Music Labyrinth Episode 093
Wish You Were Here / Sparklehorse & Thom Yorke (2005)
Hello Listener, and welcome to episode 93 of The Music Labyrinth. 93 is the title of the last novel by Victor Hugo, which dealt with the post-revolution events in France in the year 1793. And 1793 was most certainly a year of beginnings and endings. ‘93 was the year that marked the beginning of the French Revolutionary Calendar, which was potentially a big deal, but given that the calendar remained in use for no more than 13 years, perhaps not. ‘93 was also the beginning of the period in France known as the Reign of Terror, and - in happier news - the beginning of the end of slavery in Canada. And it was the year that George Washington was sworn in for his second term as president of the newly created United States of America. In terms of endings, ‘93 was the year that marked the end - at least temporarily - of the French monarchy, and also the end of the lives of King Louis XVI of France, Marie Antoinette, revolutionary leader John Paul Marat, and Fletcher Christian, famed for his role in the mutiny on The Bounty. Which leads us, in a roundabout way, to beginnings and endings of episodes of The Music Labyrinth. The beginning of this episode was the song that ended the last, and that was Sparklehorse and Thom Yorke’s version of the Pink Floyd classic Wish You Were Here. Old hands will know that what we will attempt to do now is find a link from that track to our next, and so on and so on. If you are not an old hand at this - firstly welcome aboard - and secondly, you now know as much as the rest of us about where this is headed. I was delighted by Thom Yorke’s involvement in our opening track because it effectively gave me licence to play any song by his regular band, Radiohead and, as we know, Radiohead are greatly revered here at The Music Labyrinth. They have featured 8 times in previous episodes of this program, involving 7 songs, because - embarrassingly - I messed up with just one goat and managed to play Subterranean Homesick Alien in episode 56 and then again in episode 69. Oh, the shame! So, I have been very careful in my selection on this occasion, and have turned to a song which just makes me want to wave a cigarette lighter in the air and hug the people around me. This is Fake Plastic Trees.
Fake Plastic Trees / Radiohead (1995)
That was the lovely Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead. Lets stay with Radiohead songs for our next track, but maybe look at a different performer. Plenty of people have had a crack at covering the song Creep - some good, some less so. This, in my very humble opinion, is the best one I have heard. This is Arlo Parks.
Creep / Arlo Parks (2020)
This is The Music Labyrinth and thank you very much for joining us here. Just before that break we heard Arlo Parks’ delightful cover of the song Creep. On 25 June 2022, Arlo Parks performed a set at Glastonbury Festival, and then later joined Phoebe Bridgers on stage to perform a duet of this Phoebe Bridgers song. This is called Graceland Too.
Graceland Too / Phoebe Bridgers (2020)
From her 2020 album Punisher, that was the American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, Phoebe Bridgers with Graceland Too. The following year, Phoebe Bridgers teamed up with The Killers to record this track. This is Runaway Horses.
Runaway Horses / The Killers (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (2021)
On The Music Labyrnith that was The Killers and Phoebe Bridgers with Runaway Horses. Now here is a yarn I found interesting. The Killers formed in Las Vegas in 2001, and legend has it that they named themselves after a fictional band who featured in the film clip for this next song, released by New Order in 2001. The film clip that accompanied the release does not feature the members of New Order. Instead, it depicts a younger band miming to New Order's music and words. The fictional band in the film clip is named "The Killers" (the name appears on the kick drum in the video) and it was this that led to the naming of the band we just heard. And the New Order song responsible for their name was this one: this is Crystal.
Crystal / New Order (2001)
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where we just experienced the audible cool that is Crystal by New Order. Now, stay with me here because I will appear to be off on a tangent. One of the mailing lists that fill my email inbox comes from PeterGabriel.com, and a recent email from it talked about the talents of the two principal audio engineers at Peter Gabriel’s studios, one of whom is Mark “Spike” Stent. So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that the audio engineer who mixed the song we just heard, Crystal by New Order, was the very same Spike Stent. Sometimes Fate just takes you by the hand and leads you places! And on this occasion, Fate has led us straight to music released in the last week by The Great Man Peter Gabriel, as engineered by Spike Stent. This is The Court.
