That'd be the Mekons, and I wouldn't argue that they are TBR&RBITW these days, but they sure as hell were at the end of the 1980s. It'll take me a while to internalize the show, so this is more of a quickie introduction for those of you who are going "Cripes, what's old Jimmy on about now?"
I will say it was a sobering little experience. I mean the Mekons aren't an actual fulltime rock band now, but an ensemble which re-aggregates every once in a while for a quick tour to keep the franchise alive. This time they are pumping a new album, Natural.
The thing is that they performed the entire show sitting down on chairs arranged in a semi-circle, facing the audience. This kind of emphasized the fact that the tour also commemorates their 30th anniversary. They got together in Leeds in '77, part of the first flowering of Brit punk rock. Thirty years is a long fucking time. I have no idea who The Best Rock & Roll Band In The World is these days, haven't since Sleater-Kinney peaked almost a decade ago, but it's short odds that everyone in it was born after the Mekons were formed.
Oddly for a band whose good live shows have always outnumbered the bad 'uns by at least 2 to 1, the best YouTube clip I found to post here is not a live cut, but one of a few actual music videos the Mekons ever made. It manages to convey the sloppy intensity of the band's live shows.
Is it walking the walk of their literary Marxism, or their semi-anarcho approach to the world, or their secret desire to emulate the Grateful Dead? I dunno, but the band has apparently extended its blessings to fans and let them post a good couple dozen live shows as audio files for listening and downloading. To experience the Mekons at the peak of their powers, you might want to check out the version of "Amnesia" in this 1969 show. Just click that link. See the light gray box at the top of the big window? Scroll down to cut 13 and click on it. Should stream right out of your computer's speakers.
October 3, 2007
I Saw The Best Rock & Roll Band In The World Tonight
February 23, 2007
Take Five--Top Girl's/Women's Names For Pop Songs
[Take Five. Every Friday, Fire on the Mountain picks a category and lists five cool things in it. It's up to you, dear reader, to add your own in the Comments section. Just click on the word "comments" at the bottom of the piece and you're off to the races.]
Might call this one Five by Five.
It got started when iTunes random brought up Arthur Alexander's "Anna" and I fell to thinking about the fine old '50s rock and roll practice of recording songs with female names as the title. I think the theory was that there was such a plentiful supply of Sherrys, Donnas, Susies, Rhondas, etc. around that literal-minded boyfriends buying 45s and asking for dedications on radio request shows might just get a group some sort of half-assed hit.
So are there names that particularly lend themselves to pop glory? You just betcha! Here are five of the best names and, to prove my contention, for each one five totally worthy songs with the chosen name in the name in the title itself for you to check out.
TAKE FIVE
Annie The title rule means I couldn't even include Buddy Holly's "Midnight Shift" and The Band's "The Weight."
Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy--Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Poke Salad Annie--Tony Joe White
Work With Me, Annie--Hank Ballard & The Midnighters (actually all of the"Annie" trilogy)
Annie's Lament--Annie Ross & Brad Mehldau
Wildhorse Annie--Tom Russell & Patricia Hardin
Valerie Oddly, all five of these have just the name as title and I've got as many more, but only a couple where the "Valerie" is part of a longer title.
Valerie--The Zutons
Valerie--The Monkees
Valerie--Ghost Of The Robot
Valerie--Ronnie & The Hi-Lites
Valerie--Richard Thompson & Ry Cooder
Mary Ann Throw in Mary Anne (as preferred in the UK) and Marianne (The French) and you've got a hands down winner.
Keep Your Skirts Down, Mary Ann--Aileen Stanley & Billy Murray
May Ann Thomas--Bobby Freeman
Mary Ann--Ray Charles
Mary Ann--Regina Spektor
How Married Are You, Mary Ann?--Bill Anderson
Caroline In the face of some stiff competition, the first song here may be the best of the 25.
Caroline, No--The Beach Boys
I Did Acid With Caroline--Daniel Johnson
Caroline--Kristy McColl
Caroline Oh Yeah Hey!--TéTé
Caroline--Outkast
Sally Like Annie, a plain name, but a lotta tunes, especially ones with "[adjective(s) or noun used adjectivally] Sally" as a title, like two of these.
Mustang Sally--Sir Mack Rice (the man who wrote it)
Sally, Go Round The Roses--The Jaynetts (also The Pentangle, The Great Society, Mitch Ryder, Holly Golightly)
Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley--Lee Dorsey
The Ballad Of Sally--The Mekons
Long Tall Sally--Little Richard
Your turn. Give me another name with five genuinely listenable songs, or five more similarly excellent songs for one of the existing names and win a prize--assuming you have included an email somewhere so I can contact you.
