2/3 of a Snowman

Beyond Retromania

Before Simon Reynolds tried to argue that the last decade’s worth of music has lacked innovation, he should have realized what any scientist could tell you: You can’t prove a negative.  Reynolds begins and ends Retromania by reprimanding the artists using sampling, YouTube, and the internet’s celestial jukebox (among other things) to twist old music into new commodities. But he also spends a substantial amount of the book illustrating that recycling music can be just as innovative as the rock’n’roll, punk, hip-hop and rave “revolutions” he adores. Reynolds’ writing pulses with energy when he describes how punk rock was intended as a return to the 50s’ rocknroll roots; how Belbury Poly and DJ Shadow reframe the past using modern technology; or how Daniel Lopatin turns YouTube into both a medium and a message—he himself is demonstrably excited by the music he claims to be mad at. So Retromania’s central conceit is a tired one—the idea that maybe our best music is behind us, which is a version of retromania itself—but his attempts to rationalize it are well worth reading.

Of course, as with any other book about music, it’s difficult to absorb the information without hearing what the author’s writing about. So what I’ve done is compiled a cross-section of the music Reynolds mentions in Retromania. I’ve organized it into three sections over four CD-length playlists. The first includes artists and songs that Reynolds mentions as being innovative or influential in some way—from the seminal punk artists to Kid Baltan’s early electronic music experiments to the break on The Winstons’ “Amen Brother that got turned into a thousand drum n’ bass tracks. The second is made up of songs and artists that have been “curated” in some way—either by a reissue or compilation, or by being sampled by an influential artist. Curated songs have usually been historically reframed in some way by their curators. The third and fourth discs/mixes are collections of songs and artists who Reynolds discusses as using retro elements in their work.

These mixes are by no means comprehensive or tightly structured, but they should give you an idea of how slippery the idea of innovation can be. Until the final couple paragraphs of the book, Reynolds uses mostly canonical artists as examples of innovators. While the impact of groups like the Sex Pistols and the Beatles are undeniable, it’s also hard not to hear subtler innovation in the music by the lesser known artists I’ve included on the subsequent discs. I’ve also included a fifth mix of songs from 2011 that get me personally excited for the present and future of music—some of which use pesky retro elements. If nothing else, as a whole the mixes should give you an opportunity to turn over Reynolds’ thesis in your head: If our artists are largely drawing inspiration from new technology and old music, is this the future of music, or are we perpetually stuck in the past? I’m sitting here listening to Yuck and Paul’s Boutique on vinyl, so that should give you some idea of where I stand.

Retromania: Innovators

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1.       Sex Pistols – “No Feelings” (from Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols, 1977)

2.       The Clash – “Complete Control” (1977 single)

3.       Patti Smith – “Kimberly” (from Horses, 1975)

4.       The Creation – “Making Time” (1966 single)

5.       The Who – “Substitute” (1966 single)

6.       The Beatles – “Tomorrow Never Knows” (from Revolver, 1966)

7.       Tom Dessevelt & Kid Baltan – “Song of the 2^nd Moon” (from Electronic Music, 1957)

8.       Acen – “Trip II the Moon (Part 2)” (1992 single)

9.       Kraftwerk – “Numbers” (from Computerwelt, 1981)

10.   Mantronix – “Needle to the Groove” (from Mantronix: The Album, 1985)

11.   Zapp & Roger – “More Bounce to the Ounce” (from Zapp, 1980)

12.   Beenie Man – “Who Am I (Sim Simma)” (1998 single)

13.   Salt-N-Pepa – “My Mic Sounds Nice” (from Hot, Cool & Vicious, 1986)

14.   James Brown – “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” (from Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud, 1968)

