Questions Are a Burden to Others: Jeff’s 2018 Covers Songpile 1

My favorite cover songs that came my way during the first half of 2018, as usual segued blah-blah-blah.

Part 1:

1. Plasticsoul “Biff Bang Pow” (The Creation cover—Therapy 2017) (0:00)
2. Leopold and His Fiction “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” (Bob Dylan cover—Darling Destroyer 2017) (2:48)
3. Low Cut Connie “Controversy (Prince cover—Dirty Pictures (Part 1) 2017) (5:32)
4. Scrawl “Public Image” (Public Image Ltd. cover—Nature Film 2008) (8:25)
5. The Districts “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Joy Division cover—single, 2018) (11:19)
6. Puddles Pity Party “I Want You to Want Me” (Cheap Trick cover—single, 2017) (14:42)
7. Spoon “I Can’t Give Everything Away” (David Bowie cover—House of Strombo session, 2018) (17:49)
8. Floating Opera “Debaser” (Pixies cover—Pop Song on the Elevator Down 2017) (21:28)
9. Field Music “River Man” (Nick Drake cover—Green Leaves: Nick Drake Covered (Mojo) 2018) (24:22)
10. The War on Drugs “Accidentally Like a Martyr” (Warren Zevon cover—Spotify single, 2017) (28:34)
11. The Moore Brothers “Inverness” (Scott Miller/The Loud Family cover—unreleased 2018) (32:44)
12. Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore “Get Together” (Jesse Colin Young/The Youngbloods cover—Downey to Lubbock 2018) (36:34)
13. Buffalo Tom “The Only Living Boy in New York” (Simon & Garfunkel cover—Quiet and Peace 2018) (40:26)

Part 2:

1. Wussy “Aliens in Our Midst” (Twinkeyz cover—“Damnably” single, 2018) (0:00)
2. Ty Segall “Every 1’s a Winner” (Hot Chocolate cover—Freedom’s Goblin 2017) (4:00)
3. The Wigs “Mony, Mony” (Tommy James & the Shondells cover—File Under: Pop Vocal 1981) (8:18)
4. The Everly Brothers “Mr. Soul” (Neil Young/Buffalo Springfield cover—Nice Guys 1969) (10:56)
5. Jack Ellister “Dear Prudence” (Beatles cover—The White EP compilation 2013) (13:52)
6. Adam Ostrar “Cindy Tells Me” (Brian Eno cover—Brawls in the Briar 2017) (16:57)
7. The Land Below “Song 2” (Blur cover—These Are Not Mine 2018) (19:28)
8. Laura Veirs “Mountains of the Moon” (Grateful Dead cover—The Lookout 2018) (22:16)
9. Henry Jamison “If You Could Read My Mind” (Gordon Lightfoot cover—If You Could Read My Mind 2017) (26:27)
10. Franz Ferdinand “Shut Up Kiss Me” (Angel Olsen cover—Sirius XM live, 2018) (29:42)
11. Angelique Kidjo “Born Under Punches” (Talking Heads cover—single, 2018) (32:58)
12. Lionel Wendling “It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal” (Frank Zappa cover—Steel World 2016) (36:47)
13. (41:10)

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My Name Is Bill and I’m a Headcase (Jeff’s Summer 2018 Songpile)

Once again…a segued mix of my favorite tracks that have come my way during the last three months…  Curiously, a number of collaborations and one-offs…and yes, the most obvious candidate for this season’s mix concludes the playlist…because what could follow it, really?

Part 1:

1. Lump “Curse of the Contemporary” Lump 2018 (Laura Marling, Mike Lindsay of Tunng) (0:00)
2. Adrian Younge & Linear Labs “Silhouette Dreams” Adrian Younge Presents: Voices of Gemma 2018 (4:18)
3. Sailor “A Glass of Champagne” Trouble 1975 (7:03)
4. Pete & the Pirates “Jennifer” single 2009 (9:42)
5. Neutral Knievel “Living a Crooked Line” single 2018 (12:54)
6. Tokyo Police Club “New Blues” single 2018 (15:41)
7. Jessica Lea Mayfield “Sorry Is Gone” Sorry Is Gone 2017 (19:55)
8. Barbara Manning “Never Park” Lately I Keep Scissors 1989 (23:13)
9. The Fall “Noel’s Chemical Effluence” recorded 1992; later on The Twenty-Seven Points and 2018 reissue of Code: Selfish (27:41)
10. Family Curse “Julia Armant” single 2011 (34:01)
11. The Wrens “Life Stories from the Union” sorry, not new! single 1995 (37:33)
12. Underworld feat. Iggy Pop “Bells & Circles” single 2018 (41:55)

