Harmony in My Head Broadcast Notes for 11-15-04

Here we go again. We’re going to bring on some interesting stuff to tonight’s sonic Jihad. Mosque bumpin’ tunes for all to dig.
I finished work on the first installment of my film review show, Henry’s Film Corner last week. My guest was David Fincher. We reviewed Sean Penn’s new film The Assassination of Richard Nixon. Fincher was so cool, so articulate. I think you’ll dig what he had to say about films like Panic Room and Fight Club. The show airs in December. I don’t know the exact start date but I will have it in some days and post it on the site.
What else, my trip to Afghanistan is a go. That will be four USO trips in twelve months. Should be an interesting one.
I will be in NYC at some point for some press and there will be some TV and I’ll let you know when that is. I know that I am on Tavis Smiley on December 1st.
I also know that I am off to Europe early in the new year and won’t be around to do this show so enjoy it while you can. I might be done with this thing at year’s end. If that’s the case, let me say that it’s been fun.
The other day, I sent the 11-01-04 show off to Tony, our internet maintenance man to post on the site. It should be there soon.
Tonight’s show takes some risks. I have to think Indie has not yet played any Bela Bartok. Well, let’s do this.

Amen – Coma America: Off the album called Amen. Casey Chaos is the man. What a blow-your-face-off record this is as is the one after, We Have Come for Your Parents.

Thin Lizzy – Whiskey in the Jar: Their first successful single. An old Irish tune, the Lizzy boys made it go world wide. Metallica covered it at one point. Stop yawning!

Bad Brains – Jammin’ at the Atlantis: Back to the Black Dots album on Caroline. The Atlantis was the 9:30 Club in DC before it was the 9:30. The Bad Brains thought they would never play there so they wrote a song about playing there. What a riff. One of the best bands of all time.

Eartha Kitt – Evil: My old roommate Maeve turned me onto this song a long time ago. There’s a different version that I had on LP that I like better than the RCA version here but I long ago lost the album and have never been able to find it again. I remember the other version being a little more stripped down but this one’s great as is she. Big moment for me, I watched her pass by me at airport in Australia. I can’t remember now if it was 1995 or 1997.

Bartok - #4 Pt. 2 (played by the Emerson String Quartet): From the 2CD monster
Béla Bartók: The 6 String Quartets played by the Emerson String Quartet. I think it was my mother who turned me onto this set. No, it wasn’t. It was someone else and I asked her if she was into this release and she said she was so into it that she went to see them play the Bartok stuff and also went to their practices as well. Whoa!

Beach Boys – In My Room (German): This is an extra track on the Beach Boys Shut Down Vol. 2 CD. I was playing the CD on the way to the movie set on Friday and since In My Room is one of the best songs there is, I figured we better listen to this very cool German version so we can make sure to offend those folks who reckon we’re no longer buds with the Germans. I can’t wait to go there in January. Alles klar? Gut!

Iggy Pop - Pretty Flamingo: The b-side of the Five Foot One single from the New Values album, a CD extra track on the re-release. Don’t have that it?! Beg borrow or steal time on that one.
David Thomas – Surfer Girl (Meadville): I was on a festival date in Holland a few years ago and headlining one of the nights was Pere Ubu’s David Thomas. He came out with a three piece and did one of the best shows I have ever seen. He stood on the stage alone and did this song with an accordion and destroyed the place.

The Quinns – Oh Starlight: I don’t know anything about the Quinns, just one of the bands on one of the vast doo wop compilations I have. This one of from the Winely Records comp. on Relix. I have to think it’s long out of print but perhaps you can find the track somewhere else.
Squatweiler – Should I?: Not the easiest record to find. This track is from North Carolina band’s first album Full Bladder. For some reason they sent it to me in 1993 I think and I started playing the CD almost every day. I wrote them a fan letter and years later, they did shows with us all over America. What a great band!

Thor – Let the Blood Run Red: I think it was summer of 1984 and this was a red vinyl 12” in the UK. I was hanging out a few days in London with Greg Ginn after our tour to do some press and this was at our agent’s place. I played it all the time. Took me years to catch up with it again but I did. Thor came to my show in Seattle a couple of years ago and I knew he was showing up so I brought all my Thor vinyl and he signed all of them and we did some kick ass pictures. If you ever get the chance, find Rock and Roll Nightmare, the Thor movie, where he battles Satan! Let the blood run red. Let them all be dead--all those who oppose the metal avenger!

