Mercurial: Songs from the 2009 British Mercury Music Prize

Chosen by Dr Pepper

Welcome to the liner notes for October, 2009 CD of the Month. The CD before you contains a selection of songs from the 12 artists nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, a British music prize which traditionally recognises quality recordings from independent and alternative musicians from genres as diffuse as pop, rock, indie, jazz, soul and folk.

You can find out more about the Prize, here, including a list of previous winners.

I know at least one DJ who's CD, on arrival, would not play. If this is also a problem for you, I apologise. I've posted a temporary link to mp3s with each part of the liner note here - they will be up for a limited time only, so be quick!

Find choons here (sorry, gone!)

1. Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Here it Begins

I know very little about this band I'm afraid, and after a quick listen on Spotify, I was left pretty disappointed! Not necessarily the way to start a CD of the Month! But luckily this little intro was a lovely introduction to the album and a mystical piece in its own right.


2. Glasvegas - It's my own cheating heart that makes me cry

You could listen to this and stop. If you did that of course, you would miss some other cracking tunes, but this, for me, is the band par excellence on the CD. Glasvegas are a 4-piece from Glasgow in Scotland and one listen to the lead singer's vocals will make you think watching Trainspotting was easy! With a painful, beautiful, raw and strong Glaswegian accent, it takes a certain dialect to turn the word "f***ing" into the word "f'ung" - listen out for it in relation to his "mis'us" about halfway into the track. Anyway, amongst many tracks on their self-titled debut album, this is one of my favourites, crescendoing into a magical aura about his painful, cheating heart towards the backend of the song, it's a brilliant, heart-rendering anthemic masterpiece.


3. The Horrors - Who Can Say?

The Horrors were new to me, but one listen had me hooked. A harder sound than Glasvegas and no Scottish accent here. Who Can Say? seems to hark back to an earlier sounds - perhaps the late 80s with its synthetic rock combo and dead-pan style lyrics. This was easily to my mind their stand out track, a racy, demanding tour de force, complete with spoken vocals laid over the top reminiscent of some of James's heavier tracks.


4. Florence and the Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)

It takes a big woman to follow up that rocking start. And luckily Florence, or Flo, kindly delivers in spades. You might already be familiar with their work, and if you are, you will know this song. If you don't, welcome. If you like this track, the rest of the album will also deliver in style. Tender, fragile lyrics backed up with poppy, catchy tunes serves to deliver an immediate and demanding listen, one you will soon find yourself impulsively re-listening too. Crazy lyrics too: who is the lamb and who is the knife is brilliantly laid to bare.


5. La Roux - Amour Love

La Roux has crazy ginger hair, crazy vocals and crazy lyrics. Rumour has it she is made from two parts flour, two parts milk and two parts butter. Choosing which track to choose from her album was tricky, all being brilliant synthetic dance-pop numbers, immediately cacthy and quirky (in equal parts). Apologies here for the minute long gap at the end of this track. Purely unintentional on my part.


6. Friendly Fires - Paris

Friendly Fires are probably one of the most hyped bands in the UK this year and whether the album is as good as the groupies will tell you is a matter of opinion. To my mind, think of a hybrid, almost-identical version of Bloc Party. Luckily, that's no bad thing, and Paris is a fine example of their work. Sweeping lyrics driven by an uptempo indie rock beat will soon have you dreaming of eloping to Paris to drink claret and eat brie with your lover!


7. Kasabian - Fire

Kasabian have been on the British, if not international, music scene for a few years now, producing antemic indie numbers for a while. But Fire and the album from which it was nominated updates their sound, with more complex lyrics and aspiring tracks. Worthy of a listen for sure.


8. Led Bib - Sweet Chilli

Led Bib provided the biggest challenge of this album - segwaying some crazy jazz-funk into the middle of an essentially modern pop album. Luckily the strength of their sound made this problem slightly easier, and Sweet Chilli, is an arresting example of their work. It isn't an easy listen and has taken me a while to get used to, but one which I am now revelling in. Kat, my partner, thought she had heard this track before, so maybe it's actually a cover, I don't know. Anyway, enjoy.


9. Speech Debelle - Go then, bye

Speech Debelle's debut album Speech Therapy was the winner of this year's Mercury Music Prize. Hailing from London, the album is full of demanding rap lyrics about social deprivation and problems of growing up in the poor inner-city, tackling the usual themes of drugs, gangs, love and so forth. Go then, bye is one of the more accessible tracks - no bad thing - for its a welcome change to the indie, rock and pop which dominate this year's list.


10. Bat for Lashes - Daniel

Another artist as hyped as friendly fires and it's going to take me a few more listens of her album too find out why. Luckily, Daniel, is a moving melodic introduction, and delivers the goods to match the quality found elsewhere on this cd.


11. Lisa Hannigan - Ocean and a Rock

Stripping it back to minimalist folk songs, Lisa Hannigan's work features delicate tunes, a fragile voice and simple guitars - and repeat listening helps to get you into the more gentle pace of her work. Not revolutionary in my opinion, but good, this approach is exemplified by Ocean and a Rock, a simple, romantic little ditty.


12. The Invisible - London Girl

I know little about The Invisible, but I like what I have heard. Within a listen of this track, you'll find yourself merrily dancing along to the infectitious lyrics and rhythm of London Girl, a catching ode to that London Girl you've once met and taken a shine to.


13. Glasvegas - Geraldine

We weren't going to wrap up this album without a return to the fine work of Glasvegas. How many bands do you know who have written an ode to the wondrous works of social workers determined to keep crack addicts of the smack? That's right: one - Glasvegas. And they do it in style with this, the flagship track from their first album. To set the context: the track they would play for their encore, so merry middle-class folk can sing along in anthemic bliss about all those tough times on meths. Don't ask me, but it works.

