Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday k.d. lang Edition

k.d. lang was alt-country before the term was invented. Similar to Robbie Fulks, lang managed to affectionately spoof country while upholding its best traditions, and with her great band the Reclines, she made some increasingly wonderful records. However, her politics (and her lesbianism) effectively forced her out of the genre, but she soldiered on, penning a big hit in “Constant Craving”, and establishing herself was one of the best singers of her generation. And, as her album last year showed, she’s still at her peak. Let’s celebrate k.d.‘s birthday by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

1. Dave Rave & Mark McCarron — Just Friends (Another Side of Love): Take the former lead singer of Canadian punk/new wavers Teenage Head and a jazz keyboardist, and you get a great album of smoky jazz pop. Rave shows off previously untapped expressiveness on some really cool tunes. The atmosphere on this record is superb.
2. B.T. Express — Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied)(Have A Nice Decade: The ’70s Pop Culture Box): A song that is in the vein of the funkier side of Curtis Mayfield, with a bit stronger disco vibe. The groove is awesome and the chorus, with the blend of tenor and bass lead vocals still is pretty awesome.
3. Bill Fay — Narrow Way (Bill Fay): This cult artist has achieved more fame thanks to the preaching of Jeff Tweedy, resulting in an outstanding new album, his first in 41 years. Playing that on CHIRP led me to his first two LPs. This is a great slice of sophisticated folk rock that, in a weird way, shares a certain authoritative vocal style and moral lyrics with Rodriguez. Hard to believe, with the beautiful string arrangement, this album was basically made in a weekend.
4. John Martyn — One Day Without You (Sweet Little Mysteries: The Island Anthology): Speaking of ’70s cult artists, Martyn at least built his cult during the ’70s. He mixed folk with blues and a hint of R & B in the most insinuating fashion, creating some of the best late night music for the thinking romantic.
5. The Replacements — Dose Of Thunder (Tim): This song probably is the one number on Tim that could have been stuck on Let It Be without anyone noticing. It’s a lunkhead riff fest that would sit well next to their excellent cover of KISS’ “Black Diamond”.
6. Sparks — Tips For Teens (Whomp That Sucker): All I knew of Sparks in 1981 was that they got bad reviews from Christgau and Rolling Stone and they had a lot of LPs in the cutout bins. So when I picked up a compilation called BLITS on RCA for a buck (a new wave comp), I had no expectations that the first Sparks song I would ever hear would instantly win me over, with its high energy, clever lyrics and gigantic hook. And thus, I discovered my favorite band (“Keep that mystique up/and wear a D cup/no matter what.”).
7. Superdrag — Her Melancholy Tune (Last Call For Vitriol): After their wonderful first two albums, later Superdrag efforts have been good not great. But certainly, they have some great tunes, and this is one of them. This is pretty much a strong simulation of a 1965 era John Lennon composition, of the moody acoustic track variety.
8. The Negro Problem — Making It (tnp): Not a cover of the David Naughton ’70s hit. This is an upbeat track from the last Negro Problem album, which they sold on tour and then reissued, with one extra track, under a different title. It’s an instrumental and brief but not so brief it doesn’t make an impact.
9. The Faces — Bad ‘N’ Ruin (Long Player): I love this album, and really need to get more Faces LPs. This song starts off with a great blues rock riff, and the groove gets laid down. Then Rod Stewart, at his best, just wails in all of his raspy glory. At their best, The Faces were either the best tight yet sloppy band or the best sloppy yet tight band ever.
10. Paul Kelly and the Messengers — Randwick Bells (Gossip): Kelly is pretty much an Australian legend, meriting a box set a few years ago. He is simply a great storyteller with a rugged, expressive voice, a great feel for folk, blues and rock, mixed with extraordinary lyrical acuity and strong melodies. And I’m sure all of his albums are worth picking up. But if you only need one, you can’t go wrong with Gossip, which is filled with winners. This track is a moody number with lovely but disquieting keyboards and a mournful saxophone. Great tune.