Category Archives: gmmp

Speed It Up – Track Listing

Track Listing Complete!

01 – Antony and the Johnsons – Divine [splotchy]
02 – U.S. Maple – Open A Rose [splotchy]
03 – James Brown – It’s A New Day [splotchy]
04 – The Feelies – The High Road [splotchy]
05 – The Wedding Present – It’s A Gas [splotchy]
06 – The Ramones – Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment [splotchy]
07 – Hüsker Dü – Divide And Conquer [splotchy]
08 – The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms [splotchy]
09 – Elvis Costello – I Want You [beckeye]
10 – Pearl Jam – Come Back [beckeye]
11 – Ryan Adams – Halloweenhead [beckeye]
12 – Guided by Voices – Twilight Campfighter [beckeye]
13 – The Bottle Rockets – Nancy Sinatra [beckeye]
14 – Edwin Starr – 25 Miles [beckeye]
15 – Squeeze – Misadventure [beckeye]
16 – Flogging Molly – Seven Deadly Sins [beckeye]
17 – Fairport Convention – Who Knows Where the Time Goes [johnnyyen]
18 – Jack Johnson – Flake [johnnyyen]
19 – Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers – Pablo Picasso [johnnyyen]
20 – Joni Mitchell – Free Man In Paris [johnnyyen]
21 – Elvis Presley – That’s All Right Mama [johnnyyen]
22 – The Clash – Brand New Cadillac [johnnyyen]
23 – Motörhead – Ace of Spades [johnnyyen]
24 – The Dead Kennedys – Religious Vomit [johnnyyen]
25 – The Constantines – Saint You [barbara]
26 – AC Newman – Drink to Me Then Babe [barbara]
27 – Wood Pigeon – Chorus of Wolves [barbara]
28 – Cuff the Duke – Belgium or Peru [barbara]
29 – Teagan and Sara – Speak Slow [barbara]
30 – The B-52’s – Private Idaho [barbara]
31 – Tokyo Police Club – Cheer It On [barbara]
32 – Stiff Little Fingers – Suspect Device [barbara]
33 – Cocteau Twins – Multifoiled [timdrussell]
34 – Radiohead – A Reminder [timdrussell]
35 – My Bloody Valentine – Emptiness Inside [timdrussell]
36 – Yo La Tengo – One PM Again [timdrussell]
37 – Pixies – Planet of Sound [timdrussell]
38 – The Police – Deathwish [timdrussell]
39 – The Cure – Why Can’t I Be You? [timdrussell]
40 – Beastie Boys – Nervous Assistant [timdrussell]
41 – Radiohead – Pyramid Song [tenaciouss]
42 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Spread Your Love [tenaciouss]
43 – Joy Division – Failures [tenaciouss]
44 – Jazz Butcher – Grooving in the Bus Lane [tenaciouss]
45 – The Methadones – Turning Inside Out [tenaciouss]
46 – Voodoo Glow Skulls – Nicotine Fit [tenaciouss]
47 – Ministry – TV2 [tenaciouss]

Lots of great tunes here!

Green Monkey Mix Volume 7 Accepting Participant(s)

Even though I can’t wait for Halloween, I’d like to kick off Volume 7 of the Green Monkey Music Project.

We’re going to dial down the insanity from Volume 6 and only have five participants for this mix, so that’s four open slots for all you bloggers.

Tenacious S had expressed an interest in participating in a future mix. Ten S, the future is now. You can have a slot if you want it (claim it in the comments section of this post).

I mentioned this mix to Johnny Yen, who I believe is interested in participating this time around. That’s another slot eaten up.

I also tapped my buddy Tim to play along. That’s yet another slot if he is up to the challenge.

Assuming everyone I’m holding a spot for ends up participating, that still leaves one open slot for a lucky participant.

Okay, what are we doing in this mix volume?

This mix will be called Speed It Up.