Rocket's Big Gay Anthem CD, featuring DJ DoubleStuffed

DJs - here's the playlist; fullsome liner notes coming shortly:

1) Madonna - Vogue (Sticky + Sweet Tour)
2) Bette Midler - To Deserve You (Extended Remix)
3) Kim English - Unspeakable Joy
4) Donna Summer - I Will Go On With You
5) Whitney Houston - It's Not Right, But It's Okay (Thunderpuss MIx)
6) Deborah Cox - Absolutely Not (Hex Hector Mix)
7) Lara Fabian - I Will Love Again
8) Celine Dion - I'm Alive (Johnny Rocks World Anthem Remix)
9) Agnes - Release Me (Cahill Club Edit)
10)Bonus, Madonna featuring Gogol Bordello - La Isla La Bonita (Sticky + Sweet Tour)

cd #25: a night at the opera

As the first DJ each year, I feel a little pressure to start the year off with a real crowd pleaser. Well, this year I’ve decided to ignore expectations and give you all a little of something that pleases me: opera music. I know opera isn’t for everybody, so I struggled deciding whether to aim at the non-opera fans with really popular music, or to aim at the serious fans and go with obscure music. Based on the what I know about this club, I went for the former.

This is a compilation in two acts. In each act, we start with classic arias, move on to more pop opera arias, and then conclude with some powerful choruses. To make things interesting, I didn’t use the same composer more than once (with one notable exception). And, although it’s not noted on the CD cover, each aria is from a different singer. So put on your best outfit, pour yourself a fine glass of wine, and sit back and enjoy a night at the opera with DJ Pants.

Act I:

1. Puccini / Tosca / E Lucevan Le Stelle

The hardest part of making this album was choosing which Puccini aria to include. With La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, Turandot and Tosca in his repertoire, Puccini can’t be beat. I chose this one because it packs a lot of emotion into just a few minutes… and it’s Placido Domingo, who you might have heard of.

2. Delibes / Lakmé / Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs

Lakmé is not a well-known opera, but this duet is very popular. We’ve got Dame Joan Sutherland singing here. In case there is any doubt, this is a love song. It’s arrestingly beautiful.

3. Bizet / Les Pêcheurs de Perles / Au Fond du Temple Saint

Bizet is better known for Carmen, but I wanted to go for something a little less popular. Don’t get me wrong – this is still an opera favourite. David Byrne did a very nice version of this song a few years ago. This duet involves two fishermen committing their friendship to each other, and not busting each other up over a girl they both used to love.

4. Lalo / Le Roi D’Ys / Puisq’On Ne Peut Fléchir

Classic late 1800’s French opera. It doesn’t carry the weight of a lot of Italian opera, but it’s still awfully nice to listen to.

5. Thomas / Mignon / Elle ne croyait pas dans sa candeur

Ditto.

6. Bellini / Norma / Deh! Non volerli vittime

Norma is a well-known and well-regarded opera, but I still think it is under-appreciated. I listened to Norma a lot while I was working on my PhD. It has several beautiful arias and some great choruses. It’s a brilliant opera, and if I could see one opera at La Scala, it would be this one. This is the finale of the opera, moving from the sublety of Maria Callas’ singing on to a resounding chorus. It’s going to make me cry if I keep writing about it, so I’ll stop.

7. Verdi / Il Trovatore / Vedi! Le fosche notturne spoglie

Verdi is another Italian opera legend. There is a lot to choose from when you’re thinking of Verdi. He has, most notably, written some brilliant choruses. It was hard to choose, but after the drama of the last song I figured we needed something a bit more upbeat. This song reminds me of my father, which likely means we used to have an Il Trovatore record when I was a kid.

8. Gounod / Faust / Deposons les armes

A classic chorus. We saw Faust in Ottawa a few years ago. I didn’t know a lot of the music, but I sure sat up when the chorus started belting this one out.

Act II:

9. Mozart / Die Zauberflöte / Der Hölle Rache
I debated a lot over this one. In addition to Norma, I listened to El Nozze del Figaro (the Marriage of Figaro) a lot while I was writing my PhD dissertation. My wife almost walked down the aisle to Voi Che Sapate, until we decided to go for a Carla Bruni song instead. Anyway, this is Mozart. Apparently he does more than opera. I chose this aria because I think it highlights what non-opera people think of when they think of opera. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had chosen Voi Che Sapate. If you want a replacement, I can email you.

10. Catalini / La Wally / Ebben? Ne andro lontana

Catalini was an Italian composer, and I’m not going to lie to you – he was a bit of a one-hit wonder. But it’s a very nice hit. The character singing this one is about to leave her home forever. You can feel the weight of the situation.

11. Gluck / Orfeo Ed Euridice / Che Farò Senza Euridice?

We’re going back in time and place a bit to Austrian in the 1700’s. Nevertheless, it’s similar to French opera, but with a lovely Austrian musical touch. I kind of wish she would start belting it out in this aria, but that wasn’t really the style at the time.

12. Charpentier / Louise / Depuis le jour

Another beautiful French aria. It’s a little flowery for me, but perhaps that’s what we need before we get to the final choruses.

13. Saint-Saëns / Samson et Dalila / Mon Coeur S’Ouvre À Ta Voix

The brilliant thing about opera is that if you listen well, you really don’t need a translation (unless you have a heart of hard, cold stone). I imagine you might not need me to tell you that she’s starting off with “My heart opens itself to your voice, like the flowers open to the kisses of the dawn!”

14. Offenbach / Les Contes D’Hoffman / Les oiseaux dans la charmill

I suppose the vocal styling of the soprano here might be a bit of a turn-off for some. I’ve just realized that Offenbach composed an operetta called La Belle Hélène. Considering I’m married to a belle Hélène, perhaps I could have found something from that one. But this is a classic.

