Wednesday Wadio

“The problem was that no one outside of Boston got the memo on how great they were. They made an appearance on Conan O’Brien, but it looked as though Tribe was going to remain a local treasure rather than a national one.“

As it relates to my personal era, I look at Boston music in threes. The high school years were chock full of Big Dipper, the Pixies and Tribe. I recently asked if anyone had a copy of Here at the Home, to which one friend replied – yes! I finally made it over to her house last night, and was absolutely pumped to spin that sucker once again. HATH is out of print, as is its follow up, Abort – and it had been 10 years since I’d had a listen.

Imagine my surprise then today when I took a shot in the dark and looked them up on YouTube. Joyride (I saw the film) is a song off of their second last album, and it’s not so bad. I would have much rather found Daddy’s Home or Rescue Me, but it’s truly amazing to me that a Tribe video is available at all. I’ll take it.

There is precious little Tribe info available online, although I do know that their last ever show was in 1994 and lead singer Janet LaValley has always been very easy on the eyes. One should never say never, however, and a friend of the band recently told me they would be reforming in 2007 for a few local Boston dates. Guess who’ll be there? Go on, guess.

Abort saw many of the best songs on HATH re-recorded, with “better” production values and Pixies producer Gil Norton twiddling the knobs. It is a solid album from start to finish, and I think where Tribe really stood out were their harmonies and Spectre-esque soundscapes. However I always preferred the stripped-down, dirtier versions from HATH, and I want to repeat my request for a copy. Come on people, this is Boston, afterall.

They fell off faster than a fat kid on a see-saw, but for a brief moment in 2001 Scottish band Travis were on top of the world and one of my very favorites. This is a cover of Britney’s (oooh, timely!) Hit Me Baby One More Time that was performed at Glastonbury that year – and it stands alone as a super tune. The minor guitar chords and Fran Healey’s sweetie-pie voice give it a sad, eerie feeling. Much how Mr. and Mrs. Spears must have felt when Britney brought that oozing cock sore into their home for the first time. See what you think.

WARNING: This song will invade the recesses of your skull like one of those worms from Wrath of Khan. I am not kidding. Professional help may have to be sought, immediately. “Arguably, it takes a Swede (or in this case, three of them) to combine 1980s synth pop, Motown and noisy guitar rock to tasteful effect.” Swedish group Peter, Bjorn and John’s Young Folks has been accurately decribed as catchy and danceable – but nobody seems to want to mention the fact that repeated listens will have you clawing your eyes out in a cold sweat. Praying for something, anything, to replace it inside of your poor psyche. Even if that replacement is the Andy Griffith tune or theme from Bridge Over the River Kwai.

“This song starts off with surging, funky drums, addictive maraca shaking, crazy bongos and a pleasantly lo-fi bass-line; all this wrapped up in a whistling melody.” Look, I’m not going to argue with that. But you’re failing to mention the fact that I’ll have to be promptly straightjacketed to keep from stabbing my balls with a fish fork to eradicate it from short term memory. When you’re done mutiliating yourself you’ll also notice that the animated video which accompanies this audio from Satan is quite cute and well done. Enjoy, but make an appoinment with your favorite ‘happy doctor’ before listening.

“This town, is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place, is coming like a ghost town
Bands won’t play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor”

I knew who the Specials were, and I’d heard A Message to Rudy hundreds of times over many years with complete indifference. Although I was a fan of the Clash, and knew a lot about the whole ska scene via UB40-ish knock-offs and the musical guests on The Young Ones, I was completely unimpressed. Then one evening I was walking across Government Center in the dark with my new iPod on shuffle – and the opening mournful organ chords of Ghost Town started playing. I never saw the song the same way again.

The club referred to in the lines “All the clubs are being closed down” and “Too much fighting on the dance floor” was The Locarno. It is now Coventry Central Library.

I had listened to it subconciously a dozen times – it features very prominently in one of my all time favorite movies, Snatch, for example – but honing in on one tune completely out of context can really give you a new appreciation for it. It can also be heard in Shaun of the Dead and a particular episode of Father Ted, when it is the only record a DJ remembers to bring to a church dance.

