Time to padlock the basement and rock the garage.
Episodes like this one form organically as I sort through my increasing cachet of planned songs and notice little trends. I can't say whether as of late, I'm intentionally working on creating more focused shows for certain genres or styles, but the past month's worth of programming definitely mark their territory. This one specifically goes for that ramshackle guitar sound, either from a garage, punk, psychedelic, rockabilly or otherwise loud standpoint.
And I kidded you not when I said that I had just arrived back in Vancouver from New York: I landed just before 3pm and needed to go home, unpack and come up with the show, which had been a loose amorphous state during my travels, but I had to buckle down and streamline things. Upon reaching the studio with only a few minutes to spare, I combed through a few replacement songs, which proudly meant including local act (with station connections) the Tranzmitors, though I had to bump the freaky Peruvian song I had lined up.
Admittedly, I used a few too many cues for the Brian Tyler profile, since I had to talk over one of the Red Elvises tracks and forced the Czerwone Gitary to get a quick fade out before cutting over to Gavin — I'll keep that song on reserve for future usage, mind you. Bubba Ho-Tep is such a quirky film stylistically and the soundtrack works itself well with the horror clichés along with satirizing them, much like a mummy that is only quick enough to attack the elderly. Six String Samurai relies heavily on the score to compensate for the low budget placed otherwise on the visuals, though there's enough chutzpah everywhere to give that movie an energy you can power a large city for days.
The set on the Shangri-Las seemed natural to throw into the proceedings, especially since Mary Weiss still manages to convey that same sassy vibe after all these years. I wanted to preserve that as the rest of the short songs kept fluctuating, though I managed to luck out on Canadian content after discovering Diet Cola and The Von Zippers were representing the true north strong and freak.
Now, before I collapse from exhaustion triggered by jet lag and cold medicine, let's give you some playlist love:
Mohammed Rafi: Jan Pahechan Ho (Bombay Connection, Volume 2: Bombshell Baby of Bombay, 2007) Bombay Connection
Thee Midniters: Jump, Jive and Harmonize (In Thee Midnite Hour!!!, 1967) Norton
The Shadows: Scotch on the Socks (Cherrystones Hidden Charms, 2004) Universal
Some Chicken: Blood on the Wall (New Religion 7", 1978) Raw Records
Mary Weiss: Don't Come Back (Dangerous Games, 2007) Norton
The Shangri-Las: The Train from Kansas City (I Can Never Go Home Anymore, 1965) Red Bird
Diet Cola: Wicked Witch of the Northeast (Early Learning 7", 2008) Army of Bad Luck
Oscar Hammond & the Majestics: Top Eliminator (Come on Willie 7", 1964) Score
The Dutchess and the Duke: Resevoir Park (She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke, 2008) Hardly Art
The Ramblin' Ambassadors: Rat Creek (Vista Cruiser Country Squire, 2008) Mint
Bruce McCulloch: Hangover Chronicles (Drunk Baby Project, 2002) Tront
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: Vibrolux Deluxe (Sport Fishin' Accessories, 1993) Cargo
Atomic 7: Meet Me Tonight in the Shadow of Love (...en Hillbilly Caliente, 2004) Mint
Home Blitz: Hey! (Home Blitz, 2007) Gulcher
Honey Thief: Beyond Movement (2008) unsigned
A Girl Called Eddy: The Long Goodbye (A Girl Called Eddy, 2004) Anti
Tranzmitors: Who's Gonna Tell Mary? (Tranzmitors EP, 2008) Deranged
The Von Zippers: Brokedown (Estrus Sampler Volume 2, 1999) Estrus
Brian Tyler: A-C-T-I-O-N (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: Bubba's Lament (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: The Mask of Kemosabe (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: Investigation (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: The Sebastian Haff Show (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: Astro (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
Brian Tyler: Relentless Sun (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
Brian Tyler: Dream March (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
The Red Elvises: Boogie on the Beach (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
The Red Elvises: Love Pipe (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
Czerwone Gitary: Bylas Mej Pamieci Wierszem (Rytm Ziemi, 1974) Muza
Backing the concert listings was Johnny Lytle's Big Bill.
One thing that struck me as I listened to the show was that my accent was relatively normal, since after being in New York for a few days, my Brooklynese toughened up quite quickly whilst I walked the streets of my old hood. I kinda expected to bring it with me, but having the cans on your ears when you talk puts you in a different head space. My cold made my voice even lower than usual, though the compromise of congestion doesn't balance out the benefits.
You can download If you were me, you'd be goodlooking as a dope MP3 [81.8 Mb, 89:18]
