The Weekly Meat

My Top 12 Deserted Island Albums

The thing about this exercise is that you have to think about longevity. If I were to be stuck with only 12 albums to listen to over a too-long period of time, I'd want the ability to choose between them based on mood, genre, and so on.

Herewith, then, my top dozen albums for your deserted island listening pleasure.

 

The Memphis Record — Elvis Presley
The slim, comeback-y Elvis was my favorite — albeit brief — era for him. Great songwriting on this record (not by him, of course); great arrangements; great, soulful performance. The King at the height of his game.

London Calling — The Clash
My introduction to The Clash, and to Punk, itself. Profound impact. 

Exile on Main Street — The Rolling Stones
If forced to choose, I'd have to say I'm more of a Stones guy than a Beatles guy. Several great albums to choose from, but for my money, you can't beat the workman-like churning blues of Exile....

At Folsom Prison — Johnny Cash
I love some of the American Recordings, but too much of it, and I'd probably commit suicide before I got off the island. Instead, I'll take this recording — which, like with Elvis's Memphis Record, bottles Johnny at the peak of his powers. 

Born to Run — Bruce Springsteen
Because it's still that good. That's why.

Horses — Patti Smith
Ditto.

Run-D.M.C. — Run-D.M.C.
Old school, with simplistic, now-cheesy drum beats, to be sure, but it takes me back. The bit of rap gold that always slays me is toward the end of Sucker MCs. After two+ minutes of listening to Run's young alto voice, DMC gets his chance with "I'm DMC in the place to be, I go to St. John's University; and since kinde-garten I acquired the knowledge; and after 12th grade I went straight to college" and he just booms.

Soul Station — Hank Mobley
I'll need some jazz. Tough call between this and Somethin' Else, but on an island, and wistful, Hank gets the nod over Cannonball Adderley.

My Aim Is True — Elvis Costello
I can't have Presley without Costello. This album is arguably his best.

Bringing It All Back Home — Bob Dylan
So much Dylan to choose from, but I'll take the creativity and fury of this record over the melancholy of Blood on the Tracks. Classic.

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got — Sinéad O'Connor
I'll need a lady on the island to both whisper and scold in a way just as angry, but softer, than Patti Smith. I have a nostalgic attachment to this album, but it's an objectively strong one, and I'll listen to it often. 

1928 Sessions — Mississippi John Hurt
Because of how he was recorded, who he was, and how he sang and played, these Mississippi John Hurt recordings make you feel like you are his only audience. Some of the most intimate recordings I've ever heard.

 

And if you're going to bitch about the double albums on here (The Memphis Record, London Calling, and Exile...) you can go screw; I'm stuck on a frickin' deserted island here!

 

P.S. If we have similar musical tastes, you can follow me over on ThisIsMyJam, for some weekly gems.

The Best Songs About Hockey

Ladies and genetleman, in light of the NHL and the NHLPA finally reversing their anal-cranial inversions and returning us to our regularly-scheduled programming, I give you the top 15 songs actually about hockey.

Note: I'm foregoing songs unrelated to hockey but for their title, like Super Furry Animals' "Ice Hockey Hair" or The Vandals' "Change the World with My Hockey Stick." I'm also skipping some great songs with passing mentions of hockey, like Joni Mitchell's "Raised on Robbery."

I've included three by the excellent strictly hockey band The Zambonis, whom, yes, I've seen in concert — in all their vintage Jofa glory. And yes, whose entire catalog might as well have been included (and is well worth a listen).

In any case, here they are...

15. Gordie and My Old Man — Grievous Angels

14. Big League — Tom Cochrane
      Yes, the same guy who gave the world the horrid "Life is a Highway."

13. Fifty Mission Cap — Tragically Hip
     The tragically hockey story of Bashin' Bill Barilko!

12. You High Sticked My Heart — The Dinks
     Hockey punk!

11. Wendel — The Zambonis*
      Because where else can you get ballad lyrics like "I saw him take out Kovalev"?

10. Hockey — Jane Siberry

9. The Ballad of Wendel Clark — The Rheostatics
    So many Wendel Clark ballads, so little time....

8. Away Game — The Zambonis

7. (I Wanna Drive the) Zamboni — The Gear Daddies

6. Hit Somebody — Warren Zevon
    The ballad of a hockey goon. Because "What's a Canadian farm boy to do?"

5. Dangle, Snipe & Celly — Sammy Ob (w/Kid Pudi)
    Hockey rap!

4. Slapshot Man — The Zambonis

3. Time to Go — Dropkick Murphys
    Other locals have tried — with some success — but it's hard to compete with the Dropkicks for a home team anthem.

