CD # 11: Original Soundtrack

The reason: I am a film buff. I love film music.

The rules: 1. Only original recordings. 2. Only original compositions. That rules out things like the Richard Strauss piece that opens 2001: A Space Odyssey or the Beck song that closes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. 3. Only one entry per composer. That rules out Halloween and Taxi Driver.

The mix: Is king. I did have some pop songs (and a Spinal Tap gem) on the shortlist, but I eventually settled for an almost entirely instrumental selection, where the transitions are as important as the tunes themselves.

The plays:

1.
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Track: Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme)
Performers: Uncredited orchestra, conducted by Riz Ortolani
Composer: Riz Ortolani
Director: Ruggero Deodato

Cannibal Holocaust is one of the worst films I have ever seen. It's an italian horror flick consisting of "found footage" from an expedition to the South American jungle. Violence, sexual violence, bad taste and bad acting (although the director had to present the actors in court to prove they weren't actually killed in front of the camera) obviously makes it a cult classic, but to praise it as important "civilization critic" is just stupid. The soundtrack, however, is genious. Riz Ortolani, also Italian, has made some 50 soundtracks (and has been Oscar nominated twice, not for Cannibal Holocaust), but I would say this is his most famous one. If the director Ruggero Deodato should have any credit, it is for bringing in the beautiful music of Ortolani as a contrast to the cruelty of what's happening on screen.

2.
Paris, Texas (1984)
Track: Paris, Texas
Performers: Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson, David Lindley
Composer: Ry Cooder
Director: Wim Wenders

Wim Wenders won the Palme D'Or in Cannes with Paris, Texas, a wonderful drama that begins with a confused Harry Dean Stanton walking out of the deserts. Eventually he turns out to have a son and a wife and the climax is the scene where he communicates with his wife through a telephone in a strip club booth. Ry Cooder is a Grammy awarded guitarist and the guy who found (and exploited) those Cuban musicians in the Buena Vista Social Club documentary (also directed by Wim Wenders). Among Cooder's other film music credits are Dead Man Walking and Crossroads (the blues one, not the Britney Spears one).

3.
Bodysong (2003)
Track: Moon Trills
Performer: Jonny Greenwood
Composer: Jonny Greenwood
Director: Simon Pummell

Jonny Greenwood is one fifth of Radiohead, but nowadays also has two film scores to his credit. The latest was the score for Paul Thomas Anderson's American epos There Will Be Blood, which is also a good listen (and actually works better as an album on its own than in the film). His first try however, was for the British independent documentary Bodysong. I haven't seen it, but it's apparently a "journey from birth to death". "Moon Trills" is the opening track, so I guess we are dealing with birth here.

4.
Je t'aime … moi non plus (1976)
Track: Ballade de Johnny-Jane
Performer: Serge Gainsbourg
Composer: Serge Gainsbourg
Director: Serge Gainsbourg

Composing directors is not too rare a phenomenon. On this compilation, we have two such entries. Serge Gainsbourg might rather be a directing composer though, best known for a number of pop songs in the 60s and 70s. One of his signature songs is the sexually frank "Je t'aime ... moi non plus", which he originally recorded with then-girlfriend Brigitte Bardot in 1968. Bardot copped out and stopped the release, why it's the later version that Gainsbourg recorded (and released) with next girlfriend, Jane Birkin, that is best known. An instrumental interpretation of "Je t'aime ..." also serves as the main theme of the film by the same name, but as it is wasn't an original composition for the film, it's ruled out on this CD. The film is an awkward story where Joe Dallesandro plays a gay garbage truck driver who falls in love with an androgyne woman played by Jane Birkin. They can't have sex, until Johnny-Jane (Birkin's character) proclaims "I am a boy" and turns over. Cue a montage of scenes with the two having anal sex, during which the main theme is playing and Johnny-Jane is screaming. Disturbing, but fabulous. Plus, the tune "Ballade de Johnny-Jane" brings much needed tempo after the three slow tracks opening this compilation.

5.
Farväl Falkenberg (2006)
Track: The Joy of D.H. Lawrence
Performer: Erik Enocksson
Composers: Erik Enocksson, Jörgen Svensson
Director: Jesper Ganslandt

The first Swedish entry is the music from Farväl Falkenberg (Falkenberg Farewell), one of the highest acclaimed Swedish films of recent. It revolves around a bunch of guys in their 30s, who either returns to, have always stayed in or are about to leave their small hometown, Falkenberg. The genuine setting has led to the Falkenberg tourist center publishing a map with which you can find your way to places appearing in the film - such as the spot where one of the characters commits suicide. I have no clue what the D.H. Lawrence reference is all about though.

6.
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Track: Main Title
Performer: Mia Farrow
Composer: Krzysztof Komeda
Director: Roman Polanski

One of the true classics in this compilation is Roman Polanski's tale about a woman being inpregnated by the Devil. The theme song is also known as "Lullaby" and appears in different versions in the film and on the soundtrack. Polish composer Krzysztof Komeda died only 39 years old, and Rosemary's Baby was one of his last jobs. He also worked with Polanski on other films, most notable Knife in the Water. Rosemary's Baby is part of a long tradition of great horror movie soundtracks (along with another two entries in this compilation). Obviously, the wish to emphasize scary moments brings on scary music - and a lot of cheap thrills go with cheep musical solutions - but the good ones (Jaws, Halloween, The Wicker Man etc.) stick more than most soundtracks.

