Thankfully Amelia likes to dance so I can play music at home with a purpose; however really delving into music for serious listening is hard to do at home with toddler duties at hand. Each morning during my thirty minute walk to work I put the iPod on shuffle and hear what happens. With the current 10,125 songs on the iPod, I never know what to expect, but often it’s more glorious than horrid.
Nick Drake- Sunday OK, so it’s Monday, but a track entitled “Sunday” is the introduction to the day. This is an instrumental which is odd coming from Nick Drake whose soft vocals really make mood of his work. The music is nice, but it seems dated without Drake’s voice. This is circa 1970 from the classic Bryter Layer album.
Café Tacuba- Que Pasare I turned up the iPod to hear Nick Drake only to get my ears blasted by a hard rocking Café Tucuba song. These guys are the Radiohead of Mexico, though they are more diverse in style. I had the pleasure of seeing them once at the Roxy Theater in Atlanta. I was one of maybe ten Caucasians in attendance at this sold out show. They don’t ever sing in English even though they are fluent.
Billy Tate-Single Life I had to look down and check to see what this was. The instrumentation is just like a Fats Domino song, which of course makes sense since it’s a Dave Bartholomew production and most likely it was the same backing band that played on Fats’ records recorded in New Orleans in the early fifties.Dave Bartholomew wrote this song and he also wrote many of Fats Domino’s hits.
New Orleans Social Club- Walking To New Orleans Another song related to Fats Domino. This was a hit for Fats Domino, but written by Bobby Charles. This version is sung by Dr. John as part of the Post-Katrina ( August 29 is coming up) New Orleans super group New Orleans Social Club. I saw Dr. John sing this at the New Orleans Jazz Fest in 2007 during a tribute to Bobby Charles at which Bobby himself was supposed to appear, but he didn’t show due to fear of being shot oddly enough, that’s another story.
Jewel King - 3 X 7= 21 New Orleans again! Another Dave Bartholomew production. This was Jewel King’s lone R&B hit in 1950. She disappeared from the scene by the late fifties.
Dicks- Rich Daddy Someone gave me this one. This is a decent punk rock anti-rich girl song- if that’s a category - “ I never had a rich daddy!” OK.
The Shaky Hands- Whales Sing I picked up this band’s CD on recommendation from Jackpot Records while in Portland, OR in 2007. They have a garage band sound, but it’s not 100% in the retro sixties sense which one normally is used to hearing.
The Go-Betweens- Darlinghurst Nights Great stuff from the Go-Betweens’ last record Oceans Apart. It’s a Robert Forster track about finding a diary from a particular time and place. The horns at the end are perfect for the song and they give the piece added substance.
Chris Stamey- Never Enters My Mind Pure pop perfection! This one never gets old. The piano is played to its highest notes which the guitar jumps around a bit. I don’t know how to explain, but this captures being in love and least in my mind.
The Congos – Congoman Via the Big Takeover magazine I learned that at least one person thinks that the The Congos produced one of the greatest reggae albums of all time, Heart of the Congos. It is good stuff indeed, complete with animal sounds in the background of many of the tracks. And so ends the walk to work.
