The Soundtrack to Today’s Exercise.

Posted on by Opher

I have literally thousands of tracks on my iPod. I put all my favourite tracks on it.

I put it to shuffle and this is what came out today:

Wang Dang Doodle – Howlin’ Wolf

Good old fifties Chicago Blues. Hubert Sumlin on guitar. All laid down in the Chess Studio in one take. No overdubs. A great fun Willie Dixon number. A macho good time number, upbeat and full of bragging. We’re gonna do that Wang Dang Doodle all night!

Mushroom Cloud – Love

That vision of nuclear war from Love. A song of the times. We don’t seem to worry about nuclear holocaust any more. Maybe we should?

Long Grey Mare – Fleetwood Mac

Interesting to see the sexual politics of the sixties. In the fifties sex was obscene but it was alright to kill.

We Could Be So Good Together – Doors

More sexual politics. I’ll tell you wicked lies.

Hard To Handle – Otis Redding

Now this was Otis Redding the King of Soul. Go back with him tonight and he’ll show you the best time in the world – guaranteed.

Porpoise Mouth – Country Joe and the Fish

A psychedelic song of love.

I like a varied fayre. Great stuff.

5 thoughts on “The Soundtrack to Today’s Exercise.”

  1. All Chess 1950’s recordings were one take as they were in mono. There was no extra tracks to put anything else on top.
    Did the two minutes and ten seconds of Fleetwood Mac really amount to “sexual politics”? The recording was actually a throw-away in-studio balance exercise for Mike Vernon to get a good sound balance on bass and mouth organ.

    1. I see you agree about 50s Blues.
      Just look at the lyrics which were overtly sexual – a great change from the ultra-conservative view of sexuality prior to the 60s in white culture. I would very much argue that a song of that quality can never be considered a throw-away.

      1. Overtly sexual? I really don’t think so, unless you’re some kind of nun perhaps?
        What “brushing” in the morning, and “putting to bed at night”, “feeding every day and when I did in my spur, you turn the other way”?
        It’s sort of Barbara Cartland and Jilly Cooper!
        I can only suggest that you read what Mike Vernon has to say about it.

  2. Who cares what Mike Vernon thought of it? I’m putting my opinion.
    I think you’d find a nun would not catch on. Are you really saying the song isn’t overtly sexual?

    1. Overtly means without concealment or secrecy, this
      I think the word you are looking for is metaphor which means a figure of speech in which a word or a phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. The song is metaphorically sexual.
      Had Greeny sung “I’m gonna plunge my willy into you” or words to that effect then that WOULD be overtly sexual.

Comments are closed.