15. Gilbert & Sullivan / HMS Pinafore / For He Is An Englishman

Although it doesn’t really fit with the rest of this mix, I have to give a nod to Gilbert & Sullivan. After all, Bart Simpson’s last request before dying was to hear the entire score of HMS Pinafore. Sideshow Bob’s rendition of “For He Is An Englishman” was unforgettable.

16. Wagner / Tannhauser / Begluckt darf nun dich, o Heimat, ich schauen

Wagner, as you may know, is rather intense. Tannhauser is more palatable than the Ring Cycle, but you can still get a a sense of the Wagnerian drama in this chorus. Tannhauser was famously a complete disaster when it premiered in Paris in 1861. There were some politics involved, but the performance had to be stopped part way through and Wagner fled France. I love it.

17. Puccini / Turandot / Non piangere Liu… Ah! Per l’ultima volta!

I really tried to have each composer appear only once, but I had to make an exception for Puccini, especially since he composed Turandot. My wife and I saw Turandot at the Budapest Opera House, and it was one of the most memorable nights of my life. The opera house in Budapest is spectacular, and Turandot contains one of the most beautiful arias out there – Nessun Dorma was Luciano Pavarotti’s favourite. Anyway, this selection is the finale of act one, and it is one of the most emotional choruses in opera. I won’t bother with the whole story, but Turandot is a princess and a prince has just declared himself a suitor for her love. Everybody thinks he’s nuts because if he doesn’t answer three riddles he will be beheaded (if you want to know how that turns out go see the opera). The hair stands on the back of my neck every time I hear this chorus. We walked out of the opera house that night and went straight to a nearby café and ordered champagne. We’ve been opera lovers ever since.

CD # 23: Not ABBA

The reason: As the Swedish outcast in a club of UK and Canada residents I figured I might aswell make my alienation a bit useful.

The mix: The compilation is called Not ABBA not because I have anything against ABBA (quite the contrary), but to emphasize that I have tried to avoid what Swedish music I think you may have already heard. That means no ABBA, nor Ace of Base, Roxette, The Hives, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Cardigans, Europe, Army of Lovers, Robyn or that song by Peter Bjorn & John. You may have picked up some of what's on this CD anyway (The Knife?) but hopefully most of it is new to you. And good to you!

The plays:

1.
Merit Hemmingson
Mandom mod och morske män
(Trollskog - mer svensk folkmusik på beat, 1972)

Keyboard/piano/moog/organ player and singer Merit Hemmingson made herself a name in the sixties and seventies through a couple of records of contemporary interpretations of traditional Swedish folk music (thus the undertitle of the album, "Swedish folk music on beat"). This track (the title translates to "Manhood courage and brave men", but this recording is fortunately instrumental, as the lyrics consist of patriotic rubbish) opens said album and I found it suitable for a starter her aswell.

2.
Jenny Wilson
Summer Time - the Roughest Time
(Love and Youth, 2005)

Jenny Wilson was the singer of Swedish independent band First Floor Power before she made her much appreciated solo debut with Love and Youth in 2005. Second album Hardships was just released, receiving similar praise. As often as being talked of because of her music, though, Wilson has, together with amongst others Frida Hyvönen (of track 7), become a poster girl for a sort of "old lady"-fashion, often wearing fifties dresses and huge accessories.

3.
John Holm
Sången till Larry
(Lagt kort ligger, 1974)

Seventies again, and prog rocker John Holm. Notably, the term "prog rock" doesn’t mean the same thing in Sweden as in the rest of the world. Whereas British bands like King Crimson and Yes were musically progressive, in Sweden it’s more about being politically progressive (or at least being released on an independent label) and the prog scene also nicknamed itself "the music movement". "The song for Larry", about an old friend in decay, is a typical example of the kind of social realistic lyrics the prog scene heralded.

4.
Doris
Grey Rain of Sweden
(Did You Give the World Some Love Today, Baby?, 1970)

Doris Svensson sang in several bands in the sixties, before releasning her solo debut in 1970. Doris is a fine example of an artist of that time who was not at all related to "the music movement". She only released one solo album, and was long forgotten, until the album was re-released in the nineties, when it regained a cult following. Doris herself now works as a nurse in Göteborg, the same town in which this compilation was put together.

5.
Silverbullit
Run
(Arclight, 2004)

Silverbullit, another band from Göteborg, is possibly Sweden's best live act. Singer Simon Ohlsson was once arrested after a concert because the police was convinced he was on drugs (which he wasn't). On another occasion, after jumping into the audience, guards threw him out of the venue and the band continued without him. Third album Arclight was ranked by Swedish critics as the best Swedish album in 2004, but sadly the band still hasn’t broken through to the masses. Tell your friends.

6.

Jan Johansson

Gånglek från Älvdalen
(Jazz på svenska, 1963)

Pianist Jan Johansson tragically died in a car accident at 37. Before that he composed the theme for the 1969 TV series about Pippi Longstocking, and recorded a bunch of albums called things like "Jazz in Russian" or "Jazz in Swedish", interpreting folk songs from different parts of the world. The Swedish one is probably one of the albums owned by most Swedes, and most people could tell this is a Johansson recording from hearing just a couple of seconds of it. On a side note, Johansson's two sons now play in metal bands Stratovarius and Hammerfall respectively.

7.

Frida Hyvönen

Once I Was a Serene Teenaged Child

(Until Death Comes, 2005)

Frida Hyvönen made her debut in 2005 with the album from which this song is picked. Being from Northern Sweden ("Norrland"), she is part of a scene that includes bands like Sahara Hotnights and The Wannadies, and has also worked with David Sandström (of track 15). Third album Silence Is Wild was released last year and apart from that Hyvönen has also composed and recorded music for other art forms, such as a dance performance and a photo book.

