Playlist for
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Arpil 25, 2008
Hosted by Greg Lyon on FRIDAYS at 2-4 pm
on WPVM Asheville (103.5 FM and www.wpvm.org)
Notes:
– Aaaahhh, finally back to normal here at the The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. No more fund drive shows. Don’t get me wrong–I love doing the fund drive shows, as they’re pretty exciting, but I prefer not begging for money and getting stressed out about it all. I feel pressure to do something "special" and entertain you people out there more than I normally do. It affects the art, man, such as it is. In contrast, in a "normal" show, I get to play a lot of NEW music. And to be quite honest with you, new music (or at least new to me) is what it’s all about. This was also the first show I’ve done solo in a good while, which I’ve figured out puts a much more laid-back vibe into the show. I play more jazz when I’m by myself, for example. So today, here’s what kicked my ass…
– Right out of the gate, the new Mississippi Records release (out of Portland, Oregon) is flat-out sublime: a reissue of a 1970 African album (from Mali) by the Regional Orchestra of Kayes. Everything on that record is stand-out, and I’ve listened to a lot of good African music lately. Pick it up before it disappears, like all that Mississippi Records stuff. You can learn more about the album at Graeme Counsel’s super-informative Radio Africa website (and also find out what he thinks of Mississippi Records–it’s not pretty). I also played the Elder Charles Beck’s "Rock & Roll Sermon" from the second pressing (minus the bonus 7") of Mississippi’s Life Is a Problem compilation. Don’t you dare call that music they’re playing rock ‘n’ roll because that would be evil–no, sir, it’s gospel (uh, I guess).
– Don Cavalli is a French dude who’s tapped into a particularly rich primitive American garage-rock/blues mainline. That "New Hollywood Babylon" riff is not likely to let me enjoy uninterrupted silence for at least a few weeks. It’s that catchy. And the rest of the album is strong too–definitely one of the best I’ve heard yet this year.
– That new Be Your Own Pet album is pretty disappointing. I won’t say it sounds like a sell-out (ok, I didn’t say it), but it lacks the extra-special sauce that their debut had. Yawn. Playing "San Francisco’s Doomed" by Crime after it simply wasn’t a fair fight.
Background Music: Walt Dickerson - Jazz Impressions of Lawrence of Arabia (Dauntless, 1963)
| Artist | Song | Album | Label | Comments | New |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Orchestra of Kayes | Sanjina | The Best of the First Biennale of Arts and Culture for the Young | Mississippi | 1970 Mali | * |
| Earth | Engine of Ruin | The Bee Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull | Southern Lord | playing locally | * |
| Mission of Burma | Weatherbox | Vs. | Matador | from the new "Definitive Editions" | * |
| Hunting Lodge | Hero of the Beach | Energy Czar | Yosada | * | |
| Death of Samantha | Sexual Dreaming | Strungout on Jargon | Homestead | ||
| Witch | Eye | Paralyzed | Tee Pee | * | |
| Don Cavalli | New Hollywood Babylon | Cry Land | Everloving | * | |
| Richard Swift | SM60 | Richard Swift As Onassis | Secretly Canadian | * | |
| Elder Charles Beck | Rock & Roll Sermon | VA - Life Is a Problem | Mississippi | ||
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | Today’s Lesson | Dig Lazarus Dig | Anti- | * | |
| Singer | Dumb Smoke | Unhistories | Drag City | * | |
| Love Live Life +1 | Love Will Make a Better You | Love Will Make a Better You | Japanese psych from the early 70s | ||
| Barry Adamson | The Beaten Side of Town | Back To The Cat | Central Control | * | |
| Bob James Trio | Peasant Boy | Explosions | ESP-Disk | * | |
| Destroyer | Plaza Trinidad | Trouble in Dreams | Merge | playing locally | * |
| Kurt Vile | Freeway | Constant Hitmaker | Gulcher | * | |
| Blue Orchids | Hanging Man | The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) | Rough Trade | ||
| Atlas Sound | Scraping Past | Let the blind lead those who can see but cannot feel | Kranky | * | |
| Imaad Wasif with Two Part Beast | Halcyon | Strange Hexes | Force Field | * | |
| Johnny Guitar | Mon Du Dow | VA - Shadow Music of Thailand | Sublime Frequencies | * | |
| Be Your Own Pet | Heart Throb | Get Awkward | Ecstatic Peace!/Universal | * | |
| Crime | San Francisco’s Doomed | San Francisco’s Doomed | Solar Lodge | ||
| Monotonix | Lowest Dive | Body Language | Drag City | * | |
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