of those, sort of.

Green Door was a #1 hit for Jim Lowe in 1956. His version, in the way it is performed, is a plea from an innocent teen who wonders about a party at a club he isn’t old enough to enter. But I went looking to see who might have covered it. It turns out that the song has become a signature tune for Chrystal Gayle. There are also versions by Shakin’ Stevens and The Cramps. But I was most intrigued by this jazz version by the great Cannonball Adderley, with Ernie Andrews. In these hands, the song depicts a man who doesn’t have the password to enter a speakeasy. Not a word of the lyrics has been changed, but Adderley and Andrews have given the song a completely new meaning just because of how they perform it. This flexibility probably explains why the song endures.

Cannonball Adderley was one of the best known jazzmen of the 1950s. Ernie Andrews is not nearly so well known, but he is still at it.

I hope I may be permitted a brief moment of self-promotion. If you enjoy this music, you should know that I just launched jazz singers week on my blog, Oliver di Place.

After Midnight: Pissed Off 2 A.M.

Alejandro Escovedo & Vin Scelsa: Spoken Intro

Alejandro Escovedo: Pissed Off 2 A.M.

[purchase original version]

I have a lot of friends who are really into music, and they've turned me on to a lot of great stuff over the years, but the person who is responsible for the biggest chunk of my music collection is probably New York radio legend Vin Scelsa. His long-running weekly free-form radio show, "Idiot's Delight" is a beacon of light in New York City's radio wasteland.

Since at least the early '90s, his show has been on at night, starting at 8pm. These days, it's a comparatively concise four hours, but in it's heyday, it would often run until 2, 3, or 4 in the morning. And those long after-midnight sets were always the most magical. So somehow it's appropriate to include something from his show this week.

In the mid-'90s, Vin also curated a CD series, Grooves, of current-but-under-appreciated music that lasted all of 14 volumes. At some point during the series, he started tacking on a bonus track to each CD, recorded live on Idiot's Delight (or "Vin Scelsa's Sunday Night", as it was called for a short time). Vol. 13 featured this late-night rocker's lament from Alejandro Escovedo, just one of the many musicians Vin has turned me on to. It's from Al's June 16, 1996 visit to the show, promoting his then-current album, With These Hands (which is what the "purchase" link will take you to, and the Grooves CDs were only available through a subscription service).

I don't need to say much about the song itself, as Vin and Al do a fine job of summing it up in the intro. I will say this: It's a beautiful song for such and angry title.

After Midnight: Walkin' After Midnight

Patsy Cline: Walkin' After Midnight

[Purcase]

Somebody needed to get this late night party started, and the obvious (and perhaps namesake of the theme) choice is this Patsy Cline classic. I was surprised to see that Patsy hadn't been posted at all here already, so it's certainly due, and what better chance than the perfect theme for my favorite song of hers.

The song is odd in theme, really. A woman walking along the highway in the middle of the night searching for her man. Not sure what she's trying to find, but it makes for a catchy song, and one of my all time favorite car sing-a-longs.