F IVII
2 o N 2 o N INSIDE:
Radio n r e d o M n o Spotlight mram A id v a D h it Interview w nd more a d n la Is r e t t dness a Reviews: Shu M h rc a M r Music fo 80 Minutes of
HEADER IF STAFF TEXT Editor-in-Chief James Passarelli Executive Editor Hans Larsen President of Managerial Operations Tom Kutilek Layout Kathryn Freund Featured Writers James Emerson Kathryn Freund Bryant Kitching Hans Larsen Matt Manuszak James Passarelli Editorial Contributions Pat Passarelli
CONTACT US
Photography Rachel Luba Sharyn Morrow Carl Wedoff
Tom Kutilek: tom@inflatableferret.com Hans Larsen: hans@inflatableferret.com James Passarelli: james@inflatableferret.com Ryan Waring: ryan@inflatableferret.com General Inquiries: info@inflatableferret.com
Cover Photos Provided By Jesse Kwakenat and STNNNG
Check us out online at: inflatableferret.com. Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on twitter at: twitter.com/inflatablef.
Publication & Web Design Greg Ervanian Rob Schellenberg Interview Taping Rachel Luba Š Copyright 2010 Inflatable Ferret
02
Inflatable Ferret
We gladly welcome any criticism or suggestions. If you have any ideas for the magazine, or if you would like to be a part of it, please contact us at: info@inflatableferret.com. Keep your eyes peeled for daily news/updates on the website!
HEADER CONTENTS TEXT
inflatable ferret 18
VOL UME IINo.2
04
10
06
18
We Are The World Why Lionel and Quincy should’ve called it quits after ‘85 Reviews Read reviews for new albums by Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, and Local Natives, and Scorsese’s latest film Shutter Island
Interview IF talks life and music with multi-instrumentalist and composer David Amram Modern Radio A look at Minneapolis’ most confident, fun-loving, and durable independent label
22
80 Minutes Here’s 80 minutes of music to prepare you for March Madness
10 Inflatable Ferret
03
“WE ARE
THE WORLD” GETS
RUINED WORDS: MATT MANUSZAK
Recording session of “We Are the World” Photo by Usatoday
WHEN I SAT DOWN to watch the “We Are the World 25 for Haiti” video for the first time, I didn’t really know what to expect. An unabashed fan of the original 1985 version, I had serious doubts about anyone remaking it. That video, which was created to earn money for the United Society of Artists for Africa foundation, was both a critical and financial success. With the Internet’s ubiquity, a new video wasn’t necessary, was it? Unfortunately, against all sense and sensibility, the project was undergone, and I’m here to survey the results of its entire screechy “splendor.” The original “We are the World” was inspired by Bob Gedolf’s Band Aid project in Great Britain and was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie in early 1985; the final track was laid down on January 28, 1985, during an all-night recording session. Music mega-stars of all kinds stepped into the A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood that night, instructed by a small, handwritten sign pinned at the entrance: “Please check your
23 04
Inflatable Ferret
egos at the door.” The song was a simple, catchy tune featuring an incredible array of talent that managed to accomplish multiple notable achievements. It raised $63 million dollars in purchases, merchandise, and other donations. Musically the track captured not only the musical and cultural essence of the 1980’s, but it’s also resonated well with audiences for twenty-five years with its intriguing duets, clear message, and quality talent. What most strikes me most the 1985 version of the song is its endurance, attributable to the tune’s quality as much as to its big name contributors. With the track’s simple and clean chord progressions, the song is eminently catchy and memorable. Perhaps the ultimate testimonial comes from Harry Belafonte, the famed King of Calypso and both a producer and background singer for the song, who remarked on the 20th anniversary in 2005, “anyone old enough to remember can still hum it.”
Yes, the tune was great, but what about those vocalists? The 45 artists came from everywhere – from Fleetwood Mac frontman Lindsey Buckingham, Waylon Jennings, and Paul Simon to Diana Ross, Hall & Oates, and the Pointer Sisters. Quincy Jones made a distinct effort to gather not only the world’s most famous musical stars, but its most disparate as well. Notable duets include Dionne Warwick and Willie Nelson, Billy Joel and Tina Turner, and an absolutely epic Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder segment that still gives me chills. This was Bruce just after 1984’s Born in the USA, every inch of “The Boss” positively oozing star power, paired with Stevie Wonder, the always smiling Motown poster child, fresh off the release of “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and singing his heart out: just two artists at the height of their careers, matching their voices incredibly well. Though pretty much every artist in the song could sing, there was a clear hierarchy: the most popular got the most lines.
That meant Springsteen and Wonder got the key verse, Jackson got the first chorus, Richie the opening lines, and Bob Dylan and Ray Charles were introduced later on as effective old-timers. The video screams 1980’s. Michael is wearing a rather ridiculous black jumpsuit with rococo gold trim and white sequined gloves, both Steve Perry’s and Cyndi Lauper’s respective voices and hair are as big as ever, and everyone looks to be having a good old time. Now, it would be poor journalism for me to not note that there were criticisms of the song. The lyrics were ripped for being self-aggrandizing and the project was parodied for its passivity. To be fair, the song’s purpose was to be uplifting, and it did raise $63 million, so it accomplished its humanitarian goal. But “We are the World” spawned an evil that all but overshadows its grand accomplishments: a bastard son 25 years later that throws musical decency out the door in a misguided attempt to raise money for the Haiti earthquake relief. “We are the World 25 for Haiti” was also recorded in one night in Hollywood, was overseen by Richie and Jones, and it also featured a multitude of notable singers: the similarities end there. The original version featured 21 soloists and 24 choristers, 45 altogether. “25 for Haiti”? 35 soloists and 57 choristers creating a 92-person cataclysm of…noise. This included not only current musical artists but also actors like Jeff Bridges, who looked like he casually stumbled into the studio off the street after smoking a bowl. One of the new wrinkles was the inclusion of such “teen idols”
as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers: that statement by itself is a joke. The presumed message: to empower our youth and send a message to kids that they too can make a difference. The result: a God-awful display of the musical ineptitude of a generation of teen stars that’s revealed the horror of the American dream. Yes, truly anyone can gain (not earn) fame and fortune. Their confusing looks of mock-anguish during the video apparently indicate either horrible over-singing (likely) or severe irritable bowel syndrome (not as likely). Many of the other notable artists in the mix seem to me to be there more for a bump in their Q-rating than to help Haiti: from Nicole Scherzinger and Busta Rhymes to Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough, these musical selections just boggle my mind. The first chorus features archival footage and vocals of Michael Jackson spliced with an image of the disembodied head of his sister, Janet, apparently lip-synching his lyrics in a creepy duet. At one point, I thought I heard the voice of Ray Charles and hoped that there was some more, albeit less creepy, footage from the original. Instead, it was just Jamie Foxx, looking a bit too pleased with himself and doing a needlessly silly Ray impersonation that starkly contrasted his rather self-righteous introduction to the song, in which he melodramatically requests you to “give anything you can, as we have.” I’m not sure to whom “we” refers here, but something tells me the $20 million Foxx makes per movie isn’t going straight to the Haiti fund. Another of the many low points is a vomit-inducing auto
