extra mayhem - 15th july 2007

[wow, alright, so, my first podcast since late june. i'm done cursing the air conditioning, the new board (which i celebrate, not curse), and my impending surgery.

i should be back for my sunday night show on the 29th, but no promises. i will be off of the wednesday night show until early august, but this blog will continue to update in the meanwhile. think of it as a quasi-summer vacation.

thanks to chuck carroll for filling in for me last week. he did a bang-up job. mad dog will be filling in for me this wednesday on indie/rock mayhem and kathy clark next sunday on extra mayhem. meanwhile i'll be plotting a great album for the show on the 29th. now, onward.]

J's Extra Mayhem Podcast: 15th July 2007 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Jason Isbell - "Chicago Promenade" [so i'm now officially obsessed with two songs of of sirens of the ditch, this and "dress blues." the album is a winner through and through and my trip prevented me from catching him in raleigh this past week. so i'm going to lasso him in charlotte in august.]
Blondie - "Hanging On the Telephone" [parallel lines opens with this song - it's blistering, brilliant post-punk that just barrels through the chorus. i love it.]
Helium - "Pat's Trick" [from their first full-length LP, dirt of luck. i first heard helium on an episode of beavis and butt-head when they watched the video for this song. and i actually saw mary timony years ago open for sonic youth. but i'd never explored helium until recently and now i'm a huge fan.]
Love - "Alone Again Or" [winner of the most confusing song-title in rock history award. from the lovely forever changes album. love is an entity all its own, with a sound that stands so rooted in its time period, yet outside of it at the same time. rest in peace, arthur lee.]
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Black Moth Super Rainbow - "Rollerdisco" [from the excellent dandelion gum, whose praises i can't sing enough of. go get this record now.]
Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise - "Once Upon a Time" [one of my favorite singles of all time - from their self-titled debut. this was a 'buzz bin' video when i was in high school. and the song's historical references, musical allusions and smokey, bluesy singing had me fascinated from day one. i've been underwhelmed by what i've heard by them since, but their first album isn't bad at all.]
Johnny Russell - "Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer" [from the album of the same name. i first heard this song on a great americana show on QFS a few years ago and have had it in the back of my head since. luckily, in my trip this week, i found a vinyl copy of this record and snagged it for my collection. a classic country sing-along anthem.]
Iron Maiden - "The Trooper" [from piece of mind. as an album, i'm more partial to the better produced powerslave, but as far as maiden songs go, "the trooper" is probably my all time favorite. i only pull it out every now and then, but this was one of those times.]
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Josh Ritter - "Girl in the War" [from 2006's the animal years, a song that has never stopped being amazing. i first heard this on a live radio session recording and drooled over it until this album came out. he'll be playing at guilford college this tuesday as part of the EMF series this summer. and i'm still hoping we can get him in the studio for an interview that afternoon. i'll announce it here if it comes about. stay tuned.]
Tom Waits and Kronos Quartet - "Always Keep a Diamond in Your Mind" (live) [a performance for the healing the divide foundation which works to promote peaceful solutions to various world problems. the 'holiness' waits refers to is the dalai lama who was in attendance at this show in 2005. other mp3s of this pairing of waits and the kronos quartet exist out there, so go hunt them up. well worth hearing.]
Beastie Boys - "14th Street Break" [from the new the mix-up album. instrumental beasties. it's good for you.]
Echo and the Bunnymen - "Silver" [from ocean rain, which sadly is the only echo album i own. but i will rectify that someday. in the meantime, i'll just keep enjoying this one. a. lot.]
Focus - "Hocus Pocus" [many a shambling senior-year party centered around a howling, spirited run through of this song, cranked at 11 on the stereo. if you've never been blessed with this song, from the moving waves album, well, sit back and enjoy. you'll scratch your head. you'll wonder what's going on. then you'll give way to the awesome riffage and intense vocals. that's right. i'm not giving this away. you need to get on the podcast and hear it. now.]

[tonight's wholesale album comes from the halcyon days of 1979. its roots lay in punk, post-punk, the fringes of new-wave, noise, pop and everything else under the british radar at the time. swell maps are a band that have gone criminally neglected in the larger post-punk narrative of rock and roll, yet the work of nikki sudden, epic soundtracks, jowe head and richard earl is essential in understanding bands that came after: a lot of the great indie-rock movement of the late-80s to mid-90s couldn't have happened without swell maps' chaotic, propulsive and dynamic songs. so tonight, we look to their full-length debut. tonight's wholesale album of the week is swell maps' a trip to marineville.]

Track Listing

1. H.S. Art [included in podcast]
2. Another Song
3. Vertical Slum
4. Spitfire Parade
5. Harmony in Your Bathroom [click to listen.]
6. Don't Throw Ashtrays at Me!
7. Midget Submarines [click to listen.]
8. Bridge Head (part nine)
9. Full Moon in My Pocket
10. BLAM!! [click to listen.]
11. Full Moon (reprise)
12. Gun Boats
13. Adventuring into Basketry [click to listen.]
14. My Lil' Shoppes 'Round the Corner

Swell Maps - "Loin of the Surf" [a song from an additional 4-song EP that the band inserted along with the original album. i'm not sure whether these tracks are considered part of the album or not - i would assume not, since the album's closing track has a sort of closing feel to it. but click here to listen and absorb.]
Swell Maps - "International Rescue" [if you purchase the vinyl re-issue of the record, side 4 is a collection of songs recorded around the same time but, ultimately, ended up on no official swell maps release. this is one of them. an incredibly good song - a shame the digital download of the album doesn't include these bonus tracks.]

That'll do it for this week's show. Hope you enjoyed. I'll be back in two weeks like I said, but check for frequent updates here on the blog as I progress through my recovery. Until then, take care.