Category Archives: hip-hop
BORN IN THE USA
Despite what some of our American cousins may think, America is not the centre of the Universe. But credit where credit is due: its influence on music cannot be challenged. So, falling on the 4th of July, it was only fitting that our show this week be dedicated to the ultimate musical melting pot – the old US of A.
The playlist is, I think, a balanced one. There are songs that celebrate America and some that are intent on a reality check. You can find that list and lots of links to further information at the BayFM site. Here’s one of my favourite tracks of the day:
Ah, bugger it, here’s another one!
Next week, the show will be on ARGUMENTS. Which means that the song could be about the subject or, more interesting of course, the song could take on the form of an argument. Love to see what you come up with. Get in contact!
Listen to Lyn McCarthy at the Theme Park on BayFM at the new time of Mondays 1–2pm, Sydney time
Also streaming via BayFM
Tragically also on Facebook and Twitter
Email me at: lyn.themeparkradio@gmail.com
MOTORVATIN’ MAMAS
Hello there Parkies! The show has moved to Mondays 1-2pm for the winter. No time for a 2 hour show as I’m going to be very busy with the station’s Major Subscriber Drive for the next few months. This season’s show will not only be shorter, it will be sweeter and I’m thinking of bringing in a guest now and again to give us a list of their favourites. So that should be interesting! I’ve also given the blog a new look…. hope you like it.
This week’s playlist is dedicated to all our Mums because Mothers’ Day is next Sunday. Our opening song, MOTORVATIN’ MAMA was from Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman and his Rhythm Kings, and it set the tone for a pretty upbeat hour.
Having said that, the 1,000 Maniacs have a beautifully lyrical song that also suits the theme. Lead singer Natalie Merchant, knows what its like to EAT FOR TWO. She has a unique voice and she’s also a brilliant songwriter having written the majority of the Maniacs songs. She’s now out on her own and getting even better. Here she is, back then with the Maniacs:
The great soul singer O.V. Wright feels like a MOTHERLESS CHILD but its OK because Etta James is there with an offer that he can’t refuse: TELL MAMA. And Ben Harper taps into the zeitgeist on MAMA’S GOT A GIRLFRIEND NOW.
An oldie, but definitely a goodie is The Shirelles’ MAMA SAID THERE’D BE DAYS LIKE THIS. Take a look at this excellent award winning short film, using the song and recreating the group. A fantastic example of how a seemingly innocent song can be used to make political comment. The film, Mama Said, was directed by Mike Costanza and stars Lyn McDonald, Karen Hawkins, Lorinda Hawkins and Crystal Justine as The Shirelles. It was shown at both Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals:
Blues legend Magic Sam is having problems with his girlfriend so he’s got no other option than to plead with her mother on MAMA TALK TO YOUR DAUGHTER.
It was time to crank things up a bit and who better to do that than Lenny Kravitz and Slash with a great version of ALWAYS ON THE RUN. Sex on a stick, girls, sex on a stick.
Calm down, calm down. We had to have a song about Mother Earth, surely. Neko Case’s alternative country track NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON MOTHER EARTH is a beauty. It’s from her Middle Cyclone album, released in 2009
When I first started doing Theme Park three years ago, I didn’t think I’d ever play any rap music, but the great thing about putting together a playlist like this each week is that you need to listen to lots of different music, and I’ve come to appreciate all genres, even rap! Especially when it’s as good as our next song. ALL I’VE GOT IS YOU is a reverent homage to all the mums in the world from Ghostface Killah and Mary J. Blige. Check this out and see if you’re converted too:
Of course, the Blues is where it all started and Howlin’ Wolf’s MY COUNTRY SUGAR MAMA is a classic in this genre. We followed with an artist who has been somewhat overlooked – Ruth Brown with MAMA, HE TREATS YOUR DAUGHTER MEAN. A wonderful performer. Take a look at those facial expressions!
The Rolling Stones ask: Have you seen your mother, baby, STANDING IN THE SHADOWS? Here’s some concert footage 1966. The Stones were touring with Ike and Tina Turner and The Yardbirds. Wow. What I wouldn’t have done for a ticket to one of those concerts!
Now if you’ve ever listened to Theme Park at my old time slot of Tuesday afternoons, you will know that I’m a huge fan of the Big ‘O’. So I had to include a Roy Orbison track in my first show of the season. It’s one you don’t hear very often – MOTHER.
And just in case you’ve got the impression that I’m permanently trapped in a 60’s and 70’s time warp, Decemberists fans will be happy that I played MY MOTHER WAS A CHINESE TRAPEZE ARTIST. That one was sent out to Alex who listens on the Internet from Sydney. You can do that too, you know. Just go to bayfm.org, press the listen button and the audio should then open in your media player (iTunes or whatever).
Wow, the hour whizzed past. Before I knew it I was playing our final song, a guilty pleasure for sure: Abba with DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW? Get you’re dancin’ shoes on people!
For next week’s show I’ve been inspired by all this talk of Royalty to put together a list of songs from ARTISTS WITH ROYAL NAMES. Think Prince, Queen, Duke Ellington, Queens of the Stone Age,….. you get my drift. If you have a request leave me a message here. I’d love to hear from you.
Happy Mothers Day to all you Mums for next Sunday!
Here’s this week’s full playlist:
Motorvatin’ Mama – Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings
Eat For Two – 10,000 Maniacs
Motherless Child – O.V. Wright
Tell Mama – Etta James
Mama’s Got a Girlfriend Now – Ben Harper and Tom Freund
Happy Mothers Day ( jingle)
Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This – Shirelles
Mama Talk To Your Daughter – Magic Sam
Always On The Run – Lenny Kravitz
Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth – Neko Case
All That I Got Is You – Ghostface Killah
My Country Sugar Mama – Howlin’ Wolf
(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean – Ruth Brown
Standing in the Shadows – Rolling Stones
Mother – Roy Orbison
My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist – The Decemberists
Does Your Mother Know – ABBA
Next week: ROCKIN’ ROYALTY
SONGS WITH SOUND FX
I’ve been away in my home town of Sydney for a couple of weeks but you can’t keep me from Byron Bay for long, so I was all fired up for this week’s show on SONGS WITH SOUND FX in them. I’ve 
discovered that many a song has been enhanced by a clever piece of non-musical noise and our opening song, MY BROTHER MAKES THE NOISES FOR THE TALKIES summed up the program beautifully. It’s by the very entertaining UK group, the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
Sounds of thunder accompany a song that suits the weather we’re having up here at the moment. WALKING IN THE RAIN is by the Ronettes, best known for their work with Phil Spector. With their beehive hairdos and tight skirts, they were known as the ‘bad girls’ of rock n roll. And now you know where Amy Winehouse go her ‘look’.
The sound of lapping waves welcomes in Otis Redding’ standard, SITTIN’ ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY. Redding wrote this song while living on a houseboat in Sausalito on the San Francisco Bay. It was recorded shortly before his tragic death at the age 0f 26. Released posthumously, it is his biggest hit ever.
There’s lots of playground noise on Cat Steven’s (REMEMBER THE DAYS OF) THE OLD SCHOOL YARD. And The Beatles use all kinds of carnival noises on BEING FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. KITE.
