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Underground > Radio & Music >

Song Pimpin' 2: Barbelith Boogaloo

Matthew Fluxington

22:21 / 06.06.02

Let's retire the old thread, and move on into a summer of a thousand pimps. The rules are simple - you tell us a song that we've all GOT to hear, tell us why we've got to hear it, and we all go and download/buy it, and maybe we'll even tell you how much we liked it.

Today's theme - "Songs that Chug"

"Mind Train" by Yoko Ono. Please don't be frightened by the stigma of Yoko! It's a bit like a 70s psychedelic band doing an impression of what a train is like, with Yoko chattering incoherantly, and John Lennon playing some really inspired guitar lines throughout. It sounds a lot like it could be an outtake from Can's Tago Mago, which came out less than a year before this was released. I get the impression John and Yoko must have heard that record and immediately thought "Oh wow! Let's do that!" Yoko is a pretty good substitute for Damo Suzuki, by the way. (Note: I linked to the 5 minute long single version)

"Standing Stone" by Flying Saucer Attack. Sort of like My Bloody Valentine's Loveless disrupted by bad radio reception and several more layers of feedback. The vocal melody is gorgeous, the guitar noise sounds like it is hovering overhead like clouds, the bassline and backbeat is repetitive and have a sort of mesmerizing quality. This song sounds best on headphones.

"True Zero" by Zero Zero. A lovely electro-pop tune, it's got a nice summery feeling to it. The keyboards in this song give me the mental image of big clunky Lost In Space robots. Don't mistake Zero Zero for emo just because they are on the Jade Tree label - like their labelmates Joan Of Arc, they may have roots in lame emo rock bands, but they have little other connection to it. The whole record is quite good, too.

"Rackets" by Mushroom. This one will probably appeal to fans of Stereolab, Neu!, and Medeski Martin and Wood, especially for those fans who might wish that those bands were a bit more 'classic rock'. It chugs along on a keyboard riff and simple backbeat while a lead guitar part meanders along, and with a very pleasant keyboard drone wash coming in and out of the arrangement. It sounds like it would be excellent music to listen to while driving along a windy road in the late afternoon.

autopilot disengaged

22:42 / 06.06.02

well, i'm bringing the wild bunch's 'danger(high voltage)' to the party with a license to chug. the fuck. out. lyrics about disco pyromania, both a guitar and a sax solo and just -

ah, fuck.

look - it's stoopid. but it's as catchy as mass hysteria in shark season.

promise.

13:58 / 07.06.02

That Flying Saucer Attack tune sounds like my kinda thing..

ah, shit, I've gotta recommend something now haven't I.. um ..um..

"Machine in India"(?) by The Flaming Lips of the Zaireeka CD I got in the post this morning from E Randy. A wonderful, sprawling, 10 minute experimentalpsyche thing. About half way through it sounds like the band are attacked by a swarm of killer wasps, completely drowning out the music, but they keep playing and when the wasps disappear the song gloriously reemerges. What troopers!

Matthew Fluxington

18:45 / 07.06.02

"Work It Out" by Beyonce Knowles and The Neptunes.

I don't know what to say about this song without sounding like an over-awed slack jawed fanboy. It's fucking brilliant. Obligatory references - Tricky, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Fela.

The Neptunes have evolved again. Beyonce proves her brilliance. I reach new levels of hyperbole.

It's so good. I've got to shut up about it. Now.

While yr at it, get Nelly and The Neptunes' "Hot In Herre", which is almost as perfect.

07:55 / 08.06.02

Yes. The new Nelly tune rocks my nuts. It's, like, right, you know?

09:55 / 08.06.02

i just gotta say that whole Yoko sucks thing is so lame. the entire album FLY is the best drug-party record ever, i think that was the point; her plastic ono band record is astounding proto new wave mind-facture, and everything else is just satisfyingly horrendous. so, uh, i second the pimp on that.

04:47 / 10.06.02

'Complicated' by Avril Lavigne.
Canadian Sk8ter chick supreme! And the way she says "your pose". I fell in love with 2 words. Brought me back, way back to my high skool daze. Good times. Good times.

Regrettable Juvenilia

16:45 / 12.06.02

I must agree with Flux on the Beyonce/Neptunes track - it's incredible, like Stax funk from the 23rd century... And completely filthy.

Matthew Fluxington

18:23 / 12.06.02

I appreciate you all agreeing with my pimps, but would you mind pimping some songs yrselves?

Today, I'd like pimp "How Some Jellyfish Are Born" by Yo La Tengo. It's a long, meditative, bass-heavy instrumental from their new LP of soundtracks for deep sea documentaries, The Sounds of The Sounds Of Silence. It's perfect music for dark muggy days like the one we're having in New York today.

20:13 / 16.06.02

If anyone is avoiding Audiogalaxy because of the spyware they bundle into it (I was), Ad-aware (available for free from download.com) seems to remove all of it.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

09:07 / 17.06.02

Most Helen Love songs are good for a hot sticky summer disco vibe, but 'Better Set Your Phasers to Stun' off of 'Love and Glitter, Hot Dyas and Music' really captures La Love's essence, and sample's Teenage kicks too! What more could you want?