7.
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Track: Vessels
Performers: The Western Vocal Wind Ensemble,
Philip Glass Ensemble, conducted by Michael Riesman
Composer: Philip Glass
Director: Godfrey Reggio

Koyaanisqatsi was the mega productive composer Philip Glass's first stab at film music. He might have wanted to choose a less demanding project - Koyaanisqatsi is a feature length video installation (or, if you will, documentary), consisting of images of (mostly American) society in conflict with nature. The film is a true masterpiece and Glass's music is a huge part of the experience, as the film contains no dialogue whatsoever. The film may be manipulative, but I rather like to see it as an example of the possibilities of cinema (moving pictures! and sound!). Followers of the CD of the Month Club may note the resemblance to another Phlip Glass track, "Opening", which appeared on one of the DJ Wordplay CDs. It was recorded and released around the same time as the Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack.

8.
Upp till kamp (2007)
Track: Rebecka
Performer: Mattias Bärjed
Composer: Mattias Bärjed
Director: Michael Marcimain

Swedes again. Upp till kamp (the first words of the Swedish lyrics for "The Internationale") isn't really a film, but a six hour mini-series. The soundtrack is so good though, I decided to include it anyway. The series tells the story of four 20-somethings in Göteborg, from 1968 to 1978, and through them the story of the rise of social activism in Sweden. Mattias Bärjed also plays with The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and in Upp till kamp, it's his music who makes the six hours work as a whole, actually making it a 'soundtrack of the characters lives', be it with furious electric guitars or as here, through an acoustic mantra working as a theme for the character Rebecka. OK, that was a pretentious analysis, just dig the sound, really.

9.
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Track: Midnight Cowboy
Performers: Toots Thieleman, John Barry & His Orchestra
Composer: John Barry
Director: John Schlesinger

Midnight Cowboy won the Oscar for best film back in the days when an Oscar for best film actually meant that the film was any good. A gritty, realistisic drama about a cowboy trying to make a living as a prostitute, it isn't the obvious hit with the popcorn audience, but it has an undisputed place in movie history. Of the soundtrack, most people might remember the Harry Nilsson tune "Everybody's Talkin'", but that wasn't an original recording, so the choice here is the main title, composed by one of the big names in movie music. John Barry has over a hundred soundtracks to his credit and has bagged five Oscars. His best known work is probably the James Bond theme, aswell as a number of Bond songs (Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever). Other works include Dances with Wolves, Body Heat and Howard the Duck.

10.
La double vie de Véronique (1991)
Track: Van den Budenmayer Concerto en mi mineur
(SBI 152) Version de 1798
Performers: Elzbieta Towarnicka, Great Orchestra of Katowice, Philharmonic Choir of Silecia, conducted by Antoni Wit
Composer: Zbigniew Preisner
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Another Polish entry, another recurrent director-composer relationship. Zbigniew Preisner most notably worked with Krzysztof Kieslowski on his two best known projects, The Decalogue and the Three Colours. In between those La double vie de Véronique (The Double Life of Véronique) appeared - in my opinion Kieslowski's best film. The story revolves around Weronika and Véronique - two women, both played by Irène Jacob. One of them lives in Poland and the other in France, but their lives are somehow connected. The tune presented here is in a way the dramatic turning point of the film. Being performed by Weronika, by the end of the scene we leave her to go to France and Véronique. Van den Budenmayer, who gets credit in the title of the piece, is a fictional composer made up by Preisner and Kieslowski (and used in several of the films they made together). The "Van Den Budenmayer Concerto" is the only track in this compilation that actually has lyrics, but I dare you to quote them.

11.
Escape from New York (1981)
Track: Main Title
Performers: John Carpenter, Alan Howarth
Composer: John Carpenter
Director: John Carpenter

The second composer/director in this selection is John Carpenter, with films as (the already twice mentioned) Halloween, The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13 under his belt. Escape from New York takes place in a future (1997) New York, where Manhattan has been sealed and is now a maximum security prison. Somehow, Air Force One crashes on the island and the president of the United States is being captured, why eye-patched anti-hero Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) has to save the day. Carpenter's synth theme is as famous as anything from the film, and I love that it's a 3.45 minute tune with a 1.45 minute intro.

12.
Blade Runner (1982)
Track: Blade Runner (End Titles)
Performer: Vangelis
Composer: Vangelis
Director: Ridley Scott

Another dystopian science fiction classic. This one takes place in 2019, where "blade runner" Deckard (Harrison Ford) works with "retiring" malfunctioning androids called replicants. Greek composer/musician Vangelis Papathanasiou's new age-ish musical works always balance between tasteless and genious. This sorts under the latter (such as, argueably, his Oscar awarded score for Chariots of Fire), but is at the same time one of the entries in this selection that really should be seen together with the film to be fully appreciated. Vangelis also worked with director Ridley Scott on the less successful 1492 - Conquest of Paradise, noteworthy only for its soundtrack.