Jazz great Charles Mingus got his band to use their instruments to sound like foghorns and other harbour sounds on the remarkable A FOGGY DAY. In complete contrast, but somehow weirdly complementary, is M.I.A.’s PAPER PLANES. She utilizes the sounds of a cash register and heavy gunshot noise on this very provocative piece of hip-hop.
There were lots of requests for MONEY by Pink Floyd. And it had to be played, if not for the very good use of various sound effects, but because, well ….. it’s Pink Floyd!
Another fantastic song with sound effects is NO TIENE BILLET from Fruko y Sus Tesos. The rifle fire that tears through this brilliant Colombian tune implies that the eruption of violence, in a very poor country especially, is almost inevitable. On NITE CLUB, by the Specials, the only aggression heard is raised voices and the clinking of glasses.
George Gershwin’s AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, written in 1928, is full of imagery gone wild. It’s a brilliant song and a brilliant film too. This was Gene Kelly’s magnum opus. His choreography was of such a standard that the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences created a special Oscar that year in recognition of his achievement. Dancing to a segment of George Gershin’s stunning music, here is Kelly’s duet with the beautiful Leslie Caron:
Michael Jackson uses sound effects to the hilt on THRILLER and the Doors gave us another perfect weather song, with its thunder and lighting sound effect: RIDERS ON A STORM.
There are some very suggestive street sounds on what happens to be one of my all time favourite songs: LOOKING FOR THE HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT from the sublime Mr. Tom Waits. And then there’s a beautiful song that reminds me of my home town, Sydney: The Platters’ HARBOR LIGHTS.
Yep, that’s a baby gurgling throughout Stevie Wonder’s ISN’T SHE LOVELY. And as far as car sounds go, you can’t go past the highly influential electronic pioneers, Kraftwerk, with AUTOBAHN. Check this out:
Talking of road sounds, you didn’t actually think I was going to leave out LEADER OF THE PACK by the Shangri Las did you? This clip is from the television show ‘Ive Got a Secret’, recorded in 1964. The ‘bikie’ is Robert Goulet!
Dancehall queen, Lady Saw, inserts self-made creaking sounds on BED NOISE. They’re so convincing that I can hear the neighbours complaining already! Neo Ska group, The Specials, seem to put sound effects on most of their songs. This is one of their big hits: GHOST TOWN. These guys have been around for 30 years and still going strong. Here they are on Top of the Pops in 1981. Blast from the past. Love, love, love.
The Surfaris break a surfboard just to make a point on WIPEOUT. Creaking doors and other creepy sounds illustrate MONSTER MASH, by the marvellously named Boris Pickett and the Crypkickers. And crashing glass introduces Billy Joel’s YOU MAY BE RIGHT. How’s that for a trio of songs with sound effects? And just because I can, here’s a nice little clip with lots of fun horror film clips, backed up by MONSTER MASH. Do you see where Michael Jackson got his inspiration for Thriller?
Our last song went out to Des who so ably sat in for me while I was away for a few weeks. His favourite is Bob Dylan and it seems that Bob isn’t against using a sound effect either. There’s a mean sounding whistling siren on HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED.
Hopefully I won’t need to use any alarms to keep you awake during next week show on SLEEP AND INSOMNIA. Lots of great songs in this category so get your thinking caps on and send me your suggestions. But remember, we’ve done DREAMING and TIREDNESS, so the list has to be specifically about sleeping, or not.
Here’s this week’s complete playlist:
My Brother Makes The Noises For The Talkies – Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Walking In The Rain – The Ronettes
(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding
(Remember The Days Of The) Old School Yard – Cat Stevens
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! – The Beatles
A Foggy Day – Charlie Mingus
Paper Planes – M.I.A.
Money – Pink Floyd
No Tiene Billete – Fruko y Sus Tesos
Nite Club – The Specials
An American In Paris – George Gershwin
Thriller – Michael Jackson
Riders on the Storm – The Doors
(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night – Tom Waits
Harbor Lights – The Platters
Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
Autobahn – Kraftwerk
Leader Of The Pack – The Shangri-Las
Bed Noise – Lady Saw
Ghost Town – The Specials
Wipe Out – The Surfaris
Monster Mash – Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt-kickers
You May Be Right – Billy Joel
Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan
Next week: SLEEP AND INSOMNIA!
RECORDED FOR FILM
As you will no doubt be aware, the Academy Awards are coming up and in honour of the Oscar tradition of jazzing up a long-running format with dubious gimmicks, this week’s Theme Park was dedicated to Original Songs Recorded For Film. Here at BayFm we’re always on a budget so you just have to imagine the red carpet, the paparazzi and my fabulous outfit.
J’aimee Skippon-Volke from the Byron Film Festival also paid us a visit and we had a chat about what’s screening at the festival this year. She kindly gave away some tickets to our loyal subscribers, as did the wonderful people at the Dendy Cinema who are screening most of the Oscar nominees at the moment. Thanks guys and congrats to the lucky listeners who won those.
STAYIN’ ALIVE was written and recorded by The Bee Gees in 1977 for the film ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and the album defined the Bee Gees as they ushered in the disco era. None of the songs from this best selling album were nominated for an Oscar, with the Best Original Song of 1977 going to “You Light Up My Life’ from the widely panned film of the same name. Go figure.
Another oversight by the Academy is WHEN DOVES CRY from Prince’s brilliant album ‘Purple Rain’ which supported the film of the same name. Funky, sexy and totally rockin’ the album was nothing short of revolutionary and probably far too much for the staid Academy committee to take in. Prince doesn’t like to have his music on YouTube so it was difficult to get a good video of him performing the song, but here’s an extract from a DVD called ‘Prince – The Glory Years’:
Simon & Garfunkle wrote MRS ROBINSON especially for the film ‘The Graduate’. Thanks Judi, all the way from Cairns, for suggesting that one.
The Beatles A HARD DAY’S NIGHT is so iconic that many of us forget that all eight original songs plus four instrumentals are from the Beatles first movie.
And then it was one of my guilty pleasures, TONIGHT I’M GONNA ROCK YOU TONIGHT, from ‘This is Spinal Tap’. Not nominated for an Oscar either! What was the Academy thinking!
Prior to Bob Marley, nothing did more to make reggae popular than the soundtrack to THE HARDER THEY COME. Jimmy Cliff’s title song does the work of the film in less than four minutes. Gotta be the best reggae song ever written for a movie. The year was 1972 and the Oscar for Best Original song that year went to The Morning After from ‘The Poseidon Adventure’. Jimmy was robbed!
Here’s a song that actually did win an Oscar. Another guilty pleasure, I’m afraid, but in 1987 while all else around us was synth-pop, we fell hard for the film ‘Dirty Dancing’. The song? I’VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE from Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes. Oh, stop it, you know you were waiting for this one! R.I.P. Patrick Swayze.
Ok, I’m on a roll…. Yet another song that won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and who would have thought a rap song could pull it off? Eminem’s LOSE YOURSELF was written for his hit film 8 MILE, released in 2002.
Stevie Wonder’s I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU pipped two songs from the film ‘Footloose’ at the post to take out the Best Original Song in 1984. But he wasn’t the first black artist to take out the award. Back in 1971 Isaac Hayes’ soul and funk style THEME FROM SHAFT won the Oscar, making Hayes the first African American to win that honor (or any Academy Award in a non-acting category, for that matter). Check out the opening credit sequence from the film, which uses the theme so superbly. Damn right!