13:20 / 17.06.02

Oh fuck yeah, download every Helen Love song now!

I hear there's a 'Radio Hits 3' out .. must get it..

Matthew Fluxington

17:30 / 17.06.02

"It's A Kid's World" by Disco Inferno. A brilliant bit of mid-90s lo-fi sample rock, with the percussion loop being the opening of Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life" with an excellent keyboard riff, Johnny Marr-ish guitar, and early-Disney style orchestral samples. It stomps along in a confused daze, melodic and hummable almost in spite of itself.

"I Am Not Willing" by Moby Grape. This is a very lovely one - built on a nice smooth bassline and cymbal-heavy percussion, with tinkling piano, pedal steel, and a very melancholy lead vocal by Peter Lewis, the song just has this gentle rainy-day sadness to it.

"Section 8" by The Polyphonic Spree - Though it does stands on its own as an individual song, that's "Section 8" as in one section of a larger 10 part composition. The Polyphonic Spree are most easily explained as being something like an intensely happy and optimistic Spiritualized. Those fond of big symphonic pop should be pleased with this.

Regrettable Juvenilia

19:44 / 18.06.02

'Addictive', by Truth Hurts featuring Rakim.

Omifreakin'-WORD. If there was any doubt that female-vocalled r'n'b/hip-hop/soul is currently the most exiciting and innovative music in the world, this one ought to dispel it. Truth Hurts is signed to Dre's Aftermath label (say what you like about Dre, but he's got a good ear), and this track, produced by DJ Quik, kind of one-ups Timbaland by seeing the direction he's been leaning in and taking it one step further. Honestly, the first time I heard this on the radio, I thought I'd got that thing where you half-tune into two different stations at once... Or imagine if you were walking down Brick Lane and someone was bumping Mary J as they cruised past in their car at the same time as you passed a shop blaring out a Bollywood soundtrack... Having Rakim come in and drop a verse just makes it even more special.

Seriously: next level shit.

20:39 / 18.06.02

I'm pretty lousy for music, so please excuse my choices.

These days I'm all about Giant Robot themes of 1970s Japan. I chalk it all up to research for this cartoon I'm working on, but the truth is, I really love 'em. My favourites are by Isao Sasaki, especially the Getter Robo opening theme. Brassy, swinging adventure! Let's Go Passion!

Speaking of Gekiganger 3, I'm slowly collecting all the tracks from the mock soundtrack of the show. Gekiganger 3 was the anime within the anime on Martian Successor Nedesico. Gekiganger proved to be so popular they decided to release a "never before seen" movie, and a soundtrack for a series that never really existed, including liner notes with an episode guide. The accuracy of both the anime and the music at paying homage to the Giant Robot sagas of the 70s is uncanny, with wailing guitars and even a few vocal cameos by old time anime stars. Aside from the theme song, I want to pimp "V is for Victory" because it sounds like a riff off of the Getter Robo theme mentioned above.

In the same vein, I adore the cover of the Speed Racer theme song performed by Atari Teenage Riot. There's one part where Trixie asks "Oh Speed, are you all right?", Speed replies in the affirmative, Trixie tells him he's wonderful, and then she lets loose with this weird laugh, as if she's mocking Speed. Disturbing.

20:40 / 18.06.02

My daughter loves that track, Flyboy. Cheers.

The Return Of Rothkoid

11:32 / 20.06.02

"Voyeur's Blues" by Penthouse. (Though in the US, they're called Fifty Tons Of Black Terror because wankmags don't like their name being used for rocktacular purposes.) Four-piece, specialising in dirty, dirty rock. They're great in an incredibly immature way. Imagine The Beasts Of Bourbon fronted by a guy who's less poser and more suit-wearing geek. Who climbs under the stage, high-kicks, and puts that motherfucker from The Hives to shame. Rock. The song's got a great stop-start feel to it, a Stones-esque frantic riff and the fuzziest bass you've ever heard. About voyeurism, obviously, falsetto wailing and a total lack of class. There's some awesome, awesome gritty harmonica work here: it sounds like a small, dodgy bar. Which is why it's good.

Secondly, The Mark Of Cain's "Familiar Territory". Aussie three-piece that've been produced by Albini and Rollins, and now sport Helmet's old drummer. So you can guess what you're up for - big-ass riffrock of the highest order. Only this is steered by two bald brothers who seem to have a thing for battle imagery. Train-chugging bass, shards of guitar noise floating over the top, feedback threatening to take over. Sounds a little familiar in places, but has enough of a tempo-change effect to it to make it worthwhile. In terms of big-song feel, there's hints of Led Zep and RATM here, as well as the ubiquitous Tool and early-era Soundgarden, but it's better than that implies. Angry. Angry young men. One of those "there's only three of them?!" kind of tracks.