Ghost Town is my pentultimate ‘driving at night song’ and I subjected several carloads of people to it over the summer during road trips to the Cape and Canada. And usually with favorable results. It’s spooky, cool, multi-layered and catchy. It changes pace and pitch pretty wildly throughout and features a wide array of insturments as use of brass was one of The Specials, and really ska in general’s, trademarks.

The video makes them look like a bunch of complete dorks, but they were very popular during their day in England, and went on to form several sub-groups including Fun Boy Three. In fact, The Ghost Town EP was at number one in the British charts when the pressures within the band and the strains of touring finally resulted in their demise in 1981. “Ghost Town perfectly echoed the feelings in Britain at the time, and reached the number one spot in the charts to a backdrop of inner city riots in Liverpool.” I’ve read that Specials’ shows were plagued by violence, as can be explicated from the lyric snippet at the top of this article. This is especially odd, considering the fact that in the Ghost Town clip they make Depeche Mode look like John Wayne.

The Specials have a really comprehensive website with all kinds of interesting fanboy content. Friends and members of the band have gone to painstaking lengths to document the history, archive stories and provide audio and video clips. Watch the seminal Ghost Town video here and then click on through for more info.

When I was living in Mills Hall at Guelph, back when it was still an all-male residence and absolute zoo, I had a videotape of the then fresh Woodstock 94 concert. This was my favorite clip, and I can’t count the number of times I watched it whilst polishing off 18 packs of Arctic Wolf with Nick Gordon and Steve Barry. Porno for Pyros was Perry Farrel’s dalliance in between Jane’s Addiction tours – and for the unfamiliar he’s the guy who perfoms the Entourage theme song (a 2002 Jane’s tune). So this is PFP at Woodstock 94 performing ‘New Rising Sun‘ which is a little known Jimmi Hendrix song, and it was an homage to the original concert.

Perry starts the song, the last in their set, by toasting the audience with a bottle of red wine which I’m sure was among several he had that day. A marked improvement from heroin, at any rate. I can’t believe this was 12 years ago now, and I hope you enjoy the dreamy way in which they cover this tune and completely hypnotize everyone in attendence. Again , not with heroin for a change. I remember looking obsessively for an audio recording of this for years afterwards, and now so many years on it’s as simple as pasting a code snippet.

“Being killed does not make someone Notable.” – Wikipedia

I saw this performance when it first aired in 1996 after the Cult of Ray came out. Frank Black and his annoying unwelcome twin, former MTV Matt Pinfield, chat mindlessly and strum respectively. I always wondered what this song was about, and dug this performance, so it seemed like opportunity knocking when I found it on YT. I also saw Frank live at the Beachcomber in Wellfleet Friday night, so all these factors collided into the first in a series of new and impwoved Wednesday Wadios – which will continue to ripple into the ether, like the opening chords of Hermaphroditos, week after week.

Shazeb was apparently an immigrant from Pakistan who moved to California with his parents around 1992. From the FrankBlack.net forum:

“Shazeb Andleeb, age 17, attended Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California, where he was kicked and beaten to death in the hallway on May 18, 1995. Renee Nieves and Christian Bremmer (Both 18) were two students who took part in the beating.” A forum member tried to make a Wiki about Shazeb, but it was deleted by the admins because being killed does not make you important. I can’t say I disagree with that, but I’m glad to have finally solved the mystery after 10 years. And, as Frank says in the video clip, Shazeb spoke 5 languages. That alone might just be worthy of a Wiki. So I hope the Wiki man lightens up in between games of Unreal Tournament.

Frank plays the guitar like Neil Young – crazy adept knowledge of the most obscure power chords with an almost mindless confidence behind them. He also loves to alternate between minor and major, and will frequently announce the change while he’s playing. I have seen him do this a few times live, and Friday was no exception. “OK, I’m gonna play you guys a song now that doesn’t depress you by ending in a minor“. I wanted to tell him I really didn’t mind. Not even remotely.

