Top 10 Playlist for Week of 7/16/10

0 Comments 16 July 2010

1. MF Doom “Devil’s Shoestring” – We’re running with the devil on this week’s playlist, and kicking off our demonic marathon is a funky groove by a mysterious man who has inhabited many characters during his recording career. Before Daniel Dumille became the comic book villain-inspired MF (“Metal Face”) Doom and donned his signature metal facemask, he went by the name Zev Love X and was one half of ‘90s rap act KMD – better known for their contribution to “The Gas Face” by 3rd Bass (from their 1989 hip-hop classic The Cactus Album) than anything they ever released on their own. The death of his brother and KMD partner DJ Subroc in 1993 and the shelving of the second KMD album by Elektra Records led to a dark and soul-searching period for Dumille, who re-emerged in the late ‘90s under his current alter ego MF Doom. Doom’s gone on to be a critic’s darling, innovating his own underground style and collaborating with top avant-garde hip-hop producers on 2004’s Madvillainy record (with producer Madlib) and 2005’s Dangerdoom project (with producer Danger Mouse). This particular cut is from a collection of instrumentals that Doom has released in 9 separate volumes since 2001, cumulatively titled Special Herbs, where every track is named after a root, herb or flower. Dig the flava of these herbs, y’all.

2. Black Devil Disco Club “The Devil In Us” – There’s a bit of controversy surrounding the origins of Black Devil Disco Club. A rare French disco album (Disco Club) originally released in 1978 by an electronic/post-disco act called Black Devil was “unearthed” by Aphex Twin’s Rephlex Records label in 2004, leading to such major critical acclaim that it prompted the return of the group under the name Black Devil Disco Club. The controversy? The group’s futuristic sound is ultra-current, and their recording techniques appear to be far too advanced for the time in which the album was supposedly originally recorded, when neither MIDI nor computer-aided looping existed. However, the late ‘70s was the era of Giorgio Moroder, italo disco, and cold wave, a time when synthesizers and tape loop innovations were fairly standard – so in theory, it’s plausible that the album really was released in 1978. So, has le wool been pulled over our eyes by some enterprising Frenchmen? Is Rephlex Records at the source of a seriously sketchy sonic scandal? You decide…but while you’re pondering, dance to this excellent track from BDDC’s 2006 album 28 After.

3. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult “A Daisy Chain 4 Satan” – Sex!! Drugs!! Kitsch!! Trashy Women!! Exploitation!! Satan!! My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult is literally a B-movie that never made it to celluloid but was instead realized as a band, thanks to two Chicago-based artists with miles of vision and zero filmmaking skills. Beginning with their 1988 debut release on the legendary Wax Trax label, MLWTTKK’s discography, album art, audio samples and song titles read like one long homage to Russ Meyer, pulp fiction novels, and the grindhouse genre, with an almost unclassifiable and totally unduplicated sound that’s been referred to as the bastard child of industrial, disco, punk, glam and sleaze rock. Thrill Kill Kult’s music used to be a staple for NYC’s goth and industrial DJs, and the band frequently performed in the ‘90s at Limelight and other now sadly defunct NYC night spots. An unapologetically un-commercial band, they achieved minimal mainstream success in the ‘90s thanks to a trio of danceable singles; “Sex On Wheelz” from their 1991 Sexplosion LP, and “The Days Of Swine and Roses” and this playlist pick, both from their 1993 follow up to Sexplosion, Confessions Of A Knife.

4. Jay-Z “Lucifer” – Jay-Z is sort of like the New York Yankees of hip-hop; he consistently knocks tracks out of the park, he’s dropped about 27 championship albums, and even when he makes a less than stellar play in the middle of an album, we ain’t mad at him (for long). I don’t consider myself to be a Jigga fan, but I can definitely appreciate a good handful of his songs and have been known to spin one if a set calls for it. I also appreciate his artful use of sampling, which is never abused and tends to add a level of greatness to certain tracks. “Lucifer” samples Max Romeo’s 1976 reggae classic “I Chase The Devil”, and although we didn’t know it in 2003 when Jay-Z’s landmark The Black Album was released, this track is a textbook example of producer/beatmaker Kanye West’s signature style, soon to be heard on his 2004 solo debut; sped-up soul samples, spare instrumentation, and that trademark swing-and-drop backbeat. I would be very interested in hearing a little God vs. The Devil mashup, featuring “Lucifer” mixed in with Kanye’s “Jesus Walks”. I reckon that it would be hip-hop-calyptic.

5. Max Romeo and the Upsetters “I Chase The Devil” – Since we’re on the topic, let’s have a listen to the song that was sampled for the previous playlist pick. One of Jamaica’s most beloved sons, Max Romeo began his musical career in ‘60s soul group The Emotions, later moving on to a solo career that very early on courted controversy and led to bans of some of his singles in the UK due to the extremely racy content of Romeo’s lyrics. Romeo’s collaboration in the ‘70s with legendary roots/reggae/dub producer Lee “Scratch” Perry led to his best known work, among them the reggae classic “Sipple Out Deh” along with “War Ina Babylon” and “I Chase The Devil”, both released in 1976 on the album War Ina Babylon. Romeo never really achieved commercial success outside of Jamaica and the UK, but “I Chase The Devil” is frequently sampled by hip-hop and electronica artists. This track is classic reggae at its finest.