13.
Psycho (1960)
Track: Psycho (A Narrative for Orchestra)
Performers: The London Philharmonic Orchestra,
conducted by Bernhard Herrmann
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Director: Alfred Hitchcock

The last one out is in many ways also the odd one out. Most of the entries in this selection have been electronic or acoustic interpretations, rather than the big orchestral works that might normally be associated with "film music". This is primarily due to my wanting to keep some kind of consistency through the CD. As the grande finale, though, I found it suitable to add fifteen minutes of classic strings. Bernard Herrmann is one of history's greatest and most influential film music composers - typically enough, his first gig was Citizen Kane and his last Taxi Driver. In between, amongst a lot of other works, he did the music for a bunch of Hitchcock films. Best known - and best - is of course Psycho - the one film whose title anyone remotely interested in film can nail just by hearing one second of the score (the one between 6.31 and 6.32, that is). This is also the one exception from my rules. It isn't an original composition. This "Narrative" is instead a piece put together by the different snippets of music played through the film. Although, this is the first recording of it (from 1968) and it is Herrmann conducting, so I think I can get away with it. Plus, it's a killer. For those of you who haven't seen the film, but still recognize the eerie strings in the beginning, it might be that you heard them in Busta Rhymes's hit single "Gimme Some More". You wanna see the film, though ...

A Night Out With Mr. Dan

First of all, let me say that, while I haven't done much commenting on this blog, I think all the CDs thus far have been awesome.  It's a lot to live up to, so I hope my contribution doesn't disappoint.  Now that I've dispensed with the formalities, on to the music...

A NIGHT OUT WITH MR. DAN

I discovered House music in-and-around 1997, when most of my friends were either worshipping at the alter of Post-Grunge (aka "alternative") or driving around in their six-fours to the sounds of Snoop Dogg and Biggie.

What intrigued me about House at the time was the simplicity of the methodology behind the music.  All House music is based on a simple 32-beat structure, meaning that every 32nd beat, an element is added, subtracted our augmented to keep the piece moving.  One you understand what to listen for,  you can objectively evaluate the merits of one DJ over another, no matter where you are.

What I love most about House, though, is the 4/8 (4 beats/bar x 8 bars = 32 beats) structure.  It's the most natural musical beat you can create because it mimicks your body's natural beat - which is why House is so easy to dance to.

Anyway, enough with the theory and on to the CD:

1. We Come 1 by Faithless

I thought this was a great way to start the CD because of how the song begins. I love Maxi Jazz's voice because he's not a singer.  He sets you up for something big and you can feel it.  At 1:12, he opens the door a bit to show you where he's going.  Then, he gives you a little taste of what to expect until 1:47 - at which point, he let's loose.

2. This Is Not a Breakdown by The Realm

I like the use of effects in this song; specifically, the echo (which is established right off the bat at 0:16 and carried through).  This track is great for recognizing the 4/8 structure as well.  Feel free to count along :)

3. Encore Une Fois by Sash!

I love the singer's voice - especially when she raises it.  I also love how nicely the vocals accent the song towards the end.  As you dance to it, you can't help but react to it.

4. Comin' Back by The Crystal Method

This is off "Vegas", the first techno album I ever bought.  Consider the build-up the song begins with.  I love when DJs do that right off the top - it creates anticipation and release.

5. Dirty by Dirty

I have nothing to say about this song, other than I absolutely love the beat.

6. Please Stay by Mekon

I've always been partial to melodic House music.  I find it very trippy - in the sense that as you listen, you feel like you're being taken on a journey.  This kind of House music makes me close my eyes while I dance to it, take the DJs hand, and follow him wherever he wants to take me.

7. Atom Bomb by Fluke

It's 3 in the morning. You've been dancing all night, and out of the corner of your eye, you spot the girl you've been unknowingly fantasizing about your entire life.  This is the song you want the DJ to start playing as you make your move towards her.

8. Fogma by Groove Armada

Again...a great beat.  No more, no less.

9. Addicted to Base by Puretone

I love the layers this song has.  Every time I listen to it, I notice something I didn't hear before.  Try this song in different rooms and with different speakers and it'll always be different.  It's the track that keeps on giving.

10. Pumpin by Novy vs. Eniac

I like the faint sound of someone hitting a bong in the background starting at 1:13. I've had this song for years, and I only noticed that last week.

11. Silent Words by Jan Johnston

House music can be very sexual and sensual if it's done right.  I think this is one of the best songs to fuck to - and I choose my words carefully.  If you want to make love, try Eric Clapton.  If you want to FUCK, go House or go home.

12. Maas Attacks by Timo Maas

It's silly, it's funny, it's quirky, and it's got a great name.

13. ResuRection by PPK

I've saved the best for last.  I think this is so innovative, so different and so mesmerizing.  And a great way to end the journey.

DJ Cucumbah's - Dude Ranche

*Before I get to the liner notes I want to apologize for not commenting on all the awesome CDs that have been arriving in my mailbox. I have enjoyed them all immensely and hope we keep doing this. I need my horizons expanded as much as the next guy (maybe more). A loud, and long, round of applause for y'all.*

Dude Ranche



When I was growing up in the middle of Alberta, I hated country music. For me it was viscerally associated with those backwards, shit kicking cowboy rednecks that I found so annoying. At the age of fifteen, I installed a ten foot antenna on the house and immersed myself in FM radio album rock.