15.   Little Richard – “Tutti Frutti” (1955 single)

16.   The Winstons – “Amen Brother” (from “Color Me Father” single, 1969)

17.   Talking Heads – “Born Under Punches (The Beat Goes On)” (from Remain in Light, 1980)

18.   Joy Division – “Isolation” (from Closer, 1980)

19.   Prince & the Revolution – “Erotic City” (from “Let’s Go Crazy” single, 1984)

20.   The Shangri-Las – “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” (1964 single)

21.   The Supremes – “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (1966 single)

22.   Buddy Holly & the Crickets – “Not Fade Away” (from The “Chirping” Crickets, 1957)

Retromania: Curators

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1.       Billy Cobham – “Stratus” (from Spectrum, 1973; sample source for Massive Attack’s “Safe From Harm”)

2.       The Grateful Dead – “China Cat Sunflower” (from Europe ’72, 1972)

3.       We the People – “You Burn Me Up and Down” (1966 single, included on Pebbles, Volume 4, 1979)

4.       The Nazz – “Open My Eyes” (1968 single, included on Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, 1972)

5.       Led Zeppelin – “Candy Store Rock” (from In Through the Out Door, 1976, one of the “Least Collectable Records of All Time”)

6.       David Bowie – “Suffragette City” (from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, 1972; Ziggy Stardust’s 1973 farewell concert was restaged in 1998 by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard as A Rock & Roll Suicide)

7.       Dobie Gray – “Out on the Floor” (1966 single, Northern Soul classic)

8.       Smokey Robinson & the Miracles – “It’s a Good Feeling” (from Make It Happen, 1967; one of DJ Rob Fleming’s top five floor-fillers in Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, 1995)

9.       Bobby Cook & the Explorers – “Untitled Jam” (from the Numero Group’s Local Customs: Downriver Revival, 2009)

10.   Willie Hutch – “Brother’s Gonna Work It Out” (from The Mack, 1973; reissued by Soul Jazz on Can You Dig It? The Music and Politics of Black Action Films, 1968-1975, 2009)

11.   Sparks – “Beat the Clock” (from No. 1 in Heaven, 1979; Sparks performed “all twenty-one of their albums in sequence over twenty-one nights in London during May 2008”)

12.   Rinôçérôse – “Cubicle” (from Schizophonia, 2005; also used in a popular iPod commercial)

13.   The Slugs – “Problem Child” (1977 single, included on Killed By Death, 1989)

14.   King Crimson – “21^st Century Schizoid Man” (from In the Court of the Crimson King, 1969; King Crimson and their progressive-rock peers were re-examined by the BBC’s documentary Prog Britannia in 2009)

15.   Sonic Youth – “Total Trash” (from Daydream Nation, 1988, performed in its entirety multiple times at All Tomorrow’s Parties)

16.   The Congos – “La La Bam-Bam” (from Heart of the Congos, 1977, reissued by Blood & Fire in 1996)

17.   Del Shannon – “Runaway” (1961 single featured in American Graffiti, 1973)

18.   Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – “Long Black Veil” (from covers album Kicking Against the Pricks, 1986)

Retromania: Retrovators (Part One)

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1.       The Cramps – “Human Fly” (1978 single)

2.       Thee Headcoats – “No Way Out” (from Heavens to Murgatroyd, Even! It’s Thee Headcoats! (Already), 1990)

3.       The White Stripes – “Death Rattles” (from De Stijl, 2000)

4.       The Flaming Groovies – “Shake Some Action” (from Shake Some Action, 1976)

5.       Gary Glitter – “Rock and Roll Part 2” (from Gary Glitter, 1972)

6.       Vampire Weekend – “Diplomat’s Son” (from Contra, 2010)

7.       Cornelius – “Count Five or Six” (from Fantasma, 1997)

8.       Flipper’s Guitar – “The Quizmaster” (from Doctor Head’s World Tower, 1991)

9.       Klaxons – “Golden Skans” (from Myths of the Near Future, 2007)

10.   Spacemen 3 – “Losing Touch With My Mind” (from Sound of Confusion, 1986)

11.   Ciccone Youth – “Into the Groove(y)” (1986 single)

12.   Saint Etienne – “Hobart Paving” (from So Tough, 1993)

13.   The Jesus and Mary Chain – “April Skies” (from Darklands, 1987)

14.   Gang of Four – “Anthrax” (from Return the Gift, 2005)

15.   Boris – “1970” (from Attention Please, 2002)

16.   Boredoms - “☆” (from Vision Creation Newsun, 1999)

17.   Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Immune to Emotion” (from Worn Copy, 2003)