Speaking of remote, did I mention where we frigging were? Big surprises for me at the Comba were a version of Western Star which flowed seamlessly into the Pixies’ Where is my Mind? – but the real treat was getting to see an acoustic version of Massif Centrale, which has flown to the top of my favorites in the last couple of years. Screaming “That’s the sound… of your love behavior” with a Harpoon IPA in my hand and the completely inaudible sound of the waves licking the shore just outside was an experience I won’t soon forget.

Watch the clip and then have a look at the Frank Black at the Beachcomber (a pause for SEO) gallery. I desperately wanted to get a photo with him, and upon entering the bar I saw him to my left playing Sopranos pinball with some yunguns. I chickened out, but really didn’t want to be ‘that guy’. Anyhew, I’ll wrap this up lest I begin to sound like I’m lusting after Lance Bass or something. I tend to only write anonymously on the TigerBeat or Out forums when I do that.

You asked for it back, and you’ve got it, babies. But before I strike out on new musical homages to my favorite songs, past and present, I’m going to give all the writing I’ve already done a new coat of paint – in the form of video additions. Below you’ll find liks to some of my favorite Wednesday Wadios from the past year, now with handy dandy video additions. Hear them, watch them, love them for all times. And with no further adue…

– The Doves – There Goes the Fear: The video for this song kind of sucks, so I’m including an awesome performance from Glastonbury 2004 instead.

– The Pogues – The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn: No proper video exists. This is a performance from Irish TV in the mid-eighties after which the host unsuccessfully tries to interview the eternally-shitfaced Shane MacGowan.

– Lush – Deluxe: Ripped from someone’s old 120 Minutes tape, the fire at the beginning brought back a wave of memories. Not for epileptics.

– Ed O.G. & the Bulldogz – I Got to Have it: Unequivocable proof that YT is the best website in human history. What a great find. An edited version I’ve never heard with some grimy Boston scenery and probably the worst choreography in… human history.

– The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again: I think this is from Top of the Pops, so it would have been 1986. An excellent live perfomance from a seminal band.

– The Tragically Hip – Nautical Disaster: Live in Detroit at The Fox Theatre on September 18, 2004. This is a clip from the fan produced DVD released through hipfans.com. Gord Downie at his insane best.

So waise a glass to a new ewa of Wednesday Wadio!

“‘DARE’ is a staple song used by several car audio enthusiasts to test their sound system’s performance, as it contains both human voice, plenty of treble and a very strong bassline.” – Wiki

Granted, I am WAY behind the bell curve on writing about this song – but I love it, I love the 2 legendary bands whose former members are involved with it and we just mentioned ‘Dare’ as part of the gym mix post from yesterday. I built a Happy Mondays related site recently, and in the process read a few articles surrounding how the song came to be. It’s interesting stuff. I’ll elaborate.

Damon Albarn, formerly of Blur and the current mastermind behind the Gorillaz, had always wanted to work with Shaun Ryder. The only problem is, Shaun Ryder has been a drug-addled mess for the last 20 years, and getting him involved in a project is tantamount to slamming your dink in a door. Don’t get me wrong – I love the man’s work. The Mondays and Black Grape are two of my favorite audio guilty pleasures. But he likes the hallucinogens and has been in some trouble as of late.

“Shaun Ryder… threatens another Lazarus style comeback with his best contribution to a record for well over a decade. It’s his Manc whine that steals the show and makes Dare and so enthralling, he might have his debts paid off in ten years if he keeps this sort of performance up.” – Beat Surrender

The song is hella fawnky, with great spooky sound effects, a catchy chorus and an interesting vocal alternation between Ryder’s marble mouth, Albarn’s falsetto and the Gorillaz only female member, Noodles. The video features Ryder’s disembodied cyborg headed singing away just as soon as the Gorillaz release him from his closet.

Ian Brown, a proper media shit-disturber who also incidentally happened to be the lead singer of The Stone Roses, recently claimed that the song was originally supposed to be called ‘There’ – But Ryder had a little trouble enunciatingg that very tricky word. Brown smirks, “They were going to call it, ‘It’s There’ but Shaun couldn’t say ‘there’, so they called it Dare. I know the guy who was the recording engineer on it and he was like, ‘One, two, three, four…’ and it took Shaun five hours to come in.” DARE to keep Shaun off Drugs.

