Right, this week I think I have it sorted: Contrast Podcast 25 came out today, and here it is, fresh and ripe for your delectation. The theme is "Handclapping" and Tim has assembled a grand podcast comprised of the happy clappy songs submitted by this week's contributors.
The 'cast can be downloaded from this link or you can subscribe using tye handy-dandy RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ContrastPodcast. Be sure to check out next week's offering - it's CP's six-month birthday, and Tim has a surprise for us all...
And without further ado, this episode's playlist [APPLAUSE]:
(00:00) The Ventures - Let’s Go
Tim from the face of today
(02:55) They Might Be Giants - Clap your hands
Clea and Tuesday from (sm)all ages
(04:35) Imperial Teen - Baby
Matt from Earfarm
(08:15) The Residents - Smack your lips (clap your teeth)
ZB from So the wind won’t blow it all away
(12:33) The Meters - The handclapping song
Andy from Circles of Concrete
(15:48) Super XX Man - Coulee city
Murf from False45th
(20:45) Tilly and the Wall - Fell down the stairs
SAS Radio
(23:34) Mary Timony - I fire myself
Victoria from Muruch
(26:45) The Afghan Whigs - Debonair
Bethanne from CTASLS
(31:28) Hood - The negatives
Chip from Donewaiting.com
(35:20) The Replacements - Alex Chilton
Natalie from Mini-Obs
(38:54) OK Go - You’re so damn hot
Heather from I am fuel, you are friends
(42:03) The Auteurs - Bailed Out
Jamie from The Run Out Groove
(46:20) Eskiimo - Patience
Jamie from Squirrelfood.net
(50:20) Boat - Holding all the globes
Rachel from Untitled
(52:17) Ndidi Onukwulu - May be the last time, I don’t know
FiL from Pogoagogo
Before I give you my also-rans (come now, I know you expect them and would be put out were I to omit them), allow me to plug my choice of artist once again in print. When I pootled along to the Vanvcouver Folk Music Festival earlier this year, you may recall that top of my "Must See" list were Feist, the smartass agit-folk of Hammell on Trial and Dan Bern, and dub-punk priestess Ari Up (who sadly was a no-show). But it was the slender, elegant frame of Ndidi channeling elemental blues from somewhere deep within who was to prove my epiphany. Backed by the gitarr-pickin' Madagascar Slim (isn't that the greatest blues name ever??), she is truly magnificent. Keep an eye (and ear) on her. And here's another track that'll knock yer socks off:
Ndidi Onukwulu - Water (buy her album here or e-here)
Alright, alright, keep your shirt on (but the socks can stay off), I'm coming to the runners-up. Though Ndidi was the obvious choice, a few other songs with the clap got a look-in, viz:
Sham 69 - If The Kids Are United (buy here)
Ah, spare a thought for this working-class hero of a ditty, co-opted by Tony Blair as the entrance song for the 2005 Labour Party Conference. Does that mean Tony, Gordon, John et al think they're in with da kidz?!?? Ye gods...
The Cure - Close To Me (buy here)
I'm thinking of dressing up as Robert Smith for Halloween. That should send the neighbourhood kiddies scuttling away in fear...
Le Tigre - Deceptacon (buy here)
I actually prefer the DFA remix, but regardless, this song has some killer lyrics: "I'm a gasoline girl with a vaseline mind," "Your lyrics are dumb like a linoleum floor"
From clapping to crashing. Well, near-crashing, to be precise. You see, Dear Friends, I had a bit of a scare this morning. I had just saddled up the Squealing Pigmobile for the drive to work and was waiting to make a left turn onto a main road. I started my turn, but my underpowered porker of a steed was proving sluggish, so I squeezed down on the accelerator. However, I neglected to remark that the previous night's rain was sitting on top of tarmac polished slick by three months of summer. And so the tyres planed, the Pigmobile skidded, and everything went slo-mo.
The car's snout aimed for a line of traffic, but with a calmness I'm yet to understand I steered into the skid and avoided a collision. But in so doing I overcompensated and began to fishtail, now heading towards the sidewalk. Again I steered surprisingly cooly, the tyres gripped, and the Pigmobile resumed its intended, straight course. I then turned into a sidestreet, pulled over, and tried to reflect objectively on what went wrong as a delayed shot of adrenaline coursed through me.
Ohmigaaaahddd...!! That, Dearest Friends, was a close one. I'm glad to be here still...
