Shapes Between Us Turn into Animals
Exhausting music meme here:
Name your top 10 most played bands on iTunes (Or in this case, what I have the most of by one artist):
1. Prince
2. Miles Davis
3. Albert Ayler
4. The Cold
5. The Cure
6. Kate Bush
7. Parliament/Funkadelic
8. Robyn Hitchcock
9. Sonic Youth
10. Merle Haggard
What was the first song you ever heard by 6 ?
"Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)", back around 1985 or so when MTV used a clip of Kate lipsynching to the song on the Wogan show because, rumor had it, that the original video was too sexually explicit (really, MTV? The channel that shows half-naked gyrating strippers won't show a woman -- the actually artist -- dancing in a hakama?) I remember not being that into it at the time, but later in college as I got deeper and deeper in the older music of Peter Gabriel I developed a greater appreciation for her entire body of work.
What is your favorite album of 2?
It used to be Bitches Brew, which is the first album to turn me on to Miles. From that moment on every new album I heard became my new "favorite" Miles Davis album. But I think these days, it's clearly The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions box set (the sessions that eventually led to the Tribute To Jack Johnson album), recorded in 1970 but not actually released until 2003. Featuring Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Sonny Sharrock, John McLaughlin, and too many other earthbound giants to count.
What is your favorite lyric that 5?
Oh, God. My friends and I used to rag on Cure lyrics all the time back when I was in high school. Although I do admit we used to think the lyrics to "How Beautiful You Are" were pretty "Whoa, dude..." at the time. I'll still never forget driving with Joe the first time he heard "Fire In Cairo" and there's that annoying part where Robert Smith keeps spelling out the song title over and over for no understandable reason. So after the full round of "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" Joe remarks, "Gee, I was really kinda hoping he'd spell that out for me one more time." and I laughed so hard I nearly hit a Krispy Kreme truck.
How many times have you seen 4?
Once, at their reunion show in New Orleans, 2001.
What is your favorite song by 7?
Whoa, nellie. That's not an easy one. I will say the strongest contender is "The Motor Booty Affair", off the album of the same name. Actually, mark the album of the same name as also my favorite album by number 4 as well.
What is a good memory you have involving the music of 10?
Singing "Mama Tried" with Alvin at the top of our lungs at Wherehouse Music in Ward's Corner.
Is there a song of 3 that makes you sad?
Probably "Our Prayer". Reminds me of a New Orleans funeral march heard underwater.
What is your favorite lyric that 2 has sung?
Silly! Miles doesn't sing.
How did you get into 3 ?
An online buddy of mine, music critic Phil Freeman, was gushing about the disk one day, telling me how although half the Holy Ghost box set was kind of bleh, the rest of it was one of the most essential owning of any important jazz artist to date. I had the Holy Ghost set at work but could never afford it until it came in used one day (probably the same one we sold). Another friend and music critic Steve Dollar extolled the very same virtues of this set which finally pushed me over the edge to buy it for myself. Two New York-based porn-loving jazz/metal critics can't be wrong!
What is your favorite song by 4?
I think these days I gotta say "Hot Ride". For sounding like the best Clash knock-off I've heard from anybody in awhile.
How many times have you seen 9 live?
Twice, although the first time was the most memorable. First I bought a shirt off of Steve Albini, who told me to go find some "hot chicks" and tell them who he was and send them over. Then near the end of the gig Lee Renaldo pulls me up on stage and I run around jumping and goofing off while the band wails away on whatever noisescape they're layin' down and I totally trip over and fall on top of Kim Gordon, who continues to straddle her bass Jimi Hendrix-style and coax weird rumbles out of it. I can see Joe and S. at the back of the Boathouse, who are clutching each other and pointing at me and screaming. Meanwhile Perry Ferrell is standing right next to them, sportin' those very same wacky pants he wears in the "Stop" video by Jane's Addiction. Talk about a zany fun-filled night brushing up against celebrity skin.
What is a good memory you have involving 2?
Having brunch recently with Mike and Mikey C. and Donna while "So What" plays on the jukebox. How cool is that where a diner has "So What" on their jukebox and it's not 1959?
Is there a song of 8 that makes you sad?
Maybe" Cynthia Mask"? More because of the rather plaintive key it's in.
What is your favorite album of 5?