8.
The Knife

Silent Shout

(Silent Shout, 2006)

The Knife is probably the entry in this collection you are most likely to have already heard. If not the band themselves, maybe the José González cover of their song "Heartbeats", which is the one from that Sony commercial with the bouncing balls. Siblings Karin and Olof Dreijer are of the most celebrated Swedish artists of the noughties, but also the most reluctant. They never show their faces in pictures, and wear masks when playing live. Fourth album Silent Shout was inspired by graphic novel Black Hole by Charles Burns. Almost as bizarre as that is the music video for the title track, directed by Andreas Nilsson, guitar player in Silverbullit (of track 5). Look it up.

9.
bob hund

Rundgång, gräslök, fågelsång

(bob hund, 1993)

Another contender for best Swedish live band (with the singer not arrested, but diagnosed as suicidal after having jumped up and down on the stage during a concert, causing severe knee damage, which the doctor summed up as "the patient jumping five metres [sic!] up in the air, without drugs"), bob hund recently released their eighth album. They are one of my favourite bands of all times and this song (the title meaning "[Audio] feedback, chive, bird song") is one of my favourite songs of all times, adapting Swedish summer into a little over two minutes of pop music. Nuff said.

10.
Pugh

Love, Love, Love

(Ja, dä ä dä!, 1969)

Pugh Rogefeldt's debut album Ja, dä ä dä! ("Yes, it is!") is often mentioned as the first rock album in Swedish (even if this track ironically has an English title). Pugh never made another album close to being as good as this one, but new artists keep naming him as one of their great influences because of it. The drums were played by Jan Carlsson, one half of prog duo Hansson & Karlsson (who famously almost recorded an album with Jimi Hendrix), and bass player was Georg "Jojje" Wadenius, who later joined Blood Sweat & Tears. In 1998, the drum intro was sampled by DJ Shadow for "Mutual Slump".

11.
Lena Nyman
Ett bloss för moster Lillie
(Bloss, 1997)

Lena Nyman is an actress, probably best known abroad for her parts in Ingmar Bergman's Oscar winning Autumn Sonata and Vilgot Sjöman's infamous I Am Curious (Yellow). Nyman has also released a couple of records though, two of them consisting of musical interpretations of Swedish poets Karin Boye and Bodil Malmsten respectively. This track ("A puff for aunt Lillie") derives from a poem by the latter, about a deceased woman who "passed away in socks with seams / and eternal rock 'n' roll dreams".

12.
Komeda
If
(The Genius of Komeda, 1996)

Komeda took their name from Polish composer Krzysztof Komeda (whom you may remember from last year's effort Original Soundtrack) and were part of the Swedish indie scene in the nineties. However, as arty as they may be, they were also famous for having their music appear in quite a few commercials. Second album The Genius of Komeda is the Swedish equivalent of Moby's Play, in that sense.

13.
Samla mammas manna
Tärningen
(Måltid, 1973)

Samla mammas manna ("Collect mother's manna") was a band from the Swedish prog scene (see track 3) that actually played more of progressive rock in the international sense. Long, equilibristic and often instrumental songs, inspired by Frank Zappa and (as a lot of these guys, as you may note) Swedish folk music, made them one of few prog rock bands that also has a following abroad. Like, they're huge in Japan. "Tärningen" means "The dice" but I have no idea why that’s the name of the tune.

14.
Hoola Bandoola Band

Vävare-Lasse

(Garanterat individuell, 1971)

Last entry in the prog section is Hoola Bandoola Band, a seven-piece band who were among the most prominent bands within "the music movement". "Vävare-Lasse", from their first album, is a morality about free-spirit weaver (!) Lasse, who is dragged from his loom to go work for the king. Politically naive as it may be, the music rocks (I love the saxophone!).

15.
David Sandström
Rock in Motion
(The Dominant Need of the Needy Soul Is to Be Needed, 2004)

David Sandström played the drums in Refused, front band of the Swedish hardcore scene in the nineties. The same year as they disbanded (1998) he released his solo debut, but it was with his ridiculously long-titled second and third albums he really became a name in his own right. One of the most beautiful text messages I have ever received was from a friend from the same Northern city as Sandström, reading as follows: "The night train towards the north is at it's best early in the morning, when you're the only one awake, listening to David Sandström, watching pine moors, bogs and occasional villages swish past the window. That I love!"

16.
[ingenting]

Lisa sa

(Mycket väsen för ingenting, 2006)

[ingenting] translates to [nothing] and their second album from which this song is picked to "Much ado about nothing". Sharing producer with Frida Hyvönen (of track 7), a third album is on the way, possibly paving the way for actually being known as more than "that band with the square brackets in the title". The beautiful "Lisa sa" is obviously a hommage to The Velvet Underground's "Stephanie Says".

17.
Veronica Maggio

Ballad om vintern
(Vatten & bröd, 2006)

Veronica Maggio is an odd example of an artist that is played on Swedish radio all the time, but still ranks as credible by the critics. One reason are her inspiring lyrics, another that she actually is great. "Ballad om vintern" (which I think you can figure out the translation of yourselves) was the end track of her debut album and completes the mini-theme of the Swedish seasons within this collection. As Doris on track 4, Maggio uses the word "grey" to describe the Swedish winter. Fair enough, I guess.