However, I moved far from the dusty plains to Montreal to attend art school. Just around the corner from the arts building, at a bar called The Blue Angel, once a month, on a Monday night, The Country Music Association of Canada held an open stage jam. The first time I walked in I thought the jukebox was playing a scratchy old bluegrass record, but then I noticed that it was the band playing. A cast of characters attended regularly - Rocky the old pedal steel player from Quebec City, who learned English by memorizing Hank Williams songs; Ralph the Pakistani taxi driver who sat wearing a powder blue polyester suit, banjo at his side, too shy to get up on stage; Jennie from Nova Scotia who had a voice like a cat with its tail caught in a screen door. I was hooked - cheap beer, free hotdogs at midnight, and the only real rule – no songs composed after 1960.

For me this was just the start and over the years I have collected a few favorites and figured out a few things about its history and varied influences.

So Dude Ranche is my personal and meandering history of country music - which is not necessarily in chronological order. We start with Bluegrass, swerve into C&W for a second, then dash through the great crossover of the 60's, sprint onto contemporary practitioners and then carom off a guardrail and over a cliff.

Folkways recorded folk music around the world and in the late fifties rediscovered a lot of American music, putting an anthropological focus on its own backyard. This recording is from 1959.

White House Blues (aka "McKinley Blues") Earl Taylor And The Stoney Mountain Boys (Classic Bluegrass from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)

I love the vocals on this Bill Monroe track, almost sweet enough to make you believe in Jesus (but not quite). Seems Monroe coined the term Bluegrass – or had something to do with it.

Happy On My Way Bill Monroe (The Music Of Bill Monroe: From 1936 To 1994)

Doc Watson has been playing this stuff for years. I saw him at folk festival years ago and he sure can pick. This recording is from 1961.

Way Down Town Doc Watson & Clarence Ashley (Original Folkways Recordings 1960 – 1962)

I threw this one in here to contrast the bluegrass revival music to the slick commercial country that was emanating from the radios of the time.

Heartaches Patsy Cline (1962)

In the early seventies, a bunch of young fellers and old timers got together and recorded Will The Circle Be Unbroken, a watershed album that seems like a passing of the torch from one generation to another. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band figures extensively on this album and unfortunately went on to release some pretty nasty pop country stuff later in the decade. Roy Acuff was one of the old guys.

Wreck On The Highway Roy Acuff (Will The Circle Be Unbroken)

As awesome a coal miner song as there ever was. There is something about Merel Travis' voice that really gets me as he sings this deeply existential tune.

Dark as a Dungeon Merle Travis

Somewhere along the way to putting together this CD I discovered that a most striking feature of most of these selections was the prominence of the voice. So I thought this cover really showcased Buck Owens' pipes, even though he wrote tuns of songs himself.

Bridge Over Troubled Water Buck Owens

Then there was the great crossover. Gram Parsons, the rebel Harvard Graduate, seems to have single-handedly created the country rock genre. Later on, the Eagles wore his influence on their country rock gold hemmed sleeves. He features in The Byrds, singing and writing…

One Hundred Years From Now The Byrds

…and singing Wild Horses, which Mick Jagger gave to him to record before the Stones did.

Wild Horses The Flying Burrito Brothers

I had heard about the Grateful Dead but when I finally heard them I was surprised they were so country. I guess if you listen to it on acid it sounds like something else.

Ripple Grateful Dead

Dylan, with deep roots in American folk music from the beginning, recorded his country album Nashville Skyline in 1969. His voice was never so smooth – this is a song about his dog.

Lay Lady Lay Bob Dylan

The Man in Black has never been darker than on this cover of a Will Oldham tune - a pretty recent recording but it fits here in the Sturm und Twang section.

I See a Darkness Johnny Cash

Back to Gram Parsons - and here we see his continued influence in two tracks from a tribute album from a couple years back. Time for some more female vocals. Emmylou Harris hung out with Parsons back in the day before he self-destructed.

She The Pretenders & Emmylou Harris

$1,000 Wedding Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield

Can't have a party without some Commander Cody. Not to be confused with any of those CB radio joke songs from the 70's.

Truck Drivin' Man Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen

John Prine is one funny guy. A doggerel poet for the people.

Inspite of Ourselves John Prine and Iris Dement

I've seen Ms. Case a couple of times live, but despite sounding good and pure she never really seems to give it up. I think she is saving her golden voice for these studio recordings. This composition is a testament to her ability to update the genre.

Margaret Vs. Pauline Neko Case

Arizona's own Calexico mix it up with a country sound that has liberal hints of that other United States to the south.

Service and Repair Calexico

At some point I was thinking that a CD of country style songs by bands that usually didn't do 'country', but I quickly abandoned that idea. So here, at the end, is where we go swerving off the rails. I love how Mahavishnu Orchestra takes the sweetest country folk melody and smashes it into a million jazz fusion pieces, then comes back to it as if nothing had happened.

Open Country Joy Mahavishnu Orchestra

John Zorn wrote this one minute version of Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western soundtrack classic for an ad agency on spec – he never heard back from them.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly John Zorn

Now that it's over I realize that this CD doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the influence of country music. Not only that but I forgot to include the track Dead in the Water, from the Supersuckers' 1997 album Must've Been High.