Pornography, by far. I remember that hot summer night in 1988 when Joe and I were trying to go to sleep listening to that album, all the windows open, and the trees from the deep mountain forests outside were making terrifying shadows on the opposite wall -- one of which resembled a man dangling from a noose, all while Robert Smith wailed "I waaant toooo DIIIIIEEEEE!" over and over again. About a year later I got to hold up the CD proudly on the local news doing a story about the Music Man record store (where I would work a short while later). It still pleases me to this day that I got to flash the words "The Cure: PORNOGRAPHY" on local television.
What is your favorite lyric that 3 has sung?
Ooo, wow. Again. Ayler? Like Miles, not a singer.
What is your favorite song of 1?
Another toughie (funk always is). But I will have to always round it up to "1999", always and forever.
What is your favorite song of 10?
Did I mention "Mama Tried" already? You know, as sappy as it is, I still have a soft spot for "I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am". I really takes me back to the kind of country I remember growing up with as a child. There's a certain comfort in that.
How many times have you seen 8 live?
Never! Somebody hook me up! (I didn't even get to his part in the movie Rachel Getting Married yet before Joe turned it off in disgust)
What is your favorite album of 1?
Probably Sign Of The Times. It has a sort of Beatles White Album feel, or different sounds and moods (and consistencies of quality). Yet for similar reasons, that's what makes it so damn good.
What is a great memory you have considering 9?
Not really a great memory (that would be the concert discussed above), but when my grandmother died back in January of 1991 I found that the only song that gave me any solace to my grief was "Teenage Riot". I blasted that first track off of Daydream Nation over and over so many times I don't even know if my old vinyl will play anymore. It still makes me think of my Nana every time I watch this video.
What was the first song you heard by 8?
I bought Hitchcock's Globe Of Frogs in the summer of 1988, having no idea who he was or having ever heard his work, so I guess technically the first Robyn Hitchcock song I ever heard was "Tropical Flesh Mandala", being the first track on the album. Although I admit "Vibrating" and "Balloon Man" were the obvious stand-outs.
What is your favorite cover by 2?
I don't think I can recall a Miles Davis cover at the moment. Although I do think I remember my friend Mike performing "So What" live with one of his many various bands once.
Name your top 10 most played bands on iTunes (Or in this case, what I have the most of by one artist):
1. Prince
2. Miles Davis
3. Albert Ayler
4. The Cold
5. The Cure
6. Kate Bush
7. Parliament/Funkadelic
8. Robyn Hitchcock
9. Sonic Youth
10. Merle Haggard
What was the first song you ever heard by 6 ?
"Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)", back around 1985 or so when MTV used a clip of Kate lipsynching to the song on the Wogan show because, rumor had it, that the original video was too sexually explicit (really, MTV? The channel that shows half-naked gyrating strippers won't show a woman -- the actually artist -- dancing in a hakama?) I remember not being that into it at the time, but later in college as I got deeper and deeper in the older music of Peter Gabriel I developed a greater appreciation for her entire body of work.
What is your favorite album of 2?
It used to be Bitches Brew, which is the first album to turn me on to Miles. From that moment on every new album I heard became my new "favorite" Miles Davis album. But I think these days, it's clearly The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions box set (the sessions that eventually led to the Tribute To Jack Johnson album), recorded in 1970 but not actually released until 2003. Featuring Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Sonny Sharrock, John McLaughlin, and too many other earthbound giants to count.
What is your favorite lyric that 5?
Oh, God. My friends and I used to rag on Cure lyrics all the time back when I was in high school. Although I do admit we used to think the lyrics to "How Beautiful You Are" were pretty "Whoa, dude..." at the time. I'll still never forget driving with Joe the first time he heard "Fire In Cairo" and there's that annoying part where Robert Smith keeps spelling out the song title over and over for no understandable reason. So after the full round of "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" "F-I-R-E I-N C-A-I-R-O!" Joe remarks, "Gee, I was really kinda hoping he'd spell that out for me one more time." and I laughed so hard I nearly hit a Krispy Kreme truck.
How many times have you seen 4?
Once, at their reunion show in New Orleans, 2001.
What is your favorite song by 7?
Whoa, nellie. That's not an easy one. I will say the strongest contender is "The Motor Booty Affair", off the album of the same name. Actually, mark the album of the same name as also my favorite album by number 4 as well.
What is a good memory you have involving the music of 10?
