Sunday, July 16, 2006

Tops of the Pops: July


Ok, a break from my Italy raves -
Here are my top song rotations for the last 2 Weeks;

I'm Waiting For the Man - Velvet Underground from
The Velvet Underground & Nico 1967 -
I gotta hear this one continuously. Wish the whole record was like this,; I'm guessing this cut in particular was an influence over many.

Night and Day - Joe Henderson from Inner Urge -
Joe is really talking through the horn here and playing the tune in a lower key (sonorous for him) than normal. Exquisite Elvin jones laying down the carpet. Its rare carpet from the Mountains of the Moon.

With A Song In My Heart and Time On My Hands -
from Sonny Rollins (various titles) 1951 -
I live with this record ALL year round; these 2 tunes in particular. Sonny's sound and feeling here are like bread, water, air, rain...and wine.

Bruce Cockburn; The Instrumentals -
A friend compiled this for me. Cockburn has a great original guitar style and is always a delightful surprise.

9 comments:

Sharon said...

From Sunday's Observer, The Velvet Underground and Nico was named the album that most changed (pop) music (for what "top" anything lists are worth):

Though it sold poorly on its initial release, this has since become arguably the most influential rock album of all time. The first art-rock album, it merges dreamy, druggy balladry ('Sunday Morning') with raw and uncompromising sonic experimentation ('Venus in Furs'), and is famously clothed in that Andy Warhol-designed 'banana' sleeve. Lou Reed's lyrics depicted a Warholian New York demi-monde where hard drugs and sexual experimentation held sway. Shocking then, and still utterly transfixing.

Without this, there'd be no ... Bowie, Roxy Music, Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Jesus and Mary Chain, among many others.


An influence over many indeed...

I recently bought a re-release of Live at Max's Kansas City...live VU recorded on cassette. Some of the best bits are the conversations between Brigid Polk, who recorded these shows, and whomever was at her table at the time (including Jim Carroll)...topics from Nixon to the movie Patton...great stuff.

Link to the other 49 albums:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/
0,,1821230,00.html

Anonymous said...

There's only a coupla others off that record that really get me and that's the cut after "I'm Waiting...", "Femme Fatale" and of course, "Heroin" which got a lot of airplay on the late 60's underground radio station I listened too..."is he actually saying that?" Now i wonder if it can be done in karaoke clubs?
-Tom

Jimmy said...

Gosh Sharon, I use to have that record years ago. I have forgot all about it. I havent heard it in 30 years! (Talking about Live at Max's Kansas City)

Anonymous said...

Oh yes The VU and Nico album. I got heavy into this back in the early 80's
when REM were in full swing.I remember waking up one morning in the middle of the week,face stuck to the floor. My good friend Mel throws "Sunday Morning" on the stereo.I'm up in a flash! Straight to the fridge for some
milk 'n' alcohol.

Anonymous said...

er, that was me who did wrote that bit just above.

Anonymous said...

Steve - Back away from any fridge that has a neon, pulsing yellow banana on it....

persephone2u said...

The Velvet Underground and Nico is indeed one of those seminal albums that I couldn't live without. Another great one is Nico's The Marble Index which she worked on with John Cale. Good stuff.

Anonymous said...

Yeah - I had that Marble Index lp. I thought of Nico as a statue that reflected a strange light in the room.

Anonymous said...

There's a bit about Nico in the new Sight and Sound (English film magazine). I didn't know she was in a fair bit of movies, besides with Warhol.