Make My Day

This morning I substitute-DJed on our weekly British music program, The British Breakfast.
For me, doing a 'British' show pretty much means little more than taking Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Nina Hagen out of my collection.
To demonstrate how easy it is to do a British show, I burned two hours worth of Brit tunes onto CDs, added a few choice bits to the pile and left them all at home.

For two hours I kept reminding myself how easy this show would have been had I brought those CDs with me...but it was a good show nonetheless.


The British Breakfast , April 12 2008


The Clash- I'm So Bored with the USA
Who isn't?

Marianne Faithfull- Broken English
Don't say it in German. Say it in brooookenn English.

Al Stewart- Dark and Rolling Sea
The Move-Don't Make My Baby Blue

Buzzcocks- Fiction Romance

What do you think a 'buzzcock' is? The stuff on the interweb isn't true- can you believe that?
I found the real answer in a book I read a year ago- the book (The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes) includes a short glossary of 18th century English criminal slang (or cant as Hughes refers to it) - a buzzcock is pretty much the same as a buzz-gloke or a buzzcloak. They hung out with pradnappers, fogle-hunters and bung-divers and the best of them were known as boman prigs. They were given this name because of their rum daddles.

Now give me my wallet back.

Luv Machine- Witch's Wand
From a Schlepalation.

Beatles- Taxman
I couldn't resist this cheap shot. All those IRS ads...I played this song as a public service announcement.

Jethro Tull- King and Country
Back in ye olde days, America had a mad King named George. King George used American taxes to fund foreign wars that the average American didn't particularly support; eventually a revolution was staged, a republic was established and America decided that it would never have a King again.
Funny how that all worked out.

The Open Mind - Magic Potion
It's about getting high. On life, I mean.
Don't use drugs.
This has been a public service announcement.

The Kinks- Brainwashed
"You look like a real human being but you don't have a mind of your own..."

Man, I'm starting to dig the new Battlestar Galactica TV show but I didn't know the Kinks wrote a song about it...in 1972!
Maybe it's about something else.

Alan Parsons- Breakdown
FREEDOM! FREEDOM! WE WILL ALL OBEY!

Damien Dempsey -Celtic Tiger
Where we gonna live, what we gonna do?
We'll have to move in with the Woman-in-the-Shoe

Oh man, don't remind me.

Brian Eno- Baby's On Fire
I think she is. But I'm not tellin'. Much.

Thin Lizzy- Bad Reputation
I very recently learned that two women I know (in real life) have been talking about me.
For weeks!
I didn't even know that they knew each other.
Against all odds and reason, this ongoing dialogue seems to be working in my favor.

Kate Bush -Deal With God
As if to confirm this, I get a wholly unexpected call from the president of my Pacific Northwest Fan Club. She wants some Kate Bush.
Kate Bush?
I have a total of about 75 songs with me-total- and whatta ya know? One of them is by Kate Bush.
Today has a groove.

Clannad- Suil a Ruin
Huh? This was supposed to be a different song... I musta burned the wrong track...this will have to do until my next show, which is in about 12 hours.
It's a fine song and a fine song isn't gonna spoil my groove.

Fairport Convention- The Way I Feel
Is pretty good right now.

The Pretty Things- She Says Good Morning
She did! It was a morning of Good Mornings, which makes for a good morning indeed, if you get what I'm greeting at, 'yknow?
It's the kind of April morning that leads to a June drum circle. Ya with me on this?
Any answer is correct so don't go straining yerself.

One weekend soon, my DJ buddy Buzzy and I are gonna do a two-hour show devoted entirely to the 35+ year history of the Pretty Things.
Seriously. The band deserves it.

Pink Floyd- Biding My Time
Tomorrow morning I get to do this all over again.

Pentangle- Blacksmith
When she sings she will "do her duty", what does she mean? Is this song as sexist as it sounds? It's like 200-year old gangsta rap in threes and with a melody... oh,OK.
It's not like that at all. Or is it?

Stranglers- Under The Name of Spain
What was that about leather breeches?
What is she saying during the middle?
It's in French, so it must be sexy.
Must not think bad thoughts...

Robyn Hitchcock- How Do You Work This Thing?
The record skipped on this song. Twice. It was operator error on my part.
I'm not making that up...what a great song to fuck-up on!

Damien Dempsey- Negative Vibes
This song is all about not letting petty shit ruin your day. Balm, it is and work, it does.

Snakefinger- Bless Me For I Have Sinned

Procul Harum- Long Gone Geek
Omigod, I thought I had Atomic Rooster cued up and I had Procul Harum on instead.
I got laughed at for that.
Color me a brighter shade of fail.

The Pogues- Love You Till The End
I got hit with a brick today, right upside my head. Wham!
But that was after playing this song...and I'll never, ever play Wham!, so don't bother asking.

Robert Fripp- Chicago
With Peter Hammill singing. Pete from Van Der Graff Generator. You knew that.

Damien Dempsey -Hold Me
Feed me first. I'm gonna need the calories. I'm in one of those very practical manic moods.

On the way home I noticed that my passenger side windshield wiper wasn't moving, which kinda sucked since it was pouring rain. It turned out that the threads that hold the arm to the spinning motor had worn out and I'd need a new wiper arm.
When I went to the parts store and told them what make and model I had ( 1990 Volvo 780) , the parts guy shook his head. I'd have to call Volvo- probably cost a hundred bucks or more...on the other hand, he suggested, a tube of Water Weld is only five bucks.

I bought the Weld and it worked like a charm.

On the drive home, the DJ ( who is a very close friend of mine) was playing Nina Hagen's version of the Tubes' classic song 'White Punks on Dope'- the extended mix - in German and with the great guitar hooks at the end!
I have played that same song on my own show and it was a childhood dream come true for me- I can't believe that I have a friend who understands how cool it is to play this song and appreciates Nina Hagen*- actually, I can believe it, but I just felt like sharing.

When I got home I called her.

" You are a total freak! I love you for that."

She seemed OK with hearing that. She played Motorhead.

Motorhead! That's swooning music for me!
I wish I could afford gas- I love driving around with Motorhead cranked...hey, that reminds me...
I was able to fix my car for five bucks earlier today.
Five bucks and twenty minutes.

I called the parts store and asked for the manager.

"You have an excellent employee in [ described parts guy and how he helped me]. Please pass along my thanks, his idea worked perfectly and it made my day."

That last bit was a lie. My day was already made.
I may have a shitty life but I do have some good days and today is one of them.

Oh yeah...wait until I tell you about the 'job offers' that I'm getting from my 'barter' ad on craigslist...it's a post that's writing itself.
Literally.

Till then, have fun and rock safely!