On a sad note, despite the fact that there is all this great country and country influenced music out there, those cowboys back in Alberta are still listening to crap.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Have Faith

The February CD is coming, yeah?

MMJ Six Pack

credits: Liliana for the artwork, which I think looks like the Rolling Stones hot lips, and me for drinking the beer

1. From the Air – Laurie Anderson

I heard this tune last summer and tagged it right away as the opener to my first cd. I was wearing headphones and the volume was pretty high, I still think that’s the best way to hear it. Very hypnotic, very 80s. In that subliminal messages telling us to wear leg warmers sort of way. Laurie Anderson has some wacky musical methods, like running a violin bow across magnetic tape and playing it back like a cassette. I can’t hear that particular trick on this song, but I’m told that it’s there.

2. Wish I Could – The Jesus and Mary Chain

I’m about 15 years late getting to know this band.

3. Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks – The Rapture

They say behind every good dj, there’s a better dj. Or at least, that’s what the dj behind me says. She got me into The Rapture. Apparently it’s a crazy, heart-thumping dance fest whenever they play a small venue, and you can hear why.

4. Free Money – Patti Smith

About a year ago I finally got around to listening to Patti Smith. I respected the music but I didn’t like a lot of it, except this tune survived and keeps growing on me. I love the way it builds, it’s like a horse picking up speed for 4 straight minutes.

5. Paper Thin Walls – Modest Mouse

In my first job after undergrad I worked with this guy Kit who had great taste in music. He used to play Modest Mouse at breakfast, when we’d be cooking for 12 guys with developmental disabilities who were trying to eat quickly and get out the door to work. This was a crowd favorite, and it’s the first Modest Mouse track I remember hearing.

6. Loud Pipes – Ratatat

Another 2007 discovery for me. These guys are basically guitar driven instrumental hip hop theme music. A few hours of Ratatat Therapy have been known to rhythmize even the squarest of djs, like dj pants.

7. Just Because I Do – My Morning Jacket

Ok, a word of explanation. I realize that I’m in violation of a group rule here, playing six straight songs by a single band. But it’s for a good cause. I wanted this cd to have a heart, something that really holds it all together, so I settled on a pack of songs from a single artist. And My Morning Jacket has stormed up to be one of my all-time favorites in just a couple of years, so I wanted to give them a proper introduction. I first heard a cd of theirs in 2005 at Filter, in Chicago, right around the time that salt-type visited and we hung out there. I saw them live in 2006 and in 2007 I started obsessing. I like this tune as a starter, since they don’t waste any time but just start yelling.

8. Bermuda Highway – My Morning Jacket

Absolutely haunting, this is my current favorite.

9. Golden – My Morning Jacket

First MMJ track I heard, I asked the guy behind the counter what was on and bought it that day.

10. Evelyn is Not Real – My Morning Jacket

Starts to show the diversity in what they can do. Tunes like this are why they’re one of the greatest Alt Country bands ever. And the genre is, what, 20 years old. So that's saying a lot.

11. Knot Comes Loose – My Morning Jacket

Stretches out a sound that's somewhat similar to Bermuda Highway, and plays around with it a bit. This was the last track I put on, I considered at least 10 other MMJ tunes for this slot (If you're interested: Mahgeetah, Dancefloors, One Big Holiday and Death is the Easy Way were finalists). Give me two more days and I would’ve swapped in something else – but I still love this one.

12. Off the Record – My Morning Jacket

I wanted to end the MMJ section an upnote. What I love about this song is that the first two minutes are really catchy, in a style different from their usual. Then halfway through, they seem to realize that this song is way too poppy for a bunch of long-bearded alt country jammers, so they set off for a couple minutes of winsome noodling. I love both parts, and I particularly love that they make a single song.

13. New Madrid – Uncle Tupelo

This is vintage for me. The most played song on my Itunes, by a wide margin. Uncle Tupelo broke up in the mid 90s, spawning Son Volt, Wilco and a few other alt country get-ups. Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar were kind of the John and Paul of alt country, they were writing beautiful tunes about the Depression and working class America when they were in their late teens, and putting a hard edge on country music that essentially gave birth to a new genre. This song's about a massive 1812 earthquake on the New Madrid fault line, south of St Louis. I learned that from an on-line forum discussion between screennames "DustyMurphy" and "crazybilly", which pretty much says it all.

14. Walking Through the Snow (Acoustic) – The Samples

The Samples can be a little too whiney for me at times, and sometimes they just go limp. But this song is beautiful.

15. Nothing Comes to Rest – Unbunny

I thought this one would wear off quickly, but I’ve listened to it a lot over the last couple of months and I still love it. This trio seems to be on the rise.

16. Speedy Marie – Frank Black

In case you haven’t caught up with Black Francis since he left the Pixies – he’s kind of sounding like Wolf Parade.

17. Hurley – Pinback

This is another one that I picked up from Liliana. I don’t really know anything about Pinback, I haven’t even googled them. But this tune is pretty representative of the one cd I have. In the words of a-funk, it’s a grower.

18. He Hit Me – Grizzly Bear

This song is about spousal abuse. The disturbition is intentional (nope, not a word). The Crystals recorded this song in 1963, with, ironically, Phil Spector producing, and it didn’t last a week on the radio. Grizzly Bear just redid it. The words, the sound, the whole thing is a bit fucked up in a way that I like. I thought this song was a really eclectic find, and then the other day I saw Grizzly Bear on Rolling Stone’s college radio top 10 list. Oh well.