tuned section featuring Lil’ Wayne, Akon, and T-Pain. Yes, auto-tune unfortunately defines modern pop, but it doesn’t have to be featured so prominently: couldn’t they just have not included it and hoped that future generations would forget, like Kobe Bryant’s rape charges or Shaq’s acting career? Other lowlights include appearances by Pink and Celine Dione and an awful rap verse by LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, accompanied by random guys in the background throwing up peace signs. I half expect Lil’ John to start yelling “Yeah!” in the background (fortunately, he didn’t make the cut) Ultimately, this new song didn’t fail because of a lack of available talent (though talent certainly wasn’t its strength): it failed because of terrible artist selection, poor stylistic choices, and tragic over-singing. Are these really the individuals who define today’s music scene? Sadly, yes. But coul. While pop certainly isn’t where it was 25 years ago, couldn’t artists who are both viable and popular like Beyonce, Rivers Cuomo, or Jack White have been involved? Fortunately, artists like Shane MacGowan are here to fight back. His antithesis to the aforementioned symphony, a cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” features Johnny Depp, Nick Cave, and a slew of esteemed artists. So, head on over to MacGowan’s site, and if you haven’t seen “25 for Haiti” yet, save yourself. Hopefully this was detailed enough for you’ll never feel the urge to watch the abomination that is “We are the World 25 for Haiti.” IF
Inflatable Ferret
23 05
MUSIC REVIEWS
Joanna Newsom Have One On Me (Drag City)
After downloading all 206 MB (three discs) of Joanna Newsom’s latest album Have One on Me the most difficult problem I faced was how exactly to listen to the damn thing. You don’t have to be an expert to be able to tell that Newsom’s follow-up to 2006’s ambitious Ys is epic in every sense of the word. I chose to focus on one disc at a time. Even taking the album in chunks, I was overwhelmed by the intricacies and instrumentations often surpassing eight minutes in length. After a week or so of solid listening, I’m still not sure if this is a testament to Newsom’s grandiose artistic vision realized or simple overkill. Everything about the album is grand in scale, even down to the cover, which shows Newsom seductively lying on a couch surrounded by various and innumerable trinkets and artifacts. On the surface one could paint Have One On Me as an overly ambitious, even pretentious attempt to create a classic folk record, but I don’t think this is the case. Newsom just sounds like a woman with a lot of ideas. Have One On Me is the musical equivalent of being lost in a vast forest; it’s beautiful, overwhelming, seemingly never-ending, and there are lots of animals. Newsom’s approach to song crafting here is not all that stylisti-
23 06
Inflatable Ferret
cally different from Ys, but instead it’s the scale of her vision that has grown. Newsom spins yarns about horses, spiders and gardens, all with an unmistakably nurturing vibe. Her unique voice still sounds as if it belonged to Mother Nature herself, but there is a distinctive impression of maturity and confidence on tracks like “Good Intentions Paving Company.” “Good Intentions” bounces and weaves like a Regina Spektor song on steroids, and is arguably the album’s best track, and one of the few that immediately grabbed me. Other songs like the 11-minute title track are not as openly accessible, but ultimately more rewarding. “Have One On Me” tells the story of Lola Montez, the 19th Century Irish mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Ludwig was most famous for saying “Whatever Lola wants, Lola Gets,” making it all the more satisfying, even comical, when you hear Newsom sing the album/song title in the context of the track itself. “Baby Birch” drifts along like a sweet lullaby until it builds up into a beautiful cacophony complete with an irregular drum pattern that threatens to unravel at any moment until the very end when the soft lullaby returns. This superb standout drips with themes of motherhood and fertility, as does “’81,” which, at 4 minutes, clocks in among the album’s shortest tracks. It is likely that “’81”, with its references to the Garden of Eden, refer to Newsom’s own conception (born in January of 1982). The track is another bright spot on the accessible, and strongest first disc. On Have One On Me, Newsom has perfected the art of the build up, and it is often the second half of tracks like “Go Long” and “Kingfisher” that don’t necessarily make up for, but put into different contex and complement, their vastly different first halves. The album is a true roller coaster ride, as unpredictable as it is beautiful. The tracks that I found most enjoyable fall into two different categories at both ends of the spectrum: tracks that followed more traditional song
structures and lengths (“’81,” “On a Good Day,” “Soft as Chalk”) and tracks where the epics of the album itself are most apparent and extravagant (“Have One On Me,” “Baby Birch,” “Esme”). The middle ground into which songs like “You and Me, Bess” and “In California” fall is where Have One On Me becomes difficult to listen to. I felt as though I was trudging through the songs rather than enjoying them. As would be expected in an album of this length, there is a fair share of dull spots. For every “Good Intentions Paving Company” and “Baby Birch” there are tracks like “No Provenance” or “Ribbon Bows,” which struggle to hold the listeners attention. When Have One On Me fails, it’s because it gets lost in it’s own maze. To fully appreciate just how intricate some of these songs are I would need a full year to digest them. Nonetheless in the short time I’ve been acquainted with the album, I couldn’t help feeling that it might be simply too big for it’s own good. Newsom hasn’t created an album as much as she’s opened a window into literally every nook and cranny of her musical psyche. Would Have One On Me been better as a single, or even a double album? Probably. But even with it’s fair share of blemishes there is much to love. One cannot deny the beauty and impressiveness of what Newsom has created, but the pleasure of the album as a whole remains to be seen. I predict that Have One On Me will change faces several times as future months and years go by. An album of this magnitude couldn’t possibly maintain the same identity even on a day-to-day basis. In the end, Have One On Me is easy to appreciate but hard to understand. It’s magical once you finally get over the album’s sheer size and get to know the songs themselves. - Bryant Kitching
Local Natives Gorilla Manor (Frenchkiss Records)
“Local Natives create the kind of feeling – with a musicality so ambitious and daring, but immediately satisfying – that you can only attain if you’re head over heels with the very thought of maximizing all that’s in your heart.”…That’s what Daytrotter has to say about the Los Angeles band, and before you even scratch your head or try to conceive what that could possibly mean, just listen to how UK media powerhouse NME describes their debut Gorilla Manor : “poetic songs, which billow, churn and explode into light.” Explode into light? My mp3 player must not be working. Ever since releasing the album in November of ’09 in the UK, Local Natives have garnered similar puzzling praise from a slew of pubs and blogs, and they’ve been compared to Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, The Arcade Fire, all with whom they share only slivers of similarity. That critics have scrambled so desperately to express the essence of Gorilla Manor with muddled metaphors and hyperbole says more about the music itself than the competence of those who write about it.