Hamza el Din – Give back My Heart: A few years ago when I was in Egypt, I saw this group of people at a dock on the Nile and I asked a tour guy who they were and he said, “Nubians”. I made a note to myself to check out some Nubian music if there was any. I got back to the states and went to the record store and found this guy Hamza el Din and his album, Music of Nubia. I got it and went home and played it. The next night I went back and got all the rest of his records and have been a fan ever since. I almost had the opportunity to interview him a few years ago but it didn’t come through.
UK Subs – She’s Not There: From their very fine 1979 single. Bass player Paul Slack on vocal duties as they do justice to the Zombies classic. This single came out in green and black wax. Mine’s signed by the whole band. You know what’s hard to find? The Party in Paris single in black wax. You don’t see that one around. I have only seen one.

Damned – Love Song: A classic off the Machine Gun Etiquette album. I have been playing this album since I was in highschool with Abe Lincoln. It’s still good, too. Oh, this is really cool, if you’re into this record, I have great news. In early December, Big Beat will release the 25 year anniversary edition of this record with all the b-sides, the single versions of Love Song and Smash It Up and for all you lucky ones who didn’t pay a ton of money for the severely limited single, the alt. version of I Just Can’t Be Happy Today will be on this as well. Some of you may remember I played this many weeks ago. There’s 300 of the single, making it perhaps the rarest of all the Damned singles. I have had one for some time and the version is really cool. A little keyboard heavy but cool as hell anyway. The as claims that it’s the first time it’s been on CD but that’s not correct, it’s on the Big Beat comp. CD called Marvelous. Anyway, this comes out soon along with the 25 year anniversary edition of the Smash It Up single that has the single as well as the Smash It Up video. This is too cool. If you go on Amazon, they list it. The better explanation of the tracks can be found on the Amazon UK site. Can’t wait!

X Ray Spex – I Am a Cliché: The b-side of the famous Oh Bondage Up Yours single. Germ Free Adolescents, their album is one of those must-haves.

The Untouchables – I Hate You: I’ve played this one before. I just sent the singer’s daughter a Max and Ruby DVD so he’s been on my mind. This track is from the Flex Your Head comp. from your friends at Dischord.

The Big Bopper – White Lightin’: I think the last time I played the big man, it was the track The Big Bopper’s Wedding. That’s a good one too. There’s a really good best of on Rhino that has all the Bopper you can handle. He was one of the unfortunate ones on the plane with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens on the day the music died, 02-03-59.

William Bell – Any Other Way: One of the great men of the Stax label. I don’t know how I got this best of, Soul of a Bell but I did, around 1995 or so and got hooked on this song. The snare is so deep in the pocket. What a house band.

Janis Joplin – Down on Me: From the Joplin in Concert album. I have had this record since I was in 5th grade. I was a very explosive lad. I think this track is live from Detroit. I also think that Dan Healy recorded it, he’s the Dead’s soundman, perhaps they were touring together. I had a dream two nights ago that there was a Grateful Dead box set that was the size of a steamer trunk and for some reason I had to have it. I have a lot of Dead records but I don’t know if I could handle that much.

Stan Kenton – Modern Opus: From the City of Glass album. It’s Kenton’s orchestra playing the music of the late great Bob Graettinger. This one might be a little hard to get to. There was a point where I was playing this CD every day. A cool little bio on BG is here: http://www.mp3.com/Bob-Graettinger/artists/64479/biography.html
Joy Division – Day of the Lords: It’s my show and my notes. I say, get all of it. The classic first album Unknown Pleasures, the Heart and Soul box set, the live in France CD, the live in Preston CD, the BBC sessions CD, the whole thing. The late singer, Ian Curtis was brilliant and the definition of intense. Another Manchester band.

Arthur Conely – Sweet Soul Music: I was going to rock this one at the Chicago DJ thing the other night so tonight it gets the play. What a song! The song shares a title with a book written by the amazing, AMAZING Peter Guralnick. He and the late Robert Palmer are the two best music writers outside all the great jazz writers. Guralnick’s book, Feel Like Going Home is a cornerstone Blues book. He and Palmer rule the roost. Read ‘em all, chillun!

John Fahey – Revelation: From the God Time and Causality record. My favorite Fahey album. Chris Haskett turned me onto him at some point in the 80’s. What a serious player this guy was. Died recently. Revenant has a great site for this SERIOUS American player. http://www.johnfahey.com/

The Fall – Mod Mock Goth: This is from the new and somewhat confusing release by The Fall titled Interim. It’s a mix of old and new songs recorded at rehearsal so says the Fall website. It’s getting mixed reviews on the message board.

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Thanks for listening.