My Name is Johnny Cash

Now, I know a few people who read this little thing have been having bad weeks, so here's a short little mix to remind everyone that no matter how bad it get's. . . you ain't a country singer. Now, that's not meant to do anything, but to hopefully give a few laughs, because who's life sucks more than a country singer's?

Actually, this tribute to the Man in Black started after listening to a song on album he did with June called "Old Shep." Basically, it's a song about a man who has to kill his dog and just can't bring himself to do it. Did I mention this was a children's album? Now, if that ain't a country song, I don't know what is.

I left that song out, finding it just a bit too depressing. I'd rather listen to his version of "Hurt" or "God's Gonna Cut You Down" over that. It's a good song, but just a little frightening for a kid's album. . .

In fact, several weeks ago, on our DVD scrawl, we had a few country video's on it (like we always do). One was a poppy, country song about how much this daddy loves his boy because he's becoming just like him.

And I thought, "That ain't a country song."

Then the song from Cash's post-homonous album "A Hundred Highways," (See the recent post on Rick Rubin) "God's Gonna Cut You Down" came on and blew me away. And I said in my rant, "Now that's country music." It's got God, and bad things that are going to happen.

Now, what's worse than being smited by God? That's the lot of a good Country singer.

Really though, I just made it to amuse Del one night. She's the real country music fan around here. She even likes Keith Urban. . .

My Name is Johnny Cash

1. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash - 'Cause I Love You
2. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash - Help Me Make It Through the Night
3. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson - (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
4. Johnny Cash - Personal Jesus
5. Johnny Cash - Rose Of My Heart
6. Johnny Cash - I Got A Boy And His Name Is John
7. Johnny Cash - The Night Hank Williams Came Town
8. Johnny Cash - Rosanna's Going Wild
9. johnny cash - Country Boy
10. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson - Crazy

And the first track, and the last track should say it all about how I feel about her.

The Big Apple

Episode 6 and it's pair, Episode 7, are down for rearrangement and layering. I didn't like the way they sounded. It seemed like some of the tracks were out of place and there was a pause that didn't need to be in funky groovy dance music that supposed to keep you moving.

The MadTerran suggested that I break up the pairs into 3 separate mixes, which is what I eventually did. The tracks are marinating and I hope to have them cooking in a few days or so when I think about how I want the mixes to flow, or rather, how the tracks want to flow regardless how I think about them.

In any case, for your amusement, below is a music fun fact about one of America's greatest cities, New York: origins of the name "The Big Apple".

"The term "the Big Apple" came into common usage in the 1930s when touring jazz musicians referred to a town or city as an apple, making New York the Big Apple.

New York, New York, At The Core Of A Linguistic Debate

Places, people, even animals end up with nicknames derived from things associated with them, or just from the whimsy of one person whose sense of humor appealed to others. Not so when it comes to the largest piece of fruit in America, the Big Apple that is New York City.

The term came into common usage in the 1930s, when touring jazz musicians referred to their destination town or city as an apple, hence the biggest place of all to play, was the Big Apple of New York. But the expression was first recorded more than 20 years before that, and arose from a much more prosaic reference.

Edward S. Martin, an editor at Harper's, notes in a book called "The Wayfarer", a description of how people in the Midwest saw the country as a tree whose trunk ran down the Mississippi, and whose branches spread from coast to coast. Its fruit was the great cities of the nation, with the big apple that was New York, getting more than its fair share of the sap.

The city of New York itself, chose yet another explanation that originates with John F. Fitzgerald, a racing columnist with the New York Morning Telegraph in 1924. At the head of his column was an apple with the skyline of New York drawn on it. Fitzgerald admitted to having first heard the expression in the stables of New York's racetracks. "

Gauher Chaudhry
Webmaster and Editor
Amusingfacts.com

Set the Controls for the Gallows

When Meera saw the title for this one, she went "Morbid Title," and really, it's got some dark, dark, dark songs in it. But I think the Saybia track it ends on really brings it up into some hopeful territory.

If anything, it could be used as a companion peice to a mix I posted several months ago, and one my favourites "Ambassadors to Nightmares."

This mix took a couple tries to make. I had something wide ranging and wild, then Winamp crashed before I could save the bloody thing. So now, after some patience, I came up with something I like a little better.

"Guardian Angel" should be used in a film.

Set the Controls for the Gallows

1. Peter Gabriel - Signal To Noise
2. Nine Inch Nails - Something I Can Never Have
3. Psychic TV - Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
4. Genesis - No Son Of Mine
5. Led Zeppelin - Gallows Pole
6. QUIDAM - Not So Close
7. Hans Zimmer - Let My Home Be My Gallows
8. Radiohead - The Gloaming. (Softly Open Our Mouths in the Cold.)
9. Kanal Audytywny - Milosc Robotow 01
10. Saybia - Guardian Angel


Question: Who wants to hear some good, old fashioned, lipsynched Milli Vanili soon?

