Razorcake Podcast #28: With Scott Laval
Playlist:
Tim Rogers & The Twin Set “Bushell and a Peck” from What Rhymes With Cars And Girls (rooArt)
Nomeansno “Humans” from The Worldhood Of The World (As Such) (Alternative Tentacles)
Two Cow Garage “No Shame” from Three (Suburban Home)
Dillinger Four “No Voices In The Sky” from Pop For Charity: Sound Progression (Doubleplusgood)
Willie Nelson “Shotgun Willie” from Shotgun Willie (Atlantic/Rhino)
You Am I “Gunslingers” from Convicts (EMI/YepRoc)
Bee Gees “Marley Purt Drive” from Odessa (Polydor)
Drag The River “Brookfield” from You Can’t Live This Way (Mars Motors/Suburban Home)
The Move “The Minister” from Message From The Country (Harvest)
The Gentlemen “Sour Mash” from Ladies And Gentlemen… (Hearbox)
Dramarama “California Uber Alles” from a shitty CD-R
Future Of The Left “My Gymnastic Past” from Curses! (Too Pure)
John Fogerty “You’re The Reason” from The Blue Ridge Rangers (Fantasy)
My good pal, Russ, did one of them fandangled Podcasts a few months back and I was totally stoked when I heard it. I'm rarely on the cutting edge of anything technological but it reminded me of those old days in college radio. Ah, the podcast. And here I could play whatever I wanted and not give a shit. Oh wait, that's exactly what I did in college radio (I'm willing to bet we were the only station to have Anal Cunt at the top of our charts)! I recall fondly speaking with Sony Records week after week and telling them that Oasis still sucked and we weren't going to play them. It got so bad that Matador Records stopped sending us shit. When they finally started resending us stuff, we decided to just send it back. Aw well... Fuck Matador! Stop listening to the radio. It's possessed and its name is Clear Channel. Do the world a favor and if you see a Phil Collins record for less than a buck, buy it just so you can destroy it (listening to The Damned's "Smash It Up" at this time is highly appropriate). You'll feel better... I promise! And you'll be saving the environment from catastrophic soundwaves! Anyway, thanks to Todd Taylor for the Podcastin' encouragement.
Here's how things went down:
1) Tim Rogers & The Twin Set – “Bushell And A Peck” from What Rhymes With Cars And Girls (rooArt)
Tim Rogers is from the brilliant Australian band, You Am I. I think he's the best songwriter on the planet. Many would disagree. And to top it off, this song proves nothing. It's an instrumental. Way to go, Scott... that's like picking Ken O'Brien when you had access to Dan Marino. And I say... EXACTLY!!!
2) Nomeansno – “Humans” from The Worldhood Of The World (As Such) (Alternative Tentacles)
I've yet to figure out why I absolutely love this song. Maybe it's because of all of the "characters" that appear in it. I mean, Nomeansno is Canadian... they've already got an advantage in that respect. After all, where do I get my love for red leather and the shortening of longer Polish names into things like "Mike Reno"? But Nomeansno challenges all forms of music by including whatever the fuck they want whenever the fuck they want. They're awesome. This is a fun little sing-a-long.
3) Two Cow Garage – “No Shame” from Three (Suburban Home)
Seriously... I hate this band name. But bad band names do not always denote bad bands (though maybe Nørb is right). A good little rocker delivered the way a Midwest band should. If you've got some Lucero records, give 'em a rest and try these fellas out. Produced by the dude from Slobberbone. Slobber-what?!
4) Dillinger Four – “No Voices In The Sky” from Pop For Charity: Sound Progression (Doubleplusgood)
Hopefully people will find this of interest. I picked up this comp a few years ago and it somehow meshed two of my very favorite things: Dillinger Four and Motörhead. It's like when some ass-clown decided to put that slice of grape jelly next to that slice of peanut butter (or fluff... or ladies—take yer pick).
5) Willie Nelson – “Shotgun Willie” from Shotgun Willie (Atlantic/Rhino)
This is part of my investigation into the catalogue of Mr. Willie Nelson. I know he released some duds in his lifetime. Shit, that's probably what I would recall when thinking about him. I discovered a time period of gems, though, and then I bought "The Complete Atlantic Sessions" which comprised this record, "Phases & Stages" and a live record from that era and it's all fucking great! When it comes to Willie, you may want to dip your toe in the pool to make sure it's something you want to dive into headfirst, but this shit is badass!