The Court (Bright Side Mix) / Peter Gabriel (2023)
That is new music from Peter Gabriel on The Music Labyrinth. That song is called The Court and it will be on his upcoming album i/o which is being released by drip feed to the major music streaming sites at the moment. I mentioned in the lead up to that song that Peter Gabriel is extolling the virtues of the two principal audio engineers he has at his disposal for this new album. Well, the second of them is Tchad Blake, who has worked with a large bunch of the big names in contemporary music, and is famed for his use of a recording technique called binaural recording. Blake was employed by Pearl Jam for their 2000 album called Binaural, and the technique was used by Blake in the recording of this song. This is Of A Girl.
Of A Girl / Pearl Jam (2000)
That Pearl Jam song, Of A Girl, was written by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard. One of Gossard’s side projects was the band Brad, and I’ll tell yo us little more about them shortly. In 1997 Brad released an album called Interiors, of which I was the proud possessor of a CD version. From that album, this is one of my favourite tunes, Lift.
Lift / Brad (1997)
This is The Music Labyrinth and we just listened to Lift, by Brad. The band Brad consists of Stone Gossard, Shawn Smith, Regan Hagar, and Jeremy Toback. And additional guitar was contributed to the track we just heard by American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician Brendan O’Brien. In 1990 O’Brien engineered, mixed and is credited with playing “a potpourri of instruments” on the Black Crows debut album Shake Your Money Maker. From that album, this is She Talks To Angels.
She Talks To Angels / Black Crowes (1990)
That was The Black Crowes with She Talks To Angels. Lets change gears a little now. In order to establish our link from The Black Crows, I have found a song from 2018 called Black Crow. This is the Wellington based soul singer-songwriter Louis Baker.
Black Crow / Louis Baker (2018)
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where we last listened to the New Zealand soul singer-songwriter Louis Baker with his 2018 song Black Crow. A couple of years after recording that tune, Louis Baker teamed up with New Zealand band Team Dynamite to jointly produce this next track. This is Dragon Fruit.
Dragon Fruit / Team Dynamite (feat. Louis Baker) (2020)
That was the New Zealand band Team Dynamite, featuring Louis Baker, with Dragon Fruit. The percussion beat on that track is almost half a century old, having been sampled from this 1975 hit for KC & The sunshine Band.
What Makes You Happy / KC & The Sunshine Band (1975)
On The Music Labyrinth, that was KC & The Sunshine Band with their 1975 hit What Makes You Happy. The percussion beat on that track has done a lot of heavy lifting over the years. We have already heard that it was sampled in 2020 for the tune Dragon Fruit, and it was also used in 1999 as the basis of this hit for TLC. This is Hat 2 Da Back.
Hat 2 Da Back / TLC (1999)
We find ourselves in the TCL section of The Music Labyrinth, having last listened to their 1999 hit Hat 2 Da Back. Its perhaps a little bit too easy to overlook the impact TLC had on music, but they had 9 US top ten hits and 4 multi-platinum albums. They remain the best selling American girl group ever, and are second only to the Spice Girls on the world-wide stage. So, lets pause to reflect on those achievements and stay with them for one more tune. And then, for VERY obvious reasons, we will roll straight into our next tune because the link is obvious. But for now, here is TLC with Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg.
Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg / TLC (1999)
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg / The Temptations (1966)
That was The Temptations with Ain’t Too Proud To Beg. That song was famously covered by the Rolling Stones on their 1974 album Its Only Rock And Roll, and I suspect there are folks about the place who only know the song via the Stones’ version of it. In fact, despite the Jagger/Richards juggernaut which has churned out more hits than it is easy to count, the Stones did rack up quite a number of covers which were so successful that they are often considered to be Stones’ originals. One such song we have already played in episode 68, and that was Going To A Go-Go, originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. But as always, I have come prepared with a couple of exhibits in support of my assertion. This is exhibit A, by Irma Thomas, recorded in 1964.
Time Is On My Side / Irma Thomas (1964)
That was Irma Thomas with Time Is On My Side, which The Rolling Stones covered in 1965 and included on their UK album release The Rolling Stones No. 2. I have just one more piece of evidence in support of my assertion that some Rolling Stones covers have become so successful that they are often considered Stones’ originals. The Stones’ 1986 album Dirty Work contained a famous cover of this 1963 hit for Bob & Earl.