18.
Nicolai Dunger
Black Hole Sun
(Eventide, 1997)

Productive singer-songwriter Nicolai Dunger has released 13 albums since 1996. Few of them sound alike, ranging from the strings on Eventide to country-ish Soul Rush, or, well, more traditional singer-songwriter stuff. Dunger has worked with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Ebbot Lundberg of The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Nina Persson of The Cardigans. In my book, his best use of outside influence is however this cover of Soundgarden's 1994 hit "Black Hole Sun". Strings by The Tämmel Quartet and vocals by Dunger, not Antony Hegarty.

19.

Tired Tape Machine

Life Is a Joke
(Hälsningar från skogen, 2009)

My CD of the Month last year was a selection of music for the motion pictures. Had beautiful Swedish documentary Hälsningar från skogen (a.k.a. Greetings from the Woods) been released a year ago, this track would have been included. "Life Is a Joke" closes the film, played over mesmerizing pictures of old people dancing in a club house in the small village where the film takes place. The soundtrack is outstanding, and all of the tracks could have made it to this collection. If you like it, good luck in trying to find it, or I could fix you up with an additional CD.

20.
Monica Zetterlund/Bill Evans
Om natten
(Waltz for Debby, 1964)

In 1963, singer and actress Monica Zetterlund recorded a Swedish version of Bill Evans' "Waltz for Debby" (called "Monicas vals"). The recording reached Evans himself, who was so enchanted by Zetterlund's interpretation he wrote her and asked if they couldn't make a record together. They could, combining jazz standards and (once again!) traditional Swedish folk songs, arranged by Evans. "Om natten" ("In the night") closes the album and is to me a perfect way of ending also this score of Swedish music. a-funk wishes you a good night.

Heavy - It's not like it sounds

It's not like it sounds.

It took me a while to find the precise tone for this one. I knew I wanted to do a compilation of heavy music but I didn't want to fall into the trap of cliché loud dinosaur rock, or just obnoxious noise (I really wanted to stay away from bands that were just trying too hard to be heavy). As another criteria, I didn't want to abandon good hooks and melody. Even if this CD is supposed to be an antidote to pop rock, I still like a tasty tune as much as the next person. As well, it might be March but we can all still use a pick me up and I didn't want it to be a drag (man). So I've avoided all the 'bummer' songs that lurk in the deep end of the heavy category. So here it is -- loud, catchy, and oh so heavy, in the nicest of ways - a CD to start the blood pumping, get your dander up, and your brain a rattlin'.

Sincerely,
DJ Cucumbah

1) Leave Home - The Chemical Brothers

Not only did they have the coolest name in so called 'electronica' but they also had some of the heaviest and funkiest sounds. From the album Exit Planet Dust (which is a great ride from beginning to end and still feels fresh), The Chemical Brothers start us off with a little musical Redbull.

2) 23 Ghosts III - Nine Inch Nails

It seems like you can't grab a quiet drink at your local titty bar without being treated to the pounding hammering brutality of Nine Inch Nails. This is off a recent project that has front man Mr. Reznor doing it all in a home studio and releasing the album himself on the Internet without a major record label. Reports are, he's enjoying the freedom. Music that just may inspire a more intellectual and thoughtful kind of pole dance (less grind, more mind).

3) Hoist That Rag - Tom Waits

Tom Waits has always has a low growl of a voice but on this one it sounds like he's gargling gravel. The awesome Cuban inspired guitar tracks by Marc Ribot are intensely beautiful, giving this heavy tune a pleasant contrasty center.

4) Romantic Rights - Death From Above 1979

The Canadian duo that, as they rocketed to stardom, suddenly broke up. Post-post punk pop. Noisy enough to be cool but enough of a song to keep it on the play list, angry but approachable enough for the masses. I haven't bothered to listen to the lyrics - I will assume there is a woman involved.

5) Violent Pornography - System of a Down

I just love this song; it's like three songs in one. It's kind of a slick, semi-psychotic public service announcement. And like an abusive relationship, the sweet melodic chorus makes you forget all about the bad times. I tried to 'get into' the bands other music but have had no luck so far.

6) Sophisticated Bitch - Public enemy

Being raised on heavy guitar rock in a distinctly non-urban setting I was hesitant when it came to my first exposure to 'rap music'. Then I got my hands on a copy of Yo! Bum Rush the Show and I was hooked - I realized that rap could be my friend.

7) Will You Smile Again For Me - ...and You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

I saw ...and You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead's name on a poster and was curious. Turns out they aren't a death cult and even though they have a pretty heavy sound they usually package it up with some very catchy tunes (sometimes even a Beatles influence can be detected). I also have a love of both the bombastic and epic which they seem to share. We saw them play here in Montreal and the band appeared to be having a split personality crisis - a battle of the two front men pulling them in opposite directions.

8) Southern Pacific - Neil Young

Best train song ever? Mr. Young can be a very noisy guy when he puts his mind to it and here he shows how to drop into a groove and literally chug along the track. We saw him recently, and although I went in the spirit of, 'let's see this old rock legend so we can say we saw him', he totally blew the roof off the place.

9) Pork-U-Pine - Jeff Beck

Unlike most (all) wanky old guitar heroes Jeff Beck has continued to improvise and evolve. He has produced a couple albums over the last ten years that are pretty relevant for an old dude (he played with The Yardbirds for Christ sakes). This track really makes Clapton look like the boring fart he is.

10) Break - Saul Williams

We saw Saul Williams last year and he really puts on an angry energetic show. Full disclosure - this album was produced by Trent Reznor - you may detect strains of NIN.

11) Greyhound, Part 1 - Jon Spencer Remix (Moby)

I first heard this years ago when I was doing music supervision on a film and was looking for cool soundtrack ideas and it stuck in my head. It does have that 'Moby' sound. Although I saw him play a film party at The Sundance Film Festival's parasitic alternative The Slamdance Film Festival, before he became a mega artist and it was very fast, very punky and very loud - the vodka was free and I don't remember the rest. Jon Spencer is no slouch either but I like the bigger wall of sound of this track better than his usual sound - this is just heavier.

