Spitball Army

Here are more self-absorbed musings on my own musical tastes, sparked by the discovery of a cassette tape labeled “Fred FM 4” in my dark and dingy basement.

This tape was a bit more balanced than Fred FM 1 was, with equal helpings of rarities/oddities and some songs that are among my all-time favorites.

When asked for my top three all-time favorite songs – and when not asked, I frequently just blurt this out – I will predictably name “Alfie,” “The Hucklebuck,” and one other song (most frequently Elton John’s “Your Song,” but it is a slot that sees several visitors).  It doesn’t matter to me who is playing or singing “Alfie” or “The Hucklebuck.”  I just love the songs.  “Alfie” is a special wonder to me.  I can never sing the words to that song without getting them all mixed up.  Specifically, the line (and I am now looking up the lyrics, because I just stumbled over them in my head), “And if only fools are kind, Alfie, then I guess it is wise to be cruel.”  I’ve even tried to remember the line by cueing it with lyrics from Nick Lowe’s “Cruel to Be Kind,” but that only creates a muddle between the two songs.  I currently have 23 versions of “Alfie” stored on my computer; of them all, the Dionne Warwick version is usually my favorite, but the Philly-style Delfonics version and the John Holt reggae-fication are right at the top of the list.

[audio:Delfonics___Alfie.mp3]
“Alfie” (1968), by The Delfonics

[audio:John_Holt___Alfie.mp3]
“Alfie” (1983), by John Holt

“Strawberry Blonde,” from Ron Sexsmith’s self-titled album, is one of his best songs, finding him in story-telling mode.  When Ron is “on,” no one can match him in his brevity and eloquence.  This is a lovely song full of wistfulness and heart.  People always request it from the audience at his live shows.

I also have a really soft spot for Cornershop’s “Good Shit,” if only for its unabashed positive vibe.  “Good shit’s all around, good people / Don’t let it get you down, good people / Good shit’s all around, it’s all around.”  Repeat.  Repeat.  And if four-letter words aren’t your thing, the song’s got a groovy cross-cultural shang-a-lang beat going on that I know you won’t be able to resist.

[audio:Cornershop___Good_Shit.mp3]
“Good Shit” (1997), by Cornershop

The Marvin Gaye ballad is sublime.  The Pete Belasco song, “Love Train,” sounds just like a Marvin track, complete with baby-making lyrics and cooing falsetto (it’s not a cover of the O’Jay’s song).  And the version of Todd Rundgren’s “The Verb ‘To Love'” that is here is not the version I first fell in like with.  That was on a live album, Back to the Bars, that I had on vinyl.  It was ten to twenty years later that I finally heard the studio version that was put onto this tape.  It’s pretty great, too.

I was embarassed to see that I, at one time, could have been considered a fan of Maroon 5.  Not now, baby, no way, no how, bleecch.  But their previous incarnation as Kara’s Flowers yielded an album with at least one redeeming quality, which was “Soap Disco.”  The song was punchy, bouncy, and wore its pop ‘n’ roll influences right out there for all to see.  I first heard it at a label convention in Atlanta, the same convention that introduced me to Cornershop and the band Hurricane #1.  Hurricane #1 sounded just like Oasis to me, and we tried to sell it at l’Edge, but it wasn’t an easy sell (maybe they sounded too much like Oasis).  Both the Hurricane #1 album and the Kara’s Flowers album went straight into the remainder bins at stores.  The later success of Maroon 5 encouraged the label to re-issue the Kara’s Flowers record on CD, and I think it tanked big time, for the second time.

[audio:Karas_Flowers___Soap_Disco.mp3]
“Soap Disco” (1997), by Kara’s Flowers

[audio:Hurricane_No._1___Step_Into_My_World.mp3]
“Step Into My World” (1997), by Hurricane #1

Out of curiosity, I tried to find Monaco’s “What Do You Want From Me?” as a download file.  I hadn’t heard it for nearly ten years, and don’t remember it at all.  It could not be found at iTunes or Amazon.  There are used copies available for a couple of bucks, but, eh.  New Order spinoff, right?

8½ Souvenirs were a specialty band, very much like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Pink Martini, who created music rooted in an older idiom, but with a “modern sensibility.”  Pink Martini’s touchstone is lounge music, the Squirrel Nut Zippers were into gypsy jazz, and 8½ Souvenirs leaned heavily on swing and tango.  “Tango Lunatico” was indeed an insane tango number, complete with a wailing, screaming wordless female vocal.  I’ll find that somewhere and post it, ’cause it must be heard to be believed.

[audio:8.5_Souvenirs___Tango_Lunatico.mp3]
“Tango Lunatico” (1997), by 8½ Souvenirs