GOOD STUFF, SIDE 5

Went to see me friend @JaredParker, first time in 4 years, made a mix ceedee for the occasion. When we were wee lads, I made two mix tapes for Jared Parker. The first was called GOOD STUFF (CAN’T GET ENUF), or maybe it was “Hot Stuff” after the Rolling Stones song (which naturally wasnt on the tape). I don’t remember the title of the second, but it’s fair to say I’ve given him 4 sides worth of GOOD STUFF, making this disc

GOOD STUFF, SIDE 5
Rolled by: me
For: @JaredParker
November ’14
TRT: 1h13m45s

Heeyar is the cut list, with the usual info and the notes I gave Jared:

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band “Diddy Wah Diddy”
(E. McDaniel/W. Dixon)
From the A&M 7″ (1966) as reïssued on The Legendary A&M Sessions (A&M 1984)
One of my faverit Beefheart records. A Bo Diddley cover from his very first single.
King Khan & the Shrines “Land of the Freak”
From What Is ?! (Vice 2007)

Bob Dylan “Narrow Way”
From Tempest (Columbia 2012)
This is basicly Dylan’s road band, and damn they’re good. This latest album is his best since Love and Theft in 01.
Sonny Boy Williamson (II) “From the Bottom”
(W. Williamson) ??
From the Trumpet 78 (1954) as reïssued on Cool Cool Blues: The Classic Sides 1951-1954 (JSP 2006)
One of the last records Sonny Boy made for the Jackson MS label prior to his association with the Chess bros. in Chicago. I’m taken in by that big hollow drumbeat.
Howlin’ Wolf “Oh, Red!!”
From the Chess 78 (1951) as reïssued on Memphis Days: The Definitive Edition, Vol. 2 (Bear Family 1990)
Recorded by Sam Phillips at Sun Studios, Memphis. Speaking of big drums!
Wynonie Harris “Quiet Whiskey”
From the King 78 (1954) as reïssued on Bloodshot Eyes: The Best of Wynonie Harris (Rhino 1994)

Fatlip “Joe’s Turkey”
From The Loneliest Punk (Delicious Vinyl 2005)
Produced by Mike Floss

Fatlip “I Got the Shit”
Produced by Mark the 45 King
Voices: Big Scoob/Janai
(Also from The Loneliest Punk)

Das Racist “Chicken and Meat”
From Shut Up, Dude (mixtape) (Mishka/Greedhead 2010)
Produced by J-La.
You know about these guys, right?
El-P “Drones over Bklyn”
From Cancer for Cure (Fat Possum 2012)
Produced by El-P and Little Shalimar

Those Darlins “Screws Get Loose”
From Screws Get Loose (Oh Wow Dang 2011)

Yo La Tengo “Nothing to Hide”
From Popular Songs (Matador 2009)

Them Two “Am I a Good Man”
From the Deep City Records 45 (1967) as reïssued on Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label (Numero Group 2006)

Hot Chip “Made in the Dark”
From Made in the Dark (EMI 2008)
You know Hot Chip probably? I’ve been listing to them a Lot lately.
Chance the Rapper “Long Time”
From 10 Day (mixtape) (2012)

Rolling Stones “Sweet Virginia”
(Jagger/Richards)
From Exile on Main St (Rolling Stones Records 1972)

Mike Doughty “White Lexus”
From Haughty Melodic (ATO 2005)
Addiction and recovery is all I hear here. Show me how to have a day.
Vic Chesnutt “Ignorant People”
From Ghetto Bells (New West 2005)

Mattie May Thomas “Dangerous Blues”
Recorded by Herbert Halpert in the sewing room of the Women’s Camp, Mississippi State Penitentiary, Parchman MS (“Parchman Farm”), May 31, 1939
Issued on various LPeez; taken from American Primitive Vol. II: Pre-War Revenants (1897-1939) (Revenant 2005)
Ry Cooder “Fool for a Cigarette” (Sidney Bailey)/“Feelin’ Good” (J.B. Lenior/J. Dickenson)
From Paradise and Lunch (Reprise 1974)
[There was a time when Jared was frequently seen with a pack of Winstons. But that was long ago.*]

[*Text in square brackets was not included in my original notes to Jared.}
The Monroe Brothers “Nine Pound Hammer”
(Merle Travis)
From the Bluebird 78 (1936) as reïssued on All the Classic Releases 1937-1949 (Bill Monroe) (JSP 2003)
Fragments of this hammer song are evrywhere: “Take This Hammer”, “Swannanoa Tunnel”, “Spikedriver Blues”, “Roll On John”, and on and on it goes.
Alvin Robinson “Down Home Girl”
(Jerry Lieber/Artie Butler)
From the Red Bird 45 (1964) as reïssued on Red Bird Story (Snapper UK 2011)

Mike Doughty “The Importance of Kicking”

15″ of silence.

Commentary (not included in original notes to Jared):

What started out as a casual what-I’ve-been-listning-to-lately mix turned into a hodge-podge (arent they all) of old and new mixtape faverits.

Beefheart’s Diddy Wah is an unimpeachable way to begin a mix, and I’m sure this is not the first time I’ve used it to start one. Its warm sludge heats immediately to a rolling boil with King Khan’s “Land of the Freak”, which levels off with the driving “Narrow Way”, mellowing out to the cruising “From the Bottom”. Wolf’s Oh Red! and Wynonie’s Quiet Whiskey ease the pedal down slightly and we remain more or less at highway speed, covering lots of miles, until the rallentando at the end of “Nothing to Hide” and the clash of guitars and drums at the beginning of “Am I a Good Man” appear like the first stoplight after a long stretch of open road. After “Am I a Good Man” the mix comes to its emotional climax with Chance the Rapper’s “Long Time”, with Hot Chip’s minimalist tear-jerker “Made in the Dark” in between. The relese of “Sweet Virginia” follows. Then slow n sad, n soft, “White Lexus” and also slow n sad but more intense and louder “Ignorant People”. Along with “Dangerous Blues” which follows, “Igorant People” creates a second emotional climax (the two songs with their contrasting sounds are tied together by their similar intensity), which is immediately diffused by Cooder’s medley. Its leisurely guitar sounds surprisingly natural after “Dangerous Blues” and I can’t tell you why. Then we finish with that ever-so-pretty Monroe Bros. record and the goofy stomper “Down Home Girl”. The end is kind of all over the place, but I like it.

Oh Red! and Quiet Whiskey are two I’ve used together a couple times before. A similar good-time feel and similar three-note horn riffs link Wolf’s dirt-under-the-fingernails houserocking with Harris’s more sophisticated jump blues. The rolling sax loop in Fatlip’s “Joe’s Turkey” provides a decent transition out of “Quiet Whiskey”.

Least faverit transition: I Got the Shit → Chicken and Meat. Doesnt sound good to me: they’re just too different. Actually, Chicken and Meat → Drones over Bklyn doesnt sound that great either. I had to put on something from Das Racist tho, and if it didnt fit I'wz just goina haff to wedge it in. I had to use crayzee glue in a couple spots to make this mix stay together. I might ’ve made the joints stronger if I’d taken more time to work on it, but I blasted this thing together pretty quick before my trip to my homeland. I was just giddy over how well the timing worked out.

Faverit transition: Made in the Dark → Long Time