Speak To Me Of Summer: July 23rd, 2017 Playlist

I did not expect this playlist to sound so trippy and heavy when I put it together. I never listened to it in its entirety, just bits and pieces, at best two or three songs in a row. Following along with all four listeners this past Sunday, I got to hear it in its raw, ragged glory. I'm really happy with it. Stylistically it's all over the place - Jim Carroll to Graham Nash to Yes to Funkadelic - but it all fits together seamlessly (mostly). 

The trippiness takes off with the Monkees' track, "Admiral Mike" and Deep Purple's "No One Came." The CSNY block has two straight ahead rockers and Nash's romantic pop tune, but Crosby's and Young's are heavy duty stoned madness. Coming out of those songs into Julian Cope's "If You Loved Me at All" only seems a release for the first minute or so, but then it veers into wonderfully craziness.

From the Bolero-esque soloing of Steve Howe on "Starship Trooper," to heavy riffing of Eddie Hazel on "Super Stupid" and Alvin Lee on "Going Home," the rest of the show is a showcase for loud, often droning, guitars. I don't know how well my handful of listeners took it, but for me, it was like a bolt was drilled into my head and filled up with stuff weird and wonderful.

Music I Like, vol 1, #4 - Speak to Me of Summer

Song	Artist	Source	Year
Wicked Gravity	Jim Carroll	Catholic Boy	1980
How Low is Low	The Godfathers	More Songs About Love and Hate	1989
See No Evil	Television	Marquee Moon	1976
Admiral Mike	The Monkees	Justus	1996
No One Came	Deep Purple	Fireball	1971
Everybody I Love You	CSNY	Deja Vu	1970
Cowboy Movie	David Crosby	If I Could Only Remember My Name	1971
Right Now	Manassas	Manassas	1972
I Used to Be a King	Graham Nash	Songs for Beginners	1971
Revolution Blues	Neil Young	On the Beach	1974
If You Loved Me At All	Julian Cope	Peggy Suicide	1991
Satellite of Love	Lou Reed	Transformer	1972
Spanish Stroll	Mink DeVille	Cabretta	1977
Just Another Night	Ian Hunter	You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic	1979
Back in the Night	Dr. Feelgood	Malpractice	1975
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight	Richard/Linda Thompson	I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight	1974
Starship Trooper	Yes	Yes Album	1971
Decline and Fall	Atomic Rooster	Atomic Rooster	1970
Enter the Riffian	Wo Fat	Psychedelonaut	2009
Sin's A Good Man's Brother	Grand Funk Railroad	Closer to Home	1970
Medusa	Trapeze	Medusa	1970
Cherry Red	The Groundhogs	Split	1971
Super Stupid	Funkadelic	Maggot Brain	1970
I'm Going Home	Ten Years After	Undead	1968

Inflammable Material: July 16th, 2017 Playlist

Loudest show yet. Sure, the week before's show had all that early metal - Sir Lord Baltimore, Death, etc. - but the show was broken up with some mellow, rootsiness from the likes of Tedeschi Trucks and Little Feat. This, my third show, started wild and never let up until the final few songs.

My favorite song this week is Queen's "Sheer Heart Attack." It's bloodier and heavier than almost any punk song from 1977. Drummer Roger Taylor had written it for the album Sheer Heart Attack in 1977 but wasn't able to finish it then. By the time it came to record News of the World the punk scene had exploded across the UK. It may not have been intended as a response to the punks, but it sure sounds like a rejoinder to all the younguns bitching about big arena acts like Queen.

One of my favorite rock stories is about Queen and the punks. I hope it's true. As the story goes, Sid Vicious was in the same recording studio as Queen. He walked up to Freddie Mercury and said "Still bringing ballet to the masses?" Mercury promptly responded, "Ah, Mr. Ferocious, well, we're trying our best." If that's not true, it's definitely in the spirit of Mercury and company.