18.   Incredible String Band – “Mercy I Cry City” (from The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter, 1968)

19.   Fleet Foxes – “Oliver James” (from Fleet Foxes, 2008)

Retromania: Retrovators (Part Two)

http://www.mediafire.com/?a9vbzn7945f8ibe

1.       The KLF – “Wichita Lineman Was a Song I Once Knew” (from Chill Out, 1990)

2.       Position Normal – “Lightbulbs” (from Stop Your Nonsense, 1999)

3.       Oneohtrix Point Never – “Nobody Here” (from Memory Vague, 2008)

4.       DJ Shadow – “What Does Your Soul Look Like? (Part Three)” (from What Does Your Soul Look Like, 1994)

5.       Wagon Christ – “Piano Playa Hata” (from Tally Ho!, 1998)

6.       Belbury Poly – “Caermaen” (from The Willows, 2004)

7.       Boards of Canada – “Happy Cycling” (from Music Has the Right to Children, 1998)

8.       Apollo Two – “Atlantis (I Need You) (L.T.J. Bukem Remix)” (from Volume 1, 1993)

9.       Girls on Top – “We Don’t Give a Damn About Our Friends” (2000 single)

10.   John Oswald – “Dab” (from Plunderphonics, 1989)

11.   Flying Lotus – “Zodiac Shit” (from Cosmogramma, 2010)

12.   Stereolab – “Cybele’s Reverie” (from Emperor Tomato Ketchup, 1996)

13.   Mr. Acker Bilk – “Stranger On the Shore” (1961 single)

14.   The Avalanches – “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life” (from Since I Left You, 2000)

15.   J Dilla – “Lightworks” (from Donuts, 2006)

16.   Toro y Moi – “Lissoms” (from Causers of This, 2010)

17.   Neon Indian – “Psychic Chasms” (from Psychic Chasms, 2009)

18.   Gonjasufi – “She Gone” (from A Sufi and a Killer, 2010)

19.   Burial – “Gutted” (from Burial, 2006)

Retromania: The Future

http://www.mediafire.com/?7vlqkaf6cxfzhbp

1.       Battles – “Futura” (from Gloss Drop, 2011)

2.       Unknown Mortal Orchestra – “Nerve Damage!” (from Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 2011)

3.       Radiohead – “Feral” (from The King of Limbs, 2011)

4.       Lil Silva – “Wait Is Over” (from The Patience EP, 2011)

5.       Ill Blu – “Chelm” (from Meltdown, 2011)

6.       Kito & Reija Lee – “Broken Hearts (Dillon Francis Remix)” (from Blow Your Head Vol. 2: Dave Nada Presents Moombahton, 2011)

7.       Joker – “Music (4am) (Feat. Buggy)” (self-released, 2011)

8.       Drake – “Dreams Money Can’t Buy” (self-released, 2011)

9.       Curren$y – “Still” (from Weekend At Burnie’s, 2011)

10.   Roach Gigz – “F A Chorus” (from Bitch, I’m a Player, 2011)

11.   DJ Quik – “Fire and Brimstone” (from The Book of David, 2011)

12.   Spaceghostpurrp – “Thowed” (from Blvcklvnd Rvdix 66.6 (1991), 2011)

13.   Green Ova Undergrounds – “Chillin On Tha Turf” (from The Shady Bambino Project, 2011)

14.   Shabazz Palaces – “Recollections of the Wraith” (from Black Up, 2011)

15.   Nicolas Jaar – “Space is Only Noise If You Can See” (from Space Is Only Noise, 2011)

16.   Clams Casino – “Numb” (from Clams Casino, 2011)

17.   Purity Ring – “Ungirthed” (self-released, 2011)

18.   Win Win – “Releaserpm” (from Win Win, 2011)

19.   Charli XCX – “Stay Away” (2011 single)

20.   EMA – “California” (from Past Life Martyred Saints, 2011)