Mike Bennett writesFriday March 2, 2012 iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Lou Reed Edition

He is one of the most influential figures in rock history, both for his seminal work with The Velvet Underground and subsequent solo career. For all of the many great songs he’s penned in his career, he has taken monumental chances and is certainly not afriad to fail (see last year’s collobaration with Metallica for evidence of that). His legend looms so large, it’s almost hard to wrap one’s head around it. It’s just enough to know that rock music would not have gone into many places it ended up without Lou Reed. Let’s celebrate Uncle Lou’s birthday by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle, and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

1. Gary Numan — Remember I Was Vapour (Telekon): Numan’s follow up to The Pleasure Principle showed him experimenting with textures and rhythms, not relying so much on a wall of synths, and allowing for a much more spacious sound. Even though there are some catchy songs on the album, it didn’t catch fire, which is a shame, as it’s just as good as its predecessor. This song is an example of the approach, with the rhythm provided by a spare drum machine and Numan lightly embellishing with various keyboards and piano, with everything floating around the rhythm and the melody line. An interesting composition and a great recording.
2. Split Enz — Marooned (Frenzy): A percussive tune from the pen of Tim Finn off of the album that saved Split Enz, who managed to pull a hit off of this underrated collection which got them away from the ’70s art rock leanings of a lot of their earlier work into something peppier and more in fitting with the new wave. While not as well known in the States as what came later, what is amazing is how bursting the album is with personality and creative arrangements.
3. The Vagrants — Respect (I Can’t Make a Friend 1965-1968): A revered garage band from the ’60s whom were apparently an influence on the Ramones. This is a fine take on the Otis Redding tune using his arrangement rather than Aretha Franklin’s classic version. This sounds a great deal like The Rascals, with a prominent organ, while future Mountain man Leslie West plays guitar.
4. The Beach Boys — God Only Knows (Pet Sounds): What can be said about this? It is one of the most perfect love songs ever recorded. Yet it probably isn’t Brian Wilson’s best song. That pretty much says it all about the talent of Brian Wilson.
5. Slow Jets — Trial of Sir Rocka (Good Morning, Stars): This East Coast band plays the type of offbeat arty yet catchy college rock that I eat up. This song fits in a world between Wire, Pavement, Archers Of Loaf and Pere Ubu, and that’s a good place to be, in my book.
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers — Fight Like A Brave (The Uplift Mofo Party Plan): First cut on the Peppers’ third album, one step away from becoming a mainstream act. I find most of the band’s work, from Californication on, to be quite bland. Some of their early stuff hasn’t aged well, but overall, I still like their rocked up funk. This shout along track seems like it anticipated the Beastie Boys.
7. Pere Ubu — Slow Walking Daddy (St. Arkansas): A really nifty blues based track which manages to have no blues guitar in it. Instead, the progression is devleoped through keyboards and bass, with steady drums. The whole thing has a film noir feel to it, somewhat akin to Wall Of Voodoo. This is a key song on this concept album about a traveling salesman, who, on this track, is expressing how he loves drivintg on the highway, going from town to town. The music perfectly evokes a late night drive in the middle of nowhere.
8. The Pogues — Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go (Red Roses For Me): A hopping little ditty from the debut album from the band that showed that traditional Irish music could rock. The oompa rhythm of this song isn’t that far away from ska, I suppose, so this is a danceable song, played with the wit and passion that typified this band. And there is a great bout of screaming at the end of the tune.
9. The Undertones — Luxury (Radio Sessions 1978-1982): A BBC recording of a tune from the final album of the original lineup of this great Northern Irish punk-pop band. The band grew in sophistication with each album, and while The Sin Of Pride is generally not rated with the three albums prior, it features some really good songwriting and interesting performances. This song seems to collide R & B based sounds with angular guitars that wound up in the subsequent band That Petrol Emotion.
10. Gil Scott-Heron — I’ll Take Care Of You (I’m New Here): Hearing any track off of GSH’s final album is bittersweet. He definitely went out on a high note, but it really seemed like he had so much more good music in him. Scott-Heron’s scratchy, emotive vocals are utterly compelling, as he sings over a familiar piano accompaniment, augmented by some very cool icy electronics. I just read an excerpt in MOJO from his autobiography — I think I’ll have to get it, as his prose is wonderful.