MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Opening the show with Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey singing ‘Money, Money, Money’ let everyone know from the get-go what this week’s theme was. Yes, the dirty dollar, the buckaroo, moolah – whatever you want to call it – Money. Depending on your viewpoint, it either makes the world go ’round or its the root of all evil. I tried to offer up songs that would support either theory in a show jam-packed with music from all genres.

First up, Dire Straits with ‘Money For Nothing’, promising all the young dudes that all they need to do is play the guitar on the MTV to get their ‘money for nothing and their chicks for free’. Yeah sure, maybe in the good old days, Mark Knopfler! Then it was onto one of several Beatles songs of the day with ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ and a great version of ‘Money’ by The Flying Lizards. Originally written and recorded by Motown musician Barrett Strong, this robotic, unapologetic version has been used in several movie soundtracks, including two of my favourites: The Big Lebowski and Empire Records.

And then it was the song that made the world, especially Australia and 
Europe, wild for ABBA. ‘Money, Money, Money’ remained at the top of Australia’s charts for six weeks, and made it to the Top 3 in at least 11 other countries. The Pet Shop Boys offered up  their formula for making money, ‘Opportunities’: I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks, Let’s make lots of money.” I’m sure plenty of hairbrained schemes were launched on that premise!  Back together again, with a new hit album, its worth having a look at the video of the track that differs quite a bit from the album version. The mix on this video seems much better,  to my ears anyway.

My Roy Orbison song this week was ‘Uptown’, about a bellhop who yearns for the attention of a gal way out of his league, financially. Van Morrison sang about ‘Blue Money’ and the Steve Miller Band track ‘Take the Money and Run’ kept the country rock fans happy. I love Louis Jordan and his song ‘If You’re So Smart, How Come You Ain’t Rich’ appealed to my sense of humour. Then it was onto Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin for a good dose of Blues/R&B.

New to my show was Gwen Stefani with a number that really suited the theme. ‘Rich Girl’ cheekily adapts ‘If I Were A Rich Man’ from Fiddler on the Roof to great effect. And a little bit of help from Eve on this track, didn’t hurt either. And then it was onto more Beatles with ‘Taxman’ and more Pet Shop Boys, with a great number ‘Rent’ and some Yeah, Yeah Yeahs with ‘Rich’. All leading up to the money anthem of all time: Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ from their 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon. With its money-related sound effects of cash registers, coins and the like, it is perfect. Have a look at the original video clip which is quite a powerful companion to a song which defined the notion: ‘the rich get richer and the poor get poorer’.

Our country section included Lefty Frizzell with his honky -tonk version of  ’If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time’ and The Stanley Brothers with a bit of bluegrass: ‘If I Lose’, about a gambler who can always count on his woman to help him out. Horace Andy delivered a great bit of reggae with Money, Money. According to Horace, money is the root of all evil. He may be right but then again I’m hoping that money can also do some good in this world. (Now all I have to do is convince someone to give me some!)

Janis Joplin, John Lennon and AC/DC led up to the finish line and I closed the show with Massive Attack’s remake of William DeVaughan’s song ‘Be Thankful For What You’ve Got’. And that sums up my message from this week’s show – be thankful for what you’ve got. Yes, the best things in life really are free. And radio is one of those!

Here’s the full playlist for you:

Money, Money - Liza Minnelli/Joel Grey/ Cabaret 

Money for Nothing - Dire Straits

Can’t Buy Me Love - The Beatles

Money - The Flying Lizards

Money, money, money - ABBA

Opportunities (Let’s make lots of money) - Pet Shop Boys

Take the Money and Run - Steve Miller Band

Blue Money - Van Morrison

Uptown - Roy Orbison

If You So Smart, How Come You Ain’t Rich  - Louis Jordan

I Got A Woman - Ray Charles

Money Won’t Change You -  Aretha Frankin

Security - Otis Redding

Rich Girl - Nina Simone

Rich Girl (feat. Eve) - Gwen Stefani

Taxman - The Beatles

Rent - Pet Shop Boys

Rich - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Money - Pink Floyd

No Money - Ernie K Doe and the Blue Diamonds 

If You’ve Got The Money I’ve Got The Time - Lefty Frizzell

If I Lose - The Stanley Brothers

Rich Woman - Li’l Millet & His Creoles

Rich Mans Blues - C.W. Stoneking

Money Money - Horace Andy

Buy Me A Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin

Nobody Loves You (when you’re down and out) - John Lennon

Moneytalks  - ACDC

You Never Give Me Your Money - The Beatles

Be Thankful For What You’ve Got   - Massive Attack

Next week I’ll be dedicating the show to music from the 60′s and giving away tickets to the new film, set in ’66 against the British pirate radio days, The Boat That Rocked. 

