Tune of the Week: Ghost
Ghost. Ghostghostghost. Ghost. Ghost. RIP DJ Rashad. Ghostghostghost. Ghost.
Tune of the Week: Little Ghost
After reaching broader mainstream success and continued critical acclaim with their fourth album, “Elephant”, The White Stripes took a turn away from the riff-driven rock that had helped build up their career. Their fifth album, “Get Behind Me Satan”, was written on acoustic instruments and saw the band stretching their style to encompass more genres. Jack White described the creative process for this record as “a purging of everything”. Here’s a decidely bluegrass-styled tune about dancing with a ghost that the narrator…sees…?
Tune of the Week: Christianity Is Stupid
In 1987, at the height of televangelism in the United States, sound artists Negativland put out this piece on their album “Escape From Noise”. The album was more popular than anticipated and the band were faced with a demand for a concert tour that they were not prepared for. They created an excuse for not touring in the form of a hoax press release. Through this release they informed the news media that they were unable to travel due to being under investigation for a connection between a brutal crime and their music. Of course, sensationalist news channels picked up the bogus ball and ran with it. Through this prank the group achieved even greater notoriety and underground credibility. To those foolish enough to not think for themselves: GIVE UP!
Tune of the Week: XTC
XTC were a post-punk/pop band from England with a rather messy history. One main cause for an increasing amount of worries was front man Andy Patridge’s deteriorating mental health. As the band became more and more successful Patridge’s stage fright became more and more extreme, leading the band to quit touring at the highest point of their popularity. At the time there were many theories as to why the band had chosen such a dramatic path. One was that Patridge had died. Another was that they were intentionally trying to position themselves as a second coming of The Beatles. This theory was hard to completely cast away as the riffs and structure of this song point directly to “Abbey Road”. In hindsight, this tune serves as a signpost for Patridge’s failing mental health.
Tune of the Week: Saturn
Here’s some classic big band from outer space vibes from the Sun Ra Solar Arkestra. Recorded in Chicago in 1956, this session features the all-time Arkestra greats Pat Patrick and John Gilmore. Catch a ride on those rings!
Tune of the Week: Think About Your Troubles
2024 has not been an easy one and we still have yet to get through a US presidential election. Let Harry Nilsson help put some existential perspective on things. Hang on and try to keep your head above water. Stay out of the whales down there, at a minimum!
Tune of the Week: Plug
By the mid 90s the drum ‘n’ bass genre had emerged from the underground to become more ubiquitous and influential. As sped up breakbeats would pop up in more commerical releases so too would they pop up in less conventional artists tunes, such as Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and Luke Vibert. Vibert chose a different moniker for this kind of output: Plug. While other artists would seek to push the genre to its outer limits, Luke continued to embue his productions with a good dose of funk and humor. Here he blends r ‘n’ b strings and vocal samples alongside intense breaks edits, bass and ominous noises.
Tune of the Week: Photek Changes His Tune
After having created some of Drum ‘n’ Bass’s biggest tunes in the mid to late 90s, Photek took a creative turn in the year 2000 with his album “Solaris”. Adopting the production styles of Chicago acid house and minimal techno, Photek tested his audience with dramatically different types of tunes than what was anticipated. The beats and bass were still unrelentingly hard and time has proved his creative decisions to be sound as these tunes still sound fresh.
Tune of the Week: Novos Baianos
Novos Baianos were a second wave Tropicalia band from Salvadoar, Bahia, Brasil. True to form, there are plenty of rock n roll elements in the mix with more traditional ones. Funky, rocky stuff!
Tune of the Week: The Beach
Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers extol the finer points of the beach. Get some water time in when you can this summer!
Tune of the Week: Roedelius
The title of Cluster member Hans Joachim Roedelius’ seventh solo album translates as “When the South Wind Blows” and is effectively a full length ode to summertime, made further evident by its cover art. Dip your toes into the soothing synth tones!
Tune of the Week: Hot Hot Summer
More and more as time goes on this tune stays relevant. Big up dancehall legend Carlton Livingston!
Tune of the Week: Wind in My Face
The Spaghetti Western films were an interesting cultural phenomenon of the 1960s and 70s. Hollywood tales of the old West inspired European filmmakers, especially Italians, to create their own films of rugged individualism and masculinity. Sergio Leone led the charge with his box office hits starring Clint Eastwood. Just as the films seemed a little eschew of their American predecessors, with their lower budgets, dubbed dialogue and Italian and Spanish desert backdrops, the soundtracks had their own idiosyncrasies. Ennio Morricone in his work with Leone established an unorthodox aesthetic adding strange vocal phrasing and sound effects to more traditional elements such as acoustic guitar, harmonica and string sections. Here is a great example of the style, repleat with non-native speaking lyrics.
Tune of the Week: Sly Stone Meltdown
It is hard to think of many tunes that exude the hot and sweaty height of summertime quite like this reimagining Sly Stone gave one of his biggest hits. Murky, sludgey funk from the armpit of a drug addled reality.
Tune of the Week: Hot Hot Hot
The Cure’s seventh album, “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me” is their most ambitious and sprawling release. Bandleader Robert Smith set up a more collaborative songwriting system for the songs. He requested band members to submit multiple ideas for tunes. The results led to one of their strongest efforts and subsequently led to greater success for the act. Here is a rare example of a “funky” songs by the poster boys for Goth.
Tune of the Week: Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys rejuvenated 60's singer Dusty Springfield’s pop career with this big hit back in 1987. It’s success was undoubtably due to them bringing in the big guns for writing it. Allee Willis, who had co-written some of Earth, Wind and Fire’s biggest hits (“September” and “Boogie Wonderland”) has her hands all over this deadpan banger!
Tune of the Week: Soul Fire
Having been an independent music producer in Kingston for the last ten years, by the late 70s Lee “Scratch” Perry was probably starting to feel the effects of burnout. By 1978 he had been recording in the studio he built in his own backyard: The Black Ark. In that year he recorded his first solo album of original vocal tunes, “Roast Fish Collie Weed and Corn Bread”. Despite a couple of tunes that focused on physical health, there were a few songs on the album that displayed an unstable and paranoid mental state. This starting track is a great example. The notion of your soul being on fire and there not being any natural remedy is definitely disturbing! Do try to keep tabs on your mental state and engage in some self care, folks.
Tune of the Week: Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos is an electronic music producer whose early works helped gain public awareness and acceptance of the form. Her “Switched On…” series translated classical music works into electronic music pieces and were a huge commercial hit. Later, she worked with Stanley Kubrick to create haunting soundtracks to his classic films “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Shining”. She is also a transgender pioneer, having started her transition in 1968. Frustratingly, there is precious little of her musical output on Youtube, but there are a goodly amount of interview where she speaks of her process:
Tune of the Week: The Last Poets
While exactly who The Last Poets are varies depending on whom you speak to, one thing is clear: they are pro-Black, anti-establishment and proto-Hip Hop.
Tune of the Week: Marshall Allen Turns 100
When the almighty Sun Ra departed this planet in 1993, multi-instrumentalist Marshall Allen took over leading the world renown Sun Ra Arkestra. Having joined the band in 1958, Allen knew the repertoire inside and out. In the last ten years the band has seen an even greater amount of fame and notoriety. They continue to to record regularly and tour extensively. This week found Marshall Allen turning 100, proof positive that music can help keep you young. All hail the interstellar maestro!