Among the last batch of songs are a few loosely linked by the lyric "I'm a" or "I'm an." I hadn't intended to do that but once I noticed it, figured, what the heck, and went for it - "I'm glad all over," "I'm the man," "I'm an upstart," and "I'm a rocker."




Music I Like, vol 1, #3 - Inflammable Material
01. (Ain't Nothin' But A) House Party - J.Geils Band - Bloodshot - 1973
02. Too Bad - Faces - A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... - 1971
03. Hot Love - Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick - 1977
04. How D'You Ride - Slade - Slayed? - 1972
05. I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles - Please Please Me - 1963
06. Sheer Heart Attack - Queen - News of the World - 1977
07. Stiff Little Fingers - The Vibrators - Pure Mania - 1977
08. The Day the World Turned Day-Glo - X-Ray Spex - Germ Free
      Adolescents - 1978
09. Suspect Device - Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material - 1979
10. Stranglehold - U.K. Subs - Another Kind of Blues - 1979
11. Breakdown - Buzzcocks - Time's Up - 1976
12. Bomber - Motorhead - Bomber - 1979
13. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers - ZZ Top - Tres Hombres - 1973
14. Give Him a Great Big Kiss - The Shangri-Las - single - 1964
15. Looking For a Kiss - New York Dolls - New York Dolls - 1973
16. I Wanna Know Why - Aerosmith - Draw the Line - 1977
17. Rip It Out - Ace Frehley - Ace Frehley - 1978
18. Space Station No. 5 - Montrose - Montrose - 1973
19. Razamanaz - Nazareth - Razamanaz - 1973
20. Steeler - Judas Priest - British Steel - 1980
21. Lightning to the Nations - Diamond Head - White Album - 1981
22. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden - 1980
23. Hard Ride - Raven - Rock Until You Drop - 1981
24. Wheels of Steel - Saxon - Wheels of Steel - 1980
25. Green Manalishi - Fleetwood Mac - single - 1970
26. Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan - Hurdy Gurdy Man - 1968
27. All Strung Out Over You - The Chambers Bros. - The Time Has Come -
      1967
28. I'm Gonna Love You Too - Buddy Holly - single - 1958
29. Glad All Over - Dave Clark 5 - single - 1964
30. I'm the Man - Joe Jackson - I'm the Man - 1979
31. I'm An Upstart - Angelic Upstarts - Teenage Warning - 1979
32. Rocker - AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - 1976
33. I'll Be Back - ? and the Mysterians - demo - 1966

The Folly of Men: July 9th, 2017 Playlist

Yeah, so my initial brief to myself to only play music from before 1991 (the year I graduated grad school) went out the window on my second show. I didn't blow it off completely. Most of this show's songs are from before 1980, but there's one song from 1993 and another from only last year. Putting the list together, seeing what music I had, it just made sense. The Tedeschi Trucks Band fits in perfectly, both musically and historically between the Band, Little Feat, Delaney & Bonnie and the rest. And it sounded great.

The standout tracks from this list are the proto-metal tracks (#5-#9). Snake Bite from Stone Axe is the first of several mind blowing discoveries I've made during building setlists. A one-single band, it is louder and heavier than most of the heavy music released in 1971 when it appeared. The same goes for the tunes from the rest of the bands in that set. I'm really happy I finally heard Death (thanks to the awesome musical director of Ash vs. Evil Dead). There was no way Freakin' Out wasn't going to make it into one of the first Music I Like shows - and it did.

The second show was mostly fun, but I forgot how to load my MP3s into the the board and had to wait for one of the station directors to show up. Felt stupid and started fifteen minutes late. Fortunately, DJ Thrilla carried on, playing his usual killer cuts of old school disco, hip hop and soul. Then he ended with a Billy Joel song, which worked out perfectly.