Part 2:

1. Strange Attractor feat. Graham Lewis “Iron Horse” Anatomy of a Tear 2011 (0:00)
2. Ozone Baby feat. Todd Fancey “Girl with Cassettes” single 2010 (5:46)
3. Flasher “Pressure” Constant Image 2018 (8:35)
4. TV Girl “7 Days ’til Sunday” Death of a Party Girl 2018 (11:48)
5. Mitski “Geyser” Be the Cowboy 2018 (15:18)
6. Active Bird Community “Spend the Night” single 2018 (17:39)
7. Japanese Breakfast “In Heaven” Psychopomp 2016 (21:13)
8. Trupa Trupa “To Me” Jolly New Songs 2017 (25:04)
9. The Black Watch “Oh You Little Witch!” The Paper Boats EP 2018 (28:43)
10. Jo Passed “Repair” Their Prime 2018 (32:36)
11. Boy Azooga “Jerry” 1,2 Kung Fu 2018 (37:14)
12. Gold Connections “Icarus” Icarus 2016 (40:47)
13. Childish Gambino “This Is America” single 2018 (48:12)

Om Shooby-Dooby (Spring 2018 Songpile)

And, once more, a passel of lovingly assembled song thingums, in this case representing things that caught my eardrums as their vibrations passed by.

Part 1

1. Margaret Chavez “Strange Buoys” 0:00
2. Spygenius “Get Over Yourself” 2:07
3. Zizi Raimondi “Folly Dolly” 6:38
4. Beach Fossils “Be Nothing” 10:13
5. Sean Morales “Video Life” 15:09
6. Father John Misty “Mr. Tillman” 18:33
7. Courtney Barnett “Nameless, Faceless” 21:34
8. Deadbeat Beat “You Lift Me Up” 24:47
9. Mt. Wilson Repeater “To Touch the Golden Sceptre” 28:25
10. UUUU “Boots with Wings” 31:52
11. Partner “Everybody Knows” 36:04
12. Terminal Mind “Zombieland” 39:00
13. RVG “IBM” 42:51

Part 2

1. Pugwash “Easier Said Than Done” 0:00
2. The Association “Everything That Touches You” 3:08
3. Plasticsoul “New Town, Different Day” 6:25
4. Fake Laugh “Kind of Girl” 10:46
5. Bell’s Roar “You Call Me Cold” 14:24
6. Rose Elinor Dougall “Stellular” 18:15
7. Jorge Elbrecht “Flesh to Ash” 22:01
8. Gospelbeach “In the Desert” 26:46
9. Japanese Breakfast “Road Head” 31:23
10. Amy Rigby “From: philiproth@gmail To: rzimmerman@aol.com” 34:38
11. The Green Pajamas “January Girl” 39:01
12. Marika Hickman “Boyfriend” 43:03

+ 47:02

JAZZ BOMB!

I decided to cover Negativland’s “Car Bomb” as if it were a faux-jazz number…you know, acoustic bass, bongos, that sort of thing.

So I did.