12) Feel Good Hit Of The Summer - Queens of the Stone Age

A friend of mine took me to see Queens of the Stone Age for my fortieth birthday. There was so much young man testosterone in the room, I went bald and damaged my hearing.

13) Jazz Is The Teacher - James 'Blood' Ulmer

In the 80' when James 'Blood' Ulmer released Black Rock he was playing jazz festivals with a stack of marshal guitar amps behind him. A lot of middle aged, soft-spoken jazz fans didn't know what the fuck was going on. Nowadays, he seems to have stopped 'experimenting' and started doing a lot of more traditional blues stuff, which is too bad because he was really a maverick for a few years there.

14) Welcome To Estonia - Tanel Padar & The Sun

When we were living in Estonia a few years ago we walked by a city park filled with college aged Estonian kids who were all bouncing and rocking to a DJ set up in a gazebo. This was the song they were grooving to - it sounded familiar but yet not. Someone has to represent northern metal on this disk - it might as well be sung in Estonian and borrow from James Brown. And if there ever was a heavy country, it's Estonia. Heavy skies, heavy stone fortresses, heavy food.

15) Stop - Al Kooper/Michael Bloomfield/Steve Stills

Maybe this isn't so 'heavy' in the traditional sense but I have always thought this was one of the best guitar solos ever. Deeply groovy maybe? Verging on heavy if you fire up a blunt beforehand.

16) The Dam - Philip Glass

This really is the 'seriously heavy shit'. Part of a piece written about the Itaipu dam project in Brazil, the title says it all. What can be heavier than a hydroelectric dam? They cause tectonic plates to sag. Glass manages to get all 'uplifty' as he goes along but it is a great mix of awe and dread. In addition, this is a mega dose of bombast - I put this on the stereo when I am feeling that life is too subtle and nuanced.

17) Miss Alissa - The Eagles of Death Metal

They've got a heavy name but The Eagles of Death Metal are all fun and games. As well, it is always sound policy to end on an upswing.

She Compiles, She Scores

Schwa - you outdid yourself. I cannot stop listening to this one! So much to savour - Petra Haden, Mattias Barjed, and a personal fave, Pep-See - but the first is the loveliest tune. Wow to Ms. Virginia Rodrigues -sublime.

Better Late than Never! - September Liner Notes - The Ghost Mix by the Culture Cartel

The Ghost Album (a paler shade of White Album) - The Culture Cartel
Some of my selections have been based more on fitting the theme and bringing in certain ideas than purely on musical merit. That said, there are probably just as many tracks that I've included here solely because they get into my brain and get stuck there and I can't begin to explain why I enjoy them so much. Hopefully you'll humour my whim and not feel overly abused by some of my more esoteric (or not-exactly-musical) selections and find those that you enjoy among them. While on their own some of these tracks don't amount to much, I think they help to pull together a feel that (hopefully) should transport the listener to a space far from their present reality. (Music as escapism!)
The theme for this album started off as the sound of "ghosts" however that might be interpreted and I ended up getting pulled in alot of different directions in terms of what "ghosts" might be; I tried to keep a unifying "feel" to the sounds, but getting pulled in so many directions the theme may have gotten a bit muddled.

Later I added the subtext to the theme "(a paler shade of White Album)" and the overall form of the album started to take shape as a chronology of a death and afterlife (possibly implied to be John Lennon, but i'll leave that up to you). It could be read as follows:

We start with a speech by John Lennon.
Then we have a track about an obsessive fan.
Sleater Kinney is calling for the doctor.
Poe tells us that he's died.
Air transports us beyond the flesh.
Nick Cave tells us of those left behind to mourn.
From here on out we're in the ghost realm....

Speech - John Lennon - The Beatles Anthology 1 - 1970
(voices from beyond the grave)

What could be more haunting than the voices of the dead? There's always a certain enjoyment of voyeurism in listening to old sound clips of people speaking, but there is often something equally disturbing about them particularly if the voice is speaking over a substantial gap of years, speaking to you from somewhere beyond your grasp, somewhere that no longer exists.

ringo, i love you - Stereo Total - My Melody -1999
(the lives of cardboard cutouts)

In terms of theme, I was trying to bring in the idea of the obsessive fan with this track. In part because it progresses the storyline that's present in the beginning of the album (the anatomy of a murder), but also because it represents a certain kind of ghost. I can't imagine being so obsessed with a particular celebrity that their life begins to overshadow your own and the lines begin to blur to between your own reality and the publicized life of that figure. Unbelievable though it is, I can imagine that it can happen and the life of such an obsessive fan surely is the life of a ghost, the life of a double, the life of a cardboard cutout. Let's leave all that behind though. In feel, this track is 90's art rock collides with casio synthpop and a touch of something vaguely nouvelle vague. Whatever it is, its 100% adorable (there's a matching track on the album called "i love you, ono") and the lo-fi sound of this french/german duo is peppy and sweet. Somehow they even manage to pull off the wordplay and have it be thoroughly enjoyable without crossing the bound into being cloying or cliched.

Call The Doctor - Sleater Kinney - Call The Doctor - 1996

What can I say, I'm a total sucker for 90's femme rock. Give me some angsty female vocals and quality guitar and I'm pretty easy to please.... but it seems like a dying genre for the time being... closest thing I've come across in recent years is the likes of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's. IMHO though Ms. Kinney is one for the books, heir to Blondie and the likes as it were. I was a bit torn as to which track of hers to include as "I wanna be your Joey Ramone" would have continued the theme of fan obsession nicely from the previous track, but I ended up deciding to cut to the chase, kill 'em off, call for the doctor, and get on to the ghostworld.