Danny Boyle’s amazing film ‘127 Hours’ is nominated in various categories this year, including Best Original Song and Best Film. He also directed ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ which in 2008 walked away with 8 Oscars. That year two of the songs from the film were nominated and JAI HO won the Oscar, but I prefer the song that missed out, O…SAYA by A.R. Rahman and M.I.A.
By having the actors write and perform their own songs, director Robert Altman managed to capture the sprawling heart of the ’70s Nashville music scene, the good, the bad and the just plain hokey. And while the album has its high and low points, the high points got their due: Keith Carradine’s I’M EASY won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1975.
Zoe suggested that I play the whole album from the film INTO THE WILD. Ah yes, if only I had the time. But we definitely had to play something from this wonderful soundtrack, which was composed by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame. So, my pick was SOCIETY.
Rebecca suggested PLAYGROUND LOVE from the Virgin Suicides soundtrack. it’s by the group Air and it has to be one of the most beautiful love songs written. An Oscar? No, of course not.
In 1969 the film ‘Midnight Cowboy’ won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. But no best song, not even a nomination. It was a strong year with Raindrops are Falling on my Head from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid taking out the honours, but I do have a soft spot for Harry Nilsson, so we had to play EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’. Here’s the opening sequence with Jon Voight as Joe Buck. Not even a nomination, what gives?
Bruce Springsteen’s STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA from the 1993 film ‘Philadelphia’ did go on to win Best Original Song for Springsteen. So, sometimes the Academy does get it right, it seems. As it did last year with THE WEARY KIND from a film that I also adore, ‘Crazy Heart’. The song was sung by Ryan Bingham.
MEMO FROM TURNER is a song written by the Rolling Stones for Nic Roeg’s film ‘Performance’. Ry Cooder provides slide guitar on the track, which was enough reason for me to include it, despite it not even being nominated for an Oscar. The film starred Mick Jagger as a sex-crazed rock star. I think it probably should have been awarded an Oscar for type-casting, surely! Love the fact that Mick lip-syncs to himself…
Like James Brown’s Black Caesar and Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man, Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Superfly’ album typified the blaxploitation tradition of soundtracks that eclipsed, and in this case outgrossed, their original inspirations. FREDDIE’S DEAD was my pick from this soundtrack.
It would have been remiss of me not to play at least one of the nominated songs from this year’s Academy Awards. So I went to go out on a limb and forecast that IF I RISE from ‘127 Hours’ should take the guernsey on Oscar’s night. With music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Dido and Rollo Armstrong, I think its the best of the bunch. Great footage from the film as well, on this clip:
We finished the show with a divine song from Louis Armstrong. WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD was one of the themes for the James Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, starring George Lazenby and Dianna Rigg. Composed by John Barry, with lyrics by Hal David, Barry has been quoted as saying that this is the finest piece of music he ever wrote.
Next week the theme will be SMOKING. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big fan of nicotine or other smoking substances, for that matter. But gee, there are some good songs on the topic, aren’t there? So I have no shame. Smoking it is. Or maybe we should call it THANKS FOR NOT SMOKING. Put your thinking caps on and get in touch, especially if you have an anti-smoking song for our list.
While you’re pondering your choices, take a look at the playlist from this week:
Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees, Bee Gees Greatest
When Doves Cry – Prince, Purple Rain
Mrs Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel, The Graduate
A Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night
Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – Spinal Tap, Back From the Dead
The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff, The Harder They Come
(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes, Dirty Dancing
Lose Yourself – Eminem, 8 Miles
I Just Called To Say I Love You – Stevie Wonder, The Very Best Of
Theme From Shaft – Issac Hayes, Shaft
O…Saya – A R Rahman & M.I.A., Slumdog Millionaire
I’m Easy – Keith Carradine, Nashville
Society – Eddie Vedder, Into The Wild
Playground Love – Air, Virgin Suicides
Everybody’s Talkin’ – Harry Nilsson, Midnight Cowboy
Streets of Philadelphia – Bruce Springsteen, Philadelphia
The Weary Kind – Ryan Bingham, Crazy Heart
Memo From Turner – The Rolling Stones, The Stones
Freddie’s Dead – Curtis Mayfield, Superfly
If I Rise – Dido, AR Rahman, 127 Hours
We Have All the Time In the World – Louis Armstrong, The Best of Bond
Next week: SMOKING
NOUGHT TO WHATEVER… PART 2
I’ve been on a mission to play as many songs as I can with numbers in the title. But the real challenge has been to play them in numerical sequence. Last week we successfully navigated our way from Elvis Costello’s Less Than Zero all the way to Edwin Starr’s Twenty Five Miles . So, this week we were off again, starting with our opening number, OCTOBER 26 (REVOLUTION) from The Pretty Things. This is a great track from what I consider a grossly under recognised band of the 60’s. It’s from their 1970 album Parachute.
TWENTY SEVEN STRANGERS is from The Villagers, who put out one of the best albums of last year – Becoming A Jackal. Here’s the band’s singer and songwriter, Conor J O’Brien, performing solo. Beautiful song. Perfect in its simplicity.
A band called Why? gave us our #28 song, (called exactly that, 28). Ryan Adams’ contribution was the track TWENTYNINE from the album 29 and the #30 spot was filled by Aussie band The Lucksmiths. The song, $30 is a very cute proposition: They know that they owe you $30 but how about they write you a song instead? Cheeky!
Aimee Mann thought her life would be different somehow, when she turned 31. Check out this live performance of 31 TODAY in Studio Q.
Another brilliant singer/songwirter is Ani DiFranco . Here she is performing live in 1997. The song: 32 FLAVOURS.
We don’t often play instrumental tracks but funky jazz outfit The New Mastersounds certainly livened things up with THIRTY THREE. We followed with little known, (well to me anyway), American band Promenade with 34 from their Save the Radio album. Then it was Joe Pug with a decent Bob Dylan impression on HYMN #35 and Bobby “Blue” Bland with his favourite numbers 35:22:36.
Then another excellent double : STRAIGHT IN AT 37 from The Beautiful South, now called simply South, and 38 YEARS OLD from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
Hip Hop producer Re-animator has a great track called SYMPHONY NUMBER THIRTY-NINE on his album, evocatively titled Music to Slit Wrists. Dido has got to have one of the most beautiful voices of recent times, and she uses it to perfection on SEE YOU WHEN YOU’RE 40:
Gregory Hoskins gave us his track 41 and then it was Aussie and, Hunters & Collectors with 42 WHEELS. On 43 Mary Lou Lord justifies seeing a younger man by the fact that he’s 17, going on 43. And talking of excuses, I love any reason to go back to the 60’s so the Zombies were in with CARE OF CELL 44. Terrific band, still performing too.
An artist I’ve only just discovered, but like very much is Todd Snider . Here he is performing FORTY FIVE MILES in December 2010 in Tampa, to a very appreciative audience I might add. It’s an amateur video, but worth watching. He’s supported by Will Kimbrough.
If you’re after some good old fashioned Blues then check out Memphis Slim, Jump Jackson and Arbee Stidham. They gave us a fast version of 46TH STREET BOOGIE to fill our #46 spot. Number 47 was looking tough until I found a real cutie: Andy Kirk & His Orchestra, featuring June Richmond on vocals. She was one of the first black women to front an all white band. The song is 47th STREET JIVE.
