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.

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL

Franck Dervieux - Present Du Futur

Radar - Una Splendida Emicrania

A search for more Italian new wave on discogs.com turned up this nugget. Old news for some but new to me. The chord progression reminds me a Dave Grohl-penned Nirvana B-side called "Marigold", of all things. Pretty crucial material here. I'm glad I didn't completely miss the boat on this one.

Recorded October 1981. Una splendida emicrania = "a wonderful headache"

La parti elettroniche dell'LP sono state suonate senza ausilio di computer o automatismi.
"The electronic parts of the LP have been played without the aid of computers or automation."

Nicola Salerno: voce, Korg MS10, Yamaha CS80, Roland Jupiter 4, batteria elettronica
Alessandro Ceradini: voce
Bruno Marini: assolo clarinetto basso

new Viva show (#110) in the archive

Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - Observatory Crest

A descendant of For What It's Worth, arrangement-wise, this popped up on a couple of mixes last year. Are we talking Griffith Observatory? Was the concert at the Greek? These secrets now lie with the Captain... R.I.P.

Recorded at Stronghold Sound Recorders, North Hollywood, CA.

Ramases - Balloon

If you're thinking, "Gee, that sounds like Lol Crème on lead guitar, moog synthesiser, and possibly background vocals," you are correct. Indeed, all four members of 10cc comprise the backing band here. (This was about a year before they recorded this.) The LP was reissued on vinyl somewhat recently by Mexican Summer.

Electric Light Orchestra - Letter From Spain

Miharu Koshi - パラレリズム [Parallélisme]

Big Star - The India Song (alternate version)

Words and music by Andy Hummel, with whose sentiments I completely agree. Available in this box.

Blackway - Follow Me

The Stepkids - Shadows On Behalf

If this were a lost electro-psych-soul obscurity from '73, it would be one of the greatest crate-digs of all time. Instead, it's a genius single devised by three lads from Connecticut who style themselves The Stepkids. High-quality mp3 and vinyl available from Stones Throw records. Catch the 'Kids live at Fort Green Park in Brooklyn on July 12th.

Flyer - Get Back Your Love

If you like Flayer, you'll love Flyer. Lead vocals / Piano / Synthethizers (sic) & Lead Guitar by Alain Salvati. Recorded at Criteria Studios, Miami (Florida)

Click here to experience the life-changingly good instrumental edit of this.

Slapp Happy - Jumpin' Jonah

Avant-gospel moves from Slapp Happy, on the b-side of their first single. Perhaps Dagmar & co. caught the Dead on the Europe '72 tour?

Amon Duul II - Another Morning

Thanks to JG for pointing me back to this one. It's all about the choral vocal part that kicks in at 1:37. Sounds like Ariel Pink or something? (or Mike + The Mechanics, "The Living Years"?)

Vic Chesnutt: Dodge

Toots & The Maytals: Reggae Got Soul

new Viva show (#109) in the archive

Flowers - For Real

I hope one day to have dinner with this bass player.

from the archives

Bob James - El Verano

Summer is back... and that phased guitar riff reminding you it's been here all along.

original air date: June 5th, 2010

Amon Duul II - Kirk Morgan

Thanks to Sorcerer for this one. The song structure is something like ABABCDCE and parts A,B,C,D, & E are all great. The rhythm guitar player in the right channel is a genius, as is pretty much everyone else involved in this, evidently.

Lyrics and album cover impenetrable.

Dave & The Diamonds - Think About Love

It sounds like a Yardbirds-era Jimmy Page may have snuck in to play guitar on this. Available on Rare Mod Volume 3.