Cooking out, friends over, getting bombed.

Base song: “American Defense” - Son House

1. “Hardtime Killing Floor Blues” - Skip James
2. “Travelling Riverside Blues” - Robert Johnson
3. “Wang Dang Doodle” - Howlin’ Wolf
4. “I Can’t Be Satisfied” - Muddy Waters
5. “Dry Well Blues” - Charley Patton
6. “Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan)” - Bessie Smith
7. “Blues In G” - B.B. King
8. “Doggone My Good Luck Soul” - Hattie Hudson
9. “Boom Boom” - John Lee Hooker
10. “Anna Lee” - Robert Nighthawk

Bonus: “Take Five” - Hound Dog Taylor

Genius is better at splo blues than I’d have thought.

I’m going to be all perverse and shit and pick some West African music (even though I’m rooting for the US in real life).  Here’s hoping Genius actually works on said track…  Annnndddd, that’s a no. 

A compromise track: America - K’naan featuring Mos def and Chali 2na

1.  Senegal Fast Food - Amadou & Mariam
2.  Ja Funmi - King Sunny Ade
3.  Daande Lenol - Baba Mal & Mansour Seck
4.  Fire In Freetown - K’naan

I’m stopping there, since I’ve now hit upon Genius’ serious failing when it comes to anything that isn’t mainstream—it can’t get beyond the metric that K’naan is from Africa, so therefore all the other songs in the mix should be from African artists.  And the only ones Genius recognizes from my iTunes are Amadou & Mariam, King Sunny Ade, and Baba Mal.  I figured Genius would at least realize that K’naan is hiphop and throw in some other non-African hiphop.  Guess not.

Yay Africa!  Boo Genius!

Based on “Let’s Go”—The Feelies

1. “Chinatown”—Luna
2. “You Tore Me Down”—Yo La Tengo
3. “Old World”—The Modern Lovers
4. “Favorite Thing”—The Replacements
5. “1,000,000”—R.E.M.
6. “Cattle and Cane”—The Go-Betweens
7. “Venus”—Television
8. “On The Roof”—The Feelies
9. “Ginger Snaps”—Dean & Britta
10. “Another the Letter”—Wire

Futzing around with smart playlists in iTunes. I wish they’d fix that broken multi-tiered smart playlist thing already. I almost have my shuffle trained up.

At the risk of being overly pedantic: Etta James’ Wallflower was the “answer song” to Hank Ballard’s Work With Me Annie. The next in the series was Ballard’s “Annie Had a Baby (Can’t work no more),” making the context pretty obvious.

Just as with the words “rock” and “roll” themselves, so many songs of that period were basically one long code for intercourse, including Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “Rock Me Mama” (1944) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6SE5120UmE

In that vein, I also like Washboard Sam’s “Let Me Play Your Vendor” (In the song, a vendor is a Seeburg jukebox.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZxsYUEAofM

Genius List based on: A Method - TV on the Radio

1. You are a Runner and I am my Father’s Son - Wolf Parade
2. KC Accidental - Broken Social Scene
3. Leaf House - Animal Collective
4. Communist Daughter - Neutral Milk Hotel
5. Neighborhood #3 (Power’s Out) - Arcade Fire
6. The Clock - Thom Yorke
7. Dark Center of the Universe - Modest Mouse
8. Radio Cure - Wilco
9. Fiery Crash - Andrew Bird
10. Brackett WI - Bon Iver

Opop, I’m actually somewhat surprised, since it bases its metrics on what people buy, as well.  But I ran into the same problem when I put some French pop dance into it; it came up with a bunch of French music instead of dance music.  Though I suppose that would have been different if it had been Daft Punk.

Can we just talk about Wanda Jackson in that Let’s Have a Party video?  Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that she’s the absolute least “Rock n Roll” looking person, ever, singing that song, unironically?  Or that she can barely move in that dress, which becomes horrifically apparent when she sings the line about doing the twist?

