Once again kids, yours truly is handing over the mixing duties to Jack Feerick — who brought us a mix that “gave the drummer some.” This week’s mix celebrates a season that, at least for me in the Bay Area, lasts from May to October. I’m talking about summer, and all the good (and not-so-good) things that go with it. See ya next week!

–Ted (AKA Py Korry)

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There’s a website I like, called One-Minute Vacation. The content is simple enough—an ever-growing collection of digital field recordings donated by the site users themselves—but even more than the clips themselves I love the idea; that sound alone, even out of context, can transport us, can take our heads somewhere else in space and time.

It’s not just ambient sound that does this. We’ve all got our personal pantheon of “summer songs,” and it’s about this time that the blogs and the corporate sites start running polls about our favorites. (Not so long ago, it would have been the radio stations doing that.) But what’s a “summer song,” anyway? Is it a song that sounds best when you hear it in the summertime? Or is it a song that, whatever time of year you hear it, reminds you of summer? Or is it a little of both?

Try this; download this mix, and wait a while. Wait until winter comes to your hemisphere, for a day when the sky is the color of slate and the wind is rattling around your windows. Then listen. Close your eyes, as appropriate; where do you end up?

Open on the sound of the Campo del Principe in Granada, Spain, on a sunny day in May. You’ve got the morning free and you’re meeting your best friend at the café across from the park. She’s got a table on the terrace; the day is already hot, and she’s already ordered you iced coffee, sweet and creamy. (more…)

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This is the time of the year when graduates go through the ritual where they transition from one stage of life to another. It’s certainly an emotional time for all involved, and it does mark endings and beginnings. I don’t know about you, but when I graduated from high school, it was really strange to think that I was finished; that I wasn’t coming back in the fall. But I got over it, and quickly moved on. When I finished college, I was just excited to finally complete a degree that took far-too-long to get. I was ready to start my “adult life” and enter the world of careers, maybe marriage, kids, mortgages, and all that grown-up stuff. But what did I do? Um, I dove right back into school after a year of working at some crappy jobs. Ah, I guess I wasn’t quite ready to leave the womb. But enough about me. Here’s to you! The class of 2008. Go forth and kick some ass.

“I’m Coming Out,” Diana Ross

It seems this song has become a huge graduation song among “the kids.” I’m surprised it’s survived this long, but I suppose it’s a classic — even if it’s a classic performed by a really, really, really, really, bad person. (more…)

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You what song I can’t get out of my mind? “Mambo No. 5.” And really it’s only the part of the song where he says “The trumpet! The trumpet!” If there’s a perfume called “Essence of Hell No. 5″ Lou Bega is certainly the creator of it. I can’t stand the song, but what do I listen for? Yep, “The trumpet! The trumpet!” I hate you Lou! But I’m grateful, too. Simply because Lou gave me an idea for a mix. Yes, “Mambo No. 5″ made me start thinking of pop songs where the trumpet takes a solo, and once I started down that road, well the following mix fell into place pretty quickly. Enjoy!

“Handlebars,” Flobots

From Denver, this band is one of those rare acts who was helped by radio — before they got signed to a major label. How often does that happen in this day and age? I started hearing this tune on my local modern rock station in San Francisco a couple of month ago, and was struck by the clever way the band blends musical styles. The are also noted for their commitment to social activism and progressive causes. Trumpet solo by Joe Ferrone. (more…)

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It’s almost June, and time for people to completely lose it when it comes to locking in all the elements that goes into a wedding. If you’re a regular to this feature, you know that I logged in quite a few years as a mobile DJ. Weddings were my bread and butter, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played the following songs in this mix, but I can tell you that even at the most stressful weddings, these songs have the most soothing effect over Bridezillas, Fatherzillas, Motherzillas, Groomzillas, and every other “Zilla” you’ve ever met at a wedding reception.

Nat King Cole/Natalie Cole, “Unforgettable”

When I first heard this single, I really thought it would have a limited shelf life. But it’s 17 years later, and it’s still a top “first dance” song. I haven’t heard this song in years (because I don’t do the mobile DJ thing anymore), but it’s clear that this had “classic” written all over it and I was just too cynical to think that anything could equal the original. (more…)

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My copy of Paste magazine came in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and if you don’t know about Paste, they provide readers with a CD sampler in each issue. While checking out the latest offerings on this month’s sampler, one song in particular made me perk up my ears. It’s by a band called HoneyHoney whose song “Little Toy Gun” got quite a few spins in my car last week. The more I listened to the song, the more I played the music geek game of “Spot the influence.” The more I played the game, the more my mind started to find “sound alike” artists, and thus this mix was born!

Etta James, “Something’s Got a Hold On Me”

I could have included the “Oh, I love this song”-inducing “At Last,” but why go with a top-of-the-hour cooker, when you can go with a sleeper and get more mileage out of it? (more…)

Hiya kids! This week I have a guest DJ mixin’ it up for you. Jack Feerick wrote a great Popdose Guide to Traffic and, unsatisfied with lack of music love drummers usually get, has put together an eclectic Mix Six featuring some very imaginative rhythms. Before we get started, an obligatory drummer joke:

A man walks into a shop and says to the shop assistant: “Excuse me, I’d like to buy a guitar pick, and some strings.”

The shop assistant looks uncomprehendingly at his customer, and says “Pardon?”

“I’d like a guitar pick please, and some strings.”

The shop assistant thinks on this for a while, and then turns to his customer and says “You’re a drummer, aren’t you?”