The rules to this mix are tied to the speed of the songs. Each participant will provide from five to eight songs. Each song in your minimix has to be faster than the last. Your first song can be as slow as you want. Your fast song can be as fast as you want. I just ask that each song in your minimix is faster than its predecessor.

Just to be clear, the speed of your songs is not related to any of the other participants’ selections. Your mix is self-contained (Slowest song —> Fastest song).

Okay, let’s go!

UPDATE!

We have our participants!

Beckeye!
Johnny Yen!
Tim!
Tenacious S!
Splotchy!
Barbara!

Thanks to everyone for signing on!

Faster! Faster! Play Faster!

From a recent comment, I see that Doctor Monkey Von Monkerstein might be having trouble getting his head around the concept of the latest Green Monkey Mix, Speed It Up.

Since he’s pretty intelligent for a monkey, I figure there might be others that are in the same boat as he.

So, here’s a visual aid to the theme behind the mix.

Like the nice man in the video says, “Faster! Faster! Play faster!”

I would like to point out that I do not wish this mix to result in anyone’s premature death.

Presenting The Can’t Wait For Halloween Mix!

Volume 6 of the Green Monkey Music Project has been completed, and is available for download!

If the participants of this mix want to discuss their own selections, please feel free to do so! I’ll put a pointer on this post if you end up posting about it on your own blog (or you could always just add comments here, I suppose).

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CAN’T WAIT FOR HALLOWEEN!
==========================

Rules And Theme Details

The Participants Discuss Their Selections:
Splotchy!
Idea Of Progress!
Chris!
Beckeye!
Barbara!
Manx!
Dale!

The Songs:

Get the mix in horrifying chunks!

A Bloody Lump of Songs 1-5! (All of Splotchy’s songs)
The Hideous Decaying Pile of Songs 6-10! (All of Idea Of Progress’s songs)
The Grinning Ghostly Apparition of Songs 11-15! (All of Frank Sirmarco’s songs)
The Goblin That Ate Songs 16-20! (All of Chris’ songs)
The Black Viscous Horror Of Songs 21-25! (All of Beckeye’s songs)
The Faint Eerie Moaning of Songs 26-30! (All of Barbara’s songs)
Someone Is In The House With Songs 31-35! (All of Manx’s songs)
The Putrid Corpselike Stench of Songs 36-40! (All of MattyBoy’s songs)
The Demented Hillbilly Laughter Of Songs 41-45! (All of Dale’s songs)
The Curious Death of Songs 46-50! (All of Lulu’s songs)
The Tiny Shrunken Head Of Song 51! (Allen L.’s song)