Enough with songs named after New York streets (surely that’s another show!). A complete change of tone followed with the amazing, enduring, Suzi Quatro with 48 CRASH. I had to play this original clip from 1973, as she looks so great (still does actually). The ultimate rock chick.
Our number 49 song was for Des who presents BayFM’s Colours of Byron every Sunday morning. He’s a big Dylan fan, so DAYS OF 49 was especially for him and all the other Dylan fans. Number 50 couldn’t be anything but Simon & Garfunkle’s FIFTY WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER, which wasn’t dedicated to anyone in particular, because I don’t want to get myself in any trouble in that department! Here’s a live performance by Paul Simon with legendary drummer Steve Gadd:
Well we got all the way to #50 with time to spare. We closed the show with a #51 song that also previews next week’s show: Pink Floyd’s COME IN NUMBER 51, YOU’RE TIME IS UP from the soundtrack to the film Zabriskie Point. As one of the comments on YouTube states: it’s the film that inspired countless people to lose their virginity to Pink Floyd. (The music that is, not the actual band members). Here’s the trailer, featuring that music, with some of the worst promotional jargon I’ve ever heard!
So, next week I’ll be hosting an Oscars special. I’ll be playing lots of songs that were recorded especially for films. Some will have won Oscars, some should have but didn’t. I’d love to have your suggestions and requests. And, of course, your company 4-6pm Tuesdays on www.bayfm.org.
Here’s this week’s full playlist:
October 26 (Revolution) – The Pretty Things, Unrepentant [Disc 1]
Twenty Seven Strangers – Villagers, Becoming A Jackal
Twenty Eight – Why? Alopecia
Twentynine – Ryan Adams, 29
$30 – The Lucksmiths, Spring a Leak
31 Today – Aimee Mann, Smilers
32 Flavors – Ani DiFranco
Thirty Three – The New Mastersounds, 102% Funk
34 – Promenade, Save the Radio
Hymn 35 – Joe Pug, Nation of Heat EP
36-22-36 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, Bobby “Blue” Bland: The Anthology
Straight In At 37 – The Beautiful South, Welcome to the Beautiful South
38 Years Old – The Tragically Hip, Up to Here
Symphony Number Thirty-nine – Reanimator, Music To Slit Wrists By
See You When You’re 40 – Dido, Life For Rent
41 – Gregory Hoskins, The Beggar Heart
42 Wheels – Hunters & Collectors, Under One Roof
43 – Mary Lou Lord, Baby Blue
Care of Cell 44 – The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle
Forty Five Miles – Todd Snider, Happy to Be Here
46th Street Boogie (Fast Boogie) – Memphis Slim, Jump Jackson and Arbee Stidham
47th St Jive – Andy Kirk & His Clouds of Joy, Jukebox Hits 1936-1949
48 Crash – Suzi Quatro, Suzi Quatro: Greatest Hits
Days of 49 – Bob Dylan, Self Portrait
Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover – Simon & Garfunkel , The Concert in Central Park
Number 51, Your Time Is Up – Pink Floyd, Zabriskie Point (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
Next week: SONGS RECORDED FOR FILM
FROM NOUGHT TO WHATEVER…
I decided to be more playful than usual this week as I set out to compile a playlist of song titles that mentioned numbers. Easy-peasy, you’re thinking. Sure, but there was a condition. The songs had to be played in numerical sequence. I got to choose from pop, rock, country & jazz so it couldn’t be that hard, right? Right.
The show kicked off with LESS THAN ZERO by Elvis Costello and moved right into a beautiful track from Lamb, ZERO. Numero Uno was a piece of cake as I have already done a whole show just on the #1 so plenty to choose from there. I decided that should go with my #1 favourite artist, Roy Orbison with a song from the album, Mystery Girl, THE ONLY ONE. Another fave took over the #2 spot: Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston with IT TAKES TWO. And for #3 it was none other than the great Sarah Vaughan who, like a lot of us, only needs THREE LITTLE WORDS.
FOUR STRONG WINDS is a classic Canadian song by the legendary Canadian singer Neil Young. The perfect follow-up came from the adorable Nanci Griffith with LOVE AT THE FIVE AND DIME. Here she is performing live at the BBC:
The great reggae artist Gregory Isaacs, known as the ‘Cool Ruler’ sadly passed away late last year. His song SIX MONTHS filled the #6 spot and for #7 it had to be The White Stripes with SEVEN NATION ARMY. Such a shame that they’ve gone their separate ways.
There was only one #8 for this baby boomer: The Beatles with EIGHT DAYS A WEEK. And, for #9 Wilson Pickett with ENGINE NUMBER NINE, of course. Pure funk.
Brothers, by the Black Keys, was one of my album picks of 2010 so including TEN CENT PISTOL from that album was a no-brainer. Here they are performing live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Excellent.
Cyndi Lauper features on David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s concept album Here Lies Love which is based on the lives of Imelda Marcos and her nanny Estrella Cumpas. The official video clip of ELEVEN DAYS is set against a Philippine movie of 1965 “Iginuhit ng Tadhana: The Ferdinand E. Marcos Story”, starring Gloria Romero and Luis Gonzalez.
I do love a bit of gospel singing, so Buddy Greene was in with TWELVE GATES TO THE CITY. Dickie Thompson is also evangelical, but not in the usual sense. He sings about THIRTEEN WOMEN and only one man in town. Now if I was a bloke I’d say he was a lucky b…..d! But being a woman, living in a small town, it sounds irritatingly familiar!
Next up, it was the genius that is Tiny Tim with all kinds of things to say about the number FOURTEEN. Not the usual Tiny Tim we’re used to hearing. I, for one, miss the ukelele I must admit. And I miss Tiny Tim who died of a heart attack in 1996 at the age of 64.
Number 15 in our playlist was another no-brainer: the almighty Radiohead with 15 STEPS. Here they are peforming live for their VH1 special:
We kept moving through the teenage years with gusto as Chuck Berry took the #16 spot with SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN. And then Janis Ian calmed everything down with her incredibly insightful tune, AT SEVENTEEN.
The Stellas took the 18th spot with 18 from their 2008 album Cry Baby Cry. Time then for another classic: Steely Dan’s HEY NINETEEN. “Way back in 1967….”
For all the Bluegrass fans, I had to include Jimmy Martin’s 20:20 VISION and then it was a nice piece of rockabilly, suggested by Andy, Eddie Cochran’s TWENTY FLIGHT ROCK.
Rappers 50 cent and Nate Dogg have 21 QUESTIONS for their girlfriend. Not sure us girls need that much interrogation, but hey what do I know? This video has already gathered over 35million hits on You Tube! With lines like “I loves you like a fat kid likes cake”. Go figure!
Lily Allen knows how to churn out pop tunes and 22 is a good example. We followed that with the wonderful Brothers Johnson and another soul standard, STRAWBERRY LETTER 23.
Our two hours was almost up so only time for two more tunes in our attempt to get from zero to infinity. The #24 spot was filled by Bobby Bland’s TWENTY FOUR HOUR BLUES and the finale was handed to Edwin Starr’s TWENTY FIVE MILES. OMG what a voice! Brilliant. Wish I’d been at this particular concert.
We’ll continue our numerical exercise next week, starting at #26. So why not send me a message with suggestions for that list which should probably limit itself from 26-51. Let’s see how we go.