“Yeah! How did you know, man?”

“This is a fish and chip shop.”

And now, on with the show! Take it away, Jack.

–Py Korry

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I’ve played with a lot of drummers, and they’ve all had a drum key — but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one actually using it. Good tuning, though, can turn a well-played drum part into not just a hook, but a melodic hook. To wit, here are six tunes where the drums sing.

A note: I’m disqualifying Phil Collins from this list, because (a) everybody hates Phil Collins, and (b) despite his considerable flaws as a songwriter, personality, and human being, he is an absolute ace at making the drums sing. And, truth be told, his hateful earworms would utterly dominate this list if steps are not taken to prevent it. I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise I will be completely successful.

(more…)

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Rush is probably a band I’ve seen perform live more than any other band. They’ve lasted this long as a recording and touring rock band probably because they don’t do the stupid stuff other rock stars do — and then end up on “Behind the Music” 20 years later. Their primary focus is the music, and all the other stuff that goes with being a popular rock band is fluff that they would rather not dabble in. Indeed, they keep rather low profiles — despite the fact that they have a large and loyal fan base that would probably love it if they were the “I want to touch the people who by my records” kind of guys. But they are not, and when people come to their concerts (or listen to their records) they do so because they want to see and hear three guys who are very accomplished musicians perform in a manner that clearly demonstrates after 34 years of recording and touring, this band has not rested on his laurels.

The older Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart gets, the more they put into their shows. Since the mid-’90s, Rush has performed three hour shows that give fans a lot of value for their money. They play their long-form songs like “Natural Science,” “2112,” “The Trees,” and “La Villa Strangiato” and then push the energy level higher with drum solo that spans a number of musical genres (rock, African, electronic, and jazz). I took my wife and daughter to a Rush show the other night (both of whom have never seen the band play live), and they loved it. My wife commented that she had never seen someone’s hands move that fast during a drum solo. And indeed, Peart’s drum solos have evolved into fully formed musical pieces that transcend the stereotype of the self-indulgent drummer who just bangs away at a kit without an ear for musicality.

So here we go with a live mix of songs that showcase the band through the decades! (more…)

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“Theme From Shaft,” Isaac Hayes

MGM was behind this film, it made a ton of money at the box office, Isaac Hayes won an Oscar for the theme song, and yet the movie itself looks like crap. Maybe it’s the lousy VHS copies I’ve viewed over the years, but I thought for a “major motion picture” the production values would have been better. After a quick Wiki search, I learned that MGM budgeted the film at a little over $1.1 million, so perhaps they weren’t expecting the film to do much in terms of box office action. Twelve million dollars later, MGM rode the, um, Shaft cash cow home for two film sequels and a few TV movies. Damn right!

“You Should Be Dancing,” Bee Gees

When Saturday Night Fever came out, I’m sure people were drawn to it for the dancing and the music — and didn’t bother to notice the R rating. Paramount Pictures, with a successful soundtrack screaming up the charts, was certainly getting an earful from “the suits” at Gulf & Western, who were probably pushing for a re-edit of the film so younger kids and grandmothers could see it. They got their way with a PG version a year later. (more…)

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If there’s a theme to this mix, it comes from the movie title The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The vanity projects of TV and movie stars sometimes have the sad side effect of charting on the Top 40. Sometimes, however, I think there really is a God, because there are times when we’re spared from hearing some of these songs on the radio or seeing the video — when MTV and VH1 were in the business of playing videos, that is.

Everybody buckled in? Okay, hang on, ’cause it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Goldie Hawn, “A Hard Day’s Night”

The fact that George Martin actually asked Goldie Hawn to do this horrible cover makes me think he was just trying to find an excuse to be in the same room with her. This is so god-awful that it’s worth at least one listen. Plus, there’s a great introduction from when Goldie was on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. (more…)

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I’ve been watching Gene Simmons Family Jewels on and off since the series began, and for some reason, there was a bit of a marathon session last week. All the KISS merchandise shown in Simmons’s office on the show got me thinking about the amount of cash I laid down at the register for KISS stuff when I was but a boy. In sixth grade, KISS was a band that I worshipped, and my friends worshipped them too. We used to paint our faces (probably like millions of KISS fans), play air guitar to KISS records, and generally act like idiotic fanboys. And when not doing these things, it seemed like all we talked about was KISS. I wanted to play bass because of Gene Simmons, but my parents didn’t have enough money to pay for lessons. I used to mow lawns in my neighborhood to get money to buy the occasional KISS LP (Alive!, Destroyer, and Rock and Roll Over), posters of the band, Creem and Circus magazine (always great sources for KISS pics), and I even wanted to see them when they toured in support of the album Love Gun. Alas, my parents wouldn’t let me go.

The only one who’s more disappointed
that I couldn’t go see the Love Gun tour
in this pic was my dog. (c. 1977)

I bring all this up because even though KISS went from a rock band to a cartoonish joke to a moneymaking machine, they were, for many boys and girls growing up in the mid-’70s, the “hottest band in the land.” KISS was no joke to those of us who loved them for the makeup and the amazing stage shows. However, despite all the antics, it really was the music they made in their heyday (1974-1977) that fired up our young imaginations and fueled my preteen entry into rock music. What’s fascinating is that after all these years KISS still has the power to grab the spotlight and take us back to a time when we wanted to rock and roll all night and party ev-uh-ree day! (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself there.)

For this mix, I contacted a couple of my friends who are huge KISS fans, and together we cobbled together our top six KISS songs of all time. (more…)