Exploration - Poe - Haunted - 2000

I'm not sure how well known Poe or her brother are in general, but they're certainly questionable company... it really just depends on whether you think that's a good thing or not. Admittedly this track was included because it fits the theme and the progression of the storyline so well that I had to include it as the transition to the ghostworld. It's not entirely representative of her music, and the album has plenty of proper musical numbers with a full, rich sound, but it still remains something of a concept record. Poe's brother Mark Z. Danielewski authored the book "House of Leaves", which if you've ever encountered it, is a head-trip to hell and back with a minor bout of earthly insanity along the way if you can manage to put in the effort to attempt to read it (the proper version is about 3 inches thick, with footnotes abounding, pages in braille, text running in every which direction, sometimes in circles, and nothing like a linear plot line). The album that this track comes from "Haunted" is loosely based on House of Leaves, so you have a rough feel where this is coming from.

Ghost Song - Air - The Virgin Suicides - 2000

Not much to say about this track other than it's got the ghost feel nailed. We've officially entered the ghost world at this point.

The Weeping Song - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Good Son - 1990

I just love this song... the sonorous tones of Cave's vocals, the huge sweeping crescendos and diminuendos that really capture the emotion of loss... the rises and falls of a great heaving sob. This is a song not of the ghosts of the departed, but of the ghosts they leave behind, the shells of the living.

Gorillaz - Dracula - Clint Eastwood (Single) - 2001

It's a catchy tune... possibly one that some might not have heard even if they know Gorillaz. Vampires seemed close enough to ghosts to warrant including it. It also serves to break up the tempos and rhythms a bit... I thought it might pep things up a bit and show that, eventhough we're in the ghostworld now, it doesn't mean it won't be a party.

White Ghost Shivers - Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra - Vocalion 1085 - 1927

I've got some old-timey jazz that is too much fun not to leak out every now and then. Anybody seen the old original "Casper" cartoons? This track could be straight out of one of those... I nails the ghost feel just as well as Air's track, but in a completely different way. And how about that tuba?! It kills me every time.

Bear Hides And Buffalo - CocoRosie - Noah's Ark - 2005

CocoRosie is a duo consisting of two sisters Bianca Leilani "Coco" Casady and Sierra Rose "Rosie" Casady, hence the name CocoRosie. These two come from a serious strange background and it certainly shows in their music... Most of their youth was spent shuffling around the southwest u.s. bouncing between their artist mother and their peyote shaman father. By the time they were 12 and 14 they were separated and fell out of contact. Sierra went on to study operatic voice at the Conservatoire de Paris, while Bianca has know musical training and primarily contributes strange vocals and pushing the buttons on children's toys that make animal noises. It's really worth having a look at them recording on youtube.... it's quite a trip. Their whole first album was recorded in Sierra's bathroom in Montmartre when Bianca unexpectedly showed up on her doorstep after more than a decade of estrangement. While I think their Voodoo-Eros cult persona is a bit contrived, I think the sound they create is undeniably haunting and beautiful... the combination of the creepy vocals and the operatic vocals + the sound effects creates something like a childhood nightmare, yet a beautiful one all the same. The whole of Noah's Ark is equally good and well worth a listen. It's got a bit of a fuller sound than some of their other albums.

Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts - Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary - 2005

I thought it was time to pick things up again and go up tempo and come back to more mainstream tunes. I find the vocals in this song incredibly catchy and some of the lyrics are simply brilliant e.g. "Now we'll say it's in God's hands, but God doesn't always have the best goddamn plans, does he?".

The song seems quite fitting to the theme in a way, though there are many ways that the title could be interpreted. The concept of a "hungry ghost" is common to many asian religions including Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and traditional Chinese ancestor worship. The typical depiction of these spirits is an extreme teardrop shape... they're described as having a mouth and neck like a needle and a stomach like a mountain; the combination of these two making physical satisfaction impossible, despite the desperately bloated stomach.

There are really two chief meanings associated with hungry ghosts... one is that it is a form of rebirth serving as punishment for greed.... the idea being that their punishment is to hunger forever without the possibility of satisfaction.

The other reading, which is the one I would suggest is meant in this song, is the association in Chinese ancestor worship. Hungry ghosts are spirits of the departed that have been neglected by their living family members.... without offerings of food from the living, our dead ancestors are left with hungry and bloated bellies waiting for remembrance. In our busy modern world, I think we've all become sons and daughters of hungry ghosts to a certain extent and its a worthy point for us to spare some thought on.... perhaps the true ghosts are the memories that we carry forward from generation to generation. Enough of my ramblings... onwards we go.

Beyond Skin - Nitin Sawhney - Fabric Live 15 - 2004

I thought the voice-over samples in this track carried over from the idea of the last track nicely. There's something definitely haunting about the style, at once soothing and unsettling. Nitin Sawhney does some really cool stuff blending traditional Indian elements with more typical house style. It's well worth checking out some his other stuff... The album Beyond Skin is quite good and a somewhat cinematic experience. You'll find that few of his tracks lack sampled voice, speaking out to us, calling us out on the shortcomings of modern society, reminding us of the essence of life.

Pul/Pulk Revolving Doors - Radiohead - Amnesiac - 2001

I feel as if eras of my life have been defined by different Radiohead albums associate with those times; perhaps its a bit obsessive, but its honest. I have a very distinct memory of sitting in my high school library reading Rolling Stone when Radiohead were finishing up recording on Kid A and Amnesiac... the write described Kid A as something like an epic space-rock opera and then went on to explain that, if the vocals seemed inaccessible on Kid A, the vocals of Amnesiac where the ghost of the same voice whispering through a crack in a cavern of ice... or something to that effect.. I wish I could remember the exact quote. At any rate, I think this track epitomises that sentiment perfectly and fits the feel exactly. It's explosive and powerful, it's unnerving, and yet it still has the coyly haunting element..... the whisper of a demon drawing you down the rabbit hole and around one more bend, just to see what lies ahead.