Until then, here’s this week’s full playlist:
Less Than Zero – Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True Pop
Zero – Lamb, Lamb
The Only One – Roy Orbison, Mystery Girl
It Takes Two – Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, Ready Steady Go! The Sixties Sound Of Motown [Disc 1]
Three Little Words – Sarah Vaughan, The Mercury Jazz Story [Disc 1]
Four Strong Winds – Neil Young, Comes a Time
Love at the Five and Dime – Nanci Griffith, The Last of the True Believers
Six Months – Gregory Isaacs, Brand New Me
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes, Elephant
Eight Days A Week – The Beatles, Beatles For Sale
Engine Number Nine – Wilson Pickett , Chronicles
Ten Cent Pistol – The Black Keys, Brothers
Eleven Days – David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Love
Twelve Gates To The City – Buddy Greene, A Few More Years
Thirteen Women – Dickie Thompson, Ultimate Rhythm & Soul Collection [Disc 1]
Fourteen – Tiny Tim, Girl
15 Step – Radiohead, In Rainbows
Sweet Little Sixteen – Chuck Berry, Yesterdays Gold Vol 07
At Seventeen – Janis Ian, Echoes Of The Radio [Disc 1]
18 – The Stellas, Cry Baby Cry
Hey Nineteen – Steely Dan, A Decade Of Steely Dan
20:20 Vision – Jimmy Martin
Twenty Flight Rock – Eddie Cochran, Big Artist Selection – Eddie Cochran
21 Questions – 50 Cent & Nate Dogg
22 – Lily Allen, It’s Not Me, It’s You
Strawberry Letter 23 – The Brothers Johnson, Strawberry Letter 23/The Very Best Of The Brothers Johnson
Twenty-Four Hour Blues – Bobby “Blue” Bland, Dreamer
Twenty-Five Miles – Edwin Starr
Next week: FROM NOUGHT TO WHATEVER (Part 2)
RESOLUTIONS & FRESH STARTS
Now, you may think I’m a bit behind the eight ball, doing a show on RESOLUTIONS AND FRESH STARTS in mid January, but I have a policy of not even thinking about New Year Resolutions until after my birthday, which is around this time. I’m not prepared to give up my wicked ways until those celebrations are well out of the way. And, to be honest, that could take up to 6 months at least.
So, I’ll allow the playlist to do the job for me. The wonderful Nina Simone set the tone with FEELING GOOD. She’s full of optimism because it’s a new day, a new life and she’s feeling good. I wonder how long that lasted? Because, as we all know, new resolutions and fresh starts are often accompanied by regret and, unfortunately, they almost always carry the potential for failure. But, let’s at least try and maintain some hope.
The Allman Brothers Band have had their ups and downs, so on a song like CHANGE MY WAY OF LIVING they’re sounding mighty ambitious. But hey, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt.
It was great to have Blues/Roots duo The Fridays in the studio for a chat and some live music. They’re from Adelaide and presently in Byron performing and promoting their EP Woh Oh. Kimberly McKenzie and Kelly Breuer’s original material melds rock out riffs with beautiful harmonies. A couple of the songs had me laughing out loud. As well as playing ROMANCE COMEDY from their EP we 
were able to have them perform two other numbers live and it was such a pleasure. If you get a chance to catch them perform, anywhere, don’t miss out on supporting some fantastic up and coming Australian talent.
Motown giants The Supremes and The Temptations got together to record a version of Dee Dee Warwick’s I’M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME and it became a huge hit for them in 1969. We followed that with the very appropriate NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS from two more soul greats, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas.
If only Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynot had followed through on his resolution, he might still be with us. Instead, I’VE GOT TO GIVE IT UP, is a sad memorial to this amazing talent who died at 36.
Something a little less serious: Husker Du reckon they’re NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN. Oh come on guys, never say never. Bob Dylan is equally resolute. He swears he’s never going to work on MAGGIES FARM no more. Fair enough.
The Who are convinced that they WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN. A good resolution if ever I heard one, but, like a lot of resolutions, not that easy to keep.
Mama Kin is very convincing on her resolution song I’M GONNA DO IT. As is Bobby Bland who says he AIN’T GONNA BE THE FIRST TO CRY.
John Legend gets a little bit of help from Snoop Dogg on I CAN CHANGE. On this video clip he carries the day on his own (and you get the bonus of Spottie as well). Its a live performance in London with a terrific band and back-up.
George Thorogood & The Destroyers contributed one of those songs full of promises. You know the ones: men make them in order to win the woman of their dreams. In this case George says I’LL CHANGE MY STYLE.
Bobbie Gentry, who’s obviously met a few ‘Georges’ in her time swears I’LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN.
Nick Cave, apparently has all the right intentions, he just has trouble delivering on his resolutions because RIGHT NOW HE’S A ROAMING. Steve Winwood knows that if you’re really serious about wanting a fresh start you have to make it happen WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE.
Somehow I don’t think Ian Dury and the Blockheads were serious at all when they sang I WANT TO BE STRAIGHT.
Princess Superstar’s QUITTING SMOKING SONG was edited a little, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to play it on radio, and that would have been a pity, I reckon. Meanwhile, Black Kids are promising I’M NOT GOING TO TEACH YOUR BOYFRIEND HOW TO DANCE WITH YOU. Quite right too.
A fun couple of songs to exit on: Mary Martin and the cast of South Pacific with I’M GONNA WASH THAT MAN RIGHT OUT OF MY HAIR. And one of my favourites, the wonderfully eccentric and optimistic Jonathan Richman, who knows all about fresh starts on I’M JUST BEGINNING TO LIVE.
Thanks to The Fridays for coming in and entertaining us in the first hour of the program. Don’t forget they’re performing at the Rails Hotel in Byron Bay on Thursday January 20th so get along and support them.
Thanks also to Lina, Chilla, Shel, Allan, Andy and Victoria for letting us know what their New Year Resolutions were for this year.
Next week’s show will be ALL AUSTRALIAN. Lots of nostalgia and some new stuff as well.
Until then, here’s this week’s playlist:
Feeling Good / Nina Simone
Change My Way Of Living / The Allman Brothers Band
Romance Comedy / The Fridays
I’m Gonna Make You Love Me / The Supremes
New Year’s Resolution / Otis Redding and Carla Thomas
Got To Give It Up / Thin Lizzy
Never Talking To You Again / Hüsker Dü
Maggie’s Farm / Bob Dylan
Won’t Get Fooled Again / The Who
I’m Gonna Do It / Mama Kin
I Ain’t Gonna Be The First To Cry / Bobby “Blue” Bland
I Can Change ft. Snoop Dogg / John Legend
I’ll Never Fall In Love Again / Bobbie Gentry
I’ll Change My Style / George Thorogood and The Destroyers
Right Now I’m A-Roaming / Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
I Want To Be Straight / Ian Dury and The Blockheads
While You See A Chance / Steve Winwood
One Way Or Another / Blondie
Quitting Smoking Song / Princess Superstar
I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You / Black Kids
I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair / Mary Martin and The Girl’s Chorus of South Pacific
I’m Just Beginning To Live /Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers
Next week: 40 YEARS OF CLASSIC AUSTRALIAN ROCK
MY FAVE ALBUMS 2010
If you’re a regular Theme Park listener you’ll know that I have what they call an ‘eclectic’ taste in music. And it comes in handy when you’re putting together a show each week on random themes, I tell you! This week, just to prove that I do listen to new music, I decided that I would bring you songs from my favourite albums of 2010. So no nostalgia this week, all new music and a 
look-see at what arrived in my Xmas stocking, all 23 albums! Thank you Santa!
