Mat Brewster: "Goofing Off Suite" from Pete Seeger from a live bootleg dated 10/25/56
Fans of the film Raising Arizona will instantly be familiar with this medley that was swiped by Carter Burwell for that film's theme music. Yes, I'm talking about that crazy yodeling song, with a dash of Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" sung via humming. When Mr. Seeger first began to play it I was driving in downtown Bloomington, I nearly crashed right there from laughing so hard. I'm sure I was quite the site, too, me swerving in my little Saturn, mouth agape, tears streaming down my face.
Mark Saleski: "The Wheel" from Live at the Warfield by Phil Lesh & Friends
Phil Lesh had several outstanding guests at this show, my favorites being Greg Osby on sax and John Scofield on guitar. This particular version the Dead's "The Wheel" includes tons of fine and subtle interplay, very dynamic ebb and flow, and Joan Osborne's gorgeous voice... which I happen to be falling in love with all over again.
Tom Johnson: "Don't Stop Now" from Under The Bushes, Under The Stars, by Guided By Voices
Among dozens of equally powerful, tight songs under Bob Pollard's belt, it could be the immediacy of that simple guitar hook that starts this song that grabs listeners, but really it's more that there's a rare vulnerability in Pollard's voice in this particularly simple tune.
Pollard confronts "Big Daddy," a local rooster with whom he holds a long-standing grudge, strutting nonchalantly around with a six-pack ring around his neck, but it's really about the band transitioning from local indie act to focus of national attention. GBV becomes, in a sense, Big Daddy in an industry that cares little about anything but the bottom line. Pollard's six-pack ring: get his songs to more people while keeping the GBV identity strong. This is his anthem - "Don't Stop Now," a rallying cry for more. And there was a lot more.
Ken Edwards (Gaming Editor): "The Golden Rose" from Highway Companion by Tom Petty
I am late to the Highway Companion party because someone took a number of months to gift this gem to me. But this gift was worth the wait.
Article comments
1 - DJRadiohead
Great work, everybody. Mr. Ken, I appreciate the dig and the contribution. Highway Companion is one of the truly fine albums of recent memory; one of the best of last year.
Tom, I might have to check out the GBV song on iTunes. I've never listened to any GBV. I have certainly heard of them, but never investigated them at all.
2 - Tom Johnson
Be careful, DJR - Guided By Voices and Robert Pollard is a deep well to dive into, and once you get past his weird, lo-fi recording techniques and enjoy the songs, there is no turning back. You too will soon own a full shelf of his music like I do and will be forced to dedicate 5gb of your Ipod to the 50 some-odd albums/EPs/singles that I have by the guy (not to mention all the great bootlegs that are floating around out there!) Crazy, I know, but the guy churns out so much great stuff, especially in the mid- to late-90s. But a good place to start is Under the Bushes - just like I did. I actually had about four different GBV songs in mind for this piece this week, and all of them came from this album!
(And don't forget to grab the live version of this song off my site - it'll convert you right away!)
3 - DJRadiohead
The prolific nature of the band is one of the things I actually knew about them despite not having listened to them previously.
I will tread carefully. Just know TWTWIM will be after you if you have sent me off on another billion-dollar quest.
4 - Tom Johnson
I'm hoping it's worth the risk to help turn someone on to great music. My wife's still coming to terms with why I had to buy vinyl copies of a couple of their release when I don't have a turntable. I just had to have them because they were that cool. And, as I tell her repeatedly, they're investments for our daughter's college tuition in 17 years. Don't ever forget that angle.
5 - Mark Saleski
(**** mark whispers into the internet ether: "someday, you will both own turntables...." ****)
6 - DJRadiohead
She is actually a very good sport about it all. She knew about my CD addiction soon after we started dating.
7 - Tom Johnson
DJR: My wife's incredibly understanding, she's known about this habit of mine since we met. It is, however, my only big expense, so it's not like I'm into other expensive hobbies on top of it. Still, she's a trooper for simply smiling when she sees yet another puffy package in the mail . . .
Mark: That's silliness - they don't make turntables for cars!
8 - Mat Brewster
I tried to start a GBV period in my life, but very shortly after I bought a couple of disks, some bastard stole most of my music collection. I never did have the chance to give them much of a listen. No time like the present, I guess.
I also used to own a good turntable, but after a lot of abuse and a few too many cross country moves it died a horrible death. Now my mom holds all my vinyl, cursing my name and threatening to throw them all in the bin every time she moves.
I never dug "The Wheel" until I saw Phil play a very hot (literally it was like a hundred degrees) show in Oklahoma City a few summers back. Covered in sweat and dirt I finally saw the light and now it's one of my favorite Dead tunes.