2. Fireworks — Tragically Hip

1. The Hockey Song — Stompin' Tom Connors
    Come on, nothing beats Stompin' Tom Connors.

Honorable Mention (not about hockey, but the hockey world is a better place for their existence):

Brass Bonanza — Jack Say
God Bless America — Kate Smith
Canadian Gold (new HNIC theme song) — Colin Oberst
O Canada — Edmonton Oilers fans

Mixtape: 2012-2013

Each year around the holidays, I do a mixtape for family and friends, as a way of saying, "You must hear this. Now." Well, dear reader, consider yourself a friend.

Download at will. And lemme know what you think in the comments. Or over on the Twitters.

Playlist:

1. Game of Pricks — Guided by Voices
2. Once Before — The Remains
3. Amen, Brother — The Winstons
4. When I See You — Macy Gray
5. Mouth to Mouth — The Vaselines
6. There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis — Kirsty MacColl
7. Rebel Rouser — Duane Eddy
8. God Save the Queen — Neil Young
9. Shake (live) — Otis Redding
10. Like a Rolling Stone (live) — Jimi Hendrix
11. T.N.T. — AC/DC
12. Waxies Dargle — The New Dubliners
13. Peg O' My Heart — Dropkick Murphys
14. Bottle of Smoke — The Pogues
15. Soldier Boy — Mason Jenning
16. Thrasher — Neil Young
17. L.A. Freeway — Guy Clar
18. Oh, Death — Ralph Stanley w/Gillian Welch
19. Frankie and Johnny — Al Bernard
20. Time's a Wastin' — June Carter
21. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? — She & Him
22. Barrytown — Steely Dan
23. Oasis — Amanda Palmer

Download zip file containing individual MP3s

 

P.S. Hat tip to @therichbrooks for this year's fabulous cassette photo.

Kick Out the Jams

As I'm about to embark on an arduous ~7500-mile flight, just a quick post to say that music-loving friends of TWM can follow along with the eclectic and oft-updated playlist over at This Is My Jam — currently featuring a solid sausage-party anthem by the obscure Brit-Punk band Tenpole Tudor.

Hey!

Hey. Lately, I've been thinking about great songs with titles in common.

 

 

Download the following Hey! playlist (zip file of individual MP3s):

Hey — Pixies
Hey America — James Brown
Hey Bartender — Floyd Dixon
Hey Joe — Jimi Hendrix
Hey Jude — The Beatles
Hey Hey, My My — Neil Young
Hey Ladies — Beastie Boys
Hey Lolly Lolly — Woody Guthrie
Hey Lupe — Los Straitjackets
Hey Mister, That's Me Up On the Jukebox — James Taylor
Hey Pocky Way — Neville Brothers
Hey Porter — Johnny Cash
Hey Tonight — Creedence Clearwater Revival
Hey, Good Lookin' — Hank Williams
Hey! Hey! Hey! — The Stanley Brothers

Or if you're connected with me on Spotify, check out the massive director's cut extended Hey! playlist there.

 

Lagniappe:

• Some jazz Hey!
• Some punk Hey!

 

The Greatest Songs Ever Written ... about Heroin

Appropos of nothing (don't fear) — it occurred to me that there are simply dozens and dozens of outstanding songs about one of the most devastating recreational drugs known to man. I've skipped tunes like the Beatles' Happiness is a Warm Gun with questionable intent/lyrics, and focused instead on those explicitly and unapologetically about heroin. Some are clearly or admittedly written from experience; some may glorify, some may be neutral, some try their best to convince us not to go down that road. I don't differentiate here; rather, judge them solely on their musical goodness.

Here are some spoonfuls of the purest stuff.