Belgian Whistles: 2017 Top Albums Songpile

And without further ado (see previous post…): this time, I just posted the opening track of each album…except when it was an abstract/introductory item…

Part 1:

1. The New Pornographers “Play Money” Whiteout Conditions 0:00
2. The Bye Bye Blackbirds “Earl Grey Kisses” Take Out the Poison 4:34
3. Filthy Friends “Despierta” Invitation 8:19
4. Game Theory “All You Need Is White” Supercalifragile 12:33
5. Wire “Playing Harp for the Fishes” Silver/Lead 16:25
6. St. Vincent “Hang on Me” Masseduction 20:08
7. Grizzly Bear “Wasted Acres” Painted Ruins 22:53
8. The National “Nobody Else Will Be There” Sleep Well Beast 25:39
9. Sparks “Missionary Position” Hippopotamus 30:00
10. The Magnetic Fields “’66: Wonder Where I’m From” 50 Song Memoir 34:16
11. Caroline Says “Winter Is Cold” 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong 36:57
12. The Clientele “The Neighbour” Music for the Age of Miracles  39:36
13. Robyn Hitchcock “I Want to Tell You About What I Want” Robyn Hitchcock 44:42
14. The Black Watch “Whence” The Gospel According to John 48:23
15. The Dream Syndicate “Filter Me Through You” How Did I Find Myself Here? 53:22

Part 2:

1. Cotton Mather “The Cotton Mather Pledge” Wild Kingdom 0:00
2. Guided by Voices “The Birthday Democrats” How Do You Spell Heaven? 3:03
3. Omni “Afterlife” Multi-Task 5:32
4. Monks of Doom “The Brontë Pin pt. 1” The Brontë Pin 7:18
5. Brief Candles “A Way Around” Retreater 11:59
6. Ted Leo “Moon Out of Phase” The Hanged Man 16:06
7. Great Ytene “Mono Aware” Locus 20:23
8. New Boss “Intro/Third Sister” Third Sister 24:01
9. Spoon “Hot Thoughts” Hot Thoughts 27:28
10. Washington Hebrew “Ima Try” Washington Hebrew 31:16
11. Destroyer “Sky’s Grey” ken 34:48
12. Robert Plant “The May Queen” Carry Fire 38:48
13. Mark Eitzel “The Last Ten Years” Hey Mr. Ferryman 42:58
14. Novella “Does the Island Know” Change of State 47:09
15. Thurston Moore “Exalted” Rock n Roll Consciousness 51:02

+ 62:56

2017: What Is an ‘Ablum’?

So here’s what 2017 looked like to me, musically.

My very favorite albums (in alphabetical order) were the following:

• The Black Watch The Gospel According to John
• Brief Candles Retreater
• Caroline Says 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong
• The Clientele Music for the Age of Miracles
• Cotton Mather Wild Kingdom
• Destroyer Ken
• Game Theory Supercalifragile
• Great Ytene Locus
• Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Hitchcock
• New Boss Third Sister
• Novella Change of State
• Omni Multi-Task
• Spoon Hot Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised by the Game Theory album…since it was an album salvaged from demos, fragments, and stray ideas, a work-in-progress when songwriter Scott Miller ended his life back in 2013. He’d intended this to be a collaborative project, and so it was: with the archival assistance of his widow, Kristine, and musical direction from Ken Stringfellow, a long list of musical collaborators pulled together an album that, miraculously, sounds quite distinctively like a Game Theory record.

My second tier of favorites for 2017 (there’s actually very little difference between these first two tiers):

• The Bye Bye Blackbirds Take Out the Poison
• The Dream Syndicate How Did I Find Myself Here?
• Filthy Friends Invitation (Peter Buck, Corin Tucker, Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch, Bill Rieflin…)
• Guided by Voices How Do You Spell Heaven? 
• Ted Leo The Hanged Man
• Thurston Moore Rock n Roll Consciousness
• The New Pornographers Whiteout Conditions
• Robert Plant Carry Fire
• St. Vincent Masseduction
• Sparks Hippopotamus
• Wire Silver/Lead

And just a little below…:

• Mark Eitzel Hey Mr. Ferryman
• Grizzly Bear Painted Ruins
• The Magnetic Fields 50 Song Memoir
• Monks of Doom The Brontë Pin
• The National Sleep Well Beast
• Washington Hebrew (Michael Kentoff from The Caribbean) Washington Hebrew

My end-of-year best-albums songpile, Belgian Whistles, is drawn from the above (see next post for details and links).