Just to throw in a bit more of a history lesson, Kid A and Amnesiac were originally a single project that ultimately got broken up into two albums, but they are very much a pair. The title Kid A is meant to make reference to the first cloned human "Kid A" and seems to sing of the ghost-like life that it would be as a carbon copy, without a unique identity of your own. Amnesiac refers to the theory that we are born with all the knowledge of the universe, but we forget at the moment of our birth as a coping mechanism to deal with the trauma of it all.... leaving us with an impression, a ghost-like self at our cores, of every being past and present, the whole universe lying within us, but forever forgotten. I think Pul/Pulk, while not the most memorable or catchy track on either album, seems to echo and resonate with each of these ideas.

Champion Chains - A.R.E. Weapons - A.R.E. Weapons - 2001

This is off the first album of NYC-based noise-rockers A.R.E. Weapons. One of the strangest groups I've come across in a long while. As far as fitting the theme, I'm including this track on the basis of the lyrics, "I dreamt of this beat when I was sleeping on the streets. I cooked up this verse when I had nothing to eat." This track is a bit of a reminder of the living ghosts that surround us... the homeless and anyone that too often goes unnoticed. As far as the music goes, love it or hate it, it's definitely unlike anything else I've heard. For a bit of extra trivia, the band was signed on to Rough Trade at Jarvis Cocker's recommendation and Chloe Sevigny's brother Paul plays synth for the group.

The Specials / Ghost Town - Scratch Perverts - Badmeaninggood vol. 4 - 2001

It's a magic musical carpet ride through a ghost town, with super catchy ska trumpets. What more could ask for? This track is just too catchy not to include and conveys the ghost feel in a slightly different way from all the rest.... it's a touch more mellow while remaining up beat.

Bjork Impression - Liam Lynch & Matt Crocco - Camp Sunny Side Up - 1999

This one I mainly included for a laugh and also as a tip of the hat to the rules of the club. I was hoping that putting this back to back with a genuine Bjork track might catch a few people, knowing that only one track per artist is allowed. I have to say that it's a pretty impressive impersonation of her vocals, especially coming from a dude. This does fit with the theme as well, in the sense of cover artists/bands, impersonators, etc. become ghosts if they are successful. They're shadows of the figures the represent and lose some of their own identity. (There are exceptions of course, liam lynch and weird al seem to remain pretty unique figures in their own right).

The Anchor Song - Bjork - Debut - 1993

I don't think any mix on the theme of ghosts would be complete without Bjorks wraith-like vocals. I find this track particularly beautiful and haunting for its minimal instrumentation. If there is such a thing as a sea-wraith-ghost left behind by a drowning victim that lives on haunting the coast, then surely this is their theme song.

Chelsea Girls - Nico - The Velvet Underground and Nico - 1967

Again we return to living ghosts, ghosts created by addiction. It's hard to imagine vocal's more perfect than Nico's for representing the voice of a ghost... austere and frigid... they run through you like a shudder and leave you tingling for more.... Bjork just can't quite live up to this one although she's tough competition.

Untitled (Hanging Around) - Jana Hunter - Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom - 2005

I only recently discovered Jana Hunter... there's something quite catchy in the gloomy, haunting minimalism of her sounds. I'm definitely a sucker for her style of vocals too. This track isn't exactly my fav. from the album, but it seemed to really capture the feel I was going for. It's worth listening to some of the other tracks on this album to see what she's capable of... this is one of the more austere... K stands out quite surprisingly as a bubble-gum sweet casio powered synth number.... it's really out of character for the rest of the album, but somehow it works. Laughing & Crying is also worth a listen... it brings out the more folk aspects of her work. The album art and title are great for the album, no?

Space Oddity - Langley Schools Music Project - Innocence & Despair - 1976

This is tying back in to the beginning of the mix with John Lennon's speech. There is something incredibly haunting about the voices of children captured in 1976 echoing across time to us. This is the sound of a time, a place, and people that no longer exist. Twenty-two years on, those children have long since ceased to be.... for all the simplicity of the concept of a school choir singing pop-songs, I think Innocence & Despair really pushes the limits of how haunting the recorded media can be.... as with Lennon's speech, we are privy to a concert consisting entirely of the genuine voices of ghosts.

Because We're Dead - Slow Club - Slow Club (Single) - 2007
This Sheffield-based duo is absolutely adorable... I had the pleasure of seeing them perform at Latitude festival two years ago.... they come out on stage looking like an echo of the perfect world promised by 50's adverts targeted at the newly-wed nuclear couple..... and then they proceed to play sweet dities on guitar, wooden spoons, pots, pans, chairs etc. I wanted to close in keeping with the theme, but I wanted to go out on a happy and upbeat note and I really couldn't think of anyone finer for the job than the Slow Club... go see them! check out more of their music, though sadly the only have a few singles that you can acquire at this point.




Bonus:


Track 15 - Meat Beat Manifesto - Satyricon - 1992
This track by the Swindon-based group Meat Beat Manifesto was included on some of the CD's, because iTunes will only let you burn so many CDs of the same playlist. The easiest was to get around this was to add a track, so some of you got this bonus... Don't ask me why... it's one of those strange tracks that I don't know how I ever ended up with it... I heard it for the first time listening to my music on random... it was to strange to get rid of... so it hangs around and I pass it along to the next person, like some disease, whenever it happens to pass through my mind.