Hello, partygoers!
Things get back to normal in the old rumpus room as we put away the jack o’lanterns and witches hats, and return to our regular routine of perusing listener’s mixtapes. This week we examine side one of listener Nathan Evan’s mixtape.
We’ve got flowery forts, Syracusian power pop, Cancon, Vancon, trippy psych, soulful observations, chunky warblers, meaty mothers, and some controversy!
So grab a seat in that much vaunted beanbag chair and let’s get the old Victrola warmed up.
This episode we are spinning:
- Fort Juniper – “What’s the Point (If No One’s Having Fun)” – Fort Juniper, 2011 – 19:44
- Zumpano – “Behind the Beehive” – Goin’ Through Changes, 1996 – 28:41
- Supergrass – “She’s So Loose” – I Should Coco, 1995 – 49:02
- The Flashcubes – “Christi Girl” – Northside Records single b/w “Guernica” and “Got No Mind”, 1978 – 1:03:09
- The Earlies – “One of Us Is Dead” – These Were the Earlies, 2004 – 1:18:52
- Cuff the Duke – “Long Winter” – Life Stories from Minimum Wage, 2003 – 1:28:11
- Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck – “One Ring Jane” – Duck Records single b/w “Kill the Pig”, 1969 – 1:36:10
- The Dramatics – “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get – Watcha See Is Watcha Get, 1971 – 2:03:42
- Chunky, Novi & Ernie – “Atlantic Liner” – Chunky, Novi and Ernie, 1973 – 2:12:34
- The Mothers of Invention – “The Uncle Meat Variations” – Uncle Meat, 1969 – 2:26:54
Also playing on the old Victrola:
- Superconductor – “There Goes Helen” – Hit Songs for Girls, 1993 – 43:05
- Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck ¬– “Funny Feeling” – London/TCP single b/w “I”, 1968 – 1:52:45
- Mock Duck – “Do-Re-Mi” – Various Artists – The Cool Aid Benefit Album, 1970 – 1:57:45
- Rebecca and the Sunnybrook Farmers – “Two Blind Sisters” – Birth, 1969 – 2:23:48
Thanks for listening.
Here is a fun artifact: The Flashcubes playing “Christi Girl” live on local TV:
If you have the time, here is their complete appearance – six songs and between song chats with the host:
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Hang on, Dave, you don’t like Oasis? But, I mean, you have to, dude! Everyone loves Oasis! They’re, like, the Eagles of Britpop! (Ptui… ding!)
Another lovely show from both of you. I don’t care if it did take 54 episodes, Mary’s ‘Vancon’ remark was very funny and totally worth the wait. A couple of lines from Dave had me LOLing too, namely: ‘A movie should have an arc, that movie had a bowl’ (The Sword and the Stone), and the description of SubPop being ‘flush with grunge money’. I don’t know why, exactly, but that phrase really tickled me.
So, to the songs – let’s get that garbage ready for throwing:
Fort Juniper – Nice, sixties feel, and I enjoyed it. The melodic bass line alone made it worth a listen, even though I’m not sure it entirely served the song. Mary’s CFS grade was on the mark.
Zumpano – As Mary said, this almost sounded like the same band, but with a bit more oomph, to use a technical term. As a result, I liked it better.
Supergrass – I haven’t really listened to much Supergrass beyond the singles. Now I’m thinking: ‘Why not?’ This was great.
[Etymological sidebar – In British slang, a grass is an informant, a supergrass is one whose testimony nails multiple bad guys. I haven’t checked this (’cause, why would you?) but… I’m pretty sure the term is musical in origin, derived from the lyrics of the song Whispering Grass, recorded by the Ink Spots among many others. ‘Whispering grass, don’t tell the trees / ‘Cause the trees don’t need to know.’]
The Flashcubes – Bleuuch! Better duck, Dave, here comes the garbage… I guess there’s always one song we differ on and this was it. Not even the handclaps could save it for me. Partly, the lyrics put me off, but I wasn’t crazy about the drippy vocals either. On the plus side: good drums.
The Earlies – This one had me confused. To begin with, it sounded like a wittily wicked parody of Bon Iver and I never quite shook off that first impression. On the other hand, I really liked the playing and production and the way the song built as it went on. On balance, then, a winner. Could have done without the chipmunk bit, though.
Cuff the Duke – Yay, Oncon! Good fun track. I enjoyed all the quotes from other songs. Am I correct in remembering that ‘cuff the duke’ is a euphemism for, em, solitary pleasures?
Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck – One of the best on this mix, brilliantly played with a particularly hot rhythm section. Since you folks claim not to listen to lyrics, let me just say they’re ‘of their time’, but that’s okay.
The Dramatics – Fantastic singing and a real tight groove.
Chunky, Novi and Ernie – Another favourite. Loved the song, the singing and the instrumentation. Bass and violin stood out, but all the players were fantastic and gelled beautifully.
Mothers of Invention – Zappa’s body of work is so huge and diverse that I find it a bit daunting. I know his more accessible 1970s output best, but this earlier, weirder shit is amazing! It put a huge smile on my face and I laughed out loud at the final percussion. I loved the playfulness and sense of freedom and will definitely be checking out more Zappa from this period. My favourite track on this mix, although I did enjoy Mary’s descripion of Duncan and Eve’s less positive reactions.
Of the extras, Superconductor sound like they’d have been a wonderful live band. I guess part of me will always be 27, because I dug this one a lot. Not quite the Pixies, but close enough.
Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck were pretty good again, quite Byrds-ish this time. Mock Duck were fun too. Harpsichord AND flute, baby!
Rebecca and the Sunnybrook Farmers – well, yeah, the band name is great, but I found the song just too overwrought and earnest for its own good.
This was another fine show. Almost three hours flew by in your excellent company! Twice!
Wow, this mixed tape was all over the map, stylistically as well as geographically! Thanks for the trip down Vancon memory lane. I certainly remember partying and hanging out in some of those old subdivided Kitsilano rental houses that provided cheap accommodation for university students and artists. Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck is one of those bands whose groovy posters you’d see plastered to a streetlight or telephone poll. And Flashcubes! I haven’t thought about flashcubes for years (the product, not the band.) I had an Kodak Instamatic that used them. They had a maximum range of about 10 feet so there must be millions of photos out there with the foreground perfectly lit and the subjects’ faces in shadow!