Harlem Shuffle / Bob & Earl (1963)
That was Bob & Earl from 1963 with Harlem Shuffle. I hope you paid particular attention to the horn tocatta which opened that tune, because you are about to hear it again. It was famously sampled at the start of this dance hit from 1992. This is House of Pain with Jump Around.
Jump Around / House Of Pain (1992)
That was House Of Pain with their massive 1992 dance hit, Jump Around. The lead singer of House of Pain was Erik Schrody, much better known by his professional name of Everlast. Here he is with Carlos Santana.
Put Your Lights On / Santana (feat. Everlast) (1999)
Welcome back to the final section of episode 93 of The Music Labyrinth. We arrived here by way of Santana and Everlast, and the song Put Your Lights On. Lets stay with Santana, who were joined in 2021 by Steve Winwood to cover this rock classic.
Whiter Shade Of Pale / Santana (feat. Steve Winwood) (2021)
On The Music Labyrinth that was Carlos Santana with Steve Winwood from the 2021 Santana album Blessings And Miracles with Whiter Shade Of Pale. Steve Winwood is undoubtedly one of contemporary music’s great pioneers and innovators. In the course of modern music, like the quest to unify the great scientific theories of relativity and quantum physics, plenty of people have tried to find a workable union between jazz and rock. The success stories are thin on the ground. But perhaps the closest we have come to a comfortable union of those art forms was with Steve Winwood’s band of the late 60s and early 70s, Traffic. Again, I have a modest example to back up my assertion. This is a 2017 live recording of Steve Winwood performing the Traffic song Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys.
Low Spark of High Heeled Boys / Steve Winwood (2017)
That was Steve Winwood with a 2017 live version of the 1971 song Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys. And that song has brought us up to the final track of episode 93 of The Music Labyrinth. Thanks very much to The Listener for - you know - listening. And extra special thanks to the extra special Music Labyrinth Elf who has assisted me in hosting this episode. Its a delight to have her back in the State for a while, and an extra delight to welcome her to the studio. All that remains is for us to find a song to bridge us over to the start of episode 94 of The Music Labyrinth in two weeks time. And, I think I have made an appropriate selection. You see, I find it “unbelievable” that the song we just heard was once covered by this next band. But it was - I have heard the recorded evidence. So, believe it or not, here is EMF. Thanks for listening.
Unbelievable / EMF (1990)
Wish You Were Here / Sparklehorse & Thom Yorke (2005)
Hello Listener, and welcome to episode 93 of The Music Labyrinth. 93 is the title of the last novel by Victor Hugo, which dealt with the post-revolution events in France in the year 1793. And 1793 was most certainly a year of beginnings and endings. ‘93 was the year that marked the beginning of the French Revolutionary Calendar, which was potentially a big deal, but given that the calendar remained in use for no more than 13 years, perhaps not. ‘93 was also the beginning of the period in France known as the Reign of Terror, and - in happier news - the beginning of the end of slavery in Canada. And it was the year that George Washington was sworn in for his second term as president of the newly created United States of America. In terms of endings, ‘93 was the year that marked the end - at least temporarily - of the French monarchy, and also the end of the lives of King Louis XVI of France, Marie Antoinette, revolutionary leader John Paul Marat, and Fletcher Christian, famed for his role in the mutiny on The Bounty. Which leads us, in a roundabout way, to beginnings and endings of episodes of The Music Labyrinth. The beginning of this episode was the song that ended the last, and that was Sparklehorse and Thom Yorke’s version of the Pink Floyd classic Wish You Were Here. Old hands will know that what we will attempt to do now is find a link from that track to our next, and so on and so on. If you are not an old hand at this - firstly welcome aboard - and secondly, you now know as much as the rest of us about where this is headed. I was delighted by Thom Yorke’s involvement in our opening track because it effectively gave me licence to play any song by his regular band, Radiohead and, as we know, Radiohead are greatly revered here at The Music Labyrinth. They have featured 8 times in previous episodes of this program, involving 7 songs, because - embarrassingly - I messed up with just one goat and managed to play Subterranean Homesick Alien in episode 56 and then again in episode 69. Oh, the shame! So, I have been very careful in my selection on this occasion, and have turned to a song which just makes me want to wave a cigarette lighter in the air and hug the people around me. This is Fake Plastic Trees.