The confusion is especially surprising considering the way the album seems to pander to current typical blogosphere tastes. Then again, it panders to radio play and parties alike, and couldn’t that possibly be the sign of a great album – being perfect for any circumstance? Well it’s certainly not the only sign of a great album, but it’s a large part of Gorilla Manor ’s appeal. And the best part is you can take it in four-minute segments or as a whole. Not since Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has such a single-worthy album been so cohesive. Any one of the songs could easily find itself in a trailer for a bad to mediocre romance film (like Phoenix’s 1901 in the trailer for New York, I Love You) and while that may not always be a positive sign, it shows impressive accessibility from what you could consider art-rock. My first inclination is to call their music dreamy, what with the background chanting and cloud-like guitars. But the tight composition and the occasional strong, sharp guitar strums hint at something more concrete. And “dreamy” doesn’t account for the pained yells and straightforward steely rock on “Sun Hands”, the album’s third track. And some of the same aspects that make the album dreamlike sometimes change to make it sound more realistic. Buoyant, weightless guitar suddenly changes pace into brief, aggressive strokes. And take the opening lines of the first two tracks. “Wide Eyes” opens the album with an eerily placid, but altogether surrealistic, warning: “Oh some evil spirit, oh some evil this way comes/They told me how they fear it, now they’re placing it on their tongues.” On “Airplanes”, however, the subject is a past lover, one that seems as real as anything:
“The desk where you sit inside of a/ frame made of wood/I keep those chopsticks you had from when/ you taught abroad in Japan.” The themes are subtly transformed throughout the 50-minute record. The music doesn’t change direction, but the listener has a constantly changing impression of it. These indie rookies build songs like veterans, and their confidence shines in every one of their compositions. And they pay fine tribute to the Talking Heads with an impressive cover of “Warning Sign”, a song that works wonderfully with their hands. Despite the rambling, and often nonsensical, descriptions you may read, the five-piece’s debut is certainly praiseworthy and without a definite dull spot. But I feel I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t attempt to explain the album in the fashion of our big-name counterparts. So, here goes… Gorilla Manor oozes and palpitates with the erudite sense of its own submission, but it leaves us fluttering in a psychotropic vortex wrought with a steady hand and an even colder gaze. Copernicus refuted Aristotle and said, “the earth moves.” Einstein refuted Newton and said, “time is relative.” Local Natives refuted all other musicians before them and said, “ this is music.” - James Passarelli
Inflatable Ferret
23 07
MUSIC REVIEWS continued
Hot Chip One Life Stand (Astralwerks)
“Over and over and over and over and over/Like a monkey with a miniature cymbal/The joy of repetition really is in you.” If one were to define an all-encompassing mantra for the great minds behind Hot Chip, I’m pretty sure I can’t say it better than they can themselves. (If you’ve ever listened to a Hot Chip song, then you know what I mean.) Over the years, British electro dance-pop quintet Hot Chip have produced some of the most groovable, head nodding, toe tapping, dancing-in-your-chairat-work songs of all time. From The Warning ’s “Over and Over” to Made in the Dark ’s “Ready for the Floor,” Hot Chip has proved again and again that they are a pulsing, bass pumping force to be reckoned with. Still, although their last two albums have produced a host of head bopping singles including “Boy From School,” “Colours,” “Shake a Fist,” and “One Pure Thought,” both The Warning and Made in the Dark lacked cohesiveness. Never ceasing to surprise us with their plethora of fresh ideas,
23 08
Inflatable Ferret
though, Hot Chip have grown into their fourth studio album One Life Stand its release coming this past month. Whereas their past albums have left us wanting just a little more, One Life Stand is a more refined, but still powerhook-filled record. In terms of substance, the album definitely focuses on themes of romance and reflection – atypical of the band’s past tongue-in-cheek content. Although some disgruntled fans may dub it Hot Chip’s clichéd “grown-up” album, One Life Stand still nods to their power-single past while highlighting a more quirkily sophisticated side (which they have had all along). Although old-school Hot Chip fans may be hesitant upon first listen, One Life Stand is arguably Hot Chip’s best album thus far. Thoughtful and refined, the album’s clear sense of focus flows throughout. Beginning with “Thieves in the Night” Hot Chip makes it clear this is a wearingmy-heart-on-my-sleeve kind of album with lyrics like “Baby i’ve lost you here in the crowd/Open your arms I want to be found.” Even in its ballad-like lyrical quality, “Thieves in the Night” still makes you want dance as Alexis sings, “Happiness is what we all want.” Piano-pounding “Hand Me Down Your Love” keeps the pace of the album going, with a violin-heavy chorus that still manages to make your heart melt. Probably my favorite song on the album is “I Feel Better.” Although I’m not not a fan of autotune, the heavy 80’s-inspired heavy synth riffs in the song’s intro make up for it, as does the pulsing rhythm that builds throughout. “One Life Stand” gets runner-up for best song on the album, really reiterating the album’s romantic mo-
tif when Alexis announces, “I only wanna be your one life stand/Tell me do you stand by your whole man.” Although songs like “Brothers” and “Alley Cats” are on the slower-tempo side and take their time to build up, they fit well into the pace of the rest of the album well. Ending strong with synthheavy dance-powered “We Have Love,” the album culminates with “Take It In,” another pulsing discoinspired ballad. Laying it all out for all to see, Alexis asks, “And oh, please take my heart and keep it close to you/Take it in, take it in.” Continuously growing into their own, Hot Chip have matured with this fourth album in the best way possible. Even while revealing a more sophisticated side of themselves, Hot Chip still manages to make it impossible to sit still while listening to One Life Stand . Filled with heartfelt ballads that can still provide the soundtrack to your dance parties, Hot Chip have finally honed in their talents – and it has surely payed off. - Kathryn Freund
MOVIE REVIEW
Martin Scorsese Shutter Island Martin Scorsese has found his new favorite city, at least until his new favorite actor can pronounce his r’s again: Boston and Leonardo DiCaprio return in the noirdrenched Shutter Island after their showings in 2006’s The Departed. Sure, the locale and the actor are parts of another shifting Scorsese obsession—temporarily holding a monomaniacal grip on his mind like the mob once did, or Robert DeNiro, or anything involving Daniel Day-Lewis and the nineteenth century—but Shutter Island at large is evidence of a greater interest of the director, one that informs each of his movies: other movies. This is not to say it’s derivative or superficially similar to other works: if Shutter Island invites comparison to a Hitchcock flick, it’s not because of rain pouring off fedora brims in an almost monochromatic setting, but because it’s a genuinely good thriller. And it’s not the 20th-century
