1000 SONGS - DAY 307 SONG # 338

DAY 307: Two Great Cover Versions by Galaxie 500

Galaxie 500 were a US-American alternative rock band active in the late 80ies or so it seems. They are often said to have been largely influenced by Velvet Underground, and in fact there are some songs on the three albums they have released that very much sound like VU, but there are others too,  that sound, like, e.g., the Feelies. They have also done two beautiful cover versions (as far as I know; there might be more). Here are those, the first one of George Harrison's Isn't it a Pity. This is a simply great version (I do not comment on the many other more or less fine cover versions of that tune to be found). Although - as Galaxie 500 (and others) have shown - this is a really marvellous tune, I could not and cannot listen to the original recording done by George due to too much SCHMALTZ and very strange arrangements. But Galaxie 500 have done a version that brings out all the (more or less) hidden beauty in that song. This is the first song rendered here. Afterwards, I will go on with Galaxie 500's version of Joy Divison's "Ceremony". "Ceremony" was the first single by New Order after the death of Ian Curtis, with vocals done by Bernard Summer. I feature one of the three versions recorded by Joy Divison (in contradistinction to GH's failed attempt to make his point), the one from the STILL album - what a broken performance and so great (you will never get the lyrics from that one)

1000 SONGS - DAY 306 SONG # 337

Day 306: Just another great band from Hungary

Quimby from Hungary are listed als "Alternative Rock" - as I have written in my last posting, "alternative" means something like "good" to me, irrespective of the genre. As I have some inclination towards Hungarian, and I also do think that it fits well with music (in contradistinction to some friends who have the opposite, clearly ungrounded theory), I do like that song that sounds like a mix of Calexico, Element of Crime and Marcy Playground to me. "Neki megadom magam" seems to mean something like "I will let him have it myself", if I understand it correctly.

1000 SONGS - DAY 305 Song # 336

DAY 305: A Good One Gig in Amsterdam

Fred Eaglesmith, a Canadian guy, is one of the great persons acting in what is called "alternative country". Alternative Country simply is good music as compared to non-alternative anything. "Alternative" (with some very rare exceptions) has become a label for "good" in the music scene, irrespectively of the genre. I have never seen a live performance by him, but sure as hell, I will do everything to see Fred in person and on stage before I leave this dull form of existence. If you want to understand what I mean, look at and listen to the second link featured here. As this is a full show of something like 80 minutes duration, I have put on one clip of that show first, 4 minutes of York Street. Show was done in Paradiso, Amsterdam.

1000 SONGS - DAY 304 SONG # 335

DAY 335: Music fom Zimbabwe - Tuku

Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi is probably the most widely known musician from Zimbabwe. I have loved his music since the first contact (sometimes in the 80ies). The sister of a dear friend of mine brought some records from Zimbabwe and I taped them and heard them over and over again. TUKU live! Later on, I bought some CDs by Mtukudzi in the local Weltladen ("3rd" world store run by some more or less idealistic people). Here is one beautiful song done by him, Ndakuvara (as I have no knowledge of Shona, I do not know the meaning of the word). Later on, for those who want to get more acquainted to Tuku, there is a video of his rendering of some of his songs on a KEXP session. It is great to listen to his explanations; my favourite one around 19:20: "In my culture the purpose of song is to give life and hope to the people, to heal the broken hearts, and you don’t get to sing a song when you have nothing to say” - an answer to the question whether he never makes up some "silly pop songs".

1000 SONGS - DAY 303 SONG #334

Day 334: A Cats' Concert

Back in the 80ies, there was this little record-store in Vienna called "Katzenmusik" (caterwauling / cats' concert) that  had in stock all the records by those more or less weird "avant-garde" jazz/rock/noise/alternative or no category bands & musicians nobody else had in their shops (for good economical reasons...). The lady who ran it was slightly arrogant, as it seemed to me, more interested in keeping away customers out of the range of "normal people" than attracting new customers at all. I bought a bunch of records there, and one day, when I was going through the selection of "nobody wants to hear that"-records in her store, I found that one album by a New York group called "Details at Eleven", featuring Lin Culbertson's voice and composing skills. I was all like : "I am so excited that you also have 'Details at Eleven'  in your shop - one doesn't find that in any other record store in Vienna". All the store-owner gave me in return was a condescending look and "boy, normally one doesn't have interest in this kind of music at all". Struck me, as she obviously had. As far as I know, there has only been this one record done by Details at Eleven (I still have my vinyl copy at home). By clicking on the name, you can read Eugene Chadbourne's review of it. Seems that he is quite d'accord with the record selling lady from Vienna about the merits of that musical undertaking. Nevertheless, here is Marketplace from said album (write me if you like it...):

Details At Eleven: Marketplace from Lin Culbertson on Vimeo.