Listen to Lyn at the Theme Park, Tuesdays 2-4pm, Sydney time, at BayFM 99.9 or streaming at www.bayfm.org

FEMALE ARTISTS

Throughout the world, since 1975, we have set aside the 8th of March as a day to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. So a radio show airing on March 10, hosted by a pretty feisty woman at that, had a fairly predictable theme begging. I roped in young Zoe to help give the show a wider perspective and we got stuck into presenting some of our favourite female artists. That’s both of us at the end of the show, about to down a well earned shot of caffeine!

We opened the show with ‘Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves’, from Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox. A great feminist anthem, the tune was recorded in 1985 – the year that Zoe was born! Feeling more than a little ancient, I squeezed in my favourite Blues singers – Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin – before handing over the program to Zoe’s first three choices – The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Feist and Robots in Disguise (‘their song La Nuit’ is great – I never thought I could be converted to Electro! Go figure). The video clip is mad, mad, mad…..

When I was putting together my choice for ‘rock chicks’,  Zoe suggested Stevie Nicks (much to my surprise), and who was I to argue? The title of ‘Edge of Seventeen’ was inspired by Tom Petty’s wife Jane who has a strong Southern accent. When Nicks misheard her say ‘the age of seventeen’ as ‘edge of seventeen’ she swore that she would write a song with the latter as the title. The song’s lyrics came about as a direct result of the grief she felt over the death of both an uncle and John Lennon’s death in the same week of December 1980. The track became the 3rd single from her hit album Bella Donna. It was used in the film ‘School of Rock’ with Jack Black which brought the song, and Stevie, to the attention of a whole new generation.

I also totally approved of Zoe’s next three selections: M.I.A., Soko and Cat Power. M.I.A. is an interesting singer. We all know who she is now because of her Academy Award nomination (with A.R. Rahman)  for  ’O…Saya’ as Best Song, from the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. It didn’t win but now my generation is aware of this precocious young performer. An accomplished visual artist by 2002, she came to prominence in early 2004 through file-sharing of her singles ‘Galang’ and ‘Sunshower’s on the Internet.

But I have to say that Soko is my favourite of this bunch. She may turn out to be a one-hit wonder with her very cute and controversial song ‘I’ll Kill Her’ but if you keep your sense of humour intact, she is a rare and refreshing new talent. Here’s hoping that we hear more of her. She was supposed to have released an album in February of 2009 but her MySpace page, as of January, insists that she has quit singing. Hope not! Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25AsfkriHQc

There are so many other great female artists. My selection included the original rock chick – Joan Jett – more blues and r&b with Dinah Washington and Etta James and I even got in some country with Linda Ronstadt singing her version of Roy Orbison’s ‘Blue Bayou’ (and you were wondering how I was going to fit a Roy Orbison song into a show about women! No worries).

Zoe and I both wanted Nina Simone in there and what better song to showcase that amazing voice than ‘I Put A Spell On You’, originally recorded by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins in 1957. And then, of course, there was Amy Winehouse, P.J.Harvey, Shirley Manson, Aretha Franklin and we finished the show with Regina Spektor’s fantastic version of John Lennon’s song ‘Real Love’. This is a song that Spektor contributed to the Amnesty International album to save Darfur. So many of the artists we showcased today are not only strong women artists but they are politically aware and contributing positively to change, not just for women but for all mankind. Respect indeed. Have a look at Regina Spektor at the Bonnaroo Festival in 2007:

Here’s the complete  playlist:

Sisters Are Doin It For Themselves (1985) - Aretha Franklin/Annie Lennox

Billie’s Blues (1936) - Billie Holiday

One Good Man (1969) - Janis Joplin

Rich (2003) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Mushaboom (2004) - Feist

La Nuit (2005) - Robots In Disguise

Up The Neck (1980) - The Pretenders/Chrissie Hynde

Edge of Seventeen (1981) -  Stevie Nicks

Bad Reputation (1981) - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

Paper Planes (2007)  - M.I.A.

I’ll Kill Her (2008) - SoKo

Sea Of Love (2008) [Remastered Version] - Cat Power

Crazy (1962) - Patsy Cline

Jolene (1973) - Dolly Parton

Blue Bayou (1977) - Linda Ronstadt (Roy Orbison cover)

Glory Box  (1994) - Portishead

Bachelorette (1997) - Bjork

Big Long Slidin’ Thing (1954) - Dinah Washington

Tell Mama (1968) - Etta James

Push It (1986) - Salt N Peppa

I Put A Spell On You (1968)  - -Nina Simone

Cupid (2006) - Amy Winehouse

Cry Baby (1971) - Janis Joplin (With Full Tilt Boogie)

C’mon Billy (1995) - PJ Harvey

Stupid Girl (1996) - Garbage (Shirley Manson)

Respect (1967) - Aretha Franklin

Real Love (2007) - Regina Spektor

Next week: Inspired by the this week’s leaping of generations, the theme next Tuesday will be ‘Age’ – young, old and in-between.