classical soundtrack that evokes The Shining , it’s the tangible dread that you feel in the pit of your stomach as the action almost painfully unrolls. So Shutter Island ’s potential place in the pantheon of horror-suspense makes the contrived, overlong finale all the more disappointing. DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo are U.S. Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane. To keep the denizens of Boston safe and the movie sufficiently tense and creepy, the hospital is located on a remote island in a storm-ravaged sea. A hurricane delays the marshals’ return to mainland and keeps them longer than expected. The movie doesn’t substitute frenetic cuts (a la the Bourne series) for actual suspense, but uses a more legitimate repertoire to keep the audience in a stranglehold. Take the soundtrack, for instance, composed mostly of modern classical pieces: its first notes sound as soon as the Paramount logo appears and it doesn’t let up until the credits. The songs, which range from the discordant (“Root of an Unfocus” by John Cage) to the grandly ominous (Krzysztof Penderecki’s Symphony no. 3), might have been melodramatic overkill in another movie, but Shutter Island manages to accommodate them, making for a natural complement to the onscreen action. That onscreen action is helped carried out by some veterans, including Max van Syndow, Ben Kingsley (the head of the institution), and Ted Levine (a German psychiatrist with—like all German doctors of the 50s—a potentially shady past) in a small but captivating role in which he discourses on the nature of violence. As for the lead: I
suppose I should get over Titanic (it’s been thirteen years, after all), but I’m still surprised and amazed that little Leo DiCaprio has grown up to take on Serious, Adult roles. Mr. Scorsese has done well in picking his new partner. Also worth mention are the visuals. Like Scorsese and cinematographer Robert Richardson did in 1999’s criminally underrated Bringing out the Dead , they superbly capture the inherent weirdness and surreality of dreams—quite an accomplishment when one considers how subjective dreams are, a quality that doesn’t easily lend itself to film. DiCaprio’s first nightmare in the movie is a riot of Technicolor and replete with strange dream-occurrences. Looking for rich, interesting cinematography? 3D cameras need not apply. The eerie, tense atmosphere of Shutter Island , so meticulously and skillfully constructed from its music, its cinematography, its actors, pervades even an ending that is not commensurate with it. It’s a parody of mechanical denouement, with a professorial figure (bow tie and all) sitting behind a desk to neatly explain each and every detail. Maybe that’s indicative of where the true strength of the movie lies: in its style, its mood, its occasional gems of script (Levine’s speech, or the final line). There’s no reason to write obits for Scorsese’s talent: he’s still got it. - James Emerson
Inflatable Ferret
23 09
AN INTERVIEW WITH
DAVID AMRAM Interview: James Passarelli
s , i r e m t a o r m o m r A p d f l e avi s s t s s o e m l e e m h t n i a sha t
D
a h t n a e m I . y d a an w y , r e a s t n n e e s m compli kes perfect ? It ma t i t ’ doesn believe in , y g l n l i a t e o ? r m e o m u r a o p y h s re ’ If r u o o f y ed e n what e h st
’ e r e h w
D D D I met him on a plane to New York a couple of years ago, and he gave me his card. Just a week later I found his Triple Concerto LP in the dollar bin of a record store, and since then I haven’t been able to escape his name. The man’s worked with artistic geniuses of all kinds and generations, the never-ending list including Dizzy Gillespie, Jack Kerouac, Willie Nelson, Dustin Hoffman, Odetta, Leonard Bernstein, Charlie Parker, Woodie Guthrie, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Sir James Gallaway, Pete Seeger, Hunter S. Thompson, Arthur Miller, Johnny Depp, Warren Zevon, and Townes Van Zandt. And he’ll gladly tell you about his experiences with any of them. But he doesn’t name-drop for selfish reasons – he talks about his friends with genuine pride and gratitude.
Amram has written over a hundred pieces of chamber music and the scores for the awardwinning films Splendor in the Grass and The Manchurian Candidate . He’s an accomplished pianist, percussionist, and flutist, as well as a pioneer in improvisational French horn playing. He’s written three books. And at 79 Amram has as much verve as any musician in his twenties. He’s constantly traveling, inhaling music and culture of countries all over the world (when I called him to set up the interview he was on his way to Abu Dhabi). Perhaps the New York Times ’ James Oestreich said it best when he wrote
in 1993, “Amram was multicultural before multiculturalism existed.” A renaissance man in every sense of the word, Amram puts every penny and pleasure he earns right back into the music and people who surround him. He was gracious enough to invite me to his home in Putnam Valley, New York where he sat down with me and talked my ear off. And the hardest part of the interview process was deciding what to cut. Here’s the abbreviated version of what he had to say.
Inflatable Ferret
23 11
DAVID AMRAM continued Inflatable Ferret: You’ve worked with everyone you can think of, and not just musicians. You’ve worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, Jack Kerouac, you did the soundtrack for The Manchurian Candidate. How did your background in music start? David Amram: Well, I grew up on a farm in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. Growing up on a farm during the Great Depression, everyone’s options were zero. So, with that good starting place, as they say in New York, (in New York accent) “It can only get worse!” So, things could only get better, and therefore to have the outrageous dream to someday do something with music was far-fetched. But since there weren’t many options at all, it wasn’t as far-fetched as any other dream at that time. And when I was about ten years old, my father said to me, “David, what do you think you want to do when you grow up.” I said, “I’d like to be a full-time farmer.” He said it was impossible in today’s economy to be a small family farmer – this is in 1942. So, he said, “What else would you like to do?” I said, “Well, I’d like to do something in music.” He said, “That’s worse!” So, many years later, just before he passed away in early 1990, he came up and saw me working on my tractor after I’d been able to work in music and bring up my kids to do what I had done. And I said, “Does this remind you of me?” He said, “Yep!” To the extent that I was able to fulfill some of my dreams, I’m really grateful. But I never even thought when I started I’d be able to do it – it was just something I wanted to do. My uncle David was a seaman, and he took me to hear the Philadel-
23 12
Inflatable Ferret
phia Orchestra when I was a little boy, and he also took me to hear Duke Ellington. He explained to me that both kinds of music were great and heartfelt, that they both were enduring and came from cultural roots. He told me all kinds of stuff. I didn’t know what he was talking about really. But he put it in my mind and that I should pay attention. My other uncle, who grew up in Las Vegas, New Mexico (not Nevada) and most of the people around him at the time were Indian. So, when he would visit the farm he would tell me about how it was growing up with In-
you travel “ When around the world you can learn different languages, different food, different ways of moving, feeling, talking, dancing, being” dian people and that I should pay attention to every living thing and try to understand and respect it. My other uncle had told me that as well, that when you travel around the world you can learn different languages, different food, different ways of moving, feeling, talking, dancing, being and that each place he went to had something very special, and that even if you couldn’t ever understand or learn all about it, you should pay attention and respect it. I was really fortunate to have that as part of my background.