 

Velvet Underground - Heroin
Velvet Underground - I'm Waiting for the Man
Neil Young - Needle and the Damage Done
Jim Carroll - Wicked Gravity
Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers
Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks
The Mighty Hannibal - The Truth Shall Make You Free
Hüsker Dü - Pink Turns to Blue
The La's - There She Goes
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
Jane's Addiction - Jane Says
John Prine - Sam Stone
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
Everclear - Heroin Girl
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Needle and the Spoon
Maggi, Pierce and E.J. - One More Time
Guns N' Roses - Mr. Brownstone
James Brown - King Heroin
Cab Calloway - Kicking the Gong Around
50 Cent - A Baltimore Love Thing
Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation
Joni Mitchell - Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire
Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay
Rocket from the Tombs - Ain't it Fun
The Stranglers - Golden Brown
Love - Signed DC
Cracker - Low
Bert Jansch - Needle of Death
The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet

Season's Greetings

As the most glorious and holy day of the year approaches, I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish you and yours a peaceful and joyous time this Sunday. Enjoy, folks. Be safe. Share the game with those you most cherish. Praise Touchdown Jesus.

 

And remember the words of David Allan Coe: You can count on beer!

Mixtape: 2011-2012

Each year around the holidays, I do a mixtape for family and friends, as a way of saying, "You must hear this. Now." Well, dear reader, consider yourself a friend.

Download at will. And lemme know what you think in the comments. Or over on the Twitters.

Playlist:

1. He's Making a Tape — Wild Billy Childish and the Musicians of the British Empire
2. Hawaii — Young Canadians
3. Hey Lupe — Los Straitjackets
4. California Man — Cheap Trick
5. Cynical Girl — Marshall Crenshaw
6. Fields of Athenry — Dropkick Murphys
7. R.A.M.O.N.E.S. — The Ramones
8. Fractures in Plaster — Superchunk
9. The Long Black Veil — Lefty Frizzell
10. Stormy Weather — Phil Phillips
11. Cold Cold Ground — Tom Waits
12. Thrasher — Neil Young
13. Creep — Amanda Palmer
14. Cupid — Sam Cooke
15. Shake a Tail Feather — The Five Du-Tones
16. Lose Yourself — Eminem
17. The Brews — NOFX
18. On This Day in History — Last Stand
19. White Riot — The Clash
20. Nobody's Hero — Stiff Little Fingers

Download zip file
(contains individual MP3s)

Liner Notes:

1. He's Making a Tape: If you don't know the Billy Childish, you should make a point to.

3. Hey Lupe: ¡Damas y caballeros, Los Lobos con Big Sandy, straight off of Rock en Español, Vol. 1! Sloopy who?

7. R.A.M.O.N.E.S.: I have successfully taught my kids to spell Ramones. Score one for punk rock.

9. The Long Black Veil: The original.

10. Stormy Weather: Haunting.

14. Cupid: Sam Cooke's voice on this is pure beauty.

17. The Brews: "Friday night we'll be drinking Manischewitz / going out to terrorize goyim / stomping shagitz, screwing shiksas / as long as we're home by Saturday morning / cause hey, we're the Brews / sporting anti-swastika tattoos / oy oy, we're the boys / Orthodox, Hasidic, O.G. oys!"

20. Nobody's Hero: My favorite underrated punk band.

Punk 101: Punk Rock for Beginners

Yes, PUNK is too fast, it's too loud, you can't quite make out all the lyrics, and it's got a shitty attitude. That is precisely why I like it.

But maybe you're different.

Say you never liked it. Never understood the appeal. Whatever. You tried it once in high school, because the disaffected art crowd was doing it. But you never quite got into it. You rebelled in a different way, or maybe not at all.

This post is for you, dear reader. Let me show you the ways.

It will only hurt a little bit.

 

Punk 101

We start off nice and easy, learning the fundamentals with these six gentle tunes — grounded in pop, and hand-picked for novice ears, and even safe for most work environments.

Dead Milkmen — Punk Rock Girl
The punk-rock ear-worm. Currently my 4-year-old E-O's favorite song.

Suzi Quatro — Wild One
Suzi Quatro's mainstream turn on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero gave me my first of many crushes on a punk-rock girl. Like a gritty, female version of, say, Duane Eddy.

Modern Lovers — Roadrunner
God bless you, Jonathan Richman. Best. Driving song. Ever.