Track Listing
01 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand [splotchy]
02 – Echo and the Bunnymen – The Yo Yo Man [splotchy]
03 – Roky Erickson – Creature With The Atom Brain [splotchy]
04 – Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam [splotchy]
05 – Flaming Lips – Ice Drummer [splotchy]
06 – The Residents – Harry the Head [ideaofprogress]
07 – Lordi – Would You Love a Monsterman? [ideaofprogress]
08 – The Shaggs – It’s Halloween [ideaofprogress]
09 – The Creation – Nightmares [ideaofprogress]
10 – Ashcroft & Bacon – Unseen Hand [ideaofprogress]
11 – Blue Öyster Cult – Godzilla [franksirmarco]
12 – Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London [franksirmarco]
13 – Edgar Winter Group – Frankenstein [franksirmarco]
14 – The Who – Boris The Spider [franksirmarco]
15 – Ministry – (Every Day) is Halloween [franksirmarco]
16 – Dick Dale – Ghostrider In The Sky [chris]
17 – Fats Waller – Abercrombie Had A Zombie [chris]
18 – Tones on Tail – Movement Of Fear [chris]
19 – Donovan – Season Of The Witch [chris]
20 – Velvet Underground – The Black Angel’s Death Song [chris]
21 – Concrete Blonde – Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) [beckeye]
22 – The Warlocks – Angels in Heaven, Angels in Hell [beckeye]
23 – Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark [beckeye]
24 – The Hooters – All You Zombies [beckeye]
25 – Sia – Breathe Me [beckeye]
26 – Neko Case – Furnace Room Lullaby [barbara]
27 – Violent Femmes – Country Death Song [barbara]
28 – Chad VanGaalen – Graveyard [barbara]
29 – Matthew Good Band – A Boy and His Machine Gun [barbara]
30 – Jarvis Cocker – I Will Kill Again [barbara]
31 – Iron & Wine – No Moon [manx]
32 – The Dead Texan – When I See Scissors, I Cannot Help But Think Of You [manx]
33 – Pinback – Shag [manx]
34 – Tangerine Dream – Circulation Of Events [manx]
35 – Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – Brains [manx]
36 – Tom Waits – What’s That He’s Building? [mattyboy]
37 – Soul Coughing – Unmarked Helicopters [mattyboy]
38 – Len Cariou – Prelude: The Ballad of Sweeney Todd [mattyboy]
39 – Tom Lehrer – I Hold Your Hand In Mine [mattyboy]
40 – Joe Jackson – In Every Dream Home [mattyboy]
41 – The Misfits – Death Comes Ripping [dale]
42 – Willard Grant Conspiracy – Ghost of the Girl in The Well [dale]
43 – Siouxsie and the Banshees – Peek A Boo [dale]
44 – Björk – Play Dead [dale]
45 – Richard Shindell – Are You Happy Now? [dale]
46 – Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party [lulu]
47 – Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi is Dead [lulu]
48 – The Cranberries – Zombie [lulu]
49 – The Jazz Butcher – The Devil Is My Friend [lulu]
50 – Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack – Time Warp [lulu]
51 – Dead Kennedys – Halloween [allenl]

It is my great honor to award the first Green Monkey Master Badge to Chris! This is his third time participating in GMMP, which now makes him a Green Monkey Master.

Apart from the glory, Green Monkey Masters have the right to helm a future Green Monkey Music Project, deciding the theme of the mix, number of participants, etc.

Congratulations, Chris!

Splotchy’s Contribution To Can’t Wait For Halloween

Here’s a discussion of my selections for Can’t Wait For Halloween, Volume 6 of the Green Monkey Music Project.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand
From the album Let Love In. Halloween songs don’t come much better than this. A spooky groove, and great creepy lyrics.

You’re one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan
Designed and directed by his red right hand

Echo and the Bunnymen – The Yo Yo Man
From their classic Ocean Rain. There are many people who would have gone for “The Killing Moon” off the same album, instead of this song, but those people are wrong. Wrong, I tells ya!

Roky Erickson – Creature With The Atom Brain
Roky was the lead singer for the great Austin, Texas psychedelic band the 13th Floor Elevators. Roky has had mental health issues from time to time, but he’s out and hopefully doing better. He has a real, unironic fascination with the occult and science fiction. This is one of my favorite songs of his. If someone could please do a strange favor for me, please tell me what the sound effect is at approximately the 2 minute, 38 second mark in this song. It has something to do with television (like a test signal or something), but I don’t know what’s it for exactly.

Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam
We go way, way back to Pink Floyd’s first album, Piper At The Gates of Dawn. I don’t know that it’s so scary, but I think it is ominous. And, of course it has the word Lucifer in the title. Tim ever so slightly ruined this song for me, when he a corrected a lyric I had misheard in this song.

I thought it was:
Black cat’s something I can’t explain

But it actually is:
That cat’s something I can’t explain

Don’t worry, I still sing the superior “Black cat” line.

Flaming Lips – Ice Drummer
This can be found on their EP Providing Needles for Your Balloons, as well as on a tribute album to the band Suicide. This is actually a cover of a song by Suicide’s singer Alan Vega. It’s not immediately obvious this song has a Halloween connection, but in my opinion the lyrics are sufficiently spooky:

Saturn is in the night sky
A freezing, freezing ring of fear
The moon is bright and hanging heavy
A werewolf drives on by in his Chevy

Can’t Wait For Halloween Mix – Track Listing

The Now Complete Track Listing!