So, I moved to Washington D.C. when my dad had to sell the farm in 1942, and we moved from a 160 acre farm to a little 16 foot wide house on Q Street in what they called a “checkerboard neighborhood”, which meant African-American and Caucasian people were living in the same block in a segregated city. Our nation’s capital was officially segregated in 1942 up until I went to the Army in 1952. So, even though I hung out, played music, socialized with black people, technically we weren’t even supposed to speak to each other. It seems almost unbelievable that our nation’s capital could have been that way. The whole South was that way, and most of the rest of the country was pretty much that way, even though it wasn’t officially the law. So, when I went to the Army in 1952 and went to Europe – I was lucky instead of going to Korea, I was sent to Europe - I was ready to understand that as an American I came from a country with a lot of different people, but that we all came from that core of the American Indian ethos that there was a core that was here, and the rest of us, however we got here, were still trying to figure out how to get along, how to be together, and how to find our place and search in some way for our heritage. So, when I was in the Army I learned German, French, Spanish, Italian – not only hung out with people, but also played music and tried to use every single experience as a field trip. And I still do that in 2009. Every time I leave here and go anywhere I’m always looking and listening and trying to learn. And that’s why I’ve been able to do so many dif-
time I “ Every leave here and go anywhere I’m always looking and listening and trying to learn” ferent things and not be a dilettante or have a multiple personality disorder. It’s just, to me everything is important and an adventure. And almost everything you mentioned – working with Dizzy Gillespie, working with John Frankenheimer, who directed The Manchurian Candidate, working with Elia Kazan when I did the music for Splendor in the Grass, being chosen by Leonard Bernstein as the first composer in residence with the New York Philharmonic, playing with Willie Nelson – all of these things happen by bumping into somebody or doing something and having a good attitude, or being around when someone says, “Hey, would you like to do this?” And very often, “Come on and do this. We’re not sure we can pay you, but you might find this interesting.”… ”Yeah!!!” And it was interesting, even if it was with someone who wasn’t famous. That’s how I started working with Shakespeare in the Park in 1956. They were looking for someone to write music for Shakespeare production on the Lower East Side, and the woman who was going to do it was a very good improvising pianist, but she couldn’t write anything down. She said [to me], “I can’t do that. You’re at Manhattan School of Music. Why don’t you do it?” So, I met this guy Joe Papp, and then I began to write a lot of things for the theater. And six months from now
Amram plays a flute rendition of “Amazing Grace”
[May of 2010] in Baton Rouge, Louisiana they’re televising, filming, and recording my opera Twelfth Night, which we began to think of writing back in 1958 with no money and no way to get it done. Joe Papp finally said, “Okay, we’ll do it.” 1968 it finally got done, and now in 2010 it will be on DVD, and someone will look at that and say, “Oh boy, that’s nice. How did he get to do that? He must have had his chauffeur-career counselor-lawyer-manager-guru take him right to the top.” When in reality, it came out of something that I would
have started doing 52 years prior to that. The first jazz poetry readings that were done in New York with Jack Kerouac were the result of a bring-your-own-bottle party in 1956. He handed me a piece of paper [with poetry] and said, “Hey, play something.” And I played, we enjoyed it, and we got to hang out and become friends before On the Road was published. And there are a lot of things that I still do today. My kids – Alana’s 30, Adira’s 28, and Adam’s 25 – they
Inflatable Ferret
23 13
DAVID AMRAM continued But the best “ thing of all
is to remain in what I call the University of Hang-out-ology – to be with other people and see if maybe you can put something into their life.” Clockwise from left: Larry Rivers, Jack Kerouac, David Amram, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso (with back to camera)
Photo by The Guardian
all have their own bands, and I go sit in with their bands sometimes. I’m going this evening to play at a place a block from where I moved in 1955, with a good friend of mine who’s a wonderful singer, Morley Kamen, who’s terrific. And people say, “What are you doing this for?” This is something I enjoy and get a lot out of doing. And it’s a block from where I started in 1955, and I still get that same feeling. I don’t think I’m 24 years old anymore – I’m 79, and I’ve got my driver’s license to prove it. But all the things I do always come from trying to do a good job and trying to do what I’m guided to feel would be interesting, fun, and educational. And maybe even where I can make a contribution to somebody else. It’s not a federal offense. Having too many mirrors in your house is a bad idea, even when you’re young and good-looking. And it’s amazing when you do things that way how satisfying it is.