Here’s my rationale for how I devised my list: It’s the age of the singles download, but there are just some albums that you can’t cherry pick from. My list represents those albums: the ones that work best when listened to as a whole experience. Having said that, it is only a two hour program, so a choice had to be made about what singles to play from those albums. So, here goes:
Caribou, otherwise known to his Mama as Daniel Victor Snaith, is a mathematician by trade who, in his spare time, delivers beautiful and captivating electronic music. His 2010 album Swim is the first of my favourites and we opened the show with the track ODESSA. Even if you’re not an electronica fan, (and I’m not particularly), this album successfully crosses over and appeals to almost everyone who listens to it.
Next on my list the album Plastic Beach by the Gorillaz. Hard to pick one 
track from this incredibly diverse album. It was a toss-up between MELANCHOLY HILL and SUPERFAST JELLYFISH, featuring Gruff Rhys and De La Soul. The chance to also play some De La Soul put the latter track on the list in the end. And, I’ve got to say, I’m very jealous of anyone who saw Gorillaz on their recent Plastic Beach tour!
One of the most beautiful songs of the year is PIECES by the Irish band Villagers. Singer Conor O’Brien totally rocks. The song is from their debut album Becoming a Jackal. Check out this live performance from their very first headline show in 2009. Amazing.
My favourite video clip of the year goes to Janelle Monae for TIGHTROPE. It’s from the album The ArchAndroid which is nothing if not ambitious. The album was a very nice surprise indeed. Featuring everything from power ballads right through to the ferocious energy of her signature dance tracks, this is one hot album. Here’s the clip that has garnered so much YouTube attention:
Another surprise favourite for me was Kanye West’s album My Beautiful 
Dark Twisted Fantasy. It finally convinced me of this guy’s talent. I’ll try and overlook his arrogance for the sake of the music and some of his fine collaborators. One of the best tracks features Ben Iver and its called LOST IN THE WORLD.
Down the Way by Angus & Julia Stone was the biggest-selling Australian album of 2010, and it certainly shows the growing maturity of this brother and sister duo. BIG JET PLANE is the standout track from this album.
Another great Aussie group is You Am I. Their best record in more than a decade is self titled. My favourite track is the second single of that album, TRIGGER FINGER. The clip features Lanie Lane who also supplied backing vocals.
I’m a big fan of the soulful voice of Ray LaMontagne. His 2010 album with the Prairie Dogs, God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise has a number of great tracks on it. Here he performs BEG STEAL OR BORROW in the studios of Oui FM in France.
Another exquisite song is RUBY from the album Ali and Toumani, 
released in February 2010. It’s a series of duets from two of Africa’s most distinguished musicians, the late guitarist Ali Farka Toure and kora player Toumani Diabate.
The same kind of purity can be found in a completely different genre by a group called Mountain Man. They’re actually an all girl trio from Vermont who recorded their album Made the Harbor in a disused ice-cream parlour. The whole album is mostly a capella, which just goes to show that the voice really is the ultimate instrument. We played their sublime version of HOW’M I DOIN’.
I’m sure that I’m not the only one who thinks that Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy is completely underrated as a singer and a songwriter. This band has been around for about 20 years and yet we’re almost a secret society of fans. Hopefully their latest album Bang Goes the Knighthood will get them the recognition they deserve.
The Roots have also been around a while, 1987 to be exact, and HOW I GOT OVER is their 11th album. They’re all great albums, but this one is possibly their best:
Despite already declaring that I’m not a big electronica fan, here’s another electronica album in my 2010 faves: LCD Soundsystem’s This Is Happening album can’t be overlooked. I CAN CHANGE is one of the best tracks from the album. Thank God for Jools Holland (what a great show btw). Here’s a great clip from that show:
The Vampire Weekend’s album Contra came out just in time for my birthday in January 2010. Here’s the very energetic track COUSINS from that album:
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released a very Bluesy album called Mojo this year which I really love. I particularly like their version of the old standard CANDY.
At the other end of the spectrum, Danger Mouse got together with James Mercer to invent a new group called Broken Bells. They released their first album together in 2010. Here they are performing THE HIGH ROAD, from that self-titled album, at Lowlands 2010.
Two more albums that I’ve been listening to non-stop this year are Arcade Fire’s THE SUBURBS and The Black Keys album BROTHERS. Here are the Black Keys performing I’M HOWLIN FOR YOU from that album, on Jools Holland:
A new discovery for me late in the year was Diane Birch. She released her first album, 
Bible Belt, in 2009 and the EP Velveteen Age just before Xmas this year. She’s only in her mid twenties but wow, what a voice.
And talking of great voices, soul/gospel legend Mavis Staples released a wonderful album this year called YOU ARE NOT ALONE. It was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy who also wrote two of the songs on the album. Two of my all time favourite artists on one album. Heaven. Here’s a sample of what we’ll be seeing at the upcoming Byron Blues Fest in April. I, for one, cannot wait!
Ex Czars frontman, John Grant, gives a substantial nod to Supertramp and Bread on his debut album, Queen of Denmark. But hey, who else is doing that kind of material these days? The track I WANNA GO TO MARZ features the band Midlake and its a beautiful song based on Grant’s own childhood experience of escaping to the local sweet shop. In his own words, the song “is a gateway back to childhood and innocence before things have become complicated.”
A band that also sounds a lot like a few bands of the 70’s is The Russians. But gee, what a great job they do of it. Their album Crashing The Party is full of retro power pop/rock melodies. Sort of like Big Star, but , (dare I say it?) better.
We finished up with the song that’s been on everyone’s lips this year, Cee-Lo Green’s F**CK YOU. I had to play the clean version for radio, of course, which he conveniently included on his Lady Killer album as FORGET YOU. This album is more than the sum of its parts, that’s for sure. With its deliberate nods to Motown, 80’s soul and classic pop, its right up my alley. Hey, you’ve seen the official F**CK YOU clip a million times, (well, actually 33 million hits on YouTube!). So here he is, with his rockin’ all girl band on Later with Jools Holland (have I said already that I absolutely love this show?).
Next week will be the first show of the new year! I’ll be welcoming band Orkestra del Sol into the studio. They’re from the UK and are touring Australia. Think big band with lotsa high energy swinging sounds with flavours from the Balkans, Oompah, Gypsy and New Orleans. Should be fun. AND the theme will be the show will be MULTILINGUAL SONGS, by which I mean songs that have at least two languages in the lyrics. Any suggestions? Then leave me a message here!
Play safe on New Year’s Eve and keep on dancing!