The Primitives - Crash (buy here)
On crashing of another kind, day after tomorrow I'm speaking at a conference put on by my employer. While I know the material sufficiently and the audience somewhat, my dread is mounting; I have visions of getting up at the podium and going "Good Morning, my name is FiL and I'll be speaking with you about... er... um... agblapthtapt... I mean... croak... heh heh... mlxphutpthirple... koff koff... er, you folks want to see me do the Dead Parrot sketch instead??" Oh well, it'll only be 45 minutes of dog-and-pony showing. But you can bet that at 8:30 AM Pacific Time I will be sweating profusely and panicking quietly...
The Smiths - Panic (buy here)
And so, Friends, Dear Friends, and Dearest Friends, to bed. You'll probably not see much of me now before this week-end due to the conference and its associated evening social activities (don't get too excited, I doubt they will be exhilarating). Keep well, I shall miss you all.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Of Clapping and Crashing
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Stumble It!
10 comments:
Wow this was a jammed packed post.
First of all I am thankful you are alright and my oh my what composure you have. :)
Good luck FiL I will be thinking of you Thursday morning...And I know you will do a wonderful job as you articulate yourself better than anyone I know.
Just imagine everyone in the audience is an Armadillo.
I LOVED your Contrast Podcast submission it was such an awesome approach. Cheers!
Yup. You have put another album on my 'to buy' list.
Watching the phrasebook sketch makes me think that Borat is terribly unoriginal.
Tim
Hi Fil,
Good morning!
I'm so glad your close call was just a close call, and that you are still with us in one piece.
Safe and sound.
I almost had a wreck yesterday too, but that's about normal for me: I'm a God awful driver. Easily distracted.
I really liked this post...great writing, and funny, and sad, and everything inbetween.
Plus, The Smiths and The Cure in one piece. ;)
How wonderful!
I hope your speech comes out beautifully, and everyone afterwards says, Wow, that was the best speech I've ever heard in my whole entire life!! And then they’ll smile at you and be so jealous, and you’ll be so happy, and not nervous or panicking anymore.
In other words: I wish you all the luck in the world. :)
Happy Wednesday,
~ Ash
I would say "Break a leg" about the speech, but that would clash with near-crash story.
Break only figurative legs, OK. Keep your literal legs and literal other parts intact. The blog army can't afford to lose you now when we've suffered so many other casualties.
If you dress up as Robert Smith, just think of how many times you'll have to EXPLAIN who you are!! (I know, I dressed up my infant to be Willie Nelson, and I tired of the endless explaining!)
FiL,
Well done in dealing with the skid. It's not much fun to have to deal with a skid and it can leave you shaken up for ages... so take it easy for a while.
Good luck with the presentation. You'll be fine. You could always try the "Hi, my name's FiL and I'm an alcaholic.....woops wrong meeting" it usually gets a giggle from thse that understnd the quote. But your new countryfolk may not have the same sense of humour as they do on this side of the pond so be careful!
T
Hi,
just to say, I didn't know NDidi now I do
and there's one more ray in Ikhtonia's sun. It will be warmer when season will come. Thanks
So...How did it go?
FiL,
We've not met, nor do I see any blog-connections other than that most random one -- someone went from your blog to mine, and my Friendly Stat Counter told me.
But I really enjoy your writing style, your choice of pics and drollery, and your tune-selects.
Oh, and judging by your links you have great taste in cheese.
Am hoping your adrenaline levels have dropped to normal since this post (public speaking and aquaplane adventures are both rather scary).
Come by mine if you'd like to see photos and other creative activity almost as random as my stumbling across your blog.
Dearest Rachel, many thanks for the encouragement - much appreciated!
Dearest Tim, she is quite the find, eh?
Dearest Ash, thank you for your concern. Please do take care on the road yourself. And thank you for your encouragement as well!
Dearest Mentok, it does seem like there have been quite a few blog casualties, doesn't it? Physical legs are intact, though must say I ran a spell on the treadmill today & they hurt like the bejeezus...
Dearest Nats, I think you're right reharding the Halloween costume. Dearest Wife & I went to a party as Sid & Nancy a few years ago - no-one knew who we were. I despair...
Dearest T, I gave the AA intro a miss - not sure they'd have appreciated that humour. And I've stopped shaking now.
Mon cher ZB, je suis ravi que Ndidi te plait (puis-je te tutoyer...?)
And Dear Lori, thank you so much for your comment, kind words, and invitation. I took you up on your offer and had a brief visit - most enchanting stuff! I will certainly return and browse more fulsomely once I have the leisure to do so.
I do so love blogosphere serendipity...
Post a Comment