new Viva show (#116) in the archive

NRBQ - That's Alright

Any band that shows love for the pre-Help! Beatles can only win points in my book, especially when brilliant changes such as that occurring at 1:36 are on offer.

Words and music by Joseph Spampinato. Recorded November, 1974 in beautiful Maynard, Massachusetts.

France Gall - Les Petits Ballons

A thousand thanks to Davy across the pond for helping me to acquire this precious mp3. Written by J.C. Vannier and Serge Gainsbourg. Direction d'orchestre: Jean-Claude Vannier. This one's for fans of chord changes (you know who you are).

Headstone - Turn Your Head

best singing of the word "cloud"

Erton Revelation - Free Show

written by Erton-De Piscopo-Chiaravalle

Brenda Lee - The Crying Game

music & words by Geoff Stephens

Ilitch - Peripherikredcommando

Patrick Muller : Guitares, Traitements, Synthetiks (intro)
Philippe Doray : Synthetiks
Ruth Ellyeri : Guitares, Vocal
Thierry Muller : Traitements, Basse, Synthetiks, Sequenceur

Philip Lynott - Yellow Pearl

I'm still trying to track down the demo version heard in this video, but in the meanwhile here's the O.G. slowed to minus 4.

Clinic - Video Life

One of the better German-language Chris Spedding covers I've heard lately. Thanks again, Tedward.

Chris Spedding - Video Life

many thanks to Ted for the tip on this life-changer (on the RAK label, no less!)

Drip-Dry eyes - I Believe In You

Drip-Dry eyes is a Japanese musician and, not surprisingly, a huge Yukihiro Takahashi fan. Here's his myspace. As near as I can tell, this is a cover of an obscure Yukihiro b-side. I ripped the mp3 from a youtube. (Drip-Dry, please let me know if that's not cool...)

Bonus points for the detuned churchbell sound.

Dif Juz - Cs

Mitchell's Christian Singers - Who Was John?

Ennio Morricone: Una Spiaggia a Mezzogiorno

From the soundtrack to Vergogna Schifosi

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers - Goody Goody

Thanks to Glen of Viva Radio fame for helping me realize that Frankie's voice is the tops.

"Goody Goody" was written by Matty Malneck and Johnny Mercer, in 1936.

The best part of this video is everything.

The Jam: In The City

I wanna say, I wanna tell you
About the young ideas
But you turn them into fears

Equals - Helèna

Take two of these and thank me in the morning.

Jimmy Cliff - Struggling Man

Here's another one from the "Roots of Jerry" mix I put together about a month ago (show #113 in these archives). Typically brill lyrics from Jimmy here.

The Space Lady - Ghost Riders In The Sky

Lio - Speedy Gonzales

Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd: And Then I Turned Away

Pink Floyd: Grantchester Meadows

Basking in the sunshine
Of a bygone afternoon
Bringing sounds of yesterday
Into my city room

Dreamworld - Summerdays

No time to do my own digging at the moment, so here's a nutty little jam I heard in a nutty Moonboots mix. I'm feeling that album cover, too.

new Viva show (#114) in the archive

The Paragons - Abba

August 11th?

Time to party.

Hot Chocolate - You Could've Been A Lady (scratchandsniff re-rub)

A cursory glance through today's papers has led me to an inescapable conclusion: it's time to party.

Check the scratchandsniff soundcloud for more great edits and mixes.

Robert Wyatt - The Age Of Self

Mau Mau - Mau Mau

Enjoyably empty and lonesome back-to-school sounds from Germany's Mau Mau. Thanks to Elena Reimeryte of the new "Silent Killers" show on viva radio for the heads-up.

Roger Wolfe Kahn & His Orchestra - Russian Lullaby

1927. The Lower East Side of Manhattan. A hot August night. A young Jewish mother, a newcomer to this country, takes her crying newborn from his crib. She sits with him on the fire escape and lulls him back to sleep with a tune from the Old Country: a Russian lullaby.

new Viva show (#113) in the archive

Rattles - You Can't Have Sunshine Everyday

Thanks to Ted for peeling this one off in his now-legendary Turtle Dov mix. This song is a forerunner of Beck's Loser, and a descendant of the Hey Jude outro and (more remotely) Thus Spake Zarathustra*. On a side note, I'm liking these folks' sartorial decisions.

