Four Sonnys

Why is it that so many legendary jazz musicians are called Sonny?

Sonny Clark - Something Special MP3

Sonny Criss - When Sunny Gets Blue MP3

Sonny Rollins - Tune Up MP3

Sonny Stitt - Easy Does It MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 34

Yes... and here we go again. Wild Weekend #34 is here, and the hits just keep on coming. Soul, new wave, garage, reggae: you name it, we´ve got it. Just have another wild one.

Reading Eric Davidson´s inspiring Gunk Punk book found me digging up all kinds of garagey sounds from the wild nineties again. Enter Seattle´s Fall-Outs, whose short, sharp and snotty Here I Come used to be a favorite of mine back in the days. Moving into soul territory now, with an early seventies, Swamp Dogg-produced gem by the obscure Freddie North. If you ever chance upon the slogan 'Freddie loves Mary' somewhere, I bet you five dollars it was him back when he was still young and in love. "Now I write my letters with a fancy pen, but my mind goes back to the chalk every now and then..."

The Fall-Outs - Here I Come MP3

Freddie North - Sidewalks, Fences And Walls MP3

I came rather late to the Black Swans, whose presence on a just-released split single with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy urged me to check out their earlier stuff. And guess what? It didn´t disappoint at all. Au contraire. Try the moody Shake, with a cool Scarlet Rivera-like gypsy violin, to see what I mean. Cover time now, featuring the new wave pride of Swindon. On their second album White Music, XTC surprisingly climbed Dylan´s rickety watchtower, where a forgotten mouthharp lay waiting for them.

The Black Swans - Shake MP3

XTC - All Along The Watchtower MP3

I take it you´re all familiar with that tired old folk warhorse about that whorehouse down in New Orleans, but did you ever catch Frijid Pink´s motor city version? From 1970, with Bonzo-inspired drums and wicked guitarwork. Find it on their eponymous debut, a more or less forgotten classic. And it´s bye bye for now with a track from Sound System Scratch, an excellent new Pressure Sounds release dedicated once more to the great mr. Perry. And here I was thinking the vaults must be empty by now... Locks In The Dublight is a dub version of his classic Dreadlocks In Moonlight: short but very very sweet.

Frijid Pink - House Of The Rising Sun MP3

Lee Perry & The Upsetters - Locks In The Dublight MP3

Before I Even Knew You

"I would never, never do anything to you,
To make you blue...
But yesterday I got this letter,
From a boy I loved,
Before I ever knew you,

Before I even knew you..."

Presenting one of the greatest mini-operas in popular music: Train From Kansas City by the Shangri-Las. Sung by Marge and Mary Anne Ganser and Mary Weiss. Written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Produced by the amazing Shadow Morton. Drama supreme in 3 minutes and 22 seconds. She tells her current boyfriend not to worry, as "nothing in this world could tear us apart" but somehow I´m not entirely sure. It´s nearly ten after two... Will she or won´t she? Here comes the train...

And for a very different-sounding cover version, we turn to Superchunk, those indie darlings from Chapel Hill. Is it me, or does this train approach even faster?

Shangri-Las - Train From Kansas City MP3

Superchunk - Train From Kansas City MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 33

Was away, am back. Broadcast from our new residence in the oh so chilly Lowlands, edition 33 of Wild Weekend has finally dropped. The song will remain the same however, so once more, the iPod shuffle did its best to deliver its weekly goodies. Proto-HipHop? Check. Sweet soul music? Check. Punk rock? Check. More? Check again. Have a wild one.

We´ll start off with a golden oldie. "Ya know my heart keeps tellin´ me, you´re not a kid at thirty-three, you play around, you lose your wife, you play too long, you lose your life..." Wise words, pop kids. Signed: Danny O´Keefe, nearly forgotten seventies singer/songwriter. Nat Couty´s wild Woodpecker Rock sure is one totally weird and infectuous rockabilly ditty. Lux and Ivy from the Cramps loved this one, and I guess Woody would have, too. Find it on volume 4 of the indispensable Born Bad series.

Danny O´Keefe - Good Time Charlie´s Got The Blues MP3

Nat Couty & The Braves - Woodpecker Rock MP3

HipHop forerunners anyone? Try New York´s Last Poets, who released their famous eponymous debut way back in 1970. A true percussion attack. Critical guys? You bet. "Niggers are players, niggers play football, baseball and basketball, while the white man is cuttin´ off their balls..." Right on. V-3 was one of the brainchildren of the late Ohio underground legend Jim Shepard, who for some reason managed to score a major label contract with American Recordings in ´96. The resulting Photograph Burns still sounded rather lofi though, as the fine Caucasian White shows, and that sure is a compliment.