Music I Like, vol 1, #2 - The Folly of Men
01. Let Me Out - The Knack - Get the Knack - 1979
02. Hard Way - The Kinks - School Boys in Disgrace - 1975
03. She's the One - Ramones - Road to Ruin - 1978
04. Boom Boom - The Animals - single - 1964
05. Freakin' Out - Death - ...For the Whole World to See - 1975
06. Snakebite - Stone Axe - single - 1971
07. Shylock - Buffalo - Volcanic Rock - 1973
08. Helium Hound (I Got a Love) - Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come -
     1970
09. Raceway - Pink Fairies - Kings of Oblivion - 1973
10. Life Is a Carnival - The Band - Cahoots - 1971
11. Dixie Chicken - Little Feat - Dixie Chicken - 1973
12. Delta Lady - Leon Russell - Leon Russell - 1970
13. Don't Know What It Means - Tedeschi Trucks Band - Let Me Get By -
      2016
14. Well, Well - Delaney & Bonnie - D&B Together - 1972
15. Keep On Growing - Derek & the Dominoes - Layla and Other Assorted
      Love Songs - 1970
16. Dog Eat Dog - Adam & the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier - 1980
17. The Jungle Line - Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns - 1975
18. Watching the Detectives - Elvis Costello - My Aim is True - 1977
19. When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin - IV - 1971
20. Gigantor - The Dickies - single - 1980
21. Godzilla - Blue Oyster Cult - Spectres - 1977
22. Tyrant - Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny - 1976
23. Someone to Talk To - Screaming Blue Messiahs - Gun Shy - 1986
24. From Your Girl - The Muffs - The Muffs - 1993
25. Morning Will Come - Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus - 1970
26. Just Another Punk - Edgar Winter Group - Edgar Winter Group
      w/R.Derringer - 1975
27. It's All Over Now Baby Blue - The Byrds - Turn!Turn!Turn! - 1965

History Lesson Part II

My musical tastes took a wild turn for the loud in high school. After deriding the Sex Pistols to a friend without having actually heard them, I heard them, thanks to Vin Scelsa. He played "Holidays in the Sun" and it was like a door in my brain was kicked open. Suddenly, there was a whole new world of sounds opened to me.

During my sophomore year I heard even more stuff that moved my tastes away from the regular rock radio songs I was listening to. At some point, again on Vin Scelsa's show, I heard "Sister Ray" by the Velvet Underground. For the uninitiated, it's a seventeen and half minute long mess of wailing guitars and droning keyboards telling the story of smacked out drag queens and murder. Then my friend Gordon played the Dead Kennedys for me. Then I started playing D&D with some older guys who played Tuff Darts and all sorts of bands from Stiff Records. Jethro Tull, Boston, even Led Zeppelin, all that sort of stuff dropped out of my music rotation.

The same time this was happening, the late, great WLIR radio out of Long Island was playing lots of New Wave and related stuff long before it made it to MTV. They also had a weekly hardcore and punk show. That's where I first heard the Angelic Upstarts, the UK Subs, Black Flag, and many, many more bands I'd become a fan of during high school.

Even more than all my friends and WLIR, it was Uppsala College's WFMU that truly turned my tastes upside down. Like today, there was all sorts of cool, far-out music on the station, but it was the two (more or less) hardcore shows that grabbed my attention. The first, and more serious, was Pat Duncan's show. The second, and the one I listened to whenever I got the chance, was Paul Cavanaugh's. Cavanaugh played a less severe mix of music than Duncan and had a studio full of characters, particularly an obnoxious curmudgeon by the name of Morbid and a Dead Head engineer. I've never been sure if they were real people or Cavanaugh doing voices. Either way, the show was a blast.

By the time I finished high school in 1984, listened to almost nothing from before 1977, the year Never Mind the Bollocks and The Clash were released. 

Righteous Stuff: July 2nd, 2017 Playlist

When I started assembling playlists several months ago, I knew I wanted something bold and exciting to kick off each show. However it came to me, I heard the opening strains of Yes' over-the-top rendition of Richie Havens' "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" (CLICK for the original). They take Haven's propulsive acoustic song into mad, overdrive territory and mix it with Jerome Moross' theme from the Western, Big Country (which I incorrectly attributed to Elmer Bernstein last Sunday). The wild combination of rock, film score, and prog excess set the perfect tone for the rest of the set and my show overall.

