r.mutt's blog

8/18/06 MUSIC CRITICS IN EXTREMIS well there you have it. my choice for the greatest song of the 60's was "louie louie," and, while they didn't agree with me, they did end up with the best pop song of all time. not the correct choice, but a very good choice nonetheless. probably, i don't need to extol the virtues of "god only knows" to you. as stated in the liner notes of the pet sounds reissue and as every music critic ever has pointed out, how awesome is it that this, one of the most heartfelt love songs of all time, begins with the line "i may not always love you"? but what's truly important is the three-part round melody at the end. it literally makes me shiver every time i listen to the stereo mix of the album on headphones. and the french horn that tops it all off... (kisses fingertips). the thing about "louie louie" is that you can't fuck it up. it's such a great song that anyone can play it. the opposite is true of "god only knows." very very few have pulled it off. the only one that comes to mind is claudine longet, who can scarcely record a cover that isn't amazing. petra haden, for example, couldn't. and have you ever seen the movie saved!? that mandy moore and michael stipe duet just about killed everything that is great about the song. but, while i was going through that greatest songs of the 60's list all week, i kept getting the feeling that they were blowing their load too early. the obvious choice for greatest song would have been "(i can't get no) satisfaction." they swept that one aside in the introductory paragraph and, really, i don't know who they think they're kidding (not top 200? the white dudes at pitchfork? seriously?). i may not think "satisfaction" is top five and you may not either, but they sure as hell do. but, early on, they let almost all of the all-time greats drop prematurely. both "louie louie" and "tous les garçons et les filles" went before #150. for no particular reason, here's what i would have picked for the ten greatest pop and/or rock and roll singles of the 60's, with their pitchfork ranking in parentheses: 10. van morrison "t.b. sheets" (not ranked) 9. the shaggs "my pal foot foot" (not ranked) 8. the stooges "i wanna be your dog" (16) 7. the shangri-la's "leader of the pack" (30) 6. the impressions "people get ready" (139) 5. the velvet underground "sister ray" (148) 4. françoise hardy "tous les garçons et les filles" (170) 3. the supremes "i hear a symphony" (123) 2. the beach boys "god only knows" (1) 1. the kingsmen "louie louie" (154) i'm somewhat surprised. no elvis, beatles, or the rolling stones. and that's right: shaggs, not beefheart. the double meaning of françoise hardy's naïveté and the subtlety and simplicity of curtis mayfield's metaphor instead of bob dylan's fucking protest songs. and you better believe "i hear a symphony" beats "river deep, mountain high." p.s. speaking of pet sounds and the first stooges album, try this on for size. 8/12/06 I JOINED THE SUB POP SINGLES CLUB AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS SEXIST DWARVES 7" some stuff happened. i finally finished that long-promised pipettes column. i also put up this mp3 from my forthcoming record. so instead of a new album, which has been pushed back indefinitely, there will be three new records. it is with great amusement that i introduce the official monoculture media conglomerate fan club. this is not a joke. actually, this is a joke, but the three records you get for joining the fan club are real. so yeah, three records. the first one is called the joshua tree: demos, studies, and jokes and, as its subtitle suggests, it's what came out of the last few months of me working out songs for the upcoming album, playing with ideas, and dicking around. the sleeve will be designed by andrea wong. the second one is called greatest hits and will feature all of your old favourites and some new stuff — what would a greatest hits collection be without a few exclusive new tracks to screw you? the third is called the emo years: 1997-2001 and will feature mostly previously unreleased crap from way back, including the very first recordings i made when i was sixteen. the joshua tree is 99.5% finished and, but for the cover art, could be ready to go tomorrow morning if i were so inclined. i'm still culling through old master tapes, so the other two will take up to another month. but if you want to join monoculture fc right away and get in on the pre-ordering fun, click the silly little button below. r.mutt's diaryland profile tradition and the individual talents' friendster profile r.mutt's shopping list r.mutt blog archives