Anne Cessna & Essendon Airport - Lost In Madagascar

The note that really makes it for me is the major-third on the word "ceiling" at 1:13. Kurt Cobain could have sung that note.

Freeez - Caribbean Winter

Ben Webster: Over the Rainbow (Live at Ronnie Scott)

Vangelis -
Silent Portraits 1
Silent Portraits 2

Thanks to Hatchback and our friends at noncollective for the tip on part 2 (featured in the "Galaxy's Fountain" mix). Part 1 is an agreeable way to spend nine minutes. Part 2 is the sound of your life improving.

Notes on the LP, from discogs.com:

Created exclusively for "Silent Portraits", a project involving Italian photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri, who shot on Polaroid a series of black and white photos, mostly all portraits, of the inhabitants of the nation of Seychelles. The book and photographs together make up this project, and was published by Garzanti Editore S.p.A. in 1984.

The book has a clothbound hardback cover that measures an 15.5 inches horizontally and 12 inches vertically. It is 132 pages in length, filled with images on glossy paper. The foreword is presented in both French and English.

The music was meant to be played while looking at the photos.

England's Glory -
Bright Lights
Showdown

New Riders of the Purple Sage: I Don't Know You

Guy Pedersen - Petit Moujik De Nuit

MEDIUM POP
voix homme - 5 guitares électriques

Paul Simon: Oh, Marion

Pick your poison...

Head Hands & Feet - Safety In Numbers

Kudos to the lads in White Denim for unfurling this one in this mix; it's a stone jam. Featuring a cut-time-with-shades-of-half-time-groove that would make Leon Russell proud, and unprecedented verbal tap-dancing on the lyric "lookathimhe can't even dance." Featuring Pete Gavin on drums and Chas Hodges on lead vocals.

Available on CD!

new Viva show (#107) in the archives

Zoo - Hard Times, Good Times

Engineer : Bernard Estardy - Studio C B E
Arranged By Zoo
Photography : Alain Marouani
Produced By : Philippe Rault

...send a drink to the horn section, with my compliments.

The Charles Lloyd Quartet: Dream Weaver


This one just feels good. Plus, hold on to your hats.


the players:
Charles Lloyd - tenor sax
Keith Jarrett - piano
Cecil McBee - bass
Jack DeJohnette - drums

Elvin Jones: Moon Dance

Recently, Emmett, my brother, and I took in a show by saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa , which was great, and after surviving near fisticuffs before, and nearer desperate housewives after, we can now all sit down and enjoy this; some Elvin Jones with Bunky Green which I got from this post by Rudresh himself, over at destination out. Turn the lights down and enjoy, for this is Yuri Gagarin country.

This goes out to William Shakespeare.

Wreckless Eric: Whole Wide World

"We're going to blow the lid on this myth of France because Americans always think of France as the land of love and culture and good food, and it's all beige floor tiles, 40 watt light bulbs, polyester, tin brussel sprouts, and going to bed at 8:30 at night, not because of love, but because you've got to get up at 5:30 to drive a tractor - in the freezing wet."

My brother tipped me off to this interview with Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby on Radio Free Song Club from Bloomsday, a year ago. The magic begins at about the 13:00 mark (earlier if you want to hear a reading of some of Joyce's Ulysses). And here's the song they play, which I've had in steady rotation as of late.

Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby: Do You Remember That?

The Cure: In Your House

Traffic - Dream Gerrard

Hank Mobley: The Best Things in Life Are Free

One for the optimistic song titles category.

The players:
Hank Mobley, tenor sax
Grant Green, guitar
Wynton Kelly, piano
Paul Chambers, bass
Philly Joe Jones, drums

Jefferson Airplane: She Has Funny Cars

Agnetha Fältskog - Wrap Your Arms Around Me

Music to lose your virginity to from Sweden's Agnetha Fältskog, best known as the first "A" in ABBA, featuring a bold 'n' brassy guitar riff and an embarrassingly forthright chorus. Many thanks to Michele Cesana of the great Sci-Fi Pogo blog for the tip in this sparkling mix.

Junior Wells: Ships on the Ocean

That'll do nicely, thank you very much.

Lou Rawls:Trouble Down Here Below


And this is how one should learn the alphabet...

The Beach Boys - The Little Girl I Once Knew

I'm fine with the song, but mainly I just want to crank the intro, especially when it reappears at 2:06.

From Wikipedia:

The last new original song the group produced before the album Pet Sounds, it was not included on any regular Beach Boys album.

The song is notable for innovative use of two dramatic periods of near-silence lasting several seconds each. Although one of the Beach Boys' most exuberant songs, it was poorly received by radio stations preferring to avoid dead air time, which may account for its relatively low chart rating among their other singles of the period, including "California Girls" and "Barbara Ann". It is still rarely heard on oldies radio.

Capitol Records' rushed release of "Barbara Ann" in December ruined any chance "The Little Girl I Once Knew" had of continuing up the charts. Just after its release, John Lennon gave it a favorable review; another what-if for the Beach Boys.