6) You Am I – “Gunslingers” from Convicts (EMI/YepRoc)
Alright, so I figured if the first track was an instrumental, then I didn't really use up my pick for a Tim Rogers tune. This is from his rock band, You Am I. They are rock 'n' roll as rock 'n' roll should be played: Two guitars, bass, and drums (Young Fresh Fellows anyone?). If you like this track and ever find this album, just buy it. You'll love it. I promise. I've made two long-distance trips via airplane to see this band and they were some of the best decisions that I've ever made in my life. Note the rip-off of "Dim Lights" (the Flying Burrito Brothers covered it) during the bridge.
7) B** G**s – “Marley Purt Drive” from Odessa (Polydor)
My sissy-ass bold move (yes, that's an oxymoron... yes, I am a moron). I still don't want to give away the name of the band but yes, the first name begins with a "B" and the second half begins with a "G" and exists in the pluralistic form. Plain and simple... it's a bad-ass song. Someone will most definitely punch me for it. Please hit the arm, kind Sir/Madam.
8) Drag The River – “Brookfield” from You Can’t Live This Way (Mars Motors/Suburban Home)
I thought Drag The River had already peaked a few years ago but then they sneak in some gem like "You Can't Live This Way" and all bets are out. Jon Snodgrass from Armchair Martian and Chad Price from ALL... you can just tell when things are genuine.
9) The Move – “The Minister” from Message From The Country (Harvest)
Ya see, before there was ELO, there was The Move. And The Move was really Roy Wood's project, but he invited Jeff Lynne to join the band, and that was a great idea because the stuff with both of them in the band is rad. They recorded a handful of tracks together and then decided to concentrate on Roy's project that he convinced Jeff Lynne to do: Electric Light Orchestra. They did, and then Roy decided it wasn't weird enough. C'mon, ELO?! It's not like they were following some successful formula! That shit was weird! (Check out "Face The Music" for a great ELO record.) Needless to say, Roy Wood plowed on to an uncharted career of bizarre ditties (except for a Christmas tune) and Jeff Lynne made some loot when Olivia Newton-John roller-skated counter-clockwise in circles. You have to love the music business, don't you? Much thanks to Cheap Trick for sending me in the right direction on this one. Go listen to "Dream Police."
10) The Gentlemen – “Sour Mash” from Ladies And Gentlemen… (Hearbox)
I thought that The Gentlemen would just be some half-assed side-project from Mike Gent from The Figgs. I bought the record and HOLY SHIT, the whole thing was fucking great! Who knew? Now maybe don't run out and buy all of the stuff from The Gravel Pit... I like 'em but you may not. If you come across "Ladies And Gentlemen... The Gentlemen", waste no time!
11) Dramarama – “California Uber Alles” from a shitty CD-R
An odd pick but I thought there was a chance that at least one person might appreciate it. Yes, it may be a bit dated, but I've always had a soft spot for Dramarama. Here they take a Dead Kennedys song and spruce it up a bit to coincide with Kindergarten Cop. Thank you, California, for relieving Florida from the butt-end of all political jokes (at least for the time being).
12) Future Of The Left – “My Gymnastic Past” from Curses! (Too Pure)
Argh! I'm not even listening to them right now but I want to! Just thinking about Future Of The Left gets me all excited. Take 2/3's of McLusky and start a new band and you've got 'em. Don't get me wrong, I love The Arrivals' "Marvels Of Industry,” but this was probably my favorite record from last year.
13) John Fogerty – “You’re The Reason” from The Blue Ridge Rangers (Fantasy)
One day I was record shopping and realized I had pretty much exhausted my CCR catalog and maybe it was time to move onto something new. "Hey, here's an odd John Fogerty record in the used bin and it doesn't have 'Centerfield' on it" (not a mandatory rule, but I thought it was a good start). Turns out that after CCR dissolved, Fogerty went on to do an entire album of bluegrass/country standards all by himself. Seriously, the whole thing is him. Layer upon layer. Fucking awesome! I couldn't believe how good it was and it turns out it's still somewhat of a hidden gem to this day. Spread the word, folks.
That's all I had time for this round. Much thanks to Russ for having the technology to pull this off and using the microphone. Please note that endless conversations most likely have been edited out of this broadcast because Russ and I generally talk about shit that no one else could possibly care about. No hard feelings if you feel the desire to fast-forward through some of the stuff on here. Any feedback, good or bad, is appreciated. Shawn is still pissed that neither Russ nor I played Spoke. Go tell Shawn to do his own damn podcast!