I always envisioned my show having an "educational" component. There's just so much rock and pop music that's slipped away or been forgotten over the years. As meaningful as any song is to a person, as emotionally affecting it is, it's a pretty ephemeral product. Every year there's a thousand (or more) new ones drowning out the older ones. I want people to hear some of the music that's been burned into my heart and soul over my life. I want people who haven't heard Steve Marriott sing "All Or Nothing" feel the same frisson I did the first time I played it. 

Each show set (so far!) starts and ends with an eclectic mix of things I dig. Sandwiched in between are collections of songs grouped by genre or something that makes sense to me in the moment. For the first show I put together a batch of Detroit bands and then some Mod classics. Down the road I've got early metal, original punk, and New Wave of British Heavy Metal tracks. 

I'm extremely happy with the first installment of Music I Like. Even limiting myself to music from before 1984 (a parameter I've since discarded), I played a great mix of heavy, psychedelic, punk, and even a little prog. I had an absolute blast doing the first show with only a modicum of errors (left a mic open, flubbed a cue, and a touch of feedback), and am itching to get back in the booth this coming Sunday.

Music I Like, vol 1, #1 - Righteous Stuff

01. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed - Yes - Time and a Word - 1970 
02. The Girl I Knew Somewhere - The Monkees - single - 1967
03. Softly Softly - The Equals - Supreme -1968
04. Take My Heart - The Romancers - single - 1966
05. Speak Now of Forever Hold Your Peace - Terry Reid - Terry Reid - 1969
06. It's All Too Much - The Beatles - Yellow Submarine - 1969
07. Baby Please Don't Go - Amboy Dukes - Amboy Dukes - 1967
08. 2+2=? - Bob Seger System - Ramblin' Gamblin' Man - 1968
09. Caught in a Dream - Alice Cooper - Love It To Death - 1971
10. House of the Rising Sun - Frijid Pink - Frijid Pink  - 1970
11. Skunk (Sonically Speaking) - MC5 - High Time - 1971
12. Fun House - The Stooges - Fun House - 1970
13. So Sad About Us - The Who - A Quick One - 1966
14. Have Some More Tea - The Smoke - single -1967
15. All Or Nothing - Small Faces - From the Beginning - 1966
16. Leaving Here - The Birds - single - 1965
17. Making Time - The Creation - We Are Paintermen - 1967
18. Motorhead - Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time - 1975
19. One of These Days - Pink Floyd - Meddle - 1971
20. Archangel Thunderbird - Amon Duul - Yeti - 1970
21. Bloodstains - Agent Orange - Living in Darkness - 1981
22. Police Truck - Dead Kennedys - single - 1980
23. Down on the Bay - The Move - single - 1971
24. Stay With Me - The Dictators - Bloodbrothers - 1978
25. Louie Louie - The Sonics - Boom - 1966
26. Rock and Roll Queen - Mott the Hoople - Mott the Hoople - 1969
27. Give It To Me - J. Geils Band - Blooodshot 1973
28. Mirror Star - Fabulous Poodles - Unsuitable - 1978
29. Have You Seen the Stars Tonight? - Paul Kantner & J.A. - Blows Against the Empire - 1970
30. There Isn't Anything Else - Wreckless Eric - Wreckless Eric - 1978

Bonus Tracks - when the next DJ didn't show up on time I had to cannibalize another setlist for some quick backup music.

31. Metal Guru - T.Rex - The Slider - 1972
32. Midsummer's Night Scene - John's Children - single - 1967
33. Skinhead Moonstomp - Symarip - Skinhead Moonstomp - 1970
34. Sweet Lady Genevive - The Kinks - Preservation Act 1 - 1973
35. Wendy - The Beach Boys - All Summer Long - 1964
36. Big Noise from Waimea - The Ebb Tides - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar  - 2003
37. Action - The Sweet - single - 1975