19. 10 Commandments – Lee Scratch Perry

I think I first stole a bit of Lee Perry from salt-type, when we shared an office. This is a track I heard last year, it’s good intro material but I decided to place it at the end for a little swinging finish.

20. The Weather – Built To Spill

And then I kill the swinging reggae bit with another of my Itunes top plays. I absolutely love this song. It's the last track off one of my Desert Island Discs, and if it’s a good enough finish for Built to Spill then it’ll do fine for me.

Made in Québec

First off -- I compiled the playlist in iTunes, and "Submitted CD Track Names" after the burn, so am hoping your devices are able to locate the track titles and details. If not, what follows is a run-down of what's on "Produit du Québec".

I decided to put together a compilation of current songs by Québecois musicians. In fact, they are largely Montreal-based. And why? There's been a lot of chit-chat lately about the Montreal music scene, particularly since Arcade Fire hit it big worldwide. Now all eyes are on Montreal, expecting that new fruit will be harvested from this hotbed of musical talent. National radio and local weeklies tell us that artists and bands flock to Montreal to take advantage of the unusually-affordable boho vibe. Anglophones, in particular, are said to thrive in Montreal, despite the insularity and relative neglect of the English-language artistic community. In a Québec that overwhelmingly supports and consumes the products of Franco-cultural institutions, Anglos apparently benefit from the artistic freedom this obscurity provides.

Apart from this nagging reminder about how cool Montreal and its music scene were, was there any proof? More importantly, did I agree? To be honest, I'd stopped noticing the posters, stopped picking up the fliers -- it had been ages since my last gig. The weeklies, when I read them, seemed to mention the same bands over and over again. My eyes glazed over what had become familiar names, but had I ever heard any of their songs? In fact, I knew more Francophone hits of late (yes, that's me, humming along to Franco Top 40 at the supermarché checkout. Was there any truth to the journalistic hoopla? Was Montreal just beating its chest in a dull and conventional display of civic pride, or was it suffering from low self-esteem? Was it telling itself how cool it was because it's always felt just a wee bit (or downright "way") dirty next to New York, Toronto, Paris, London? I endeavoured to find out.

A second inspiration behind Made in Montreal was the idea of "living locally" -- not just from an environmental or consumer perspective, but culturally as well. What cultural nuggets were being hatched and delivered within walking distance of my front door? Why did I not know about them? ...Not to mention "living in the now". Though some of these artists and offerings have been vetted beyond municipal boundaries, there's a certain thrill in grooving to something that might be seen as having a limited lifespan.

Lastly, I want to use this opportunity to stand up for YouTube -- as resource, creative outlet and diversion.

1) Pierre Lapointe: Deux Par Deux Rassemblés
A fun, poppy number to start with. I heard this song over lunch not long ago, and wondered why it was so familiar -- must have been one of the French songs I'd learned passively from it playing everywhere. There was new excitement about it since Pierre had recently put out a live album together with the symphony -- l'Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal.
YouTube diversions: 1) Clip for this song; 2) Clip of this clip, but with music from Power Rangers.

2) Pascale Picard: Thinking Of It
I overheard a girl at the university raving about Pascale. She's Francophone, though her lyrics are in English. She sold out some Montreal dates in December, and is the city's new singing sweetheart. Her voice reminds me a bit of Sport Spice (not a bad thing, to my mind).

3) Karkwa: Vertige
This was an exciting find for me. I like what they do, and had never heard of them before. I wanted to cheat on the "one song per band" rule, but decided not to. Instead, here's a video for "Vrai", which was my other first choice:



4) The National Parcs: Down By The River
Hey, I heard about these guys when DJ Rocket and her hubby were on the "GO!" show on CBC Radio. I'd never heard of them before, and they're also from Montreal. Go figure. I can't wait to see them live in February. Here's more goodness.



5) The Besnard Lakes: For Agent 13
I've seen The Besnard Lakes, and they are great. I love the slow build to this song. There is a lovely video that goes with it, to boot. (Trivia: Besnard Lake is a place, and it's in Saskatchewan.)





6) Patrick Watson: The Great Escape
Another beautiful song by another musician I've seen live (opening for Montreal's Lhasa) - dark old theatre, single spotlight on Patrick at the piano, and nothing else. Lovely. Another moody Montreal male (from the sounds of this disk, Montreal fellers have 2 moods: happy-jolly or melancholy...). Sorry to anyone who knows this song already -- apparently it's been used on "Grey's Anatomy". It's a great one despite the cross-media merchandising. This animation is more fitting, I think.



7) Islands: Rough Gem
I was happy to find Islands, after deciding I didn't love The Unicorns, which (part of) Islands used to be. Apparently, Islands opened for Beck in Montreal, then accompanied him on the west-coast leg of a US tour. They were nominated for a 2007 Juno award for "Alternative Album of the Year" by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The things you learn from the Internet. I'm still undecided. See what you think. (Another taste.)
Love the video -- anything to do with the cosmos gets a thumbs up.



