J's Indie/Rock Mayhem

Playlists, podcasts and music from WQFS Greensboro's J's Indie/Rock Mayhem

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

extra mayhem - 27th august 2006

[well, absurdly late i know, but this is the first time i've ever allowed a lapse like this. personal dealings can cause headaches. but by the end of this weekend, i'll have caught the calendar up through tonight's show. so, for the time being, we're heading back about 3 weeks to the final episode of j's extra mayhem. it was a humdinger and i thought i went out with a grande bit of style. so here we go.]

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Wire - "I Am the Fly" [from my personal favorite wire album, chairs missing. wire's seminal first three albums recently got re-issued again, this time without bonus tracks. i really don't know if there was any remastering done, but for my money, the mid-90s re-issues are better worth your time if you can find them. lovely bonus tracks on all three albums.]
Josh Ritter - "Kathleen" [this song really never gets old. from his wonderful third album hello starling.]
Silver Jews - "Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed" [it's true. sometimes, even ponies, get depressed. from the excellent tanglewood numbers album.]
Wilco - "Box Full of Letters" [the first wilco song i ever heard. from their debut album a.m. which, by the way, while not nearly as good as trace, is still a damn fine record. "casino queen," while somewhat silly, is pure gold.]
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the Mountain Goats - "Woke Up New" [from the stellar album get lonely. the opening lines to this song are simply heartbreaking and it doesn't get much better, but man is darnielle a tremendous songwriter. click here to download.]
Luna - "Double Feature" [from penthouse which i am officially putting on retirement until i buy some other luna albums. what a record.]
the Lemonheads - "The Outdoor Type" [from car button cloth. i love the easy charm of dando's voice on this song. my favorite line being "what if something's on t.v. and is never shown again?" the type of worries people honestly have.]
Sam Cooke - "A Change is Gonna Come" [pitchfork's # 3 song of the 1960s, a devastating anthem of the civil rights movement and social upheaval in general. the somewhat overcooked production is totally countered by cooke's delivery. god bless that man. click here to download.]
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Adam Thorn - "Where's the Freedom?" (live) [one of two songs adam played live on j's indie/rock mayhem back on the 23rd. enjoyable, catchy and witty. i like it. click here to download.]
the Mekons - "Memphis, Egypt" [the first mekons song i ever heard. from rock 'n' roll which is far superior to ryan adams' album of the same name. i heart the mekons.]
Tricky - "Christiansands" [from maxinquaye. the face of trip-hop for many years. i saw the 5th element recently which he was in, so it prompted me to play some of his best work.]
Ray Charles - "That Lucky Old Sun" [from modern sounds in country and western music. a needlesly long name for a masterpiece collection of charles interpreting country hits of the day. this record is gold from head to toe.]
Fairport Convention - "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" [sandy denny's brilliant song from unhalfbricking. this song has haunted me since the first time i ever heard it and it continues to do so. if you've never heard fairport convention and appreciate folk-rock, then do yourself a favor and get your ears on it. now.]

[i warned people that i'd try to go out with a bang. i thought, what album could possibly both be progressive and throught-provoking and yet rock and give people just a great time listening?

the velvet underground are one of those bands whose influence has become so absorbed in popular music that it's all but really disappeared. it's no longer obvious where the velvet underground's stamp on american popular music begins and ends. it's almost as if they always existed at times. while their first album is a masterpiece, and their third and fourth are as well in their own way, it's their second album, the last with founding member john cale, that comes to my mind time and time again as an album with little to no peers. it's an album for people who love albums. it's hard to pull individual tracks, though reed made it easy with the short and catchy title track as the opener. but to listen to the whole record is to be absorbed into something far beyond the sum of its parts.

most exciting for me was getting to play, in its entirety, the riveting, 17+ minute final track, "sister ray." there are few songs in rock and roll as visceral and all powerful as "sister ray," and to truly sit and listen to it is to marvel at sound itself.

so, without further ado, the final wholesale album for 2006 is...]




Track Listing

1. White Light/White Heat [click to download.]
2. The Gift
3. Lady Godiva's Operation [click to download.]
4. Here She Comes Now
5. I Heard Her Call My Name
6. Sister Ray [click to download.]

Mutual Admiration Society - "Windmills" [normally this would be the spot for the wholesale teaser, but with this being the last show, there's no reason for that. instead, i left off with this version of toad the wet sprocket's "windmills" performed by glen phillips (ex-toad) and nickle creek as mutual admiration society. it's pretty, sweet and a nice way to wind things up.]

I've had a blast doing this show over the summer and definitely hope I can do it again in the future. Getting to share some of these albums with you listeners and readers has been a real joy. I'll be back to just the once a week show until next summer at least, so until next time I talk to you, take care.

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