23 14
Inflatable Ferret
I THINK one of the things that we’re lacking today is the realization that part of our gig as the old speedometer moves along, is what Dizzie Gillespie advised me to do on his 70th birthday. He said, “David, I met you in 1951 in Washington D.C. when you were a 20 year old kid in your basement apartment just like a hick! And now you’ve got gray hair.” He said, “It’s time to put something back into the pot.” So, that’s part of what our job is as older people – to put something back in. It’s the principle of organic farming. And I don’t think that means just writing out a check, if you’re lucky enough to have anything in your checking account. That’s good too. But the best thing of all is to remain in what I call the University of Hang-out-ology – to be with other people and see if maybe you can put something into their life. It’s not that hard to do. It’s not about money or power or egomania or getting something. It’s about giving some-
thing, sharing something, and what you get back from that is something that you can’t buy. It even makes you feel good…And it’s legal! (laughs) And good for your health. It beats drugs, dope, drinking too much, or spending money on new age, fake spiritualists who blaspheme religions they don’t know about. I used to always hang out with older musicians and older people, and some of them just had that niceness, that glow. I said, “Boy, I’d like to be like those guys some day.” And I’m still trying to be. But at least I knew that it was possible. So, I think that’s one of the things the arts can teach everybody – that it’s good to do better than is expected, to do more than you’re expected to do, not to whine and complain if someone else gets the chance to do something that you were more qualified for. And with most people who are sitting at home watching network news programs and shaking their fists at the television
screen, it doesn’t change world politics. If you can’t control American policy, you can control your own conduct. I think we can realize what we can always do something, and working in the arts can teach us that – how to help out the scene, how to cover up someone else’s mistakes so that the whole picture is still strong. Inflatable Ferret: One of the greatest benefits of music I think goes along with what you said about other cultures. It gives you some insight into other cultures. Of course, you don’t have to like everything, and there are going to be certain kinds of music you hate, but to be able to appreciate that is really special. DA: Well, I think some will really touch your heart. Some music is like a language. Different kinds of music are like different languages. There’s some music where you can hear the blues foundation or the rhythmic foundation. You can hear gypsy influence if you like Brahms, because Brahms was inspired by gypsy music. Of course, the Hungarian dances had a lot of gypsy influence in them. Conversely, you could get into gypsy music through [Brahms’] work because there’s enough of that in his music to tune you into where it came from. If you like any kind of Russian folk music you can appreciate Tchaikovsky. Then there are some kinds of music that are so far out in terms of Western music you have to think completely differently, like when you hear music from India. But then when you understand the structure of the ragas and how they put the
rhythm parts together and then go to India and see a concert where people are sitting there listening and knowing what it is, it’s a different feeling. And it’s not just being spaced out. And there are worlds and worlds of music out there that are so deep, and they in some way can all touch your heart. Then there’s other kinds of stuff that you hear sometimes at the supermarket or in an elevator that’s controlled by what I call “the penitentiary of bad taste” That’s the prison we’re all assigned into and told that we belong in to sit there like convicts waiting to get that one stale sandwich slipped through the little compartment. And that’s supposed to do it for your whole life. It’s the idea that you are such a sick human this is all you deserve…not that I want to sound judgmental or anything. (laughs) But that’s what the whole global entertainment industry has done to two or three generations. It’s extraordinary that anybody’s listening to anything, that anybody’s writing songs and symphonies. There’s a bigger audience for European and American classical music, for jazz and what they now call world music than there’s ever been before. And that’s because the central nervous system of human beings doesn’t change. The desire for nourishment doesn’t change. And there’s such a collapse of the industrial music industry that produces stuff that’s so repelling, eventually people when they find out there’s something else out there, they don’t buy the other stuff. And the reason they stopped buying that was because there was something else that was available. And when
There’s a “ bigger audience
for European and American classical music, for jazz and what they now call world music than there’s ever been before. And that’s because the central nervous system of human beings doesn’t change. The desire for nourishment doesn’t change.” Inflatable Ferret
23 15
DAVID AMRAM continued they tried to blame that on Napster, they suddenly said, (in mocking voice) “We’re so concerned about the rights of the poor artists getting their royalties.” Are they kidding? All you have to do to get any royalties is to be able to afford enough lawyers to get some of what you were cheated out of back – generally speaking. There were people who were honorable, but they are among the few. The deal was, everybody ripped off everybody, and down the food chain were the artists who were supposed to get those royalties. Secondly, and most interesting of all, they found out that the preponderance of stuff that was downloaded were things that you could never buy in a record store. It wasn’t part of that pay-off system of the record industry. Nobody bribed or paid off Beethoven or Mozart or Shakespeare or Bach or Dizzie Gillespie or Charlie Parker or a whole army of people who’ve enriched the whole world. No one paid them off to make it more beautiful, so it’s not necessary to have that as the only operating system. So, suddenly this thing called the Internet made it possible to get a lot of stuff you couldn’t get before. For 99% of all the musicians in the world, especially those with some sincere feeling of wanting to create something beautiful and pay their rent, suddenly the door’s wide open. For those who say, “Oh, it levels out the playing field. There’s too many people and too much competition” I always say, “there’s never too many sunsets.” The fact that it’s an open door means for the first time in his-
23 16
Inflatable Ferret
Amram’s diverse drum collection in his Putnam Valley home
tory almost everyone has a chance to do something and have one person in the world appreciate it. All you need is one person. Charles Mingus told me that in 1955 in the tiny Café Bohemia where the owner, if he didn’t like your attitude, he’d beat you up and throw you out. And Mingus said, “Look man, I don’t care how ratty the joint is. Every night with me is Carnegie Hall.” He said,
“Just find one person to play for, and play for them. All you need in your life is one person to play for.” This was right before I turned 25, and he said, “I know you’re writing symphonies like me that no one even wants to look at and will probably never get played. But all you need is one person to write it for.” And I never forgot that. So, I played at Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday not
“