6. Robert Johnson “Me And The Devil Blues” – Very few verifiable facts are known about the life, death and allegedly demonic dealings of the man considered by many to be the greatest bluesman of all time. Even those who aren’t familiar with Robert Johnson’s unfortunately brief body of work (he recorded only 29 songs) know the legend of the deal that Johnson made with the Devil at a crossroads in Mississippi, supposedly selling his soul in exchange for mastery of guitar-based blues. In reality, Johnson could pick up any musical style by ear on first listen, a skill that afforded him the ability to synthesize many different influences into his version of the blues and become a master in the Delta tradition. Johnson has been justifiably lionized by everyone from Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin to The Rolling Stones, and in just 29 songs he managed to convey more emotion and skill than many players can hope to do across multiple decades. Personally, I tend to focus my blues listening on other artists, not because I don’t appreciate Robert Johnson’s music (which I most definitely do), but rather to avoid overplaying such a finite helping of blues treasure.

7. The Reverend Horton Heat “The Devil’s Chasing Me” – I’ve seen The Reverend Horton Heat live four times, and each and every time it’s the best show I’ve ever seen. One of the forefathers of the “country-punk-abilly” and psychobilly movements, The Reverend is on a par with The Cramps as unique and visionary musicians who blazed a trail in the 1980’s into new musical territory, and who’ve thrived for decades while essentially remaining underground. The Rev’s 1993 Sub Pop release The Full Custom Gospel Sounds Of The Reverend Horton Heat has become a classic in the genre, filled with some of The Rev’s best-loved songs, like “Wiggle Stick”, “Bales Of Cocaine”, “400 Bucks”, and this playlist pick about being chased by the king of all evil (in the very Horton-esque persona of a devious, black goateed, limo-riding, diamond-studded red cowboy boot-wearing celeb) but not making that fateful deal. I guess they just aren’t down with Robert Johnson in Texas.

8. Misfits “All Hell Breaks Loose” – The Misfits’ classic 1982 album Walk Among Us is twenty-two minutes and four seconds of some of the best punk rock you’ll ever hear in one place. This is B-movie influenced horror punk with shock rock sensibility and rockabilly roots channeled through thirteen tracks of explosive mayhem, a punk rock companion to the over-the-top campy punk-ness of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. There are just no wrong turns on this album, even with the inclusion midway through of a live take of “Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight”, a decision that would typically kill a record’s flow but somehow just seems like a very punk rock thing to do here. Glenn Danzig inhabits a world of sinister creatures and demonic forces where brains are eaten, zombies come from outer space, and where people are turned into Martians and can’t even recall their names. It’s all just another day in Misfits land, and I’ve happily walked among them since high school. Walk Among Us is one of those genre-defining albums that you point to when someone asks what a certain type of music sounds like. And, it’s got “Skulls” on it. I mean, come on!!

9. Swervedriver “Last Train To Satansville” – UK rockers Swervedriver’s sound developed at a time when grunge ruled the American airwaves and shoegaze ruled the UK airwaves, and their 1991 debut album Raise offered an amalgam of both styles, a beautiful assault that incorporated hard rockin’, psychobilly-esque touches (most notably on the powerful single “Son Of Mustang Ford”). Their 1993 follow up, Mezcal Head, was heavier on the assault and lighter on the beauty but it rocked harder and produced the hit single “Duel”, which gave Swervedriver a US audience. My favorite track from Mezcal Head is “Last Train To Satansville”, not only musically but lyrically, because it reminds me of Johnny Cash-style outlaw country storytelling from the perspective of a man destined to end up in Folsom Prison – “You look like you’ve been losin’ sleep said a stranger on a train /I fixed him with an ice cold stare and said I’ve been havin’ those dreams again / In one dream there’s this girl I love and we dance every wakin’ breath / In the other they’ve thrown me in a cell and they’re tryin’ me for her death…”.

10. The Grateful Dead “Friend Of The Devil” – Our musical stroll with the Prince of Darkness (no, not Ozzy) concludes with a classic track by a band that will probably never die, no matter how many of its members pass from this earth. Recorded for The Dead’s 1970 masterpiece American Beauty, “Friend Of The Devil” is one of the most universally loved Dead songs, as are several other of this album’s tracks, like “Truckin’” and “Brokedown Palace”. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, whether you’re pro-hippie or anti-tree hugger, American Beauty is a classic that deserves at least one full listen by every rock fan, especially those with a taste for country, bluegrass or rockabilly. Tie-die shirt not required, but feel free to rock a little Cherry Garcia ice cream while you’re listening.