The next levels are still really fine records:

Algiers The Underside of Power, Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile Lotta Sea Lice, Beck Colors, Benjamin Booker Witness, Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors, Dutch Uncles Big Balloon,, Fleet Foxes Crack-Up, Guided by Voices August by Cake, Holy Hum All My Bodies, LCD Soundsystem American Dream, Queens of the Stone Age Villains, Lee Ranaldo Electric Trim, The Sadies Northern Passages, Slowdive Slowdive.

Dale Cooper Quartet & the Dictaphones Astrild Astrild, Brian Eno Reflection, The Fall New Facts Emerge, Father John Misty Pure Comedy, Nick Hakim Green Twins, Dhani Harrison In///Parallel, Liars TFCF, Lo Tom Lo Tom, Aimee Mann Mental Illness, Laura Marling Semper Femina, Eric Matthews Too Much World, Momus Pillycock, The Mountain Goats Goths, Sampha Process.

And, honorable mention to: Anton Barbeau Antronica 2, The Mike Benign Compulsion Kid, Big Thief Capacity, Cherry Glazerr Apocalipstick, Crystal Fairy Crystal Fairy, Karla Kane King’s Daughters Home for Incurables, Los Campesinos! Sick Scenes, Maximo Park Risk to Exist, Pixx The Age of Anxiety, The Proper Ornaments Foxhole, Real Estate In Mind, Ride Weather Diaries, Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble Find Me Finding You, Statuesque Accusative, Matthew Sweet Tomorrow Forever, Paul Weller A Kind Revolution.

The best EPs of the year: Anton Barbeau Heaven Is In Your Mind, Cotton Mather Young Life, Cate Le Bon Rock Pool, TC&I (Colin Moulding & Terry Chambers, formerly of XTC) Great Aspirations, Kamasi Washington Harmony of Difference.

 

(If I didn’t mention it, either I haven’t heard it, haven’t heard it enough, or remain meh on it…)

 

 

 

 

Mahatma Blondie: Covers Songpile 2

…And here’s the second mix of covers for 2017—tracks that came my way during the second half of the year. These are, again, arranged into two fully-segued playlists. Without further ado…

Part 1:

1. Ramones “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” (Tom Waits cover) 0:00
2. The Regrettes “Fox on the Run” (Sweet cover) 2:43
3. The Mockers “God Only Knows” (Beach Boys cover) 5:57
4. Michael Carpenter & Rob Smith “Look Through Any Window” (Hollies cover) 9:25
5. Karla Kane “Mavis of Maybelline Towers” (Loud Family [with Anton Barbeau] cover) 12:43
6. My Friend the Chocolate Cake “Buffalo Ballet” (John Cale cover) 15:54
7. Joseph “Moonlight Mile” (Rolling Stones cover) 18:52
8. Maria McKee “The Way Young Lovers Do” (Van Morrison cover) 22:44
9. Bryan Ferry “What Goes On” (Velvet Underground cover) 26:08
10. Hector Ward & the Big Time “Heart Full of Soul” (Yardbirds cover) 30:12
11. V.V. Brown “This Charming Man” (Smiths cover) 33:54
12. Bossie “Solsbury Hill” (Peter Gabriel cover) 36:51
13. Lanterns on the Lake “Long, Long, Long” (Beatles/George Harrison cover) 40:13

Part 2:

1. Dean Carter “Jailhouse Rock” (Elvis Presley cover) 0:00
2. Great Ytene “This Is Not a Photograph” (Mission of Burma cover) 2:08
3. Beach Slang “Like a Daydream” (Ride cover) 5:04
4. KC Bowman “Moon Over Marin” (Dead Kennedys cover) 7:58
5. Beach House “Play the Game” (Queen cover) 10:56
6. The Moon Loungers “Enola Gay” (Orchestral Manœuvres in the Dark cover) 15:09
7. The Pretenders “I’m Not in Love” (10cc cover) 18:38
8. Two Chalfonts “Kings Highway” (Tom Petty cover) 22:25
9. Calexico “Corona” (Minutemen cover) 25:24
10. Robyn Hitchcock & Graham Coxon “Octopus” (Syd Barrett cover) 28:25
11. Luna “Letter to Hermione” (David Bowie cover) 32:15
12. Eddie Hazel “California Dreamin'” (Mamas & the Papas cover) 34:38

(Next up…top albums of 2017…)