Listology Secret Santa: 2004 (Spot 'Em and Air 'Em Out)
Submitted by Kza on Fri, 11/26/2004 - 13:40
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- 45 Grave, “Party Time” from The Return of the Living Dead soundtrack
- The Lovin’ Spoonful, “Summer in the City” from Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful
- Gomez, “Silence” from Split the Difference
- Roky Erickson, “Haunt” from All That May Do My Rhyme
- The Flying Burrito Brothers, “Hot Burrito #2” from The Gilded Palace of Sin
- HarryHeadBanger, “Whoomp (Tag Team vs. Marilyn Manson)” [No idea if the artist or song title is right, since I obtained this in less-than-RIAA approved fashion, but there’s no denying what it is: Tag Team’s cheesy pop rap on top of a Marilyn Manson song (“mOBSCENE”, I believe). Feels more organic than most rap-rock.]
- Television, “See No Evil” from Marquee Moon
- The Mountain Goats, “See America Right” from Tallahassee
- Hominy, “Bottom of the Lake” from Hominy [Two groups on this list broke up after their first album; this is the first. You may be familiar with Jesse Sykes from her slow and moody solo work (with the Sweet Hereafter), but before that, she rocked the house with her then-husband J.W. Sykes. If I had to give this music a genre, I'd call it Appalachian Noir Rock. Great hooks and fantastic, surprisingly cinematic lyrics. If anyone would like to hear the full album, let me know]
- The Charlatans, “Codine” from Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 [Ever thought, “I love Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller, but is there a way to get the same feeling that movie gives me, only in a convenient 2 1/2 minute pop song?” Yes. Yes there is. (Note: this is an American band from the 60s, not the British band that ripped off Deep Purple’s “Hush”.)]
- Gordon Lightfoot, “Sundown” from Gordon’s Gold I
- Freelance Hairdresser, “Marshall’s Been Snookered (Eminem vs. Winifred Atwell)” from 20 great cuts – not available in the shops
- The Pillows, “Happy Bivouac” from Happy Bivouac [Power-pop trio from Japan, known mostly for contributing songs to the anime FLCL. A shame that most Americans won’t give time of day to songs not sung in English; these guys could be huge.]
- The New Pornographers, “Jackie” from Mass Romantic
- Spoon, “Anything You Want” from Girls Can Tell
- The Constantines, “Young Lions” from Shine A Light
- mc chris, “Bad (dd) Runner” [You may already know Chris Ward, a.k.a. mc chris, from his vocal work on Adult Swim shows such as Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Although, as I understand it, he started rapping mostly as a joke, I think he's got a lot of talent and a great sense of wordplay. This particular song has an interesting history: he put an acapella version of "Fett's Vette" (see below) free on the web for people to remix, and as a prize, the person who made the best remix would get a song written about him or her. The winner, Baddd Spellah, was honored with this song. (His remix, The Good, the Baddd, and the Ugly is available for free and truly is awesome.) I particularly love how samples from Blade Runner are used the same way Wu-Tang used kung-fu samples.)
- Roky Erickson, “Don’t Slander Me” from You’re Gonna Miss Me – The Best of Roky Erickson
- The Long Winters, “New Girl” from When I Pretend to Fall [Not to spoil or anything, but this song has one of my favorite lyrics: "Twice you burned your life's work/Once to start a new life/And once just to start a fire."]
- 999, “Homicide” from No Thanks – the 70’s Punk Rebellion
- Overlorde, “Snow Giant” from Overlorde EP [Overlorde, as far as I can tell, were an early 80s metal band that never made it (although they're still together in some form). I first heard them about 5 years ago on a Metal Blade box set, with a song called "Keeper of the Flame", from 1982, I believe. That song hit me like a crack pipe; metal, but with a great, hooky chorus. Much to my companions' dismay, I couldn't stop singing it. Unfortunately, the box set went off to Australia with its owners, and I've never been able to find it again. I did find this, however, on the Overlorde website, and it'll do. Very British New Wave of Heavy Metal, like a more poppy Iron Maiden. If Erol Otus art was synaesthized into music, it would be this song.]
- Life Without Buildings, “New Town” from Any Other City [The other band that broke up after the release of their only album. Imagine if Harriet Wheeler of the Sundays decided she wanted to be Mark E. Smith of the Fall, but the band didn't change their music one iota to compensate -- that's Life Without Buildings. Despite that (hopefully) intriguing description, this song downplays some of their Fall-esque tendencies (especially when compared with "The Leanover" or "PS Exclusive") in favor of a slow build. But once it gets going, with singer Sue Tompkins chanting "Looking in your eyes, looking in your eyes"... man, it gets me hopping every time.]
- mc chris, “Fett’s Vette/Bench Warmer (skit)” from Life’s A Bitch and I’m Her Pimp [The song that got mc chris noticed, used briefly in an episode of Sealab 2021. ]
Author Comments:
I'm a pop kind of guy. I like my songs short and catchy. So my 2004 Secret Santa mix is full of songs I consider pop. Admittedly, none of the stuff on here made the Top 40 charts (at least, not in these versions), but if you're looking for challenging music (here defined as stuff like Radiohead's Kid A, Autechre, Ornette Coleman, M83, or, based on the bits I've heard, The Fiery Furnaces), then you're listening to the wrong disc.
(Okay, the Life Without Buildings song may be seem challenging on the first listen, but give it a couple spins, and it turns into pop, I swear.)
Also, as I was ordering these songs (yes, I actually put some thought into the ordering, which, if you know me, is shocking), I noticed that a kind-of theme developed over the first 12 songs or so. There seems to be a "Dark Side of Americana" thing going on when you place these songs next to each other. I'm curious to see if anyone else thinks so as well.
Haven't heard of some of the stuff on this, but I really like some of your choices like "See No Evil," "Homicide" and "Young Lions." Seems like a really good mix. Maybe I'll be one of the two lucky folks to get one. I'll have to post mine too.
Thanks! That you like some of the choices is pretty high praise, I think (Looking over your Music want list, for example, I only recognize six artists -- your music knowledge is awe-inspiring.)
If you don't get it, and would like to hear it, I'd be happy to send it to you!
Got your CD and loved it, thanks!
Awesome! You're welcome!