Go Ahead, Spit It Out!

Now I present to you, my brilliant rendition of an English bloke!  Hope you have a laugh...silly American muppet!

Go Ahead, Spit It Out!  Track Listing:

    1.    (0:00:53) Fugazi WAITING ROOM - One of my favorite songs by this Washington, D.C. punk-post-hardcore band.  This track is the opening song off their self-titled EP from 1988 (also included on 13 Songs, a combination of their first 2 EPs).  Guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty have paved the way not only in a musical sense, but also in a complete 'do it yourself' business practice.  They simplified and scaled-down their touring by not hiring unneeded workers, etc., and setup a ticket-cost plan where they would still profit, yet keep all their loyal fans following them.  They originally set ticket prices at $5 a ticket, but on the far east and west coast, they could generally not get the prices below $10 a ticket.  Fugazi is definitely an archetype in music, both for innovation and for business practices outside of the Goliath that is the music industry.
    2.    (0:03:44) The Clash THE GUNS OF BRIXTON - I'm not the biggest Clash fan, so I my knowledge isn't as refined as it probably should be.  However, this track is by far the most wicked track I've heard by this English punk trendsetters.  Joe Stummer, or John Graham Mellor, was born in Turkey and along with his brother started listening to The Beach Boys and American folk-singer and writer, Woody Guthrie - Stummer used to go by the nickname 'Woody' for awhile in homage to Mr. Guthrie.  The Clash, a name conceptualized by bassist, Paul Simonon (you can hear him today playing bass with Damon Albarn in the band The Good, The Bad & The Queen), formed shortly after Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones approached Strummer after seeing Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols in 1976.  Later that year, they made their debut opening up for the Sex Pistols at The Black Swan in England.  London Calling, which this track is presented, is one of punk rock's and music's most influential albums.  
    3.    (0:06:43) The Rolling Stones PAINT IT, BLACK - Hopefully I don't have to give too much information regarding the Stones, because they've been together for 47 years, nearly 20 years longer than my life!  This track was originally released as a single in 1966, which appeared on the US version of their album Aftermath.  Keith Richards has said that the track was not intended to have a comma in its title, and was added by the record company.  Brian Jones, early member and multi-instrumentalist of the band, has been credited to the signature riff of this song using a sitar - a classical Indian string instrument.  Jones experimented with the sitar after spending time with George Harrison of The Beatles, after he returned from India studying with the great Ravi Shankar.  Jones left the Stones in '68 and was found drowning at the bottom of a swimming pool with enlarged liver and heart due to heavy drug and alcohol use.  Oh, love the dark lyrics by Mick here, and the Middle Eastern drum patterns Charlie Watts comes up with.  Certainly a departure from their blues oriented tracks.  
    4.    (0:10:17) David Bowie SPACE ODDITY - The title track and 1969 single about the fictional launch of Major Tom!  The BBC featured this track in its television coverage of the lunar landing for Apollo 11.  Bowie later referred to Major Tom in songs 'Ashes to Ashes,' and 'Hallo Spaceboy.'   Bowie is arguably one of music's most influential artists, and has been awarded Commander of the British Empire in 2000, and knighthood in 2003, both which he declined.  
    5.    (0:13:38) Frank Zappa WHY DOES IT HURT WHEN I PEE? - Speaking of influence and commander, this freak of music was one of the most prolific musicians and artists, producing more than 60 albums with his band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.  Zappa started writing classical compositions in high school without formal studies or training, and played the drums until finding the electric guitar.  Zappa also wrote his lyrics, which often humorous, also reflected a critique on political systems, freedom of speech, mainstream education, organized religion, and abolition of censorship.  Zappa's children are: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen...maybe he took his humor a little too far?  
    6.    (0:16:12) Richard Pryor BEING FAMOUS - Speaking of humor and piss, couldn't help but to put my brother's and my all-time favorite comedian!  I have toyed with this in the past on a mix I have not released for the Funky Soul Burner entitled Sentiments Over Toast with another clip of Pryor's, and I think this will become one of my staples!  This is off his stand-up disc series, Here and Now.  
    7.    (0:17:16) Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band BEATLE BONES N' SMOKIN' STONES - Don Van Vliet and his rotating assembly of musicians produce an appendage of Zappa in light of humor and critique.  Here, he's obviously poking both at The Beatles and The Rolling Stones - John Lennon still loved the band!  Zappa and Van Vliet collaborated on pop song parodies and a script for a movie entitled, Captain Beefheart vs. the Grunt People, where the name first appeared.  Van Vliet from then on used the moniker Captain Beefheart, which was a term used by his Uncle Alan.  This track was included in the Mirror Man recording sessions, but was not released on a studio album.  
    8.    (0:20:19) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers REFUGEE - Couldn't resist putting one fine American singer-songwriters on a mix.  This is the second single off the Heartbreakers' 1979 album, Damn the Torpedoes.  The Heartbreakers are still performing today, and have only lost 2 original members, Stan Lynch (drums) and Howard Epstein who died in 2003 (bass).  Today, the lineup consists of: Tom, Mike Campbell (lead guitar), Benmont Tench (rhythm guitar and synths), Ron Blair (bass), Scott Thurston (piano and organ), and Steve Ferrone (drums).
