|
|
|
|
|
|
HOME | ABOUT | BIOS | EMAIL |
|
 |
| |
Monday, January 28, 2008
Folks, Brian's on deadline today, so I'm pinch-hitting with a few songs I've been meaning to post for, well, for a few years now. Pop songs, about American history. Which, you'd think there'd be more of - and if you do think of more, I'd be happy to post a follow-up. Whoever comes up with the most gets a copy of our New Year's mix (not to be confused with our xMas mix, which you can still download from last month's post). Which, a question presents itself: Does Neil Young's "Cortez, The Killer" fit the bill?
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Fats Waller
Victor : 1936
Available on: If You Got To Ask, You Ain't Got It
RCA : 2006
[Buy It]
I've loved Fats Waller ever since I was a kid, but didn't hear this song until I was well into my 30s. And boy, do I love this song - it's raunchy, sophisticated, hilarious - in a way that songs aren't raunchy, or sophisticated, or hilarious anymore. Not exactly History 101, but an excellent intro to any Survey of American Music course.
GIVE IT A DAY
Pavement
Pacific Trim
Matador : 1996
[Buy It]
Great beauty, weirdness, and stupidity, in this song. Beauty:Today the Gods
Can't make us quake
We see our lives as situations
Eyes are eyes, and teeth are teeth
But mine are rotten underneath Weirdness:Years and years have passed
Since the Puritans invaded our soul
Just like those Arab terrorists
You never know Stupidity: Increase Mather is a "her," and the whole bit at the end there.
LEWIS & CLARK
The Embarrassment
Death Travels West
Fresh Sounds : 1983
Available on: Heyday 1979-1983
Bar None : 1995
[Buy It]
I don't think I've used my Moistworks Bully Pulpit to adequately convey my love of The Embarrassment. The band, not the feeling. Although, the feeling, too. This isn't really typical of the band - it's slower, and more regal (that soaring, single-note guitar solo, the slow crescendo from "famous, famous explorers" to "famous, pinheaded egotists"). And, to the best of my knowledge, it's the only song about our old friends Lewis & Clark (though come to think of it, I can't think of too many songs about the Mathers, or Columbus, either). Death travels West, indeed.
Tune in next week for the second installment of the Alex & Ben geography show (I'm tackling the great state of Alabama), and later this week for more Ben, and Brian, and a guest post from the excellent Jamaican-American music critic, Garnette Cadogan.Labels: alex, geography, jazz, rock and roll
posted by Alex
LINK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