And from Poland

And now, I need to take my ass to work, so I'll keep these gems in mind while I listen to the same old crap for the next 8 hours.

A little Prog from Hungary

Imaginary Popcorn From Osaka to Kansas City

This week's mix took some time to develop, mostly in that I didn't have a clue what to put together. Somehow, I encountered an odd IDM group called Her Space Holiday, and it spurred me to dig out somemore IDM. I really liked the band's overall sound. They grooved without being too overwhelming. It eventually led to this mix.

I tried to create a mix that had that same type of sound: groovy, without being too much. It bounces around from IDM, to jazz, to funk and I even tossed in a guy on sitar. Yellow Magic Orchestra fits in with another one of my recent fascinations: Japanese Prog. (They were a band that developed electronic music in Japan almost entirely independently of Kraftwerk in Germany.) Bird and the Bee and Gym Class Heroes are a couple of recent fascinations around the store.

Imaginary Popcorn From Osaka to Kansas City

1. Dr. Lonnie Smith - Your Mama's Got a Complex
2. Yellow Magic Orchestra - Day Tripper
3. Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie
4. Big Jim Sullivan - Translove Airways (Fat Angel)
5. Her Space Holiday - Something To Do With My Hands
6. Gym Class Heroes - Apollo 3-1-5
7. I Am Robot And Proud - Osaka (Girls Are Short)
8. Hot Butter - Popcorn
9. J Ralph - Kansas City Shuffle
10. Terry Callier - Just My Imagination (Groove Armada Remix)
11. Edwyn Collins & Orange Juice - The Magic Piper (Of Love)
12. Noiseshaper - Walls Of Silence
13. The Bird And The Bee - I Hate Camera
14. Oingo Boingo - We Close Our Eyes

Stalin's Gift

Stalin's Gift on CNN

Continuing our ongoing American coverage of the Polish music scene, I found this. Stalin gave this building as a gift to the Poles (and he gave similarly constructed gothic buildings to many cities around Eastern Europe).

The building is hated by the old, but embraced by the young as a place to do what. . .

Where American style mullets, see American movies and of course, have 80's night.

Of course, the older population wants to tear it down as a symbol of opression, but who knows, maybe it should be torn down if it's a source of bad 80's music. Even though, it's our bread and butter around here.

3 MIxes for Valentine's Day

Happpy Valentine's Day to all of you who keep up with this little thing we do. I've got three mixes this week. The first two are the second half of Rock Afternoon, which all can be played together. The final one is the one for V-Day itself.

Rock Afternoon 3

1. Bohemian Vendetta - House Of The Rising Sun
2. Windows '78 - Pathfinder
3. BigElf - Sunshine Suicide
4. Moi Dix Mois - Gloire dans le silence
5. Little Atlas - On and On
6. Shinsekai - Fairy Tale
7. Milla - Rocket Collecting
8. Yoko Ono - Death Of Samantha (With Porcupine Tree)
9. Brazil - Crime (And The Antique Solution)
10. Blue October - Breakfast After 10

Rock Afternoon 4

1. Muse - Space Dementia
2. Tilly and the Wall - Rainbows in the Dark
3. Grandaddy - Skateboarding Saves Me Twice
4. Pink Floyd - Is There Anybody Out There?
5. IQ - Red Dust Shadow
6. Sean Lennon - Spaceship
7. SubArachnoid Space - Ourobouros
8. Echo & The Bunnymen - Scissors In The Sand
9. Sigur Rós - Flugufrelsarinn
10. Pearl Jam - Betterman


A Valentine's

1. The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl
2. Spanky & Our Gang - Like To Get To Know You
3. Gene Kelly - Singin' In The Rain
4. Menomena - Ghostship
5. Chloe's Honey - Wave
6. Norah Jones - Wish I Could
7. Chris Thile - I'm Yours If You Want Me
8. Matt Costa - Songs We Sing
9. The Muppets - Rainbow Connection
10. Jack Johnson - We're Going to be Friends
11. Anjani - Nightingale
12. Sade - Love Is Stronger Than Pride
13. Genesis - Hold On My Heart
14. Erin Boheme - Teach Me Tonight

Episode 5: Gute Laune

From København to Helsinki

“Polish reggae and ska? Huh?”

“Wait a minute? Now isn’t that a bit unexpected…”

Awestruck and pleasantly amused for a few days when I unexpectedly found the album “Far Away From Jamaica”, a compilation of reggae and ska music by Polish bands, I listened to this album nonstop for about 2 weeks.

Today I was informed that reggae and ska are very popular throughout Europe. In England, sure. Jamaica was a British colony. Migration would facilitate popularity of this musical style in England. But in Helsinki and København? What’s their excuse?

