And here’s another self-indulgent shuffle through my iPod.
1. The Sharing Stone by Jack Johnson. His highly distinctive double-tracked voice is an easy giveaway to this amiable, unchallenging track from the Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies long player.
2. Sweet Jane by the Velvet Underground. I’ve got one Velvets album but this one’s not on it, so this comes from NYC Man which is a Lou Reed compilation. Compilations serve a purpose for someone like me who doesn’t have the money, nor the inclination, to buy all the albums by someone I merely like rather than love.
3. Luck Dragon by Crosby and Nash. I thought at first it was from a Crosby solo record but as soon as Nash’s soaring harmony came in, I knew it was from Crosby and Nash, a double album from about a decade ago. Everyone should listen to Jesus of Rio from that record.
4. Apocalypse Dreams by Tame Impala. Very John Lennon this, from the Magical Mystery Tour/I Am The Walrus songbook.
5. Lonely Days by the Beach Boys. Not a clue which album this one’s from, but it sounds somewhere between Smiley Smile and Sunflower, probably near the former. Short and sweet, Carl’s oh-so-sweet vocal on top. Lovely.
6. Astronomy Domine by Pink Floyd. I had to look it up though because I didn’t have a clue. It’s apparently on The Piper At The Gates of Dawn from 1967, but it must be on my partner’s Echoes compilation. This has Psycho Syd Barrett all over it.
7. Weakness by Todd Rundgren. There’s a lot of Hawaii in this shuffle. Jack Johnson comes from there, both Graham Nash and Todd Rundgren live there and the Beach Boys in a somewhat more tenuous connection have a few songs that mention the place. This is latter day riffy Todd from his Arena record.
8. Bad Bad Boy by Nazareth. Yes, another one from a greatest hits compilation, this time featuring the insane tonsils of Dan McCafferty, now sadly retired because of the debilitating effects of COPD.
9. Walk Me To The Bridge by the Manic Street Preachers. No signs of the Manics going away quietly. Their new stuff very much up there with the old stuff. Futurology proves that.
10. Time For Living by the Association. I’ve got this song at least twice but this one is from…yes, I know…their greatest hits! A top American harmony band but sounding absolutely nothing like the Beach Boys. Their 1972 record Waterbeds in Trinidad is stunning.