A Hundred Birds - So Eye On

...back from Ireland. Shortly before I left I purchased this CD from a semi-homeless dude on W. 72nd St., and this track is a standout on the comp. A historical reënactment of what could have been recorded by the Salsoul Orchestra in 1978, but was in fact done by some gentlemen in Osaka in 2003.

Kicking off Spring/Summer 2011 with this one... are you ready for love?

Emmett Presents: The End Is Not In Sight



Side A
Modern Folk Quartet - This Could Be The Night
Twin Engine - Mistress Of The Morning
Nancy Sinatra - Sugar Me
Lio - You Go To My Head
Step Lang - Airborn
George Martin & His Orchestra - Theme One

Side B
Bachdenkel - Long Time Living
Caramba - Fedora (I'll Be Your Dawg)
Split Enz - Six Months In A Leaky Boat
Tomita - Clair de Lune
Tuesday - Sewing Machine
Helen Banks - Do You Know

Side C
Up 'N Adam - Rainmaker
El Tigre - Figure
Hybrid Kids - D'Ya Think I'm Sexy?
William Onyeabor - Good Name
John Keating - Rocket Man

Side D
Violeta Parra - Arauco Tiene Una Pena
The Carpenters - Superstar (Rapson re-edit)
Simon & Garfunkel - So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
Jerry Garcia - Eep Hour
Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Spaceship Orion

all-in-one zip file

Featuring music from six continents, and dedicated to the people of Japan. I'm going to Ireland for two weeks, but when I get back... IT'S ON.

Simon & Garfunkel: Punky's Dilemma [demo]

Eddie Addenbury - Captain Jones

I can't fully follow the narrative on this nautical pop nugget (produced & arranged by Mike Batt), but this much is clear: the further down you go, the more phasing there is on the vocals. Another sunken treasure mined from this compilation.

The Slits: Love Und Romance

new Viva show (#105) in the archives

The Sir Douglas Band: Nitty Gritty

William Onyeabor - Love Is Blind

William sounding vaguely new wave to me on this one. I haven't heard anything about if/when any Onyeabor reissues will appear. Mr. Comb & Razor, any news?

The Cryan' Shames - The Sailing Ship

To me this sounds more like a '90s retro-psych outfit trying to write a psych tune than an actual '60s psych tune. (Indeed, the Brian Jonestown Massacre covered it.) Kudos to Jim Fairs for the Baby You're A Rich Man-style psychedelic bagpipes.

Official Cryan' Shames National Fan Club
P.O. Box 473
Oak Brook, Illinois

Lee Hazlewood: Dark In My Heart

"I asked a girl for lovin' and she walked in the phone booth,
That ain't cool - in the phone booth"

The Honeybus - For Where Have You Been

Draw an afghan blanket over your knees and curl up beside the fire with this Colin Hare-penned ditty, notable for its surprising (to me) chord changes, great lyrics, and velvety harmonies that might be influenced by the word "thyme" in "Scarborough Fair."

What's that? I hear my tea boiling on the kettle. Talk soon...

New Viva show (#104) in the archives. Designed for an imaginary pre-concert lot hang.

FROM THE ARK HIVES

Legend - Heather On The Hill

original air date: 3/10/09

This is a by-request archival repost, going out to Robert in Lawrence, Kansas. Is it me or does the tape warble a little at the beginning of this?

Courtesy of JB, who sent me a link to this Playmobil performance of Joy Division's "Transmission" as performed on BBC2's "Something Else".

When evil grooves happen to good people.

The Grease Band - New Morning

As I mentioned previously, there's a new mastermix in the works. It'll be a combination of highlights from the last six months and a fresh batch of "new" songs. But these things take time, and so to stem the creeping tide of moribundity I offer this amuse-bouche, featuring British journeyman legends Henry McCullough (Eire Apparent; Wings) on vocals and guitar and Alan Spenner (Wynder K. Frog; Roxy Music) on vocals and bass. Kind of like with this one, I'm not sure I ever really noticed the melody on this tune until I heard this version. A huge number of bonus points are bestowed for the Harrisonian arpeggios at 0:28.

Soon come, rastas. Soon come.

Is city life dragging you down? Get it together in the country tonight with a charming mix of sylvan obscurities, courtesy of Mr. Dave Lerner. The mix airs tonight at 6 PM on Viva Radio, and you can always hear it after the fact here.

The Rolling Stones: Neighbo[u]rs


I mean we all have them, right? me, you, Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly. Neighbors, that is.

New megamix in progress, new Viva show (#102) in the archive.

Todd Rundgren: Love of the Common Man

I've been burned in my prime

David Bowie: Rock'N'Roll Suicide

"Give me your hands, cause your WONDERFUL!"

Closing track on 'The Rise and Fall...' yet issued as a single in '74 with 'Quicksand' as the b-side.

Would have been fantastic to hear the album at Colleen Murphy's club.

Studio: West Side

If early New Order had Robert Smith guest on vocals.

James Burton: Fools Rush In

Don't they though?

greg condon

Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard: Who's that Knocking?

greg condon

John Lennon: Old Dirt Road

greg condon

The Grateful Dead: The Stranger

greg condon

Charles Mingus: Duke Ellington's Sound of Love

greg condon

Dennis Brown: Silhouettes