This song, more than just about any other I can think of, sums up how I have felt for the last few days. Things have been busy at work with our remodeling and reorganization. Things have been busy for my record label, working on three new releases simultaneously. And, thanks in part to a very energetic puppy, as well as my natural tendency to procrastinate and then do everything at once, things have been busy at home. It's exhilarating and exhausting.
The last few days have been pretty busy and exciting at Treehouse Records (my place of employment).
Yesterday, Mark Olson and Gary Louris - the former frontmen of the Jayhawks - gave a fanastic in-store performance. It got me thinking about my favorite in-stores that we've done over the years, and one of those favorites would have the be The Clean.
"Anything Could Happen" is also an appropriate song of the day because this morning we completed a bold move that would have been difficult to imagine a few years ago. After removing one of our CD racks at the end of last week, six LP browser racks were hauled up from the basement and two rows of shelving for vinyl was added to our floor. My boss Mark joked about "this new analog age" yesterday. Indeed, vinyl is back!
Sometimes a song will randomly pop into my head in the morning and stay there all day. On those days, I don't question it... I call it the Greatest Song of the Day.
It happened again the other day. I was listening to The Fall at work and a customer made the comment, "I've never really got into them because I'm too overwhelmed as to where to start."
My answer to this is well rehearsed by now:
"They're certainly not for everybody, but if you want to take the plunge, a great starting point is the 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong double CD that Beggard Banquet put out a couple years ago. It's the best retrospective compilation (of many) of The Fall's 30+ year history and is very affordable (about $14 for a two CD set at Treehouse). If you're looking to pick up an individual album, however, my favorite is Hex Enduction Hour."
I've had a pretty busy weekend, which is why Song of the Day has been running a little behind. We'll get back up to speed this week. In the meantime, enjoy this amazing tune from Wire's classic third album 154.
As we wrap up the first calendar week of The Greatest Song of the Day it seems like a fine time to celebrate my all-time favorite band, The Clash. Besides, seven days of this experiment... "The Magnificent Seven" ... neat trick, eh?
Corny tie-ins aside, "The Magnificent Seven" is an absolutely fascinating cut. The Clash was such a fearless band, never content with one sound. They were desperate to discover new music from all over the world and were always willing to let these new influences reshape their structure.
This was certainly the case when the band took up residence in Brooklyn in 1980 to start work on their everything-and-the-kitchen sink ("warts and all" is how Joe Strummer would later describe it) triple album Sandinista!. The Clash - especially Mick Jones - ended up immersing themselves in the city's burgeoning hip-hop culture. The Clash were always a socially conscious band, so it makes sense that, given the socially conscious nature of most early rap music, "The Magnificent Seven" would have a little bark to its bite. Strummer's fantastic anti-consumerism lyrics are would pushed this song from a fun historical footnote to a modern classic.
For more fun, check out this great performance on The Tom Snyder Show.
This song, more than just about any other I can think of, sums up how I have felt for the last few days. Things have been busy at work with our remodeling and reorganization. Things have been busy for my record label, working on three new releases simultaneously. And, thanks in part to a very energetic puppy, as well as my natural tendency to procrastinate and then do everything at once, things have been busy at home. It's exhilarating and exhausting.
