Bob Dylan: You're a Big Girl Now
(New York Sessions, Blood on the Tracks)

The Louvin Brothers: I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby

"His eyes were filled with victory...."

A #1 hit back in '56 on the US Country charts

Baz Luhrmann's got nothing on this baby!

Back-To-School Air-Guitar Special

The Teenage Fanclub - Is This Music?

The Kinks: Get Back in Line

New Viva show (#94) in the archives. Designed for a rainy day.

Art Garfunkel: Break Away

It's just a phase you're going through...

Virna Lindt - Shiver

May your Monday be as cinematic as this.

John Prine: A Good Time

"Time was once just a clock to me"

Sakkarin - Sugar, Sugar

This morsel of minimalist psych-gum from the mind of Jonathan King stormed its way to #12 on the UK hit parade in April of '71.

The Stills-Young Band: Midnight on the Bay

If you've ever been out on the bay at midnight, you know that it pretty much feels just like this song.

The Reverend Gary Davis: Death Don't Have No Mercy
The Grateful Dead: Death Don't Have No Mercy

Gary Davis was recorded on August 24th, 1960.

The Grateful Dead were recorded on March 2nd, 1969.

The Paris Sisters: Be My Boy

Written and produced by Phil Spector.

Cleo & Patra - Marcus Antonius On The Run

Daddy likey.

Albert King: As The Years Go Passing By

¡ NILSSON-FESST THIS WEEKEND !


Hey folks, I'll be DJ'ing at the 92nd Street Y Tribeca Branch this Saturday night (August 14, circa 10 PM), along with a lot of other great entertainers, as part of a two-day Harry Nilsson festival. Come down to witness a true uninhibited mass expression of Nilssonophilia in a judgement-free environment. The gladdest experience you'll ever know? Solid deets here.

PLEASE NOTE: if anyone has any suggestions for any cool Nilsson or Nilssonesque music for me to play at this event, by all means submit a comment below!

Mood-setter:
The Modern Folk Quartet - This Could Be The Night {written by H.E. Nilsson III}

Emmett presents: "The Waiting Is The Hardest Part"
Spring-Summer Megamix 2010

Face A
Grandstand - Soul Stage Orchestra
Hilly Fields (1892) - Nick Nicely
Just For Me - Manfred Mann
Skyline - Norman Greenbaum
Zoo Gang - Paul McCartney
The John Scene - Tigers On Vaseline

Face B
Morpha Too (rough mix) - Big Star
You Were So Warm - Dwight Twilley Band
Looking For The Magic - Dwight Twilley Band
Cantata Per Maryam - Piero Umiliani
Like We Were Before - Song
The Mess (live) - Wings

Face C
DK 50-80 - Otway & Barrett
Towering Inferno - The Green Arrows
Space (excerpt) - Georges Rodi
Magic - Unknown Artist
Strangers From The Light - Baltinore
Cosmic Surfin' - Haruomi Hosono

Face D
Brodovi - VIA Talas
Summertime City - Mike Batt with The New Edition
(Like A) Locomotion - Leftside
Cardboard Lamb - Crash Course In Science
Under Your Thumb - Godley & Creme
Everyday - William Onyeabor

Face E
Doot Doot (extended version) - Freur
C'est Fab - Nancy Sesay & The Melodaires
Ain't You - Kleenex
Marcy - Norman Greenbaum
Petrol Flowin - Yan d'Ys
Honey In The Rock - Blind Mamie Forehand

zip file with all 30 songs, plus m3u

This megamix is dedicated to my son Noah, born the day after this was posted!

New Viva show (#93) in the Ark Hive.

Duke Ellington: Acht O'Clock Rock


From The Afro-Eurasion Eclipse, partly inspired, apparently, by Marshall McLuhan. So for kicks, and old times sake, the below.

John Lee Hooker: Homework

Here's a tip, kids - always do your homework.

from the archives

Lucio Battisti - Anima Latina

It was just about a year ago that I first heard this, lying on a beach in Sitges and letting my IPOD play on shuffle. Now that was an Alpha Moment.

P.S.: New megamix coming soon!

From the Archives:



Henri Salvador: Saint Germain Des Pres

View Monsieur Salvador's extensive discography.

New Viva show (#92) in the ark hive.

Terry Riley vs. Hungrybear9562 - A Double Rainbow In Curved Air

Erroll Garner - Body And Soul

It's going to be 95 degrees in NYC on Friday, so turn on the ceiling fan, pour yourself an old-fashioned and get nice to this. You can't step to this intro. Also notice when Erroll gets particularly sultry at the 2:03 mark.