The Last Poets - Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution MP3

V-3 - Caucasian White MP3

From the soundtrack to Sweet Soul Music, one out of many excellent music books by Peter Guralnick you really should own, come the Enchanters and the sweet sweet voice of Garnet Mimms. He paid for the party, oh yes he did... in teardrops and heartaches. Lord! And we´re off with a very thirsty Pat Todd and his Lazy Cowgirls. "They ask me why I´m drinking, well I´m trying to forget..." True punkrock, American stylee. Cheers and enjoy, see ya all next week!

The Enchanters - I Paid For The Party MP3

The Lazy Cowgirls - Goddamn Bottle MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 32

Lo and behold, the iPod shuffle has chosen once more. In this again rather diverse edition of Wild Weekend we pay visits to Alabama, Düsseldorf and Whiskey Boot Hill, and see how three charming English ladies get their groceries. And that´s not all, folks.

"Do a runner! Do a runner!" Or: my fave all-girl combo the Slits goes shopping the proletarian way, with a great postpunk reggae riddim on the side. "Babylon won´t lose much, and we´ll have dinner tonight". Meanwhile back in ´68, former Byrd Gene Clark teams up with banjoist supreme Doug Dillard. A good move that, as their fantastic expedition into the realm of countryrock, with distinctive bluegrass overtones, still sounds remarkably fresh today. Cue The Radio Song, which you´ll never ever hear on the radio.

The Slits - Shoplifting MP3

Dillard & Clark - The Radio Song MP3

"No pass out sign on the door set me thinking, are waitresses paying the price of their winking?" That´s Neil of course, with an acoustic take on his Whiskey Boot Hill, recorded live at the Riverboat in Toronto back in ´69. Simply gorgeous. Which can also be said of Cannonball Adderley, who calls on the one and only John Coltrane to deliver a definitive take on the old standard Stars Fell On Alabama. From Cannonball & Coltrane (´59), an album all jazz lovers should own.

Neil Young - Whiskey Boot Hill (live ´69) MP3

Cannonball Adderley - Stars Fell On Alabama MP3

The voice of Killdozer head honcho Michael Gerard is really something to behold. Rough isn´t the word for it. Here he tells an interesting trucker´s tale. An Albini production, but you probably guessed that already. And we´ve reached the end of this Wild Weekend with a hypnotic krautrock ode to the apparently fair city of Düsseldorf by Thomas ´Neu!´ Dinger und freunde. Sometimes a whisper is all you need. Vorsicht!

Killdozer - The Buzzard MP3

La Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf MP3

Free Beer

Thirsty weather indeed folks. So why not crack a beer or two... Bottle or can, don´t matter none. Try a Moritz, the great beer of Barcelona. For The Sake Of The Song will provide a fitting six pack soundtrack. "We went down, lit up the shack, grabbed me a beer out of the sack..." And don´t forget to try and sing along to the Splodge track after a couple of pints.

Lambchop - The Man Who Loved Beer MP3

Big Bill Lister - There´s A Tear In My Beer MP3

Andy Reynolds - Beer Bottle Mama MP3

Beck - Beercan MP3

Rocky Bill Ford & His Sunset Wranglers - Beer Drinking Blues MP3

Splodgenessabounds - Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps Please MP3

Guilt Trip

"Three years she´s been in a coma,
In a hospital in Paul´s Valley, Oklahoma..."

A spooky ballad on the theme of guilt by Johnny Dowd, former mover turned rock & roller at the ripe age of fifty. Johnny´s the real deal alright. Dostoyevsky with a guitar. Crime and punishment. Dark, dark stuff.

"No woman´s flesh but hers will I touch,
No woman´s flesh but hers...
I go to visit her three times a week,
And when I leave I kiss her on the cheek..."

Johnny Dowd - No Woman´s Flesh But Hers MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 31

Right at its tail end, here´s another edition of Wild Weekend, which means the iPod shuffle once again came up with a flaming six pack of goodies. This week it´s all about getting your fortune told, running the voodoo down while blood runs down King Street, meeting the Venus de Milo, and chasing a vampire. All for a price of course. All for a price.

We´ll get this show on the road with a track from one of my all-time fave albums: the amazing Marquee Moon. An organic musical entity if ever there was one, Television defined artrock for years to come. And no one ever came close. "Didja feel low? Not at all... Huh?" I´ve never been too fond of jazz fusion to be honest, as it often tends to disappear up its own backside, mindboggling virtuosity notwithstanding. But I have to make an exception for that revolutionary 1970 Miles masterpiece called Bitches Brew. Jazzy on the outside, funky on the inside, now that´s how you run the voodoo down.

