Pixies - "Broken Face" (live)
Bob Dylan - "From a Buick 6"
You have to forgive this song for not necessarily standing out. After all it is on the same album as Dylan classics like "Like A Rolling Stone," "Tombstone Blues," "Ballad Of A Thin Man," "Queen Jane Approximately" and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues." That album is, of course, 1965's Highway 61 Revisited. Still, the lyrics are great. (Shocker!) And the repeated refrain about the narrator's "soulful mama" (not to be confused with the "graveyard woman" who keeps his kids, natch) is the memorable: "Well, if I go down dyin', you know she bound to put a blanket on my bed." But today, the line that stuck out most of all was this one: "She walks like Bo Diddley and she don't need no crutch." Of course, Bob Diddley died yesterday. A true rock & roll pioneer, Bo is actually famous for his very own beat. The New York Times today tries to describe the Bo Diddley beat as follows (sing it with me): "bomp-ba-domp-ba-domp, ba-domp-domp." Of forget that, just listen to the master:
This little beat (or shuffle), inspired countless rock songs. The Times even points out a bunch, including: U2's "Desire," The Who's "Magic Bus," and David Bowie's "Panic In Detroit." My favorite example, however, is the Buddy Holly song "Not Fadeaway." Although (FULL DISCLOSURE ALERT), it's the Grateful Dead version that I love. I did my time with the good ol' Grateful Dead in concert and this was always one of my favorite encores. (Be patient, the band noodles around for the first 20 seconds or so, but that beat does kick in.):
RIP, Bo.
Los Lobos - "Rita"
Blonde Redhead - "The Dress"
Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Butch Vig mix)
One more bit of news related to a song on today's playlist (courtesy of the NYT):
The ashes of Kurt Cobain were stolen from the Hollywood home of his widow, Courtney Love, The Guardian of London reported. Ms. Love, left, told authorities that the ashes had recently been stolen from a heart-shaped handbag in a secret hiding place in a wardrobe. She said that she was suicidal as a result of the theft, The Guardian reported, and that the ashes had been taken by an acquaintance. “I can’t believe anyone would take Kurt’s ashes from me,” she said. “If I don’t get them back I don’t know what I will do.” Most of the ashes of Cobain, the lead singer and songwriter for Nirvana, were scattered at a New York Buddhist temple and in the Wishkah River near Aberdeen, Wash., where he lived as a boy. He committed suicide in 1994.
The National - "Driver Surprise Me" (live)
Tortoise - "Spiderwebbed"
Thelonious Monk - "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 9
Total minutes of music (approx.): 60
Song with the most previous plays: "Her Disappearing Theme" - 4
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: This nice weather is starting to make me nervous.
10 comments:
Dude. I'm disappointed in you. That 'noodling' is clearly the end of "Mississippi Half-Step," which is also the melody to "We Bid You Goodnight." Jeez.
Years ago I compiled a list of songs with the Bo Diddley beat. All of the ones you mentioned were on my list, but the only other I can remember right now is the Pretenders' "Cuban Slide." I'm pretty sure the list is still tucked inside the cover of my vinyl copy of "His Greatest Sides, Vol. 1" which is boxed up in my attic. Maybe I'll retrieve the album and list one of these days.
Incidentally, that Dylan album inspired at least three homages: Yo La Tengo's "From a Motel 6", Giant Sand's "Thin Line Man" and, of course, the Replacements "Like a Rolling Pin."
Um.."I Want Candy."
This is turning into a banner day for my musical taste coming out of the closet, isn't it?
Also, the version of "Mrs. Robinson" in The Graduate, though less so on the album.
Think of this as a safe place to share, BM. Incidentally, do you wear your baseball caps backwards and shorts in the winter? Just wondering.
Have to make a correction here. As non-anal-retentive as I am about most things, when it comes to the GD, I can't refrain.
The video is from an official release, Downhill From Here, recorded at Alpine Valley '89 on (for the most part) 7/17. The "noodling" is the end of Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad, which does, in fact conclude with the same melody to WBYGN. And it is also a harbinger. They would encore that night with the first WBYGN since 12/31/78.
Whew. Thanks -- I don't get to spew too much Dead minutia anymore.
Anybody want to hackey sack?
That is pretty anal, Brendan. But the most messed up thing of all, if you are in fact right (which I assume you are): I was AT that show. It rained for three days.
Here you go, BM (which are also my initials, by the way. Kids can be cruel, can't they?)
Click on Let The Good Times Roll at the top of the box and enjoy it again!!!
http://www.archive.org/details/gd89-07-17.sbd.unknown.17702.sbeok.shnf
Wow. Thank you. Now I remember that it did not in fact start raining that night because there was a visible full moon for that Standing on the Moon song, which I had never heard before.
I know that you're sorry that you don't own http://thebigbm.com. If you can't beat them, join them!
This is for the BMs.
Holy shit.
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