Inkstuds Radio

Noah Van Sciver’s mix actually had me hunting pretty hard for some of the tracks, so he gets some well deserved kudo’s. Noah was on the show a couple of months ago to talk about his great comic, Blammo. I like his comics and you should too.

Noah Van Sciver Mixtape 11 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ed Choy Moorman was a part of the burgeoning cartooning scene in Minneapolis, but has since moved to Chicago. He recently released the anthology, Ghost Comics. Ed will be joining on the show at some point soon. Here is a PDF of the artwork and instructions to add to your enjoyment.

Song list (plain)

1. PULP – BABIES
2. JAY-Z – DECEMBER 4
3. LAURIE ANDERSON – LET X=X
4. HANDSOME FURS – I’M CONFUSED
5. RANDY NEWMAN – GUILTY
6. THE LANGLEY SCHOOLS MUSIC PROJECT – DESPERADO
7. TOM WAITS – I DON’T WANNA GROW UP
8. THE SHANGRI-LAS – OUT ON THE STREETS
9. LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOT FIVE – WEST END BLUES
10. DAVID BYRNE – GLASS, CONCRETE AND STONE
11. THE WALKMEN – EVERYONE WHO PRETENDED TO LIKE ME IS GONE
12. FRANK ZAPPA – UNCLE REMUS
13. NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE – WINTERLONG (LIVE)
14. SUICIDE – DREAMS
15. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS – ALPHA RATS NEST
16. R.E.M. – SHAKING THROUGH
17. WHY? – FATALIST PALMISTRY
18. TOWNES VAN ZANDT – PONCHO AND LEFTY

PULP – BABIES

Jarvis Cocker’s stories sound skeevy, sweaty, and desperate. Of course I identify.

JAY-Z – DECEMBER 4

Jay acts like a star so convincingly, you soak up his swagger. That’s the secret to his success. Morrissey’s taken a similar perspective recently.
Jay-Z: “If you can’t respect that, your whole perspective is wack. Maybe you’ll love me when I fade to black.” – “December 4”
Moz: “You don’t like me but you love me – either way, you’re wrong. You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone!” – “All You Need Is Me”

LAURIE ANDERSON – LET X=X

Anderson married Lou Reed a couple years back.
My friend Abby remarked that you don’t know who to be jealous of.

HANDSOME FURS – I’M CONFUSED

HF are Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade and his wife, the writer Alexei Perry. Wolf Parade fans tend to prefer its other frontman, Spencer Krug. Krug is cute, literary, and spouts surreal lyrics. He’s fine and all, but as far as I’m concerned, Boeckner’s the man. Example: Boeckner has a six-inch tattoo of a Halloween black cat on his bicep. I know that because he was wearing a cut-off Metallica Kill ‘Em All t-shirt when I saw Wolf Parade. He reminds me of a modern, more anxious Bruce Springsteen.
I felt a story threading through these songs starting here.

RANDY NEWMAN – GUILTY

This man became famous for the Toy Story soundtrack. What a world!
The “warts and all” approach to character is almost dull it’s so common in comics, but it’s still rare in songwriting.

THE LANGLEY SCHOOLS MUSIC PROJECT – DESPERADO

The Eagles song. These recordings come from the classroom of an elementary school music teacher who was a failed musician. He had the crazy idea that kids should be singing popular songs, the songs that they like.

TOM WAITS – I DON’T WANNA GROW UP

I bought a cassette of Bone Machine for a dollar at the Salvation Army across the street from the School of Visual Arts in NY when I toured the school. I had heard of, but never heard Waits. I started the ignition on my mom’s old Dodge and popped it in the deck. I swore there were ghosts in my stereo. I was hooked.
The Ramones covered this in the ‘90s.

THE SHANGRI-LAS – OUT ON THE STREETS

It shouldn’t work. If someone were to tell me about it, I’d think it was probably cornball garbage. But I buy it. All of it.

The story thread seems to end with this one.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOT FIVE – WEST END BLUES

I heard this in Ken Burns’ Jazz.

DAVID BYRNE – GLASS, CONCRETE AND STONE

My friend J.P. once told me about when he left Illinois for the first time to go to school. He got in his red pickup at 7AM and put in a tape that his childhood best friend, Andrew, had made for him. The tape hissed and Andrew’s voice came from the speaker. Then a ‘click,’ indicating Andrew pressing ‘stop’ on the tape recorder. “Glass, Concrete and Stone” began. Tears streamed down J.P.’s face by the time Byrne reached the chorus.

THE WALKMEN – EVERYONE WHO PRETENDED TO LIKE ME IS GONE

My favorite modern band, easy. I love their textures, and their disaffected tone.

FRANK ZAPPA – UNCLE REMUS

I’ve put this on every mix tape I’ve ever made. Its buildup makes it a great transition. In high school I tried to find out if Zappa made any other music like it. He didn’t.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE – WINTERLONG (LIVE)

When I was in high school, I thought that I would like to make a movie that ends with a slow-motion car crash, soundtracked by “Winterlong.”

I probably shouldn’t have told you that.

SUICIDE – DREAMS

I got this off the Open Ends: Musical Exploration in New York 1960-2000 CD from the MoMA store. I stole that from my mom.
Bruce Springsteen covered their “Dream Baby Dream” live.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS – ALPHA RATS NEST

John Darnielle writes the best sensory details of any songwriter I’ve ever heard. And it’s anthemic enough for a car full of teenagers to wail along with at the top of their lungs.
I consider him a gold standard. Same with Newman.

R.E.M. – SHAKING THROUGH

I love Stipe’s voice cracking during the bridge. Murmur’s my favorite album.

WHY? – FATALIST PALMISTRY

Yoni Wolf writes about sex and death. How could I resist? I’d like to cover this as a country song.

TOWNES VAN ZANDT – PANCHO AND LEFTY

I heard the story is that Lefty got paid to kill Pancho. That’s why Townes says, “Pancho needs your prayers, it’s true, but save a few for Lefty too. He just did what he had to do, and now he’s growing old.”
There’s an old screenwriting dictum that “The audience cries when the characters don’t.” I get that here. Van Zandt’s warmth, subtlety, and empathy for his characters always surprises me, no matter how many times I hear his songs.
Check out the documentary about him; Be Here to Love Me. Tons of crazy stories.

Inkstuds Mixtape Vol 10 Ed Choy Moorman Play Now | Play in Popup | Download