Singing "Mama Tried" with Alvin at the top of our lungs at Wherehouse Music in Ward's Corner.
Is there a song of 3 that makes you sad?
Probably "Our Prayer". Reminds me of a New Orleans funeral march heard underwater.
What is your favorite lyric that 2 has sung?
Silly! Miles doesn't sing.
How did you get into 3 ?
An online buddy of mine, music critic Phil Freeman, was gushing about the disk one day, telling me how although half the Holy Ghost box set was kind of bleh, the rest of it was one of the most essential owning of any important jazz artist to date. I had the Holy Ghost set at work but could never afford it until it came in used one day (probably the same one we sold). Another friend and music critic Steve Dollar extolled the very same virtues of this set which finally pushed me over the edge to buy it for myself. Two New York-based porn-loving jazz/metal critics can't be wrong!
What is your favorite song by 4?
I think these days I gotta say "Hot Ride". For sounding like the best Clash knock-off I've heard from anybody in awhile.
How many times have you seen 9 live?
Twice, although the first time was the most memorable. First I bought a shirt off of Steve Albini, who told me to go find some "hot chicks" and tell them who he was and send them over. Then near the end of the gig Lee Renaldo pulls me up on stage and I run around jumping and goofing off while the band wails away on whatever noisescape they're layin' down and I totally trip over and fall on top of Kim Gordon, who continues to straddle her bass Jimi Hendrix-style and coax weird rumbles out of it. I can see Joe and S. at the back of the Boathouse, who are clutching each other and pointing at me and screaming. Meanwhile Perry Ferrell is standing right next to them, sportin' those very same wacky pants he wears in the "Stop" video by Jane's Addiction. Talk about a zany fun-filled night brushing up against celebrity skin.
What is a good memory you have involving 2?
Having brunch recently with Mike and Mikey C. and Donna while "So What" plays on the jukebox. How cool is that where a diner has "So What" on their jukebox and it's not 1959?
Is there a song of 8 that makes you sad?
Maybe" Cynthia Mask"? More because of the rather plaintive key it's in.
What is your favorite album of 5?
Pornography, by far. I remember that hot summer night in 1988 when Joe and I were trying to go to sleep listening to that album, all the windows open, and the trees from the deep mountain forests outside were making terrifying shadows on the opposite wall -- one of which resembled a man dangling from a noose, all while Robert Smith wailed "I waaant toooo DIIIIIEEEEE!" over and over again. About a year later I got to hold up the CD proudly on the local news doing a story about the Music Man record store (where I would work a short while later). It still pleases me to this day that I got to flash the words "The Cure: PORNOGRAPHY" on local television.
What is your favorite lyric that 3 has sung?
Ooo, wow. Again. Ayler? Like Miles, not a singer.
What is your favorite song of 1?
Another toughie (funk always is). But I will have to always round it up to "1999", always and forever.
What is your favorite song of 10?
Did I mention "Mama Tried" already? You know, as sappy as it is, I still have a soft spot for "I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am". I really takes me back to the kind of country I remember growing up with as a child. There's a certain comfort in that.
How many times have you seen 8 live?
Never! Somebody hook me up! (I didn't even get to his part in the movie Rachel Getting Married yet before Joe turned it off in disgust)
What is your favorite album of 1?
Probably Sign Of The Times. It has a sort of Beatles White Album feel, or different sounds and moods (and consistencies of quality). Yet for similar reasons, that's what makes it so damn good.
What is a great memory you have considering 9?
Not really a great memory (that would be the concert discussed above), but when my grandmother died back in January of 1991 I found that the only song that gave me any solace to my grief was "Teenage Riot". I blasted that first track off of Daydream Nation over and over so many times I don't even know if my old vinyl will play anymore. It still makes me think of my Nana every time I watch this video.
What was the first song you heard by 8?
I bought Hitchcock's Globe Of Frogs in the summer of 1988, having no idea who he was or having ever heard his work, so I guess technically the first Robyn Hitchcock song I ever heard was "Tropical Flesh Mandala", being the first track on the album. Although I admit "Vibrating" and "Balloon Man" were the obvious stand-outs.
What is your favorite cover by 2?
I don't think I can recall a Miles Davis cover at the moment. Although I do think I remember my friend Mike performing "So What" live with one of his many various bands once.
posted by Melissa at 12:16 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home