Wild Weekend Vol. 23

In between watching the first world cup matches in South Africa, and working hard to get rid of that mothball smell coming out of my faithful Orange jersey, I still managed to find a bit of time to put the iPod to work again. The result? Wild Weekend number 23: six diverse, winning tracks with no vuvuzela in sight.

Lets kick off this week´s edition with a fun song that guest editor Tom Waits picked for the accompanying cd of this month´s edition of Mojo magazine. Rock & roll forerunner Hank Ballard, father of the twist, really works his Midnighters into a frenzy here. I´ve got to admit I´ve never heard Graham Nash´s ´71 solo effort Be Yourself, but that will have to be corrected soon. I really got curious for the real deal after listening to an excellent, just-released tribute to that album, featuring the likes of Vetiver, Port O´Brien and Robin Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes. It even has the omni-present Bonnie Prince Billy singing in Spanish... Olé! Agua!

Hank Ballard & The Midnighters - Let´s Go, Let´s Go, Let´s Go MP3

Bonnie Prince Billy - Simple Man In The Mirror (Hombre Sencillo) MP3

Time now for Greg Sage, the Portland, Oregon loner with the ever-present bandana who made some highly impressive albums under the Wipers moniker during the eighties. The lyrical Prisoner hails from Silver Sail (´93), his last really great outburst. And for all you reggae loving brethren out deh, here´s a treat from yet another exemplary Pressure Sounds compilation: Life Goes In Circles, which showcases Tommy Cowan´s influentual Talent Corporation stable. Exhibit A: Please Officer, a hardhitting roots rocker by Earl Zero.

Wipers - Prisoner MP3

Earl Zero - Please Officer MP3

Weirdo collective Sun City Girls has such a huge back catalogue that I won´t urge you to pick up all their releases at once. But why not start with the often brilliant Torch Of The Mystics (´90) and take it from there? And last but certainly not least, let´s put the spotlight on the kings of space rock: Hawkwind. Not really my bag normally, but Days Of The Underground has always been a guilty pleasure. "We smoked Durban poison and turned all this noise on..." I´m off to watch another game of footy now... catch ya later.

Sun City Girls - Radar 1941 MP3

Hawkwind - Days Of The Underground MP3