Fake Plastic Trees / Radiohead (1995)
That was the lovely Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead. Lets stay with Radiohead songs for our next track, but maybe look at a different performer. Plenty of people have had a crack at covering the song Creep - some good, some less so. This, in my very humble opinion, is the best one I have heard. This is Arlo Parks.
Creep / Arlo Parks (2020)
This is The Music Labyrinth and thank you very much for joining us here. Just before that break we heard Arlo Parks’ delightful cover of the song Creep. On 25 June 2022, Arlo Parks performed a set at Glastonbury Festival, and then later joined Phoebe Bridgers on stage to perform a duet of this Phoebe Bridgers song. This is called Graceland Too.
Graceland Too / Phoebe Bridgers (2020)
From her 2020 album Punisher, that was the American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, Phoebe Bridgers with Graceland Too. The following year, Phoebe Bridgers teamed up with The Killers to record this track. This is Runaway Horses.
Runaway Horses / The Killers (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (2021)
On The Music Labyrnith that was The Killers and Phoebe Bridgers with Runaway Horses. Now here is a yarn I found interesting. The Killers formed in Las Vegas in 2001, and legend has it that they named themselves after a fictional band who featured in the film clip for this next song, released by New Order in 2001. The film clip that accompanied the release does not feature the members of New Order. Instead, it depicts a younger band miming to New Order's music and words. The fictional band in the film clip is named "The Killers" (the name appears on the kick drum in the video) and it was this that led to the naming of the band we just heard. And the New Order song responsible for their name was this one: this is Crystal.
Crystal / New Order (2001)
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where we just experienced the audible cool that is Crystal by New Order. Now, stay with me here because I will appear to be off on a tangent. One of the mailing lists that fill my email inbox comes from PeterGabriel.com, and a recent email from it talked about the talents of the two principal audio engineers at Peter Gabriel’s studios, one of whom is Mark “Spike” Stent. So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that the audio engineer who mixed the song we just heard, Crystal by New Order, was the very same Spike Stent. Sometimes Fate just takes you by the hand and leads you places! And on this occasion, Fate has led us straight to music released in the last week by The Great Man Peter Gabriel, as engineered by Spike Stent. This is The Court.
The Court (Bright Side Mix) / Peter Gabriel (2023)
That is new music from Peter Gabriel on The Music Labyrinth. That song is called The Court and it will be on his upcoming album i/o which is being released by drip feed to the major music streaming sites at the moment. I mentioned in the lead up to that song that Peter Gabriel is extolling the virtues of the two principal audio engineers he has at his disposal for this new album. Well, the second of them is Tchad Blake, who has worked with a large bunch of the big names in contemporary music, and is famed for his use of a recording technique called binaural recording. Blake was employed by Pearl Jam for their 2000 album called Binaural, and the technique was used by Blake in the recording of this song. This is Of A Girl.
Of A Girl / Pearl Jam (2000)
That Pearl Jam song, Of A Girl, was written by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard. One of Gossard’s side projects was the band Brad, and I’ll tell yo us little more about them shortly. In 1997 Brad released an album called Interiors, of which I was the proud possessor of a CD version. From that album, this is one of my favourite tunes, Lift.
Lift / Brad (1997)
This is The Music Labyrinth and we just listened to Lift, by Brad. The band Brad consists of Stone Gossard, Shawn Smith, Regan Hagar, and Jeremy Toback. And additional guitar was contributed to the track we just heard by American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician Brendan O’Brien. In 1990 O’Brien engineered, mixed and is credited with playing “a potpourri of instruments” on the Black Crows debut album Shake Your Money Maker. From that album, this is She Talks To Angels.
She Talks To Angels / Black Crowes (1990)
That was The Black Crowes with She Talks To Angels. Lets change gears a little now. In order to establish our link from The Black Crows, I have found a song from 2018 called Black Crow. This is the Wellington based soul singer-songwriter Louis Baker.
Black Crow / Louis Baker (2018)
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where we last listened to the New Zealand soul singer-songwriter Louis Baker with his 2018 song Black Crow. A couple of years after recording that tune, Louis Baker teamed up with New Zealand band Team Dynamite to jointly produce this next track. This is Dragon Fruit.
Dragon Fruit / Team Dynamite (feat. Louis Baker) (2020)
That was the New Zealand band Team Dynamite, featuring Louis Baker, with Dragon Fruit. The percussion beat on that track is almost half a century old, having been sampled from this 1975 hit for KC & The sunshine Band.