It’s comical, since it’s such a contrast with her voice, which is pure sex, imo.

That’s what strikes me as odd about my particular choice.  K’naan isn’t all that obscure, and his sound isn’t really “African” at all.  The inspiration for a lot of his work is life in Somalia, and he’ll occasionally sample something a little more traditional, but he doesn’t do anything in the usual African Music metaphor, at all.  It’s almost funny that Genius only wanted to pick stuff like Amadou & Mariam, because they couldn’t be further apart in terms of their sound.

BTW, I couldn’t get Genius to recognize Fela Kuti at all (my original choice for base track would have been Africa, Center Of The World).  Though I think that’s more due to the manner in which I obtained it.

Oh, and I guess it’s possible that the “what people buy” metric could be partly to blame - I’m fairly sure that K’naan’s audience, at least in iTunes land, is white World Music fans.  I’d guess that a large number of the people who are buying K’naan are also buying King Sunny Ade and not buying any of the other hiphop stuff I happen to have.

I would have thought Genius would pair K’naan with M.I.A., though - it’s who he has the most in common with, in sound as well as in backstory.

This yank is rooting for Ghana. GHANA!!!! I’m planning the most awesome green-yellow-red outfit possible.

The Internets say that’s a young Glen Campbell playing guitar behind Wanda Jackson.

I’m getting sorted for Sunday’s England game with Germany. I have a German colleague over, so I need to get in some English and German beers, and will have the theme to The Great Escape on the music machine.

I saw Wanda Jackson perform, what, a decade ago?  This grandmotherly old lady… and she ROCKED THE FRIGGIN’ HOUSE.

I am considering printing out that picture of Clinton & Bocanegra drinking beers in the locker room to tape next to the TV as a further good-luck charm.

And as for all-American psych-up music, I think you need look no further than the steaming pile of cheese lathered all over the sountrack to 1986’s Transformers: The Movie.  Specifically, Stan Bush’s “Dare” and “The Touch.”  They utterly lack even a hint of irony—their un-self-conscious earnestness is overwhelming. 

I really wanted to do a Genius playlist based off The Complete Banker, from the Divine Comedy’s new album, but iTunes Genius went Galt on me.  Here’s the youtube anyway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dbsFmEf37g

Bleh. Had a playlist, lost it. Try 2, All In On Cynical America:

1. “Star Spangled Banner”, Jimi Hendrix
2. “Born in the USA”, Bruce Springsteen
3. “Be Prepared”, Tom Lehrer
4. “Living On A Prayer”, Bon Jovi
5. “Ghost Town”, Shiny Toy Guns
6. “99 Luftballons”, Nena
7. “Sailing to Philadelphia”, Mark Knopfler and James Taylor
8. “Life Is A Lemon”, Meat Loaf
9. “Voices”, Rev Theory
10. “Pride”, U2

(Yes, I am contrarian sometimes…)

Landon Donovan deserves another medal: for hot Hot HOTtest use of the US Flag - evah!

Speaking of rock music and soccer (‘scuse me, football) did y’all see Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton sitting together at the World Cup?  Mick seems be giving the Big Dog some pointers.

“And that kick—didja see that, Bill?  That’s what we call “off side.”  Not allowed, that is.”
“Mmmhmm.  US can’t get no satisfaction today, can we?”
“Ha ha, Bill.  Right.”

Speaking of rock music and soccer (’scuse me, football) did y’all see Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton sitting together at the World Cup?  Mick seems be giving the Big Dog some pointers.

Neat pics.  I’m actually more amused by the presence of Terry McAuliffe with the Big Dog… I knew the two were close, but T-Mac really strikes me as more of a Bill Clinton groupie than a friend.

Thanks, Murrow Fan.  Yeah, I don’t know what McAuliffe’s been doing since he lost the Dem leadership job.  Maybe he’s helping Bill with the project of promoting soccer/football in the US.