*I am becoming increasingly convinced of a crackpot theory of my own devising, namely that the Hey Jude outro (Na, na, na, na-na-na na, etc.) was subconsciously influenced by R. Strauss's Thus Spake Zarathustra. Note that 2001: A Space Odyssey was released on 4/4/68, and Hey Jude was recorded on 7/31/68.

Did Paul see 2001 before Hey Jude was written? IDK, but dig this:

"In the Magical Mystery Tour film, Flying was used to accompany landscape scenes of Iceland taken from an aeroplane. These sequences were unused outtakes from Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey."

source: http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/flying/

Ketty Lester - Love Letters

Big thanks to G. Condon for peeling this one off in a nice summer mix available here. Composed in 1945 by Edward Heyman, who coincidentally also wrote the song that kicks off Viva mix #112. Beautifully hollow arrangement on this, with spooky organ backing kicking in at 1:01.

The Marvelettes - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game

So sultry.

new Viva show (#112) in the archive

Haruomi Hosono with Friends Of Earth - Alternative 3

Pretty abstract stuff here from Harry, but ultimately successful (I think) as a self-contained piece of music. Recorded and mixed digitally October-November, 1984, Tokyo.

bonus beats:
Kurtis Blow - AJ Scratch (1984)

The Antennas - Just Your Love

The hugest of thanks to Jimmy Virkki at Prejka.se for the rip. Shades of Once In A Lifetime in the bassline. Featuring Franco Falsini of Sensations' Fix fame. Good times.

Return To Forever - Earth Juice

Johnny Russell - Catfish John

Thanks to my friend Jerry for turning me on to this one. Written by Bob McDill and Allen Reynolds. Vocal accompaniment by The Jordanaires.

Best vocal phrasing on "thangkin back" (1:01).

Sadistic Mika Band - Hi Jack (I'm Just Dying)

Some choice pre-YMO here of sorts (Yukihiro Takahashi is the drummer in this band). Music by Kazuhiko Katoh, lyrics by Yuji Konno, in tribute to Jack Nicholson. Recorded at Onkyo House Studio, Tokyo, July 1975. Produced by Chris Thomas.

Don't go to Houston, you should come to Tokyo
Would you believe in a big chance meeting?

David Sylvian / Ryuichi Sakamoto: Bamboo Houses (12" version)

And the '00 remix from David Sylvian's Everything and Nothing compilation.

Might as well place these tunes back to back with Emmett's Haruomi Hosono post to extend the YMO tangent. Please enjoy.

Haruomi Hosono - Sports Men
(細野晴臣 - スポーツマン)

The world of YMO and related configurations is such a rich musical seam; the dedicated seeker may mine at length and continue to reap sumptuous delights.

available on compact disc

new Viva show (#111) in the archive

Marlon Asher - Ganja Farmer

Miharu Koshi -
Bara No Yakai~Arui Wa Amai Mitsu No Imashime

Japanese title: 薔薇の夜会～あるいは甘い蜜の戒め
English translation (as per Google translate): Soirée, or, Sweet Nectar of the Commandments of Roses

Happy birthday (yesterday) to Harry Hosono, who produced this and presumably played the fretless bass(es). Written by Miharu Koshi. See here for another cut from the same LP. Artwork by Satoshi Nishizaki.

Best part at 2:15.

The Soft Rocks - Whore Your Love

Disco Power Play, The Album, now available from all the finest European record-sellers.

The drummer does something quite nifty at 1:24 (and again at 2:14, 4:35, and 5:26). Kudos.

And yeah, I've had no luck trying to find the source of this re-edit so far, although I did encounter an even slower Nils Lofgren reggae-halftime version.

The July Four - Mr. Miff

I'm down with this instro mainly because of the mellow strums that kick in at 0:05 and again at 0:57, foreshadowing not only Like A Hurricane* but also the mellotron interlude from Space Oddity^.

*Check the vocal version of this cut for further reinforcement of the Like A Hurricane connection.

^I mean the passage at 2:34 in this clip.

The Sensational Nightingales - My Sisters And Brothers

Great ramshackle rhythm backing on this, and empyrean reverb on the vox (only fitting). I'm off on summer hols, back in mid-July, and then it's ON.

Cream - Dance The Night Away

I like that you can pretty much see the revellers spilling out into the streets when the psychedelic part kicks in at 0:45.