Shuffle of the week #37

1. The Velvet Underground – I’m Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967) [singlepic id=323 w=80 h=50 float=left]

Second track on rock’s all time best album. Written of course by Reed, about his main concern around that time. Blueprint for lots of garage rock songs to follow by numerous bands, thanks to Tucker’s forceful drums and the pounding piano playing by John Cale.

2. DeVotchKa – Too Tired (How It Ends, 2004) [singlepic id=321 w=80 h=50 float=left]

Song from DeVotchKa’s fourth album. The band from Denver was named after the Russian word for ‘girl’ and acquired most of its fame with contributions to movie soundtracks like this album’s title track. I suspect the Greek bouzouki of being the stringed instrument returning throughout the entire song.

3. U.N.K.L.E – Nursery Rhyme / Breather (Psyence Fiction, 1998) [singlepic id=325 w=80 h=50 float=left]

A muscular guitar part opens this next song, that sounds like something from Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR at first, but surprisingly proves to be a song that was written by Badly Drawn Boy. It stands on British music project UNKLE’s debut album, dominated by DJ Shadow’s production (who left the ‘band’ after this album). Other collaborating artists on this album include Thom Yorke and Metallica’s Jason Newsted.

4. Badly Drawn Boy – Summertime in Wintertime (One Plus One Is One, 2004) [singlepic id=319 w=80 h=50 float=left]

A little joke from the shuffle, serving another song by Briton Damon Gough. Six years later he became a moderately successful solo artist and released his fourth album. Certainly not as solid as his debut album, but containing a couple of reasonable tracks like this one. Reminds of Jethro Tull, thanks to the nervous flute intermezzos.

5. Yim Yames – My Sweet Lord (Tribute To, 2009) [singlepic id=99 w=80 h=50 float=left]

Not the first time we meet this one.

 

6. 13th Floor Elevators – Slip Inside This House (Easter Everywhere, 1967) [singlepic id=257 w=80 h=50 float=left]

Absolute masterpiece, later covered by Primal Scream (in which mood does somebody decide to cover this song?), defined by Tommy Hall’s electric jug. Recommended for when sitting behind the wheel, without even having to drive the vehicule.

7. The Zombies – Changes (Odessey and Oracle, 1968) [singlepic id=324 w=80 h=50 float=left]

Probably the most sunny sound from a British band ever, including some delightful Westcoast choirs and an intro that must have inspired some Fleet Foxes. Second album from the band, entirely recorded during the Summer of Love and featuring an apposite album cover.

8. Pacific Gas & Electric – Death Row #172 (Pacific Gas & Electric, 1969) [singlepic id=217 w=80 h=50 float=left]

Some blues gospel that didn’t save on orchestration. Strings and horns are all over the place in this track containing a certain amount of criticism on the Vietnam War.

9. Cream – Strange Brew (Disraeli Gears, 1967) [singlepic id=320 w=80 h=50 float=left]

This incredible funky guitar intro will probably never bore me. Did we have blues mixed with some gospel and symphonic orchestration on the previous track, now the blues is injected with a satisfying dose of psychedelia. The perfect album opener?

10. Super Furry Animals – The Teacher (Guerilla, 1999) [singlepic id=322 w=80 h=50 float=left]

Third album from this Welsh rock band, released at the end of the previous century and a lost item in my collection. Somehow sounds like Elvis Costello under lots of stress. Till next time.

50 Albums you must hear before you buy a house

Buying yourself a house is a burdensome decision that a lot of people make at a certain point in their life. This is of course because a lot of things can go wrong. You don’t have enough money to pay off the thing, it burns downs to the ground without having the right insurance, you have to sell your house again as a consequence of your divorce, it’s just not what you expected from it, it can  have a very annoying smell or you just ended up with the wrong house.

Maybe you were about to buy yourself a house but you started worrying after reading the above. That’s exactly the point were European music professors Gerrit van Zwanendonk en Robbe Klein Hofmeijer come to the rescue. Especially for those people but above all for all music lovers in the world, they both compiled a list of 50 albums you must hear before you buy a house. After all, the end of the year comes near, a period in which a lot of people use their bought houses to make lists, to listen to lists and to criticize lists. As such both anthologists welcome you to comment their selections.

Today we’ll kick off with 50-46:

RKH:

46. dEUS – The Ideal Crash (1999)
47. Fugazi – 13 Songs (1989)
48. The Zombies – Odessey & Oracle (1968)
49. Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994)
50. They Might Be Giants – Lincoln (1988)

GvZ:

46. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory (1970)
47. The Doors – The Doors (1967)
48. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008)
49. Janis Joplin (and the Full Tilt Boogie Band) – Pearl (1971)
50. Kyuss – Blues for the Red Sun (1992)

Both lists contain one album from the magical album year 1967 (as Odessey and Oracle was actually recorded in1967, before being released in 1968), so we ask you which of those two albums is your favorite and why. Use the poll and comments to give your opinion about it.