new cd playlist... variations on a theme
This is the beginning of a songlist for a mixed cd I am working on. Actually, it will end up being two or three cds, obviously, since I have at least a dozen more songs to add. The theme is of a speculative/imaginal Weimar, as represented in the music of Kurt Weill; combined with London and New York punk of the late '70s; and the noirish San Francisco & Los Angeles of Hammett and Chandler. People who are familiar with my musical tastes will recognize the presence of "the usual suspects," i.e., Tom Waits, Nick Cave, John Zorn, Charlie Haden, The Pogues, The Clash, and Sonic Youth.
But, truly, the greatest presence here, the one that overarches everything, even though his name appears nowhere on this list, is Kurt Weill, to whose music I have been listening a great deal of late. It is his direct and indirect influence, and the unique interpretations of his music, that dominates this project. In addition to the interest these songs hold for me, the "larger purpose" this music serves is as inspiration for the project I am currently thinking about/obsessing over/working on... fitfully... as I continue to attempt to draw a picture of the port city of Carthage... the city that haunts my dreams....
W. S. Burroughs: Scandal at the Jungle Hiltons 1:41
Nick Cave: Mack the Knife 4:51
Tom Waits: Walking Spanish 3:05
The Pogues: Metropolis 2:50
Raymond Scott Orchestrette: Naked City 4:43
Tom Waits: Midtown 1:00
John Zorn & Naked City: A Shot in the Dark 3:09
X-Ray Spex: The Day the World Turned Day-Glo 2:50
Siouxsie & The Banshees: The Passenger 4:10
Sonic Youth: The Sprawl 7:42
The Specials: Ghost Town 5:57
The Clash: London Calling 0:00
Talking Heads: Life During Wartime 0:00
Joe Henry: This Afternoon 5:44
(not sure what's here yet... classioal suite/second [?] noir theme)
Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet: Lost in the Stars 0:00
Van Dyke Parks: Johnny Johnson Medley 5:41 /Johnny's Speech 1:45 /No Man's Land :48
Henry Threadgill: The Great Hall
Deborah Harry & The Jazz Passengers: The City and the Sea 8:04
The Persuasions: O' Heavenly Salvation 3:34
(Pirate music here...)
The Pogues: Turkish Song of the Damned
The Ink Spots: I Cover the Waterfront 2:54
Tom Waits: Rainbirds 3:07
Charlie Haden Trio: Speak Low 5:27
P. J. Harvey: Ballad of the Soldier's Wife
Joe Henry: Widows of the Revolution
Tom Waits: Soldier's Things
Stannard Ridgway & The Fowler Bros.: Cannon Song
Magazine: Shot By Both Sides
Mission Of Burma: That's When I Reach For My Revolver
Paul Bley: Kid Dynamite
Zoot Sims & Al Cohn: Improvisation for Unaccompanied Saxophones
(reprise of earlier classical theme... segue into final noir theme)
Willem Breuker Kollektief: Revolver 0:00
Sonny Rollins: Moritat 0:00
Charles Mingus: Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat 0:00