This is another tape I recorded largely from the radio. This one's from 1996 and was taped during a period when I only listened to the oldies station, CBS FM in New York City.
It was a tortured relationship, because they played extremely annoying commercials in between the most delicious music ever recorded. Even when I wander off into minimalism, or noise rock, or free jazz, I come back to oldies.
freshest_radio_one.mp3
freshest_radio_other.mp3
The first side
Early in the mix on the first side is Joe Jackson doing "Steppin Out", which was a song I tried to get us to cover in Dick Army. Unfortunately, it's not easy to play. It's too fast. The lyrics can be seen as very punk ("We are young but getting old before our time"), perhaps, but it's the bassline that I thought would really work. Even now, I have to plug in my speakers to listen to this song very loud. It took me a long time to listen to other non-radio Joe Jackson tunes, but Beat Crazy is a great album.
"Breaking Us In Two" is also here.
I have to confess that this tape is pretty hard to listen to. It jumps back and forth between songs, and they're all really good songs where you want to hear the whole thing. I was making music at the time, and if I could have blended all of these sounds together, that was the sound I wanted to make. The best way to think about this tape when listening to it is, you're walking down the street and it's summer, and as cars pass by and you walk past shops and playgrounds you hear parts of songs and snippets of noise.
Doo Wop is ridiculous love music for guys who break each others' noses. I love it. It makes me realize I can't even imagine the 1950s! It was probably tougher and quieter. I wanted to have that toughness in my own performance.
"If You Really Love Me" by Stevie Wonder speeds up and slows down. The hand claps make it, as do Syreeta Wright's vocals.
That's Ray Charles doing "What'd I Say" and Creedence doing "Down on the Corner", both with amazing drums. That's Fugazi (around 24:45) doing their best song, "Defense of Humans".
George Harrison got sued for "My Sweet Lord", and I heard it kinda fucked him up for a while, which is understandable. That suit is total bullshit IMO.
So is carrying pictures of Chairman Mao. Some people believe that there's outside influence in left-wing political movements in this country that makes them do foolish things, or encourages the most insane members. Personally, I don't think outside influence is necessary. Possessing and articulating a coherent political position outside of the mainstream takes insight and research, and few people, even very passionate ones, have thought through their beliefs or subjected them to some objective analysis. Thus, carrying pictures of Mao. These are the people who've taken over Critical Mass as well. If I ever have a left-wing political movement, I'll be merciless in expelling dissenters.
At 39:08 is The Marvelettes doing "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", which is a Smokey Robinson song. He wrote every other song from 1965 to 1968.
Chuck Berry, "Johnny B Goode" is from 1955. It's hard. 1950s music is hard as a rock. Like, survive-in-the-wilderness-for-days-with-nothing-but-a-guitar-and-a-suit hard. Who can channel this now? Nobody's flinty. I want to make a movie where the hero survives on sheer flintiness. It will be called "The Flinty Fellow Survives".
The other side
"New Orleans" is a Bill Haley song. No idea who's playing it there, but it's great.
No satisfaction. A little bit of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City" with its gritty, dangerous riff. That is what summer in the city is like, or it should be.
"You're Like Quicksand"... that's rather feminine, isn't it? Being like quicksand, I mean.
"Hey You Get Off of My Cloud" is some Anglo Saxon testiness.
"Peggy Sue" is bizarre early Rock n Roll perfection. What was Buddy Holly in to? What was his scene? I think, or imagine, country music. I have no sense of the man as a person. Very nice? He sure looks nice. Buddy Holly Lives! Whereas The Clash (21:00) are from a later era where there's documentary film about everything. Still later, there was a documentary about everything, usually with an interview with Henry Rollins and DJ Spooky.
At 25:15 is "Hocus Pocus" by Focus. They don't play songs like that on the radio anymore, but they should, even though they won't. The ways in which they have fucked up are numerous and terrible. They will pay, though. They already have, but not enough. Think upon these words, oh Record People, whenever you hear "Hocus Pocus" by Focus.
Morrissey and The Smiths (33:00) get stuck in my head. There is a KRS-ONE quality of explaining reality to The Smiths. He is the son and the heir of a silence that is criminally vulgar. He seriously needs to talk to Mick Jagger. (Also: I heard a drunk guy singing this on the street last night around 7:30 p.m.)
Thought: is "How Soon Is Now" about being gay?
Whereas Led Zeppelin (36:00) deny reality altogether, which can be cool, too.