01 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand [splotchy]
02 – Echo and the Bunnymen – The Yo Yo Man [splotchy]
03 – Roky Erickson – Creature With The Atom Brain [splotchy]
04 – Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam [splotchy]
05 – Flaming Lips – Ice Drummer [splotchy]
06 – The Residents – Harry the Head [ideaofprogress]
07 – Lordi – Would You Love a Monsterman? [ideaofprogress]
08 – The Shaggs – It’s Halloween [ideaofprogress]
09 – The Creation – Nightmares [ideaofprogress]
10 – Ashcroft & Bacon – Unseen Hand [ideaofprogress]
11 – Blue Oyster Cult – Godzilla [franksirmarco]
12 – Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London [franksirmarco]
13 – Edgar Winter Group – Frankenstein [franksirmarco]
14 – The Who – Boris The Spider [franksirmarco]
15 – Ministry – (Every Day) is Halloween [franksirmarco]
16 – Dick Dale – Ghostrider In The Sky [chris]
17 – Fats Waller – Abercrombie Had A Zombie [chris]
18 – Tones on Tail – Movement Of Fear [chris]
19 – Donovan – Season Of The Witch [chris]
20 – Velvet Underground – The Black Angel’s Death Song [chris]
21 – Concrete Blonde – Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) [beckeye]
22 – The Warlocks – Angels in Heaven, Angels in Hell [beckeye]
23 – Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark [beckeye]
24 – The Hooters – All You Zombies [beckeye]
25 – Sia – Breathe Me [beckeye]
26 – Neko Case – Furnace Room Lullaby [barbara]
27 – Violent Femmes – Country Death Song [barbara]
28 – Chad VanGaalen – Graveyard [barbara]
29 – Matthew Good Band – A Boy and His Machine Gun [barbara]
30 – Jarvis Cocker – I Will Kill Again [barbara]
31 – Iron & Wine – No Moon [manx]
32 – The Dead Texan – When I See Scissors, I Cannot Help But Think Of You [manx]
33 – Pinback – Shag [manx]
34 – Tangerine Dream – Circulation Of Events [manx]
35 – Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – Brains [manx]
36 – Tom Waits – What’s That He’s Building? [mattyboy]
37 – Soul Coughing – Unmarked Helicopters [mattyboy]
38 – Len Cariou – Prelude: The Ballad of Sweeney Todd [mattyboy]
39 – Tom Lehrer – I Hold Your Hand In Mine [mattyboy]
40 – Joe Jackson – In Every Dream Home [mattyboy]
41 – The Misfits – Death Comes Ripping [dale]
42 – Willard Grant Conspiracy – Ghost of the Girl in The Well [dale]
43 – Siouxsie and the Banshees – Peekaboo [dale]
44 – Bjork – Play Dead [dale]
45 – Richard Shindell – Are You Happy Now? [dale]
46 – Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party [lulu]
47 – Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi is Dead [lulu]
48 – The Cranberries – Zombie [lulu]
49 – The Jazz Butcher – The Devil Is My Friend [lulu]
50 – Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack – Time Warp [lulu]

I added Beckeye ’cause that’s the kind of guy I am.

The Monkey Awakens For Volume Six

Okay, the green monkey what lives in my brain has had sufficient rest. I have urged him to take it a little easier, not lift anything heavy, etc.

I am proud to announce Volume 6 of the Green Monkey Music Project – Can’t Wait For Halloween.

All the songs must have some tenuous connection to Halloween, or things of a spooky nature. I’m going to allow up to seven people to join in this time, for a total participant count (including me) of eight.

The number of songs that someone can contribute will depend on how many people participate. That being said, participants will be able to contribute five songs no matter what.