Television - Venus MP3

Miles Davis - Miles Runs The Voodoo Down MP3

Recently saw Werner Herzog´s brilliant movie Nosferatu on the telly again, and it struck me just how perfect the soundtrack by krautrockers Popol Vuh accompanied the on-screen action. Or is the fact that their music works just as good on its own, as the minimalist Höre, Der Du Wagst shows, an even bigger feat? Anyway, it´s time for a Vuh revival, folks. New Orleans soul singer Benny Spellman is best known for his cool hit single Lipstick Traces, but the uptempo Fortune Teller should have been an even bigger smash. No wonder the Stones covered it early in their career. Listen up and get your fortune told for free.

Popol Vuh - Höre, Der Du Wagst MP3

Benny Spellman - Fortune Teller MP3

Vivian Jackson a.k.a. Yabby You, who sadly passed away last January, was a Christian dread who recorded an amazing oeuvre both as a singer and as a producer. Never really famous during his heyday, his talent was finally recognized in the nineties thanks to the tireless work of reggae reissue label Blood & Fire. This heavy heavy track comes from the much-recommended Deliver Me From My Enemies (´77). And for the last song in this weekend´s installment, we turn to one of the best postpunk singles ever: We Are All Prostitutes by Bristol´s finest avant-funk noisemakers The Pop Group. "Everyone has their price..." Right? You bet.

Yabby You - Blood A Go Run Down King Street MP3

The Pop Group - We Are All Prostitutes MP3

Sugar Pie

You just can´t fail when a soul singer is called Sugar Pie DeSanto, right? Right. Sugar Pie, whose given name was the equally amazing Umpeylia Marsema Balinton, was given her sweet stage moniker by bandleader Johnny ´Handjive´ Otis. She enjoyed her biggest smash in 1960 with I Want To Know on Chess by way of the small Velltone label, but I personally prefer the grittier I Don´t Wanna Fuss from ´64. "Now I know that you´ve been playing with some other girl in town, but I´m willing to forgive and forget if you just settle down..."

Sugar Pie DeSanto - I Want To Know MP3

Sugar Pie DeSanto - I Don´t Wanna Fuss MP3

Patsy Won´t You Give Me A Sign

"Patsy Cline is the only one who could understand just how I´m feeling tonight..." Or: how the Guthries invoke the ghost of a legendary country queen. They need Patsy´s help ´to make her mine´, you see... Which is swiftly followed by a wonderful ditty from the lady in question.

The Guthries - Patsy Cline MP3

Patsy Cline - She´s Got You MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 30

Edition number 30 of Wild Weekend is upon us, so let´s consult the iPod shuffle like the ancient Greeks once did with the oracle of Delphi. What do the musical gods have in store for us this time around? Some ska, some flamenco, some pure pop, some folk, some grunge, and some Lou, who´s a genre in his own right. Not bad, gods. Not bad. I´ll give you that.

Let´s get going with a creepy and beautiful folksong from the pen of Jackson C. Frank, he of Blues Run The Game fame. I know it´s only August, but one can´t get in the Halloween mood soon enough, right? Frank´s life story is quite a tragic one btw: you can read all about it here. Keep them hankies ready. "The fathers are lined up by the coffins by the Statue of Bigotry... you better hold on, something's happening here..." That´s uncle Lou of course, with a slightly hiphop-influenced track from his still impressive New York. An album like a Paul Auster novel, and incidentally his last masterpiece as well, under the oh-so-true motto ´you can´t beat two guitars, bass and drums´.

Jackson C. Frank - Halloween Is Black As Night MP3

Lou Reed - Hold On MP3

"Earlier than expected, a little premature madonna, earlier than expected..." Pop bliss from the Posies, from what I consider to be their best album, Frosting On The Beater (´93). Buy forthwith if you´ve missed this one for some reason; you´ll find the ´tempest of tomorrow´ much easier to face. Been awhile since we heard some flamenco around here, and that´s a shame. Luckily, my amigo and hardcore aficionado Koen from Holanda just sent me a new batch of hot Spanish gypsy sounds. So without further ado, here´s the wonderfully named Tio Gregorio El Borrico, also known as El Borrico De Jerez. And in case you need a translation: he urges you not to speak ill of anyone.

The Posies - Earlier Than Expected MP3

Tio Gregorio El Borrico - No Hables Mal De Nadie MP3

Remember Mule? Grungy Zeppelin meets Black Flag rifferama, with just enough of that weirdness to keep things interesting. Could that be the one and only Steve Albini firmly entrenched behind the mixing desk? If that sounds heavy, check out Hayride and bang head. And Wild Weekend #30 comes to an end already with a hilarious and slightly risqué ska excursion from the early years of that Jamaican wizard supreme known as Lee Perry. The lady wants roast duck, and Scratch just spent his last buck... What to do now?

Mule - Hayride MP3

Lee ´Scratch´ Perry - Roast Duck MP3