The video is equal parts disturbing and brilliant, and the song is just brilliant. Watch the full clip here, or listen to the song by clicking Radio Pye in the left hand column.

“Repeatedly described as shambolic stoners in the press, as if their music was the result of some serendipitous sensimilia incident rather than hardwork and talent, their importance was consistently exaggerated while their talent was dismissed. You think the trumpet at the end of “Dry The Rain” was an accident?” – Stylus

I’m cycling this diddy back through the lineup. It’s been live on Radio Pye for a while now, but I’ve never written anything up on it. Is this a cop out? Nah – It’s a lot harder to write about something than it is to simply fire it up on a server. Besides, it’s long overdue and practically buried now with over 50 songs and 6 months worth of tuneage jammed into my little corner of the ether.

Most of you probably know Dry The Rain as ‘the song from High Fidelity‘. You remember – John Cusack makes a claim to his record store co-workers that he can sell multiple copies of a song immediately, just by placing it on the store’s sound system. “I am now going to sell five copies of The Three EPs by The Beta Band.” All of the patrons start bobbing their heads to the music like Romero zombies before lining up at the cash register to start their unhealthy obsessions with The Betas.

I met a girl recently who told me a story about spending a night drinking with the Betas here in Boston at Bukowskis. The band hasn’t recorded together in a couple of years, and I never got to see them live, but her description of the silly fat little Scottish troupe had me laughing – she thought they were completely winding her up until finally someone else recognized them too. They were like the Wizard of Oz and Phil Spector, rolled into one anonymous lump behind a lush wall of sound – so complex that it takes 100 listens to catch all the nuances. Dry the Rain reminds me of There Goes the Fear in that respect. I would have therefore bought them around 657 rounds. Another song I just cannot get tired of.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsbR2dEmHGc[/youtube]

“The Beta Band’s “Dry the Rain” achieves a level of pop euphoria rarely reached since, well, “Oh! Sweet Nuthin” by the Velvet Underground.” Audio-Ideas

If you can catch the cowbell, washboard and rain stick by your first listen, you’ve probably also noticed that it’s about 3 separate songs jammed into one. First the drums pick up intensity about 2 minutes in, turning it from groovy to downright danceable. Then, for the last 3 minutes, it completely changes pitch and a new sing-song chorus assures you “I will be your light” and rounds the masterpiece out. If you’ve never listened to me before, listen to me today – listen to this fucking song.

“In a sense, the beginning of Lush was as inevitable as its ending was not.”

This song is senior year at Concord-Carlisle for me. So many memories surrounding it. Lush opened for Jane’s Addiction that year at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg. We rented a bus, filled it with our best buddies (and underclassmen girls), before having one of the best times of my life. The whole shebang kicked off at PJ’s with kegs. We filled 2 litre milk jugs with beer and moved the bender to the bus. The show was amazing, and in between moshing with Mike Duffy – and watching Tombeno get thrown out and sneak back in 3 times – Lush rocked the rink with this awesome tune.

“When I sat down to listen to Ciao!, it had been at least seven years since I’d last listened to Lush, and probably five since I’d even thought of them. But by the end, I was digging out the old discs again– not out of an obligation to research and refresh, but because I wanted to relive and remember.” – Pitchfork

Lush has long since gone the way of the do-do (the drummer even killed himself), but they released 3 solid albums in the 90’s and I have every one of them on my iPod. They’re considered to be part of the “shoegazing” genre – Shoegazing is characterised by the use of distortion and the fuzzbox, droning riffs and a Phil Spector-esque wall of sound from the noisy guitars. You’ll understand the classification when you hear ‘De-Luxe’, which was their breakthrough hit in America. ‘Ladykillers’ fared better a few years later, but it isn’t anywhere near as cool as this etherial little ditty.

This song also reminds me of driving to a party in Carlisle at Sarah’s house with Triconi in my ’84 BMW 318. We videotaped the party, and you can see Doug and I singing along to De-Luxe as we navigate the windy dark roads. We still sing that song to eachother, and it’s admittedly extremely gay to be doing so. Enjoy the song – it’s a great little timecapsule.