On the Beat: David Menconi on music

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News & Observer music critic David Menconi's random (and we do mean random) musings about all things related to music and culture of the "popular" variety.

Baby boom

Submitted by dmenconi on 06/27/2008 - 22:08

UPDATE (7/8/08): It took a few days longer than anticipated, but Gus Huler arrived at 7 a.m. today -- 10 pounds, 15 ounces (!) of rockin' dude.

Speaking of baby booms, my pal Scott's wife is fixing to go into labor at any moment with their second son, Gus. So he was over here this evening with his laptop, to delve into my archives for a labor playlist -- music to listen to while giving birth. It's been a while since I've put one of these together, and I'd almost forgotten how much fun it is to do the whole mix-tape thing of thematic and stylistic segues. Below are the two-dozen songs we came up with to welcome young Gus into the world.

"Norma Rae: Songs for Labor and Delivery"

(1) Yo La Tengo, "Our Way to Fall"
(2) Yo La Tengo, "Little Eyes"
(3) Dusty Trails, "Pearls on a String"
(4) Matthew Sweet, "Looking at the Sun"
(5) Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey, "Angels"
(6) Elliott Smith, "Angel in the Snow"
(7) Erlend Oye, "Sheltered Life"
(8) R.E.M., "Perfect Circle"
(9) The Origin, "Bend"
(10) DeYarmond Edison, "heroin(e)"
(11) Miles Davis, "Freddie Freeloader"
(12) Weepies, "City Wide Rodeo"
(13) Neil Halstead, "Driving With Bert"
(14) Damnations, "All Night Special"
(15) Breeders, "Divine Hammer"
(16) Vincent Guaraldi, "Cast Your Fate to the Wind"
(17) Prosser, "I Met a Girl"
(18) Sufjan Stevens, "The Dress Looks Nice on You"
(19) Ennio Morricone, "Cinema Paradiso"
(20) Megafaun, "Drains"
(21) Ulrich Schnuass, "Never Be the Same"
(22) Hang-Ups, "Greyhound Bus"
(23) Willis Alan Ramsey, "Satin Sheets"
(24) Alejandro Escovedo, "One True Love"

Comments

Where the Wild Things Grow

Mon, 06/30/2008 - 21:59 — Anonymous (not verified)

by Scott Miller off of Reconstruction. Great tune on the album, but one of the few tunes that I'd rather not hear him perform live.

My new mix

Sun, 06/29/2008 - 16:29 — Matt (not verified)

hot off the presses:

cheers, matt

Ecole de Super Eclectic Mix de la Mundo Mix
June 29th, 2008

with clips from Showtime's Weeds Season 4 Episode 1

1." I spilled gas on myself when I was pouring it on the furniture....mystery solved"
Nancy Botwin

2. Burn Devil Burn
Soul Messages From Dimona
Soul Messengers & The Spirit Of Israel (Israel)

3. Ain’t That Something
Like A Fire
Solomon Burke (Philadelphia, PA; United States)

4. We Gettin' There (Featuring Terence Blanchard)
City That Care Forgot
Dr. John and The Lower 911 (New Orleans/Long Island; United States)

5. "I have a picture here of you with Sasquatch..."
DEA Captain Roy Till

6. Sea Of Love
Juno Soundtrack
Cat Power (Atlanta, GA; United States)

7. One Of Us
Object 47
Wire (UK)

8. I'm Leaving
Sunday Nights - The Songs Of Junior Kimbrough
The Fiery Furnaces (New York, NY; United States)

9. Come What May
Iva Nova (Russia)

10. Baba Ngbo Ti Wa (Father Hears Us)
Definitive Dairo
IK Dairo (Nigeria)

11. "Check it out, it's snowing in SoCal...."
Dough Wilson

12. Bacative
Knowle West Boy
Tricky (UK)

13. Taasidoni
Belle Epoque
Super Biton (Mali)

14. ".....He's a cripple with a doctors note, I'm just keeping him company"
Doug Wilson

15. Room Without A Key (Rubies remix)
Yearbook 2
Studio (Sweden)
http://www.myspace.com/rubies

16. "...but here we sit, two milks and a cappuccino, rousted by the man"
Dough Wilson

17. A Tarde Já Morreu Nesta Varanda
Raquel Tavares (Portugal)

18. Ya L'Hmam, Ya L'Imam, Pigeons Et Colombes
Cheikha Remitti (Algeria)

19. ".....'cause she is super fierce, Celia is the boss......"
Sanjay

20. Do The Romp
Sunday Nights - The Songs Of Junior Kimbrough
Entrance and Cat Power

21. "...eating German food and smelling like gas...."
Lenny Botwin

22. The House Under The Hill
Human Like A House
The Finches (San Francisco, CA)
http://www.myspace.com/thefinches
Coming to Chapel Hill July 8th tba?

23. A Minute to Rest and a Second to Pray (Featuring Ben Harper)
Like A Fire
Solomon Burke

24. Beggars Can't Be Choosy
Eula Cooper (Georgia, United States)

25. Packin' Up
Marion Williams (Miami, FL; United States)

26. "....starting a new life, the beach, houses built before 1997....."
Nancy Botwin

General Praise...

Sat, 06/28/2008 - 12:17 — Robert Belew (not verified)

Mr. Menconi,
Your mix tape is an awesome thing to do for a friend, nice "set list" at that, but then, we know how much fun is involved in building a themed mix tape, eh ?

Just wanted to say that I really enjoy "On The Beat", even though I don't reside in the area, I am actually in Tennessee.
You generally cover the music that interests me and do so in a way that is informative and in depth.
There are no such music journalists in my area.

Thanks and keep up the great work !
robert belew

Great Kid Songs...

Sat, 06/28/2008 - 09:35 — Bobzilla

And if a girl was expected, you just couldn't leave out "Georgia Rae" from John Hiatt's classic Slow Turning album.

"There's no tellin' what she might do, Before her doing days are through, But right now she can't even crawl..."

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