I’ll be starting off the mix this time. Here is my song list (which might expand if we get less than eight people playing).

01 – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand
02 – Echo and the Bunnymen – The Yo Yo Man
03 – Roky Erickson – Creature With The Atom Brain
04 – Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam
05 – Flaming Lips – Ice Drummer

I’m reserving one slot for Lulu because she asked so nicely.

The rest of you, please sign up via a comment on this post. You don’t haveta provide your songs yet if you don’t want to, just say you’re interested in joining.

Happy Early Halloween!

UPDATE!

We have our nine(!) participants signed up!

Splotchy!
The Idea Of Progress!
Frank Sirmarco!
Chris!
Lulu!
Barbara!
Manx!
Matty Boy!
Dale!

If Lulu opts to not take part in this mix, I’ll reopen her slot, so to speak. To anyone who may have asked ahead of time to be in the mix, my apologies for not holding a spot for you — I didn’t want to have to go hunting through the comments in my archives.I guess I’m still working out the kinks (or is that The Kinks?).

Since we have a full number of participants in this mix, I ask that you choose no more than five songs for your selections.

For those who haven’t played before, simply leave a comment on this post, indicating the artist and song title of your selections. I’ll attempt to obtain the tracks from my magical jukebox. If I have difficulty getting a song, I’ll ask you to send me a copy. There’s a good chance I’ll be able to find whatever songs you pick.

Thanks to everyone for signing up!

Rest Easy, Little Monkey


The little green monkey what lives in my brain is all tuckered out from the five volumes of the Green Monkey Music Project.

He’s going to take a little nap. Sleep tight, little monkey.

I’ll see you for Volume 6 in a week or two.

Presenting The No Speak English Mix!

Volume 5 of the Green Monkey Music Project has been completed, and is available for download!

If the participants of this mix want to discuss their own selections, please feel free to do so! I’ll put a pointer on this post if you end up posting about it on your own blog (or you could always just add comments here, I suppose).

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NO SPEAK ENGLISH
========================

Rules And Theme Details

The Participants Discuss Their Selections:
Chris!
Manx!
Splotchy!
PJ!
SamuraiFrog!

The Songs:

Get the mix in chunks!

Zipfile of Songs 01 – 08 (All of Chris’ songs)
Zipfile of Songs 09 – 16 (All of Splotchy’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 17 – 24 (All of Manx’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 25 – 31 (All of PJ’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 32 – 38 (All of SamuraiFrog’s songs)

No thanks, I’ll just pick at the songs!

01 – Buckwheat Zydeco – Drivin’ Old Grey [chris]
02 – Ibrahim Ferrer – Boliviana [chris]
03 – Fred Buscaglione – Porfirio Villarosa [chris]
04 – St. Moses Choir of South Africa – Halefa Tshele Wetswe [chris]
05 – Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – Vasos Vacios [chris]
06 – They Might Be Giants – Greek #3 [chris]
07 – Paolo Conte – Genova Per Noi [chris]
08 – Edith Piaf – Hymne a l’amour [chris]
09 – Lassie Singers – Hamburg [splotchy]
10 – Gilberto Gil – Sai Do Sereno [splotchy]
11 – Pugh Rogefeldt – Små Lätta Moln [splotchy]
12 – Michel Polnareff – Le Desert N’est Plus En Afrique [splotchy]
13 – Faust – Psalter [splotchy]
14 – Boubacar Traoré – Samba [splotchy]
15 – Tom Zé – Ui! (Voce Inventa) [splotchy]
16 – Ohio Express – Yummy Yummy Yummy (Italian) [splotchy]
17 – DJ Krush – Le Temps (with DJ Cam) [manx]
18 – Happy End – Natsu Nandesu [manx]
19 – Seu Jorge – Rebel Rebel [manx]
20 – Mouse On Mars – Lasergum [manx]
21 – Bonga – Mona Ki Ngi Xiça [manx]
22 – Trey Parker & Matt Stone – Let’s Fighting Love [manx]
23 – Caetano Veloso – Terra [manx]
24 – Aphex Twin – Windowlicker [manx]
25 – Shakira – Ojos Así [pj]
26 – Shakira Feat. Alejandro Sanz – La Tortura [pj]
27 – Amr Diab – Habibe – Ya Nour El Ain [pj]
28 – La Bomba by Ricky Martin [pj]
29 – Tarkan – Simarik [pj]
30 – Les Nubians – Makeda [pj]
31 – Umoja – Unomathemba [pj]
32 – Pizzicato Five – Sweet Soul Revue [samuraifrog]
33 – Ludivine Sagnier – Papa t’es plus dans l’coup [samuraifrog]
34 – Seu Jorge – O Astronaute De Marmore (Starman) [samuraifrog]
35 – Jacques Brel – Amsterdam [samuraifrog]
36 – Milla – In a Glade [samuraifrog]
37 – Petula Clark – Downtown (German) [samuraifrog]
38 – Ruben Blades – Buscando Guayaba [samuraifrog]