Tune into the Theme Park with Lyn  at BayFM 99.9 each Tuesday 2-4pm (Sydney time), or streaming at www.bayfm.org.

Sex, Drugs and, (not just), Rock ‘n’ Roll

This week’s theme was all about sex and drugs, but not just rock n roll. In fact it was a lot of early blues. I just love those early (30s, 40s, 50s) gutsy hot mamas, like Barrel House Annie and Julia and Her Boyfriends who shed their inhibitions and sang about their desires. I also played some C.W. Stoneking, who with his wife Kirsty Fraser, know how to evoke and extend the highly provocative ditty – listen to ‘You Took My Thing’ to find out what I mean. And, of course, there was rock ‘n’ roll with Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis as well as the great r&b/soul singers Etta James and Marvin Gaye. And that was just in the first hour!

One of my favourites from the  show was Tina Turner singing Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love”. Here’s a clip lifted from her ‘Simply the Best’ VCR for you to enjoy. Little wonder that I followed this with Tom Jones singing ‘Sexbomb’.

In the second hour I played a piece of Janis Joplin that clearly showed the influence of the great Bessie Smith. “Mary Jane” is a live performance, recorded in 1965 with the Dick Oxtot Jazz Band. If you want to track it down, look for the 1975 compilation album Janis or the 2007 compilation The Very Best of Janis Joplin. Did you know that Joplin so idolised Bessie Smith that she remedied the scandal of her unmarked grave by organising the appropriate carved inscription: “The greatest blues singer in the world will never stop singing”?

Another discovery for me, thanks to the Bob Dylan Theme Time compilation, is Mary Gauthier. Her song, “I Drink” cuts straight to the bone. What a potent and powerful song, both in its lyrics and its delivery. Apparently Gauthier is a recovered alcoholic who grew up in an abusive and alcoholic household. As Bob Dylan so eloquently puts it, “the song plays like a bittersweet farewell to a dangerous lover.”

Long before she carved out her hugely successful pop career with sensual versions of great love songs, the gorgeous voice of Dinah Washington was used to belt out some very suggestive blues numbers. I included the blatantly lascivious ‘Big Slidin’ Thing’ in this week’s show. It finds Washington pining for her absent man who’s apparently proficient with his extraordinary instrument – a trombone people, a trombone! Such a tragedy that Washington would die at 39, after an accidental overdose of prescription diet pills mixed with alcohol.

My Roy Orbison song this week was ‘Mean Woman Blues’, initially recorded by Elvis as part of the soundtrack for his 1957 motion picture, Loving You. Roy recorded it with ‘Blue Bayou’ in 1963, as a 45rpm single and it went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 1oo music charts. I love the line: ‘Well I ain’t braggin’, it’s understood. Everything I do, well I sure do good’. Oh yeah. 

Finished the show with Verve’s ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ which, although most listeners might assume is an anti-drugs song, is, in fact, about the father of one of the band members. He was being treated for cancer, the drugs stopped working and he died. Aaargh.

Sorry to end on a bit of a downer. So, let’s get cheerful next week. I overlooked the fact that January 12th (my birthday as well!) was the birthday of Motown. So next week its all things soulful on Theme Park. Hope to have you all listening in. Streaming details at end of this week’s playlist which follows.

 

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll - Ian Dury 

Minnie The Moocher - Cab Calloway 

Dynamite – Cheech and Chong (Comedy clip)

The Old Dope Peddler - Tom Lehrer 

Monkey On My Back - Ross Hannaford Trio 

Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends 

If it don’t fit - Barrell House Annie 

You Took My Thing - C.W. Stoneking 

The Girl Can’t Help It - Little Richard 

Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis 

You Can Leave Your Hat On - Joe Cocker 

Addicted To Love (with Brian Adams Live) - Tina Turner 

Sexbomb - Tom Jones 

I Just Want To Make Love To You - Etta James 

Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Drug Lists (Movie Clip)

Rehab - Amy Winehouse 

Cocaine Habit - Captain Matchbox

Mary Jane - Janis Joplin 

I Drink - Mary Gauthier 

Rocket - Connie Lee 

Big Long Slidin’ Thing - Dinah Washington 

Afternoon Delight - Starlight Vocal Band 

Itchycoo Park - Small Faces 

Mean Woman Blues - Roy Orbison 

Burning Love - Elvis Presley 

Take a Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed 

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - The Beatles 

Mother’s Little Helper - The Rolling Stones 

Cold Turkey - John Lennon 

The Drugs Dont Work - The Verve 

Next week: The History of Motown!

Listen to Lyn McCarthy at ‘Theme Park’ on Bay FM 99.9,  Tuesdays 2-4pm, Sydney time. Also streaming on http://www.bayfm.org