Well since Shakespeare himself, the greatest rapper of all, said that brevity’s the soul of wit/ He would’ve freestyled all afternoon, but at the very end he would’ve said, ‘That’s it!’” too long ago there were 20,000 people, and the next night where I played at the Cornelia Street Café (where I play the first Monday of every month) there were 60 people. Inflatable Ferret: You have all these necklaces. Do you wear them everywhere you go? DA: When I met you on the plane I had these on, and since I saw you I’ve been in Iceland and Abu Dhabi. This one I got when I conducted the Wichita Falls, Texas Symphony. The concertmaster came up and said, (in Texas drawl) “Mr. Amram, we want to give ya our state bluebonnet, and we want you to know you’re the first guest conductor Wichita Falls, Texas Symphony ever had that didn’t act like a Nazi!” (laughs) I said, “I don’t think I can use that on my brochure, but I certainly appreciate it.” Inflatable Ferret: What are you working on now? DA: Well, I’m starting a fourth book, since my big speedometer tells me November 17th, 2010 I’m going to be 80. It’s going to be called David Amram: The First 80 Years and Larry Kramer is doing a documentary about me of the same name. And I’m starting a new classical piece – I was going to write a mass with [author] Frank McCourt, but he was so busy that he never could
quite get all the material together, so whatever piece I write will be dedicated in his memory. Inflatable Ferret: Obviously you have an appreciation for all kinds of music. Do you ever listen to any modern music or rap? DA: Oh, sure. I did some scat, which is the foundation of rap, but it was a different rhythm. (starts to freestyle) “Here we are in Putnam Valley and I’m being interviewed by two people who both go to Fordham U/And I hope what I’ve said this afternoon has some kind of value, and I can honestly say that most of it is true/Now when we met on that airplane a long time ago I bet you never thought the afternoon would end up like this/But having you call up on (because I missed you last Sunday because I had to be somewhere else) is an experience I definitely wouldn’t want to miss/ Now people who rhyme compulsively like this are usually taken away for being certifiably crazy/And I often do this before I introduce the song I wrote with Jack Kerouac, which we know today as the song from Pull My Daisy/Well since Shakespeare himself, the greatest rapper of all, said that brevity’s the soul of wit/ He would’ve freestyled all afternoon, but at the very end he would’ve said, “That’s it!” That wouldn’t get the Pulitzer
Prize for poetry, but that process is something I was familiar with before the word “rap” came. Rapping is something that’s part of an old cultural experience, and some of the rappers, especially some of the ones who aren’t part of the industrial rappers complex, are phenomenal. There’s a group called the Flobots. Some of them were school teachers, one of them played the Denver symphony. When I was at the Denver Library they wanted me to do some poetry and include rap, so they asked if I could do something with the Flobots. So, I was freestyling with one of the Flobots, and then I got him to do some scatting, and he said he’d never done it before, but he was terrific. There I was, a guy older than their grandparents, doing something that started during the era of their grandparents, which they have further refined, and it’s constantly developing. Max Roach, the great drummer, said that eventually music is going to be added to what kids are doing. They’re denied instruments in the schools and the education we had, so they have to create their own musical art with no instruments. And that’s slowly happening. I go to high schools and colleges, and there’s a phenomenal level of all forms of the performing arts. There’s a huge number of gifted composers, songwriters, rappers, ballet dancers, actors, rappers, and they’re not going to go away. IF
Inflatable Ferret
23 17
HEADER TEXT
THE TWIN CITY TORTOISE CITY TWIN THE > > > How steady management & the love of rock has kept minneapolis’ best independent label alive for ten years & counting words: james passarelli
IF YOU ARE OR WERE a music buff in the past few decades, there’s a good chance you fantasized about starting your own record label. It would feature quality music by all your friends’ bands that you thought were awesome. It would put you and your city’s independent music scene on the map. And above all, it would Not. Sell. Out. That last one is a concept with which just about everyone has struggled at some point or another. The “sell-out” question accompanies success in any field, but the nature of the music industry makes it especially pertinent to bands and record labels. For Tom Loftus, Modern Radio founder and co-owner, it’s a simple answer. “It’s a labor of love,” claims Loftus. “One that we end up spending a lot of our free time on, happily.” Founded by Loftus in Minneapolis, Modern Radio was born as a result of Loftus’ heavy involvement in the Minneapolis punk scene and general distaste for “garbage” commercial radio. The label kicked off in the summer of 1999 with three releases by Minneapolis bands: The Misfires’ Dead End Expressway LP, and two split 7” records, one by The Hidden Chord, and the other featuring Brand New Unit and Killsadie. The records were hits, and the label quickly got the attention of a Minneapolis rock scene that would reach its prime in the few years following. All four of the label’s founding bands would break up soon thereafter, but they laid the foundations for a new generation of artists to carry on their tradition of big-time innovation on a small-time scale. Just a year after its inception, the label released Minneapolis indie legends The Plastic
Constellation’ debut full-length, as well as the chart-topping Motion City Soundtrack’s first CDEP. In 2005 Loftus’ friend Pete Mielech joined the ranks as Loftus’ partner and co-owner, and that Spring STNNNG, a Twin City punk band striving for the modest title of “the ultimate basement party band”, released their first LP Dignified Sissy. Since then Modern Radio has put out over twenty-five more releases (fifty total releases altogether), all without writing a single contract. “Almost everything on the label has come from prior friendships,” says Loftus. “We want to be able to work with artists we trust and know.”
The easiest way for the label to go about that has been working mainly with artists from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. In 2006 Minneapolis newspaper City Pages named Modern Radio “Best Record Label of the Twin Cities.” Today the label touts a number of accomplished local bands, including punk outfits The Chambermaids, The Danforths, ft (The Shadow Government), and STNNNG, as well as psychedelic four-piece Daughters of the Sun and genre-spanning Vampire Hands. “With Modern, your motive is being into what you’re doing and
repping your city,” says Pete Biasi, st (The Shadow Government) bassist and former member of The Misfires and another Modern band Signal to Trust. “Twin City has something hot happening - we’ve got some great bands.” In some respects, Modern Radio is more a collective than a group of separate bands. With a number of side projects between members and constant musician sharing (most of the artists on the label play in at least one additional band with other musicians on the label), Modern Radio is based on a community. But that community is in no way limited to the Twin Cities. They’ve worked with and released albums by a number of out-of-state artists, including Portland-based indie-folk singer Mirah, experimental San Franciscans Deerhoof, and Iowa bluesman William Elliot Whitmore. “It was never just a local scale. We always thought our bands were as good as anything else out there,” Loftus explains. In the age of the digital music explosion, Loftus and Mielech focus on the hard copy. Sure, they sell digital albums and songs through iTunes just like any other label, but their insistence on quality album artwork sets them apart from most of their contemporary modern music distributors. Artwork has always been an important aspect for Modern, Biasi explains, “whether it’s hand-screened stuff done by the band or using local artists.” To iPod users, the method may sound outdated, but to Modern musicians artwork is a key element to the listening experience. And in the midst of major record label confusion, Loftus and Mielech have no worries about the future of their
Inflatable Ferret
19