Here’s the playlist, and accordingly, my favourite albums of 2010 (in no particular order):
Odessa – Swim, Caribou
Superfast Jellyfish Ft. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul – Plastic Beach, Gorillaz
Pieces – Becoming A Jackal, Villagers
Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) – The ArchAndroid (Deluxe), Janelle Monáe
Lost In The World (feat. Bon Iver) – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West
Big Jet Plane – Down The Way, Angus & Julia Stone
Trigger Finger – You Am I, You Am I
Beg Steal or Borrow – God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise, Ray LaMontagne/Pariah Dogs
Ruby – Ali & Toumani, Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté
How’m I Doin – Made the Harbor, Mountain Man
The Lost Art Of Conversation – Bang Goes The Knighthood, The Divine Comedy
How I Got Over – How I Got Over, The Roots Feat. Dice Raw
I Can Change – This Is Happening, LCD Soundsystem
Cousins – Contra [Bonus Tracks], Vampire Weekend
Candy – Mojo, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
The High Road – Broken Bells, Broken Bells
The Suburbs – The Suburbs, Arcade Fire
Howlin’ for You – Brothers, The Black Keys
This Corrosion – The Velveteen Age, Diane Birch
You Are Not Alone – You Are Not Alone, Mavis Staples
I Wanna Go to Marz – Queen of Denmark, John Grant
Sober and Un-upsetting – Crashing the Party, The Russians
Forget You – The Lady Killer, Cee Lo Green
Next week: MULTILINGUAL SONGS
SONGS ABOUT CALIFORNIA
Our theme this week was about a place that’s linked to money, sunshine, fame and freedom. It sounds a lot like my home town of Byron Bay, but no, this week’s program was about the equally tantalising American state of CALIFORNIA.
We started with Al Jolson’s CALIFORNIA HERE I COME. Written for the 1921 Broadway musical Bombo, it’s often called the unofficial state song of California. Another standard is the Mamas & The Papas’ love song to their home state: CALIFORNIA DREAMING. Bobby Womack’s version is, in my opinion, just sublime. Here’s some original footage and images of California in the 50’s, set against his music:
Chuck Berry wrote THE PROMISED LAND while in jail and, apparently, he used the prison library to plot his hero’s trip from Virginia to Los Angeles.
Train is a band that comes from San Francisco so their song, SAVE ME SAN FRANCISCO, is, we assume, straight from the heart. And like a lot of the tunes in today’s list, it’s really about missing someone you’ve left behind. The songs is from the album of the same name, released in 2009.
Led Zeppelin’s GOING TO CALIFORNIA is reportedly about Joni Mitchell. The story goes that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were both infatuated with her at the time. They were all in their early 20’s and it was crazy days for all and sundry. Here’s Led Zepp. playing live at Earls Court in 1975:
Arlo Guthrie contributed a song that’s based on him going through LA airport with a couple of joints in his pocket. Not that I condone that kind of behaviour, of course (!) He performed COMING INTO LOS ANGELES live at Woodstock in 1969 where, it appears, it went down a treat:
Yes, Arlo Guthrie just wants to have some fun. I don’t think he’s the only one. Sheryl Crowe is in a similar state of mind on ALL I WANNA DO.
The Rivieras are also out there havin’ fun on CALIFORNIA SUN, a hit for them in 1964. Albert Hammond’s IT NEVER RAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA also reminds me of Byron Bay. Must be the sub-tropical thing. Does this ring a bell? “It Doesn’t Rain in California but girl don’t they warn ya, it pours, it pours.” Sounds like Byron to me.
We followed with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The title of CALIFORNICATION was borrowed for the title of one of my favourite television shows.
Two of the best voices ever belong to Dionne Warwick and Roy Orbison. Warwick sings of being a deflated Hollywood hopeful heading home, on DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE? Orbison, who can’t wait to get back to where his lover is – and therefore where the sun always shines – is brilliant on CALIFORNIA BLUE. It’s from his comeback album, Mystery Girl, recorded just before he died in 1988.
I bet you were wondering how long it would take me to play HOTEL CALIFORNIA by The Eagles? Only an hour! Yes how could I not play this song on a show dedicated to songs about California?
Latest media favourite, pop-singer Kate Perry, gets a little bit of help from Snoop Dogg on CALIFORNIA GURLS. Can you believe that this video clip has racked up nearly 50 million hits? Sweet.
Unbelievably, I found a slice of hip-hop I could use with no swear words in it! 2PAC and Dr Dre are almost subdued on CALIFORNIA LOVE. We followed with some Thin Lizzy who know how hard it is to make it in HOLLYWOOD (When you’re down on your luck).
The Sir Douglas Quintet’s MENDOCINO is also a classic. It’s a song about a county in the north of California, renowned for distinctive Pacific Ocean coastline, old growth forests, wine production and liberal views on cannabis. Sounds like it should be Byron Shire’s sister state, doesn’t it?
Everclear do a song about my favourite part of Los Angeles, SANTA MONICA. It’s a place, also not unlike Byron, with a great beach, fantastic restaurants, farmers markets and a laid-back feel to it. The song was written by the band’s lead singer Art Alexakis and its actually quite a melancholy tune about suicide.
When Otis Redding sang about SITTIN’ ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY, it was the very groovy city of San Francisco he was referring to. We followed that with a piece of music that pays homage to the Mexican population of California: The brilliant Chicano rock band Thee Midniters with WHITTIER BOULEVARD.
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers seem to be obsessed with California as they have recorded quite a few tracks about the area. Our second Peppers track was DANI CALIFORNIA which we followed with a number by Tom Petty. FREE FALLING references areas of Los Angeles, from the San Fernando Valley to Ventura Boulevard and Mulholland Drive, all of which conjure up various movies out of Hollywood. Petty has been qouted as saying that the multitude of acoustic guitars on the track were used to create a dreamlke quality.
Now if you really want dreamy, then you can’t go past the epitome of Californian folk/rock, Joni Mitchell, with CALIFORNIA. You can sort of see what those bad boys from Crosby, Stills & Nash and Led Zeppelin saw in her, can’t you?
The song we had to have,of course, was CALIFORNIA GIRLS.When you think of California, you can’t help but think of surfing and, of course, The Beach Boys. They recorded the song in 1965 and it maintains its popularity today, simply because it sums up everything that is great about the beach lifestyle.
Even Kings of Leon do a song about this sunny state. However, CALIFORNIA WAITING doesn’t sound like too much fun somehow. Here they are performing on the Jonathan Ross show:
We finished the show with LA WOMAN, from the last studio album recorded by The Doors before Jim Morrison’s death in July 1971. It’s arguably the most blues/rock oriented tracks that the band recorded.
Now if you would like to contribute to next week’s show, and I hope you do, then the topic will be one that’s close to my heart: SHOPPING. Drop me a line if you have a suggestion or a request.
And as the governor of California would say….. I’LL BE BACK.
Here’s this week’s complete playlist:
California Here I Come – Al Jolson
California Dreaming – The Very Best of Bobby Womack, Bobby Womack
The Promised Land – Chuck Berry Greatest Hits, Chuck Berry
Save Me San Francisco – Save Me San Francisco, Train
Going to California – Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin
Coming into Los Angeles – Woodstock 1969, Arlo Guthrie
All I Wanna Do – Sheryl Crow
California Sun – The Rivieras
It Never Rains In Southern California – Albert Hammond
Californication – Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Do You Know the Way to San Jose – Her All Time Greatest Hits, Dionne Warwick
California Blue – Mystery Girl, Roy Orbison
Hotel California – Hotel California, Eagles
California Gurls – California Gurls, Kate Perry ft. Snoop Dogg
California Love – All Eyez On Me, 2pac ft. Dr.Dre
Hollywood (Down On Your Luck) – Renegade, Thin Lizzy
Mendocino – Sir Douglas Quintet
California – Orange County Soundtrack, Phantom Planet
Santa Monica – Everclear
Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding
Whittier Blvd. – Latin Oldies, Thee Midniters
Dani California – Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Free Falling – Tom Petty
California – Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell
California Girls – Made in U.S.A., The Beach Boys
California Waiting – Holy Roller Novocaine, Kings of Leon
LA Woman – Legacy: The Absolute Best, The Doors
MUSIC GENRES
As someone who relies on trying to create a diverse playlist, week after week, the topic of MUSIC GENRES is one that’s dear to my heart. Useful as they are though, identifying genres is a murky and nebulous exercise, open to countless individual interpretations. Just go into any music store and try to establish why Ian Dury’s Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll can find itself in pop, rock and alternative, all at the same time, and you’ll know what I mean.