8) Ariane Moffat: Montreal
Finally our locality has shown up as the focus of a song. This is another number I learned subconsciously from hearing it in the public sphere. I was surprised by the video, expecting to see Ariane wandering the streets of Montreal, instead of hanging around at Charles de Gaulle airport -- well, considering that the song's about returning to Montreal from France with a certain wisdom and maturity and a heritage gained, but nevertheless "en format original" (as an original). Hm. Interesting, too, considering Quebec's love/hate relationship with France and les français. Just too bad that the only part of Montreal that's shown is of the gloomy drive to downtown by way of the city's crumbling concrete freeways and tunnels. Yikes.



9) Malajube: Montréal -40°C
Another Montreal song. This one with a focus on Montreal's frigidity. Initially, I didn't want to put this one on the disk -- honestly, I have grown to dislike it due to overplaying around town. I did like it for some time, though. And Malajube continues to be hugely popular in these parts. Here's someone who claims it's her favourite song -- and performing a rather nice cover version:



10) Les Breastfeeders: Funny Funiculaire
I saw Les Breastfeeders last year, and loved the show. Even if garage-rock's not your musical bread and butter, you can't possibly be bored when these stylish funsters take the stage. They even have a dedicated dancer --ok, he plays the tambourine, too-- a shirtless wonder, always in furry vest and tight red pants, who's there to entertain and keep the crowd on beat.



11) Bran Van 3000: Mon Réal
I was surprised to learn that Bran Van hails from Montreal as well. So for this mix, I chose the number (from 2007 album "Rosé") whose title puns on 'Montreal' and which speaks franglais. It's a fun one, but has yet to completely grow on me like some of the other tracks. (BTW: check out Bran Van's site if you have a chance -- the images are gorgeous.)
Diversion: here's how some other people feel about Bran Van's previous hits:



12) Gatineau: Pow Pow Té Mort [Bang-Bang, You're Dead].
Found this song by chance on a compilation of new Québec music. I like it. Nice dose of Québec French, in case you've never heard it. Cute kiddie heist video.

13) Wolf Parade: Fancy Claps
14) The Dears: Whites-Only Party
15) Stars: My Favourite Book

Three more much-mentioned Anglo groups I knew nothing about. When the topic is Montreal musical prowess, Arcade Fire is always mentioned first, and often with Wolf Parade in the following breath -- I'd just assumed they were a big huge band. Still, however many times I'd heard the name, I knew I couldn't pick them out of a police line-up or identify any of their songs. So I checked them out. They must be part of the new Anglo-artiste class, having relocated from B.C. to Montreal. I like "Fancy Claps". And I'm not alone. As an aside, check out these fan edits, here and here, contributions from people who've been inspired to run Fancy Claps over particular sections of Asian films. My apologies if Wolf Parade is old hat for the rest of you -- it's representative of the scene here in any case.

With regard to the latter two, they are well-liked and much-mentioned as well. Again, I was sure I knew nothing of their music. What's more, I tend to forget or mix up groups that have one-word names, like "The Somethings" or "Somethings", so I decided to finally sit down and figure out who was who. My investigation of bands with one-word names from Montreal also included The Stills... but they ended up being cut from this roster. Sorry, The Stills. They are Anglos, but here they are singing in French -- the clip starts out with some nice footage of Expo '67 in Montreal.

The Dears make me laugh because they sound so much like The Smiths... except at the weird denouement of this song. I'm not sure who the several singers are that The Dears's singer is sounding like there.

As for Stars, that's some solid, standard pop, right there, though I'm not sure I'd go back to it again and again and again. I like the mellowness of this particular number.

And to make things more confusing, there seems to be another "Wolf" on the scene -- We Are Wolves has also been touted as the 'nother next big thing from Montreal.

16) Tricot Machine: Pas Fait En Chocolat
And back to the sweet French songs. This is another current fave in the supermarché and beyond. Tricot Machine (sewing machine) is one of Québec's favourites right now. What's not to like.



17) Jean Leloup: I Lost My Baby
Another massive classique du Québec . If you want to sweep a Franco-Québecer off his/her feet by impressing him/her with your knowledge of Quebec culture, it can't hurt to learn the chords and start humming this one... as they're doing, and she's doing, and he's doing, not to mention these two, and this guy, too.

18) Rufus Wainwright: Going To A Town
Not for everyone? I loved the melody when I first heard the song and still do. I'd be curious to hear what kind of play this song is getting south of the border.

19) Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Moya
Amazing. I hope to see them live sometime. I chose "Moya" largely due to time constraints -- most of GY!BE's tracks are somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes long.

20) Gilles Vigneault: Mon Pays
Poet, songwriter, chansonnier, Québec icon. Most famous for the song "Gens du pays" (1975), now considered Québec's national anthem, sung at festive occasions, birthdays, etc. Was active in the nationalist movement in 1960s Québec - of which the following song -- "Les Gens de mon pays" -- played a significant role.



As an homage to DJ Pepper's covers (and with our apologies to Gilles), here's a raunchy TV-cam of Patsy Gallant's "From New York to LA", 1976 disco version of the above.



Congratulations if you stuck with me through all that!
Just wanted to share my discoveries.

Joint the Dots with DJ Hucka – B

This month’s theme is the link, the line – how one song segues thematically into the next. Often by means of a rubbish joke or some leap of logic you’ll just have to follow me with. Let’s begin!