Splotchy’s Contribution To No Speak English

Here’s a discussion of my selections for No Speak English, Volume 5 of the Green Monkey Music Project.

Lassie Singers – Hamburg [German]
Back before the kiddies, when I had cash burning a hole in my pocket, I’d periodically check eBay for obscure Feelies or Luna releases. I would also search for out-of-print books by Italian author Italo Svevo. One of my searches for this author brought back a CD compilation of German artists, Sturm Und Twang! – A Private Collection Of German Underground Pop (one of the artists on the disc went by the name of Svevo). No one had bid on it, and it sounded interesting. I had a variety of German artists in my music library — Faust, Kraftwerk, etc., but hadn’t heard any of these bands. So I placed my $5.00 bid, and soon after I had the CD in my sweaty hands. This song by the Lassie Singers is my favorite of the bunch. I do believe at least one English word is sung in this song, and it’s a dirty one!

Gilberto Gil – Sai Do Sereno [Portuguese]
From the wonderful album Expresso 2222. I love the melody, love the drumming, the guitar. It’s just a really nice song off a really nice album.

Pugh Rogefeldt – Små Lätta Moln [Swedish]
This guy is Swedish. It was by pure luck I stumbled across his music. As you can see from his official website, he’s not necessarily interested in cultivating an English-speaking audience. A lot of his songs are rocking and rolling, but I prefer the softer side of Pugh. You might be a little startled by his use of falsetto in this song, but it works for me. From The Pugh Box, a collection of songs spanning his career.

Michel Polnareff – Le Desert N’est Plus En Afrique [French]
I first heard a song by Mr. Polnareff on Pop Romantique, where Luna covered a song of his (you can hear it for yourself in the Total Absorption mix). This is from the album Polnareff’s. I was going back and forth whether to have a song by Polnareff or Françoise Hardy, but this particular song just felt right. I will include a picture of Ms. Hardy, though.


Sigh.

Faust – Psalter [French?]
This German band often produces skronky, dissonant music. This is one of their gentler songs, and it’s very beautiful. Taken from 71 Minutes Of… These guys sing in German and English, but this song sounds French to me.

Boubacar Traoré – Samba [Bambara]
A wonderful African guitarist and vocalist. Just him and his guitar, but very powerful. From his album Macire.

Tom Zé – Ui! (Voce Inventa) [Portuguese]
I love me some Tom Zé. His stuff is often a little wacky, with interesting instrumentation. This song is a little calmer, and it is just plain wonderful. From Estudando o Samba.

Ohio Express – Yummy Yummy Yummy [Italian]
I had to throw this one on. I went through a pretty severe 60’s bubblegum period, where I had to snap up anything yummy. This song is off some weird CD I got over the Internet, that was apparently put together in Australia. Occasionally artists record foreign language versions of their songs (ABBA, Kraftwerk, etc.) so this is my representative track.