In 1979 Malcolm McLaren’s art school classmate Robin Scott had a one hit wonder with POP MUZIK, an ironic and mischievous little tune, under his pseudonym, M: “New York, London, Paris, Munich…. everybody’s talking ’bout pop music.”
According to Bob Seger, today’s music doesn’t have the same soul. He’s feeling nostalgic for some OLD TIME ROCK N ROLL. Sugarhill Gang, on the other hand, are more interested in hip-hop. Their song, RAPPERS DELIGHT, while not the first single to feature rapping, is generally considered to be the song that first made hip hop popular.
Wild Cherry’s song PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC is autobiographical in that Wild Cherry was mostly a hard rock outfit. In 1976, however, the Disco era was all the rage and many of the group’s loyal followers were asking for more dance songs. And so was born the request: “play that funky music, white boy”:
Back in 1970, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground celebrated ROCK & ROLL with their hit song of the same name. By 1977, Bob Marley – together with Steve Tyler & Joe Perry – were giving us three genres for the price of one on ROOTS, ROCK AND REGGAE.
Punk rocker Wreckless Eric took a swipe at the record companies, for the pressure they put on artists to produce a hit single, on POP SONG: “Just a two minute song with a snazzy middle eight.” Yeah, that’s all they wanted.
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band refuse to take anything too seriously, even the blues. So if you merge music hall and blues, it begs the question: CAN BLUE MEN SING THE WHITES? Our girl Joan Jett is nothing but a rock chick so of course she’s going to sing, I LOVE ROCK N ROLL.
Brooklyn rappers Stetsasonic responded to early criticisms of their sampling by releasing TALKIN’ ALL THAT JAZZ which used a clever collage of borrowings from the likes of Lonnie Liston Smith and Donald Byrd.
I think Lynyrd Skynyrd may know a little bit about the track, SWAMP MUSIC. This style of music is particular to America’s south, particularly Louisiana and Southeastern Texas but it’s developed a worldwide following and I, for one, love it.
It’s both funny and revealing that The Killers wrote INDIE ROCK N ROLL to poke fun at the pretentious and sterile independent scene in their native Las Vegas, only to find that the song was embraced world-wide as a cheerfully un-ironic anthem. Here they are playing live and sounding great:
The Beatles take Chuck Berry’s ROCK N ROLL MUSIC and attack it with such intensity that it seems to symbolise what became known as the British Invasion of the 60’s. In total contrast is Wilco’s wistful ode to youth on HEAVY METAL DRUMMER, from the album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot:
Stevie Wonder ‘s contribution to this week’s topic came in the form of his dedication to Duke Ellington and other jazz greats on SIR DUKE. Arthur Conley did something similar, with his shout out to all the soul icons, on SWEET SOUL MUSIC:
Time for some blues, Creole style, with BOOGIE WOOGIE ZYDECO from Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band. Then it was a great piece of music, that recognises the enormous influence of Jazz on all kinds of music: JAZZ THING from Gang Starr. It’s from the soundtrack to the Spike Lee film MO BETTER BLUES, starring Denzel Washington. Absolutely brilliant clip.
There are so many songs that pay tribute to rock n roll that I had to be careful to not let them dominate. But there’s one that I couldn’t leave out – Ian Dury and the Blockheads with the rock n roll anthem, SEX & DRUGS & ROCK N ROLL. I hate the overuse of the word ‘awesome’ but in this case, it’s warranted – AWESOME!!
A song that merges soul and reggae is the very appropriately named REGGAE GOT SOUL from Toots and the Maytals. There are also loads of songs with Blues in the title, so many in fact that I had to restrain myself in this department too. But if you’re going to play one of them, you can’t get better than Buddy Guy with THE FIRST TIME I MET THE BLUES. In this clip he performs with bass player David Myers. It’s from the film CHICAGO BLUES, made in 1970. Now that’s what I call real music.
Bet you thought I wouldn’t give classical a mention. Well, Chuck Berry helped me out there with ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN. Here he expresses the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classical music on his local radio station. On this video clip he’s having a little bit of fun on a French TV show. Not sure of the year, but the song was recorded in 1956:
Couldn’t let disco get away with just a passing mention, so space was made for FRENCH DISKO by Stereolab. The Ramones rescue their disco queen and introduce her to something a bit more rebellious. Now, SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER.
We closed the show with a classic from Dire Straits – a song about a jazz band called SULTANS OF SWING.
Love to have your input for next week’s show. The theme is FUNNY SONGS: Songs that make you laugh or at least smirk because they are clever and witty. Ooh I’m looking forward to seeing what you send me.
Meanwhile, here’s this week’s complete playlist:
Pop Muzik – Pop Muzik, M
Old Time Rock N’ Roll – Bob Seger
Rappers Delight – Sugarhill Gang
Play That Funky Music – Those Fabulous ’70s, Wild Cherry
Rock and Roll – Velvet Underground
Roots, Rock, Reggae – Chant Down Babylon, Bob Marley + Steven Tyler + Joe Perry
A Pop Song – Big Smash, Wreckless Eric
Can Blue Men Sing The Whites? – Cornology [Disc 1], Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
I Love Rock and Roll – Joan Jett
Mambo Italiano – Latin Fever [Disc 1], Shaft
Talkin’ All That Jazz – Hed Kandi: Back to Love, Vol. 4 Disc 2, Stetsasonic
Swamp Music – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Indie RnR – Demo, The Killers
Rock And Roll Music – Live At The BBC [Disc 2], The Beatles
Heavy Metal Drummer – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco
Sir Duke (Duke Ellington) – Songs In The Key Of Life, Stevie Wonder
Sweet Soul Music – 60’s Soul, Arthur Conley
Boogie Woogie Zydeco – Boogie Woogie Zydeco, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band
Jazz Thing – Moment of Truth, Gang Starr
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll – No Thanks! – The ’70s Punk Rebellion (Disc 3), Ian Dury
Soul Makossa – Makossa Man: The Very Best Of Manu Dibango, Manu Dibango
Reggae Got Soul – True Love, Toots & The Maytals
First Time I Met The Blues – Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues – A Musical Journey, Buddy Guy
Roll Over Beethoven – 1956-Rock & Roll Era, Chuck Berry
French Disko – Refried Ectoplasm, Stereolab
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker – All The Stuff (And More), The Ramones
Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits
Listen to Lyn McCarthy at the Theme Park on BayFM, Tuesdays 4-6pm, Sydney time
Tragically also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maccalyn
Email me at: lyn.themeparkradio@gmail.com