“None really…Whitey de like a little reggae from time to time.”

Not to sound cliché, but this is the beauty about music: it has the ability to transcend most cultures, countries, and languages.

In celebration of my “do’h” moment and in an attempt to feel upbeat and light-hearted, this week’s episode is a feel-good mix that celebrates “gute Laune”.

Episode 5: Gute Laune

1. Natanael - Black Jack
2. Abradab - Rapowe ziarno (szyderap) (feat. Gutek)
3. Paprika Korps - Słonie
4. Gutek - Ganja sensibila
5. Ego - Rozweselający
6. Paktofonika - Dejot Rusza Czarne Puyty
7. Tosca - Mango di Bango
8. Stefan Obermaier - Inna Fat Dub Combo
9. Space Monkeyz vs. Gorillaz - New Genius (Brother) (Mutant Genius)
10. Kaliber 44 - Konteem O.K.
11. Paraliż Band - Ale numer (szybki)
12. Cała Góra Barwinków - Woman
13. Tosca - Gute Laune (feat. Tweed)
14. Delroy Wilson - Better Must Come
15. Yere Yere Li - Czekam
16. Gutek - Wybory
17. K.A.S.T.A. - What for?
18. Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man in Babylon
19. Gorillaz - Demon Days

Rock Afternoons

This weeks postings took me some time to do. I knew I was running late, then I started getting really ambitious with the posts. Luckily, I had parts of this four part series all ready to go in Winamp's playlists. They just took some tweaking.

Part one I made because I heard it was the anniversary of the Day the Music Died, the day Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash. This was back on the third. I meant to have it posted the next day, but I had other ideas.

Part two I had kicking around for a long time, and it spent a lot of time on my playlist. I'm glad I'm finally putting it up to be posted. Hell, how often do we hear Bon Jovi around here?

Rock Afternoon 1

1. The Penguins - Earth Angel
2. Ritchie Valens - Donna
3. Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line
4. Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace
5. b.b. king - Woke Up This Morning
6. Elvis Presley - Hound Dog
7. Buddy Holly - Everyday
8. Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
9. Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser
10. Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue
11. Chubby Checker - Let's twist again
12. Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
13. Roy Orbison - Go! Go! Go!
14. Ray Charles - It Should Have Been Me


Rock Afternoon 2

1. Audioslave - I Am The Highway
2. The Beta Band - Dry The Rain
3. The Beatles - Paperback Writer
4. Rasputina - The Mayor
5. Pink Floyd - Goodbye Blue Sky
6. Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead Or Alive
7. Bob Dylan - All Along the Watchtower
8. 3 Doors Down - Landing In London
9. U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
10. The Who - See Me, Feel Me
11. Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine
12. Shooter Jennings - Gone To Carolina

Oh yeah, these aren't all that long, and they'll blend in together.

Episode 4: Blue Mountain Rhythms

From Dublin to London

I like sipping a perfectly chilled Guiness on a warm summer’s night while listening to some island rhythms.

Of course, since it is the middle of winter in Pittsburgh, I’m forced to imagine warm summer nights while I sip my Guiness.

Episode 4: Blue Mountain Rhythms

1. Faithless - Fatty Boo
2. Noiseshaper - Automatic
3. Thievery Corporation - Wires & Watchtowers (feat. Sista Pat)
4. Lech Jjanerka, Sidney Polak and Jr. Stress - Konstytucje 2006 (Money Bag)
5. The Uniques - My Conversation
6. Derrick Morgan - Tougher Than Tough
7. The Wailers - Simmer Down
8. Hopetown Lewis - Take It Easy
9. Cała Góra Barwinków - Rudi
10. Paraliż Band - Nie goń
11. Habakuk - Kto
12. Matisyahu - Tzama lchol Nafshi
13. Matisyahu - Got No Water
14. Space Monkeyz vs. Gorillaz - A Fistful of Peanuts (Clint Eastwood)
15. Marika - Siła ognia (Doctor's Darling)
16. Noiseshaper - Walls of Silence
17. Easy Star All-Stars - Karma Police
18. Fokus - Są Dni (feat. Gutek)
19. K.A.S.T.A. - Po co?

Rick Rubin on CNN.COM

Article

I confess, I don't follow the goings on in the mainstream music world enough, nor am I good with named outside of the artisits themselves. But I had heard about Rick Rubin.

Reading this article, I'm impressed. He actually sounds like a rather cool guy, and I think I like his approach to making music.

Prince before the Super Bowl

Prince is doing the halftime show down here in Florida for the Super Bowl. Recently, they were supposed to do a press conference, but instead, the band set up and played a few songs. . .

They recorded it being the good reporters they are and released it. I still need to listen to it, but the sound quality doesn't sound bad.

Grab it from Aron Bender on AM940 South Florida

Him Genius "Window"

New and rough video from our good friends, Him Genius.

Windows

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