Recorded on Thursday January 11, 1951, in New York City. "Body & Soul" written in 1930 by Johnny Green.

Sandii - Zoot Kook

Featuring all the members of YMO, and composed by Haruomi Hosono. I'm feeling this chorus. While we're at it, here's another female chorus tinged with melancholy, courtesy of the inestimable Big B.

Imagine how sick these guys must have been live.

Superchunk: Detroit Has a Skyline

And for more of Camilo Jose Vergara's photos, go here.

Grateful Dead: Jack Straw

Leaving Texas, fourth day of July...

The Dead live in Fresno, July 19, 1974.

new Viva show in the archives

YMO - 以心電信 (You've Got to Help Yourself)

...as recently covered by Keane!

Trek with Quintronic - Take It Off

Eternal Triangle - Nothing But A Friend (Endless Mix)

I needed a bit of Balearica while cleaning the house yesterday, and this is what I arrived at. For fans of shiny surfaces and jazzy horn stabs.

Roy Ayers: It Ain't Your Sign It's Your Mind

The second in a series of posts in which we discuss who should play who in yet to be realized biopics. You'll recall bandying about a young Sam Neill as Sinatra some time ago. Well, for the man who was given his first pair of mallets by Lionel Hampton at the tender age of five, we need look no further than the great Chad Coleman, better known as Dennis 'Cutty' Wise from The Wire.




My people will talk to your people.

Peter Gabriel - Steam

OK, so it's basically a rewrite of either "Sledgehammer", "Big Time", or "Fame", depending on how you look at it, but that's none of our concern today. A window into the heighth of sophisticated production, circa W.J. Clinton's presidential campaign. Featuring Tony Levin on bass.

Steam 6:03
Arranged By [Horns] - Daniel Lanois, Peter Gabriel
Bass - Tony Levin
Drums [Electronic] - Manu Katché
Drums [Sabar] - The Babacar Faye Drummers
Guitar - David Rhodes, Leo Nocentelli*
Programmed By - David Bottrill, Richard Blair
Saxophone - Reggie Houston, Tim Green
Trombone - Renard Poche

*of Meters fame. (ed.)

Jo Stafford - No Other Love

Today we revisit the many manifestations of Chopin's E Major Étude in popular music (c.f.: Lemon Incest) with this ancient ditty from Jo Stafford. They don't make reverb like that anymore, kids.

From Wiki:

"(The E major Étude)... is regarded by some critics as a manifestation of Chopin's love for Poland, where he was born. During a lesson with his pupil Adolf Gutmann, Chopin began weeping and cried, 'Oh, my homeland!'. Chopin was said to have noted this piece as the most intimate he had ever composed, stating that 'In all my life I have never again been able to find such a beautiful melody.' The Etude has also been known as 'Tristesse', meaning 'Sadness' in French."

Going down.

compare / contrast

Bob James - El Verano

Kicking off summer 2010 with this bringing-tears-to-my-eyes jam originally posted on bumrocks in Feb. 2007. Featuring a delayed snare drum hit at 2:26, one of my favorite rare funk tropes. For another example of same, check the 1:58 mark (and following) in this.

P.S. It's Steve Gadd on drums. Compare/contrast the intro to 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.

Dwight Twilley Band - Looking For The Magic

Some music for your Memorial Day car wash, pool party, and/or barbeque. That step down to the minor chord on the chorus keeps segueing into the bridge of Waterloo Sunset in my head. In other words, where Dwight goes "Whoa, oh oh oh I I", I keep ending up at the "Chilly chilly is the evening time" bit of Waterloo. FWIW.

Happy Memorial Day, America.

Neil Young: See the Sky About to Rain

Bad Brains: I & I Survive

This one goes out to one of my sister's old mixes.

The Cure: The Funeral Party

I wonder if Angelo Badalamenti was a Cure fan. Coincidence?

1. Using the word "punk" in 1974: check.
2. pre-Slash top hat: check.
3. Rhythm guitar player tight pants: check.
4. When you're actually from Oklahoma, it's OK to sing like Leon Russell: check.

Still trying to track down the 45 reissued by
Anopheles. Who's holding?

Carol - So Low

My favorite note occurs at 0:43, 1:49, and 2:55.

Islanders - Tirolien Laender

Selections from my favorite youtube channel.

Pretty much all you need to know about American history is contained in this.

new Viva show here

Maceys Window - It's Getting Harder
Sunshine Theatre - Mountain

Two sunbaked 45s from '71, lovingly compiled on this. Maceys Window are English and Sunshine Theatre are Welsh.

Kind of makes you want to throw a styrofoam cooler full of ice-cold Tecate in the trunk and drive westward, doesn't it?