CHIRP: The Chicago Independent Radio Project

Michael Bennett writes

Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Adam Yauch Edition

He’s MCA, he’s Nathaniel Hornblower, he’s a Free Tibet kind of guy. Of course, I’m talking about Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. His slightly raspy voice has offset the whinier Mike D. and King Ad-rock, dropping killer rhymes for years. The Beastie Boys are rap legends, who proved detractors wrong again and again, becoming elder statesmen in the process. Yauch has apparently overcome cancer and the Boys are reaping plaudits for their recent Hot Sauce Committee album. Since Paul’s Boutique has about as many samples as any album ever made, I’m sure Yauch would appreciate the shuffle. So grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle, and share the first 10 songs that come up…for Adam. I’m sure he’d want it that way.

1. A.C. Newman — The Changeling (Get Guilty) (Get Guilty): On Newman’s first solo album, he developed some things that he later incorporated into The New Pornographers. On his excellent second album, the songwriting was more consistent with his main gig. The main difference is that the overall sound is a bit less dense. Newman put together a great supporting cast, and the songwriting is really strong, making for an effort that ranks with the best of The New Pornographers’ albums. This is a really nice mid-tempo song.
2. Fleetwood Mac — Landslide (Fleetwood Mac): A terrific Steve Nicks tune from her first album with the Mac. This song has a quality that’s not too far from Dolly Parton or Emmylou Harris, with just a bit of a Laurel Canyon aspect. As time moves on, the first three Fleetwood Mac albums with Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham seem to get better and better.
3. Paul Revere & The Raiders — Observation From Flight 285 (In 3/4 Time) (Somthing’s Happening): A piece of psych-pop fluff from Paul Revere & The Raiders. They started out as a classic frat party band, with a great facility for R & B and rock ‘n’ roll. As they evolved, they became a pop machine, with a chameleon-like ability to take on any style and sound good. This is a tribute to the versatility of singer Mark Lindsey. This song is somewhere between The Bee Gees and Chad & Jeremy. Sweet stuff.
4. 1910 Fruitgum Company — Goody Goody Gumdrops (The Best of the 1910 Fruitgum Company): A fine bubblegum hit from the band that also gave us “Simple Simon Says” and “1, 2, 3, Red Light”. It’s all about the hook, and this song has a big one.
5. The Sonics — Dirty Robber (Here Are The Sonics): A rock ‘n’ roll burner in the tradition of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis from arguably the greatest garage rock band of the ’60s. The playing isn’t quite as frenzied as on the best Sonics’ sides, but Rosalie is totally into it, and there is a fine honking sax solo.
6. Lime Spiders — Save My Soul (Headcleaner): Best known for “Slave Girl”, this Aussie garage band from the ’80s featured the shredding vocals of Mick Blood. This song relies on soft/loud dynamics and is a rave up somewhat in the style of The Animals or Yardbirds.
7. The Casual Dots — Evil Operations Classified (The Casual Dots): Christina Billotte of Autoclave and Slant 6 continued with her beguiling mix of post-punk and more traditional ’50s and surf rock tropes. This song has a number of styles, portrayed on the guitar, played over a loping beat. From ska like riffing, to surf guitar to melodic Buzzcocks like blasts, this song is quite something.
8. Ron Sexsmith — Impossible World (Exit Strategy of the Soul): A philosophical number from Ron Sexsmith. While he usually focuses on matters of the heart and vignettes, this is Sexsmith trying to figure out why we experience so much pain. And he sings to a typically warm and pithy melody.
9. Anton Barbeau — Stewart Mason (Guladong): A driving paean to ultra-knowledgable writer Stewart Mason. Whether any of the details of the song are accurate, I would not know, but having a bouncy pop-rock tune with your name in it, from a fine Bay Area pop eccentric is pretty darned cool. I think this is the second time this has come up in a shuffle.
10. XTC — Harvest Festival (Apple Venus, Volume 1): The penultimate XTC album is their last classic, full on sumptuous orch-pop songs. This is a pretty baroque pop song with three distinctive killer melodies. Andy Partridge’s lyrics are evocative of the past, with precise detail. The way the melody of the verse melts into the chorus is perfection, and then is countered by middle eight that douses the fuzzy nostalgia with a dose of reality, which explains why we are nostalgic. This is an amazing song, yet there are at least two or three tracks on the album that are even better.