    9.    (0:23:31) Miles Davis Quintet WATER BABIES - Finally got my ass into shape here and put another one of my heroes into a mix, not to mention the greatest quintet of all-time (in my mind, better than First Great Quintet with Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones)!  It's always difficult for me to answer who's your favorite jazz musician, other than Coltrane (he's a given), because Miles had Wayne Shorter, one of jazz's most prolific composers and sax players, Herbie Hancock, one of music's greatest innovators, Ron Carter on bass, one of the best bassist of all-time and composer, and not to mention on skins, the greatest drummer, Anthony Williams, the youngest of the quintet.  The Quintet lasted from 1965-'68, and produced 5 albums plus Water Babies (a compilation from the Nefertiti sessions), E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles In The Sky, and Filles de Kilimanjaro.  One great fact about Miles is the ending of his contract with Prestige Records.  In order for Miles to leave Prestige for Columbia, he needed to give them 4 records, so he went into the studio with his band and recorded all 4 records in 2 days (Relaxin'..., Streamin'...Workin'...and Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet)!
    10.    (0:28:20) Eazy-E feat. MC Ren 2 HARD MUTHA'S - Before his death from AIDS in 1995, Eric Wright, better known as Eazy-E, was a founding member of the monumental gangsta rap group from the west coast, N.W.A. - along with MC Ren, Dr. Dre., DJ Yella, Arabian Prince, and Ice Cube.  Eazy was a member of Kelly Park Compton Crip gang and selling drugs in order to gather the funds to invest in rapping and making a hip hop enterprise in Ruthless Records.  Unlike many mainstream rappers, Eazy truly lived the life he rapped about - drugs, guns, women, money, etc.  DJ Yella here comes up with one of the sickest beats known in hip hop and you can find other gems on this LP, Eazy-Duz-It.  
    11.    (0:32:11) Mariana Montalvo INDIA SONG - Chilean minx singing and strumming the guitar.  This track is nice, wicked, and a bit dark with her additional reverb on her vocals.  She was forced to flee from her native Chile following Augusto Pinochet's coup of 1973, and she settled in Paris in 1974.  She uses the style called, 'nuevo cancion,' which is a style that marries Latin American indigenous poetry and its traditional instruments. I got this single off the Putumayo compilation, Women of Latin America.  
    12.    (0:34:59) Melvins LIZZIE - Love the lyrics on this track.  Goes well with the oddity that is this mix.  Singer and lead guitarist, Roger 'Buzz' Osborne, and drummer, Dale Crover, are the band's most consistent members, but has since included second drummer, Coady Willis, and the other part of the power trio that is the Melvins, Jared Warren on bass.  'King Buzzo' also plays in the band Fantomas with Mike Patton.  This track is off A Live History of Glutton & Lust: Houdini Live.
    13.    (0:39:24) Pink Floyd HAVE A CIGAR - Title of this track couldn't be more fitting after the Melvins' tune!  This track is off Floyd's Wish You Were Here LP, released in 1975.  Roger Waters wrote this track as a critique of hypocrisy and greed within the music business.  The most interesting fact about this track is that the singer on the recording is not by a member of the band at all.  In fact, Roger Waters strained his voice during the recording of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' and David Gilmour refused to sing.  Luckily, English singer-songwriter, Roy Harper, was in Studio 2 of Abbey Road at the same time as Floyd was in Studio 3, and offered to sing lead on the recording.  The other track that a member of Floyd did not sing on, which I have included in an earlier podcast, is 'The Great Gig in the Sky' off The Dark Side of the Moon, sung by Clare Torry.  
    14.    (0:44:15) Death From Above 1979 BLACK HISTORY MONTH - Damn, I wish these two had a chance to make more records, because this is pretty slamming for just 2 guys!  The singer, Sebastien Grainger, also plays drums, while Jesse F. Keeler plays bass, synths, and backing vocals.  After releasing one successful album, the Canadian duo called it quits, and Keeler is now one half of the electronic duo, MSTRKRFT, and Grainger is singer and guitarist in his new band, Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains.  
    15.    (0:47:51) Pixies GOUGE AWAY - One of the sickest basslines to come to mind with the overlaying strum of rhythm guitar just before the lead comes crunching over the top.  Truly a wicked track.  Black Francis (aka Frank Black, aka Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV), Kim Deal, David Lovering, and Joey Santiago make up one of America's classic and most innovative indie band.  They originally formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986, disbanded in 1993, and reunited in 2004.  This track is off their highly acclaimed Doolittle LP released in 1989 - a 2003 poll of NME writers ranked this album as the second greatest album of all-time.  
    16.    (0:50:24) My Bloody Valentine SOMETIMES - The noise gods from Dublin!  Had the chance to see them blow out the eardrums of many ignorant and unfortunate audience members at the All-Points West festival playing just before TOOL came on.  Most hated it, well, because it was about 30 decibels louder than any other band, and they love noise.  However, my friend Chris and I thoroughly enjoyed it in all its glory and beauty.  This here brilliant track is off their most popular record, Loveless.  The Loveless album, surprisingly, is mostly recorded in mono, as one founding member, guitarist/singer, Kevin Shields felt it important that the album's sound consisted of 'the guitar smack bang in the middle and no chorus, no modulation effect.'   For this reason, you hardly make out the lyrics to any of the songs.   In 1999, Pitchfork Media named Loveless the best album of the 90s - later to be revised in 2003 by the critics to number 2 placing Radiohead's OK Computer to number one.  
    17.    (0:55:21) The Cure THE HANGING GARDEN - Have I possibly neglected The Cure in my podcasts?  This can't be true.  I haven't even put Love Song into a mix?  Wow.  Well, here's The Cure...one of the most influential bands to come out in late 70s and dominate the 80s, well, 90s, and still going.  Hanging Garden was released as a single after their label didn't think they had a releasable single for their 1982 album, Pornography, which ultimately became The Cure's first UK Top 10 album, coming in at #8.  Love the interplay of the toms/drums and bass - WICKED!
    18.    (0:59:36) Clutch 10,000 WITNESSES - American stoner rock back from Maryland, which formed in 1990.  This is a brilliant track off their 2005 release, Robot Hive / Exodus.