1 Jamie Woon – Wayfaring Stranger

There’s about 9023456256 versions of this song – Johnny Cash did a version, White Stripes did a version…This one’s done by a singer from Hammersmith, SW London, who looks about 12. He sings, records it into some magic box, then sings back over that, creating some superduper multilevel collage of sound.

2 James Wolff – Someone who will

Jamie –> James

The links will get better. And, sometimes, worse. James is my old flatmate. This is shameless plugging. So? I make the rules.

3 Arctic Monkeys – You Know I’m No Good

Wolff –> Monkey

With a tip of the hat to Dr Pepper’s covers CD, this is the Amy Winehouse song, admirably sung in the original gender voice. Two things, I suppose – firstly, I hadn’t realised how catchy this song was until I heard this cover version. Second, he can actually sing, when he’s not sneering. Well done, Monkey Man

4 Mark Ronson ft Paul Smith – Apply Some Pressure

Amy Winehouse –> Mark Ronson

Ronson produced “Back to Black”, and Amy turns up on his album. So that’s two links.
Good horns on this.

5 Queens and David Bowie – Under Pressure

Pressure –> Pressure!

These links are writing themselves, now. Once you've got over the disappointment that this is not Ice Ice Baby (a song to which I still know ALL THE WORDS) you will acknowledge this as an awesome song. Especially the bit with Bowie that starts “It’s just..such..and…old..fashioned..”. Yes!

6 The Jam – Down at the Tube Station at Midnight

Cos both Bowie and The Jam did tunes called Absolute Beginners.

Which is more of a two-step link, really, but whatever. Importantly, Absolute Beginners, the book, was written by Colin MacInnes, who may or may not be related to me. Ok, he’s not.

7 Lord Kitchener – Underground train

Tube station-> Underground!

This is from an excellent album called “London is the Place for Me: Trinidad Calypso in London 1950 to 1956”, all music made by the first wave of Afro Caribbean immigrants who arrived in the UK after WW2. Kitchener’s songs are a really interesting mix of naïve optimism (London is the Place for me, for instance), and all-too- realism (If You’re Not White You’re Black). All of them are great.

8 MIA ft Bun B and Rich Boy – Paper Planes

Train -> Plane

OK, so MIA is an acquired taste. And that bit at the end, when she goes, “ MIA, third world democracy” is a real, cringing, fist-in-mouth moment. But if you aren’t shooting a pretend gun during the chorus, then, well, I don’t think we can be friends any more. Her album is OK. The best track has a guy called Afrikan Boy on it. Well, looky here…

9 – Afrikan Boy – Day out in Lidl

Afrikan Boy was on MIA’s album

Lidl is the shittest, cheapest supermarket in the UK. So going shoplifting there is pretty ghetto.

10- Jamie Liddell – Multiply

Lidl –> Liddell

Quite proud of this link, fwiw. Good song this. No idea what he’s talking about. “Take a trip and multiply”? Whatever could he mean? He also makes the worthwhile point, in the middle 8, that whilst people on the street, there are many, many, people on the moon, meanwhile, there ain't any, any.

11 Balistic Brothers – Blacker 4 the Good Times

Multiply – 4 Times is all maths and that

I do like this song and all, but really, it’s just a way of linking from Jamie Lidell to

12 Super Furry Animals – Venus and Serena

Brothers - > Sisters!

Bang! We’re back! SFA are one of those bands I should spend more time getting to know. Clearly, this song is ace. But it’s off the only album of theirs I have, and one which the real Furry fans reckon is “not their best”. But they would, wouldn’t they?

13 The Streets – All got our Runnins

Running is something you have to do in tennis. What? That’s a link.

This song was on his first album, but taken off at the last minute. It’s my favourite Streets track, mainly for the final line; “Cos I can’t pay the rent but I’ve got a hundred and nine pound pair of trainers on”. Having given this plenty of thought, it’s the fact that the shoes are a hundred and nine pounds that makes this line so good.

14 – Letta Mbulu – What is Wrong with Groovin?

Runnin and groovin are both examples of the present continuous with the final letter removed.

Best line in the whole CD; “Why do they follow me around, just like their name was 007?” Why indeed?

15 The Specials – Message to Rudy

Letta -> Message

This link might only work if you have a “British” accent, my North American chums. But I do, so that’s OK.

16 – Jamie T – Sheila

Rudy and Sheila are both girl’s names

My next CD will feature exclusively songs by people called Jamie

17 – King Biscuit Time – I Walk the Earth

T – Biscuit (and you thought the links were falling off! No chance….)

Two Facts About King Biscuit Time. 1 The singer is the singer from the Beta Band. 2 A friend of a friend has a restraining order out on him.

18 – Burial – Unite

Earth -> Burial

Taking the opposite approach to DJ Rocket, I’m not ending on a club stomper, mainly because I own no Soviet disco, and I know when I can’t compete. I think, with winter closing in across the northern hemisphere, we need as many melancholy but warm, haunting yet lovely songs as we can find. And whilst I think everything on this CD is great, this is the one track I really, really love, as my I-tune play counts will attest.

And! And ! And! Burial remixed Wayfaring Stranger for Jamie Woon! So the circle, friends, is complete……