HEADER TEXT MODERN RADIO continued label. Or at least Loftus doesn’t. “I’ll be the first to say that I’m not surprised we made it to ten years,” he told The AV Club in a recent interview, “and I won’t be surprised when we make it to twenty.” With Mielech focusing more on numbers and Loftus on management, Modern Radio seems poised for success for as long as the two have the energy to put out material. Their dedication, their contemporaries will tell you, is only matched by their ability to have fun. “With those guys it takes all of ten minutes hanging out with them to become friends,” says STNNNG bassist Jesse Kwakenat. “They aren’t tough to get to know.” Probably most impressive about Modern Radio is that it’s not even a fulltime business. Loftus has worked at various non-profit organizations, and Mielech spent time in design before landing a service position at a local hospital, but for neither is the label a fulltime job. “I think it’s kind of nice that way,” says Vampire Hands guitarist Chris Rose. “That means they’re actually interested in it and not just trying to make money off of it.” The same holds true for most of the musicians. Kwakenat spends his wee days teaching, while Rose works a part-time office job. But don’t let the part-time tag shape your thoughts about the members’ involvement. Whether touring, recording, or planning, everyone involved with the label puts his fair share of time and energy into each release. And Loftus and Mielech spend just as much time on the road as touring bands: Loftus has seen both Signal of a Trust and STNNNG play live over a hundred times. “[Modern Radio] is not something that’s that separated from my
23 20
Inflatable Ferret
Co-owners Mielech and Loftus
Photo by Carl Wedoff
daily life,” says Neil Weird, founding member of The Chambermaids. “We all run into each other on an almost nightly basis.” In its eleventh full year of existence, Modern Radio is taking a tortoise approach to a business often ruined by the hare mentality. The label rarely presses over a thousand CD or vinyl copies, a large reason why they’ve never suffered a significant loss. “I think that’s the downfall of a lot of labels,” Weir says, “they overexert themselves with the vague idea that something’s going to come of it and they’ll somehow pay for their expenses. Tom is really good at not over-reaching, and he’s very realistic about the relationship between what he puts into a record and what he expects to come out of it in terms of sales. He’s conservative that way, which is a major contributing factor to the longevity of the label.” For Kwakenat, “stable” is the word that best defines Modern. “It’s really nice to have guys like Tom
and Pete who really understand the economics of it. You can count on them not to fuck it up when you’re releasing a record. And that’s super important with small labels.” Modern celebrated its tenth anniversary in January with a twonight event featuring all their powerhouses, the second night including a reunion appearance by The Plastic Constellations and the label’s newest addition Skoal Kodiak. As for the future, Modern plans to release a six-track split 12” by Vampire Hands and Daughters of the Sun in April. STNNNG hopes to release their third LP The Smoke of My Will in the fall or summer, and Skoal Kodiak are working on their first record. With a rapidly changing world musical climate and the disintegration of top dog record labels, who knows who will still be standing in at the turn of the decade? But even if the rest of the musical world is in ruins, you can always take a trip up to Minneapolis and celebrate Modern Radio’s twentieth anniversary with them. IF
Modern Radio’s merchandise table at their tenth anniversary show Photo by Sharyn Morrow
MODERN RADIO | Quick Facts WHERE: Minneapolis, MN WHO: Pete Mielech and Tom Loftus WEBSITE: www.modern-radio.com BANDS: The Chambermaids The Danforths Daughters of the Sun His Mischief ft (The Shadow Government) Skoal Kodiak STNNNG Tornavlanche Vampire Hands
COMING THIS YEAR: Skoal Kodiak Debut Album (no name yet) STNNNG The Smoke of My Will Vampire Hands/ Daughters of the Sun Split 12”
Flyer for Minneso ta Migration show , featuring Mod ern bands
Inflatable Ferret
23 21
80 MINUTES OF MUSIC IF YOU THOUGHT Morpheus’ pill test was too much of a brainteaser then bracketology may not be for you. March is a month where converting trees to paper becomes a necessity for fueling NCAA basketball brackethungry fiends. Not to mention a time for fans to see the inauspicious Winthrops of the world be dismantled on a national stage. So just in case Obama hasn’t stimulated your ass enough, perhaps our 80-minute playlist of pumpup music will get the job done. If not, move to Canada.
MARCH MADNESS
Kurtis Blow (need we say more?)
1
Archie 4:37 “We Ready”
Aside from weekly mass where else will you hear someone say “Break Bread?”
Blow 3:47 2 Kurtis “Basketball”
What do you get when Charlie Murphy’s suave and Prince’s musical talents meet? Well, I wouldn’t have any idea if Chappelle’s Show hadn’t paid proper tribute to the living legend. But it’s impossible to exaggerated Blow’ s ridiculousness. Only looking at his eyes in the music video will have you feeling as though you’ve stared at the sun for too long.
4:35 3 Nelly “Heart of a Champion”
If anyone’s impression of this man came from The Longest Yard , I apologize. I heard
23 22
Inflatable Ferret
Adam Sandler is paying reparations for anyone who shows proof of a ticket stub (rumor). Anyway, kudos to Nelly for his rap game and to increasing Band-Aid’s sales by 36%.
3:45 4 Technotronic “Pump Up the Jam”
Released in 1989. Not a more fitting way to enter the 90’s.
Jones 3:45 5 Jim “We Fly High”
“Ballllllllllllllliiinnnn.”
Wayne 4:03 6 Lil“Cannon”
Any Weeeezzy fans out there? Don’t answer. It’s a rhetorical question. Whether or not you fancy Wayne’s voice, the instrumentals for this song will improve any Asian’s chance of getting above the rim.
Halen 5:06 7 Van “Right Now”
May the gods of rock accept this song as homage for Nickelback’s sins.
65 4:16 8 Eiffel “My Console”
Okay, seriously, if anyone knows where the fuck these guys are or what they’re doing, I’ll personally drop the cash for a reunion tour.
4:57 9 Eminem “Till I Collapse”
Warning: Song may cause you to lose yourself.
–n-Pepa 4:10 10 Salt “Shoop”
In no way is this a pump up song nor does it share any correlation to basketball. But hey, “Shoop” is only one character away from “Shoot,” so back off.
FOR FOR MARCH MADNESS 4:05 11 Jay-Z “Brooklyn’ We Go Hard”
This song does seem to target a specific demographic. So if someone calls you out on it my advice is to just pretend you’re from the city that never sleeps or quote Synecdoche , New York . Either way people will be impressed.
By Nature 4:31 12 Naughty “OPP”
“You down with OPP?” “Yeah You Know Me.” x3 “Who’s Down with OPP?” “Every Last Inflatable Ferret.” x3 – Quote slightly altered.
5:40 13 Metallica “Enter Sandman”
Not a lot to joke about here. Many props to Kirk Hammett for being one of the sickest guitarists this past century. (This rating excludes any musicians from School of Rock, as well as Jack Black.)
of Pain 3:37 14 House “Jump Around”
Ranked #63 on VH1’s “Greatest One Hit Wonders,” House of Pain’s “Jump Around” is
played at various sport complexes throughout the US. Lucky for them the luck hasn’t stopped there. The song has been featured multiple times on the TV series My Name Is Earl . No wonder Tyler Parry’s House of Payne is struggling in the ratings.
few reasons. One, his website (Trickdaddy. com) throws viewers into the drivers seat of a car. Two, Lil Jon yells “Lets Go!” anywhere from twenty to sixty times during the song. Three, I cant think of anything else, but it’s a good jam so just check it out.
Brothers 5:02 Fatboy Slim 6:53 18 15 Chemical “Galvanize” “The Rockafeller Skank” Galvanize: To shock or excite (someone), typically into taking action. Enjoy this classic, and try to keep your pulse down.
“Right about now, the funk soul brother.” A pre-game masterpiece by the Phat Boy himself.
3:35 16 AC/DC “TNT”
While listening to this song I tend to envision the historical triumphs are nation has faced. Pearl Harbor. Joey Chestnut defeating Kobayashi’s hot dog eating record. “Miracle on Ice.” Sarah Palin not becoming vice president. Even Wilmer Valderrama getting acting gigs.
Daddy ft. Twista 17 Trick & Lil Jon 3:46 “Lets Go”
Perfect to add to your pump up playlist for a
Inflatable Ferret
23