Mission of Burma — Academy Fight Song
Accessible music, and lyrics for thinking people.

Runaways — Cherry Bomb
Hello world...

Ramones — R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
Simple, self-referential, pogo-inducing goodness.

 

Punk 301

Prerequisite, Punk 101

In this session, we move on to bigger, faster, louder, more. See how loud your car stereo can get. Open the windows. Disturb the peace a bit. See how the world reacts.

We'll listen to six classic tunes that each deserve their own stations on Pandora.

The Clash — White Riot
The Clash were a particular mix of rock and punk and ska and world music. This tune was as straight-ahead punk as they ever got.

Sleater-Kinney — Words + Guitar
I want it — way, way too loud....

Stiff Little Fingers — Wasted Life
Maybe my favorite song from maybe my favorite punk band of all time.

Wire — 12XU
Crisp guitar, bass, drums, simple vocal, air-punching chorus.

The Misfits — Last Caress
Oh, Glenn Danzig, you little scamp!

Circle Jerks — I Wanna Destroy You
Good rockin' tonight.

 

Punk 501

Prerequisite, Punk 301

In this advanced session, we begin to lose rounded edges, acoustical subtlety. But Punk is not concerned with such matters, and neither should you be. Stand up now — crowd yourself bodily into the live show of sweat, blood, beer, and snot — break a guitar string, shred your finger, and turn it way up for these final six:

McRad — Weakness
Philly skate-punk legend Chuck Treece!

The Vandals — Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government)
The Vandals out-Dead Kennedys-ing the Dead Kennedys.

Gorilla Biscuits — No Reason Why
Great example of a mixed- to up-tempo punk.

Minor Threat — I Don't Wanna Hear It
A minute-and-a-half of pure musical thrashing.

Bikini Kill — Suck My Left One
Smirk.

X-Ray Specs — Oh Bondage! Up Yours!
Punk saxophone, people!

Patti Smith

"Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine..."   —Patti Smith

 

Patti Smith's album Horses is about art and poetry and music and myth in all the ways Patti Smith and early-lover Robert Mapplethorpe had hoped to mix those genres. It is a proper album—a bit of a commitment—in the way that Coltrane's Love Supreme is. It pulls you in, asks that you stick with it, and pays you off in the end.

Still, I came late to the party and finally got around to buying it in the early '90s. I had just been through a particularly grueling breakup, and the album moved me in ways no music had before or since. Emotionally. Spiritually. Sonically. Physically. It is powerful and honest yet strikingly cool in a way that I want to be all those things. And just so damn good. If it had never been released, it would still sound as new today as it did in 1975.

I've been thinking about and listening to a lot of Patti Smith again lately, as I recently finished reading her Just Kids, which won the 2010 National Book Award for Non-Fiction, and which is a really fascinating read.

Smith somehow became the misfit queen of the Chelsea Hotel and the Zelig of Greenwich Village at a time when the Village was the Brooklyn of everything.

Even just the short-list of the artists and musicians she dated is a who's who of cool. Mapplethorpe, Jim Carroll, and Sam Shepard, before marrying former MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith.

Along with Joe Strummer, Patti Smith is one of the top musicians on my all-time list. Like Strummer, she influenced countless scores of musicians, whether they realized it or not, some of my favorites among them. From the Runaways and the Slits, to PJ Harvey (particularly on Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, which sounds for all the world like she is channeling Patti Smith), to Sleater-Kinney. For good or ill, it's hard to be punk and female without owing some debt to Patti Smith.

And, in smaller part, I too owe some debt to Patti Smith, as I blast her records in my own painting studio, creating my own art, conjuring up my own personal spirituality, sorting my own words, my own language, expression, emotions, alleviating loss, eluding, alluding, dreaming.

Just some kid, me too.

 

Songs by Patti Smith:
Patti Smith — Piss Factory (1974)
Patti Smith — Gloria (1975)
Patti Smith — Till Victory (1978)
Patti Smith — People Have the Power (1988)
Patti Smith — Jubilee (2004)

Songs about Patti Smith:
Eric Andersen — Wild Crow Blues (1975)
Jim Carroll — Crow (1980)
Thurston Moore — Patti Smith Math Scratch (1989)