1000 SONGS - DAY 302 SONG #333

Day 302: Another Song by 16 Horsepower

In one of the  earlier postings of this series (Day 25 SONG #45), I have featured two songs by 16 Horsepower, a band from Denver, Colorado, powered by the voice and lyrics of David Eugene Edwards, making use of (often: dark) religious imagery.  The band broke up in 2005, amongst other reasons, "spiritual differences" were named by the ex-members. Although I had promised to feature some songs by Woven Hand, one of the follow-ups of 16 Horsepower, in this here blog then, now, after completing the first third of the 1000 Songs (although, in reality, this first third contains ~666 songs, cover-versions and alternate versions included), I chose another one by 16 Horsepower, a song that directly speaks to all the dark ghosts bound in my soul:

High fiddle high fiddle low fiddle low
There's a ghost bound in my soul
High fiddle high fiddle low fiddle low
There's a cold blade on my crow*
A crooked in my walk a stumble in my talk
Is what I'm after little girl
Metal on the red overcast in head
I'm goin' down an feelin' ill

High fiddle high fiddle low fiddle low
There's a cold blade on my crow
High fiddle high fiddle low fiddle low
There's a girl that I know
You ain't never had one I don't believe you will
This is your season for standin' still
Metal on the red overcast in head
I'm goin' down an feelin' ill

See boys I've known her from way back
Back when she was dead
Tongues on fire spoke the word
Darkness left her head
Holy my other hand
That's a fuckin' joke
Like a steel cold knife on the bridge of strife
Were the words I spoke


*all the pages containing lyrics of the song I looked up have this as fourth line; but definitely, he sings something else (like: "there's a stone you fixed his crow" - but i do not really understand the words)

1000 SONGS - DAY 301 SONG # 332

DAY 301: One of my Favourite Albums

Lou Reed died recently; from a relatively young age on I have been listening to "Berlin", a kind of concept-album, telling a story about love & hate & addiction & loss & despair (the dark sides of life). In a way, a rather sinister story. The album features fine musicians (like the Brecker Bros., for example) playing great songs like "Men of Good Fortune", "How Do You Think It Feels", "Sad Song" a.s.o. Although there is much of what I do like out of the musical legacy of Lou Reed, many fine songs etc. on other albums he did that probably beat any track featured on "Berlin", this is THE album by Lou I think to be a masterpiece in its entirety, representing more than a collection of songs. I sometimes think that it has not got the appreciation it deserved for simply telling a sad, gloomy story. 

Here we go for  A GLOOMY ALBUM:

1000 SONGS - DAY 300 SONG #331

DAY 300: A Song by the Gourds 

I do not play squash and, although I do like Linus, I do not venerate the Great Pumpkin. In the field of my study of West African Religions, calabashes play some role in old cosmological ideas, in my garden, I grow my own cucumbers and courgettes, as well as red kuris, but musically, I prefer The Gourds, so called Alternative Country Band from Austin, Texas. 

Here is Gangsta Lean (and if you don't like it, f* ya!):

1000 SONGS - DAY 299 SONG #330

DAY 299 - A Song about an African Deity

This is as song by the Invertebrates, a San Francisco based band from the early 1980ies which has been labelled very differently (from blues to post-punk to new wave). It is about one special lwa (as the Vodun - Deities in the religion also called Vodun -  are called in Haiti), Danbalah, a Vodun from Ouidah, Benin, where he is venerated in the "Temple des Pythons". The video is taken from Maya Deren's movie "Divine Horsemen". Actually, the movie was put together after Maya Deren's death from the material she shot in Haiti. She went there because she was interested in the dances of Haitian Vodoun, but ended up being initiated into the religion. You can read about that in her famous book "Divine Horsemen". Dan, or Edan, is a deity of the rainbow, associated with the python, in the religion called Vodu in Southern Benin and Togo. He became Danbalah in Haitian Vodoun, often depicted as a twin pair of snakes together with Ayido Wèdo), sometimes referred to as Danballah Wédo. The veve (symbolic respresentations of the lwa) made of chalk, wheat flour or gunpowder of Danballah Wédo looks like that:

Danbalah and Aida Hwedo (Danbala and Ayida Wèdo) are the divine serpent and the rainbow, whose powers reside in the domain of knowledge. Sometimes referred to as Danbala Wedo, the water spirit, with the symbol of the snake that can survive in hot and dry regions and therefore is looked at as a symbol of life-energy. Associated with St. Patrick, who is sometimes depicted with snakes, because it is said that he relieved Ireland from the snakes. Danbalah is the eldest of the lwa, therefore special attention and care is paid to him. He is also thought of as connecting the earth with the water underground (Ginen, Guinea, the homeland), therefore the poteau mitan is also called “poto-Danbalah”. In Ouidah, Benin, I took the following photograph of a depiction of Edan at a house, whose inhabitants are adherents of the cult of the vodun Dan (the shrine on the right hand side houses Legba, the guardian deity):

And here is the song by The Invertebrates:

1000 SONGS - Day 298 SONG # 329

DAY 298: A song from one of my favourite albums

I used to think. that "Prophet" was the stage name of some guy born as Miller or Tanner or the like (Baker?). Obviously, Chuck Prophet was born as Prophet, Charles Williams. He was/is (?) a member of Green on Red, one of my fav bands, featured, amongst others on two of my fav albums (there are thousands...), Gas Food Lodging and No Free Lunch. He did a lot of fine solo work, too, and one album he recorded I really appreciate is "The Hurting Business". From that one, I post this one, called "Rise":