Music from head to toe, part 3
Before we begin with Part 3, I’d like to include one song meant for Part 2 that I totally spaced. I had a “wrist” song and a “finger” song but totally forgot the “hand” song. So here is…
“Hand in Your Head,” Money Mark – Perhaps best known for his work with the Beastie Boys during the 1990s, Money Mark also has dropped several solo releases. This track originally appeared on his first solo LP, which was mostly just his voice, his multitudinous keyboards and a drum machine. The version you’re listening to is off his second full-length release, which featured an actual band: Mark on keyboards and vocals, Sean Lennon on guitar and bass, and Russell Simins (of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) on drums.
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Part 3 of Music from Head to Toe will include songs that reference the naughty bits. If you are offended by such words, then you’re probably not reading this Web log anyway, so suck it! As always, right-click to steal download.
“Monkey Hips and Rice,” Dub Narcotic Sound System – For some, the vocals of Calvin Johnson (formerly of Beat Happening and a founder of legendary indie label K Records) render Dub Narcotic unlistenable. I tolerate his “singing” only because I like the music so much. While this song isn’t their best example, DNSS’s whitey-funk can get you moving.
“Ms. Fat Booty,” Mos Def – Once considered the “little brother” of groups in the Native Tongues Posse, the multitalented Mos Def dropped his solo debut in 1999 on which this song appears. He’s also appeared in several movies (”Brown Sugar,” “Italian Job,” “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”) and will portray Chuck Berry in the upcoming “Cadillac Records.”
“Flies On My Dick,” Ween – As much as I enjoy Ween’s “White Pepper”-and-later era of more cohesive songwriting, I did become a Ween fan from their oddball, lo-fi and beautifully profane earlier work. “Flies On My Dick,” from 1992’s “Pure Guava,” has all those qualities in spades.
“Moist Vagina,” Nirvana – This song was released as the B-side to the “All Apologies” single from 1993. I can’t imagine why it wasn’t included on “In Utero.” Seriously, though… I think this is the perfect Nirvana song: soft/loud dynamics, AB song structure and minimal lyrics screamed repetitively. Plus, it’s called “Moist Vagina.”
“Pubic Enemy,” A Tribe Called Quest – Back in the late 1980s, many rappers cared enough about their listeners to remind them to always “pack the plastic,” if you will. “Pubic Enemy” describes the consequences of not wearing (or requiring Mr. Right Now to wear) a “Jimmy hat,” as it were:
Suddenly, she’s been distracted
By something that has been attracted
She poked and poked and smacked at it
Then she broke down and she scratched it
The original version appeared on ATCQ’s debut LP; this version is a remix that uses the bassline from “The Adventures of Super Rhyme.”
“Pink Eye (On My Leg),” Ween – I suppose this song could have worked for Part 1, too. If you have a dog(s), you might want to get them out of the room before you play this, lest they start barking, too.
“Eight Feet Under,” NIL8 – It really is a shame that NIL8 didn’t become a nationally known rock band. Beloved here in Springfield, NIL8 are well-known around the Midwest but couldn’t quite break through nationally. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on the band’s part, though. Shameless name-check alert: In high school, the rock band I was in had the good fortune to open for NIL8 on many occasions, including the 1992 Hobgoblinspookadelic at the Hilton, of all places.
Well, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed listening to the songs as much as I did compiling them. Invaluable assistance provided by Audio Player, Zamzar (recommended by Shoo), Skreemr (recommended by Reverend Dave) and Hotlinkfiles.com.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I recommended Zamzar? Don’t remember, but I think you should check out http://muxtape.com/ - I think it’s right up your alley.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Re: Zamzar… yup, you did. Almost a year ago today. And Muxtape definitely looks interesting. I’ll check it out.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
NIL8? pedophiles. glad they never made it out. i cant stand the shit.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Hater.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I went to their website…a long time ago. Another coworker from Spfld. tells me it’s down on occasion. But at one time you could download their whole catalog, I had to get “6-inch” out of nostalgia. Reminded me of all that underage drinking in Leo’s basement. Weak promotion and penile-related humor on stage, purely for the sake of penile-related humor, was likely the issue. That and their innate talent for making a Marshall sound like complete shit…non-existant bass, you could go on…Then again, Leo’s bro was doing their sound…
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
:)
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:34 pm
E, when I got into work today, it turns out I could’ve played hooky (I didn’t think we had enough people here this evening, so I didn’t even bring it up last night), left straight from work, and still probably would have made it to Albuquerque in time for that show. I was going to try to convince you to go, en route. But then I got online, and I guess it changed venues…and now the show is at 7:30 or something…So, screw it. You should still try to go, sounds like it’ll be done early.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Steve: You’re right. Their CDs sounded terrible. Way too trebly. Even the bass sounded trebly.
But what’s wrong with dick jokes?
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
steve, it’s only like 6hrs down here from denver. i couldnt go to the show, anyway. i got too much shit going down tomorrow. looks like it may be an all-nighter.. then beers at noon tomorrow!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Nothing wrong with dick jokes, except maybe when you hear 1 to 10 12-year old dick jokes in between each song…it was overkill, and even at the wise age of 16, it all seemed a little immature. Their shitty sound is really what made me curious…I remember thinking, “they must really prefer to sound like that…they’re toast.” They managed to sound so shitty that even the lo-fi-labled stuff coming out around the same time and in years later sounded so much better than them…and those bands were even using crappier gear, whether they wanted to or not. Keep in mind, I was into all those Brit-shoegazer bands at the time, too, which you seem to be developing somewhat of an interest in, right now…based on download requests a couple days back, and that kind of persona had no place in their world, which in turn, I thought was way cooler. Then there was that one show at the Douglas Park Pavillion when JW dropped trou and the other members took turns trying to shoot drumsticks like arrows up his ass, if I remember correctly. That was kinda funny though, but still a shitty sounding show. E, yeah I know…it was like 2 this afternoon, and a 6 hour drive on a beautiful day, followed by a kick-ass rock show, sounded better than working. And hell, since you’re up all night studying, don’t let my drunk ass bother you when I come knocking on your door to pass out for the night.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
well, i made it through 10sec of nilate. that’s 10sec longer than i could listen to the Smiths. i guess im still bitter at johnny marr for fucking up modest mouse. although, mm was probably on their way out without his assistance. i guess i cant blame him for riding what was left for a few extra bucks.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Yeah, I had to Youtube ‘em (NIL8), just to see what was up. They don’t appear to be looking, or getting older. Jesus, they’ve been around longer than REM.