Episode 46

     It’s as good a time as any to start the countdown. After this episode, there are only four more installments of ECI, and now that the playlist for the final show is nearly complete, I can finally tell you what to expect. In a previous post, I mentioned that I had two possible ways to approach episode 50 without saying what they were. The first, admittedly banal idea was for me to search the archived playlists selecting from them the best tracks that would make an interesting three-hour show. The second was for me to dig into that cache of songs so cherished that I’ve never played any of them on air—reserving them for a time when my inspiration might flag. That mental cache is filled with songs that I love more than anything else. Predictably, the tracks chosen for the final show result from a mixture of both approaches. There’s one more conceit, suggested by one of my friends as she wondered aloud how I could decide what to play: to make the show something of a listening autobiography. To a degree, the final episode will function in that way, but the sequence will be guided more by sound than chronology if I choose to go that route.
     As for this morning’s show, I’ve wanted for a long time to begin an episode with the Parliament track listed below. My playing it even sparked an interesting conversation between me and David Waldman, host of the Evil Show (the show which comes on before mine and always closes with Otis Rush’s “I Wonder Why”). Unfortunately, those whose interest was piqued by George Clinton’s lyrical suggestion to “stay tuned for Starchild” were probably disappointed to hear, instead, me talking about what a gray, dreary day Chicago had experienced. But the day was inspiration for the episode’s second track, another tune I’ve been wanting to play for a while.
     The rest of the show finds me already digging into the cache and pulling out some tracks (by, e.g., Rickie Lee Jones, the Last Poets, the Style Council, Kraftwerk, Siouxsie & the Bansheees and Elvis Costello) that have been hovering at the edge of my radio consciousness for some time. This episode features, as well, a few tracks from things that have recently caught my ear. Right now, I can’t say that one of them, the new OutKast release Idlewild is better than its predecessor (Speakerboxxx/The Love Below), but given the new album’s status as a soundtrack, I can be a bit more relaxed in evaluating it—and it is good. I managed to include tracks this morning featuring both Andre 3000 and Big Boi, respectively. With careful planning, I’ll be able to slip a few more into the remaining episodes. Doing so will be difficult, though, because there’s a considerable backlog of equally suitable material on my list at home. Even more, there are about twelve new CDs that I’ve been eagerly anticipating that are being released (and that I’ll be acquiring) over the next three or four weeks. Those releases, including albums by M. Ward, My Brightest Diamond, Pajo, Chad VanGaalen, Amy Millan and Junior Boys, are going to offer OutKast (and anyone else) a lot of competition. And that means, perhaps, that the arc for the final four shows will be one of increasing quality. Stay tuned...
     (Note: Once again, the show went a little longer than expected. The final two tracks, the ones in parentheses, were fine last-minute additions not originally included in the playlist.)

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• Parliament, “P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up),” Mothership Connection, Casablanca
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Rainy Day, Dream Away,” Electric Ladyland, MCA
• Mali Music, “Spoons,” Mali Music, Honest Jon’s
• Trembling Blue Stars, “Sleep,” Broken by Whispers, Sub Pop
• The Beatles, “I’m Only Sleeping,” Revolver, Parlophone
• The Clash, “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais,” The Clash, Epic
• The Waterboys, “This Is the Sea,” This Is the Sea, Chrysalis
• Yuka Honda, “Some Days I Stay in Bed for Hours,” Memories Are My Only Witness, Tzadik
• Sol Seppy, “Move,” The Bells of 1 2, Gronland
• Mono, “Playboys,” Formica Blues, Mercury
• Rickie Lee Jones, “Away from the Sky,” Flying Cowboys, Geffen

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• The The, “Heartland,” Infected, Epic
• The Stone Roses, “Made of Stone,” The Stone Roses, Silvertone
• XTC, “Summer’s Cauldron/Grass,” Skylarking, Geffen
• OutKast, “Life Is Like a Musical,” Idlewild, LaFace
• The Last Poets, “Time,” This Is Madness, Douglas
• OutKast, “Bamboo & Cross (Interlude)/Buggface,” Idlewild, LaFace
• Chocolate Genius, “Life,” Black Music, V2
• Scritti Politti, “Petrococadollar,” White Bread Black Beer, Nonesuch/Rough Trade
• The Style Council, “Changing of the Guard,” Confessions of a Pop Group, Polydor
• Pavement, “Type Slowly,” Brighten the Corners, Matador
• Mice Parade, “Milton Road,” Obrigado Saudade, Bubble Core
• Sondre Lerche, “Days That Are Over,” Two Way Monologue, Astralwerks
• Kraftwerk, “The Hall of Mirrors,” Trans-Europe Express, Capitol

• 2:00–3:00 a.m.:
• Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man,” Hyæna, Geffen
• Tones on Tail, “Real Life,” Everything, Beggars Banquet
• The Sugarcubes, “Water,” Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!, Elektra
• Nine Horses, “Serotonin,” Snow Borne Sorrow, Samadhi Sound
• Brookville, “Today,” Life in the Shade, Unfiltered
• Sing-Sing, “Going Out Tonight,” Sing-Sing and I, Aerial
• The Smiths, “Unloveable,” Louder than Bombs, Sire
• Tom Waits, “Clap Hands,” Rain Dogs, Island
• Nick Lowe, “Time I Took a Holiday,” Dig My Mood, Upstart
• Elvis Costello, “Brilliant Mistake,” King of America, Columbia
• Lady and Bird, “Blue Skies,” Lady and Bird, Yellow Tangerine
• Stina Nordenstam, “Murder in Mairyland Park,” And She Closed Her Eyes, East West
• Robin Guthrie, “As I Breathe,” Continental, Darla
• (Red House Painters, “Evil,” Red House Painters [II], 4AD)
• (Sonic Youth, “Pink Steam,” Rather Ripped, Geffen)