What Makes You Happy / KC & The Sunshine Band (1975)
On The Music Labyrinth, that was KC & The Sunshine Band with their 1975 hit What Makes You Happy. The percussion beat on that track has done a lot of heavy lifting over the years. We have already heard that it was sampled in 2020 for the tune Dragon Fruit, and it was also used in 1999 as the basis of this hit for TLC. This is Hat 2 Da Back.
Hat 2 Da Back / TLC (1999)
We find ourselves in the TCL section of The Music Labyrinth, having last listened to their 1999 hit Hat 2 Da Back. Its perhaps a little bit too easy to overlook the impact TLC had on music, but they had 9 US top ten hits and 4 multi-platinum albums. They remain the best selling American girl group ever, and are second only to the Spice Girls on the world-wide stage. So, lets pause to reflect on those achievements and stay with them for one more tune. And then, for VERY obvious reasons, we will roll straight into our next tune because the link is obvious. But for now, here is TLC with Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg.
Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg / TLC (1999)
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg / The Temptations (1966)
That was The Temptations with Ain’t Too Proud To Beg. That song was famously covered by the Rolling Stones on their 1974 album Its Only Rock And Roll, and I suspect there are folks about the place who only know the song via the Stones’ version of it. In fact, despite the Jagger/Richards juggernaut which has churned out more hits than it is easy to count, the Stones did rack up quite a number of covers which were so successful that they are often considered to be Stones’ originals. One such song we have already played in episode 68, and that was Going To A Go-Go, originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. But as always, I have come prepared with a couple of exhibits in support of my assertion. This is exhibit A, by Irma Thomas, recorded in 1964.
Time Is On My Side / Irma Thomas (1964)
That was Irma Thomas with Time Is On My Side, which The Rolling Stones covered in 1965 and included on their UK album release The Rolling Stones No. 2. I have just one more piece of evidence in support of my assertion that some Rolling Stones covers have become so successful that they are often considered Stones’ originals. The Stones’ 1986 album Dirty Work contained a famous cover of this 1963 hit for Bob & Earl.
Harlem Shuffle / Bob & Earl (1963)
That was Bob & Earl from 1963 with Harlem Shuffle. I hope you paid particular attention to the horn tocatta which opened that tune, because you are about to hear it again. It was famously sampled at the start of this dance hit from 1992. This is House of Pain with Jump Around.
Jump Around / House Of Pain (1992)
That was House Of Pain with their massive 1992 dance hit, Jump Around. The lead singer of House of Pain was Erik Schrody, much better known by his professional name of Everlast. Here he is with Carlos Santana.
Put Your Lights On / Santana (feat. Everlast) (1999)
Welcome back to the final section of episode 93 of The Music Labyrinth. We arrived here by way of Santana and Everlast, and the song Put Your Lights On. Lets stay with Santana, who were joined in 2021 by Steve Winwood to cover this rock classic.
Whiter Shade Of Pale / Santana (feat. Steve Winwood) (2021)
On The Music Labyrinth that was Carlos Santana with Steve Winwood from the 2021 Santana album Blessings And Miracles with Whiter Shade Of Pale. Steve Winwood is undoubtedly one of contemporary music’s great pioneers and innovators. In the course of modern music, like the quest to unify the great scientific theories of relativity and quantum physics, plenty of people have tried to find a workable union between jazz and rock. The success stories are thin on the ground. But perhaps the closest we have come to a comfortable union of those art forms was with Steve Winwood’s band of the late 60s and early 70s, Traffic. Again, I have a modest example to back up my assertion. This is a 2017 live recording of Steve Winwood performing the Traffic song Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys.
Low Spark of High Heeled Boys / Steve Winwood (2017)
That was Steve Winwood with a 2017 live version of the 1971 song Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys. And that song has brought us up to the final track of episode 93 of The Music Labyrinth. Thanks very much to The Listener for - you know - listening. And extra special thanks to the extra special Music Labyrinth Elf who has assisted me in hosting this episode. Its a delight to have her back in the State for a while, and an extra delight to welcome her to the studio. All that remains is for us to find a song to bridge us over to the start of episode 94 of The Music Labyrinth in two weeks time. And, I think I have made an appropriate selection. You see, I find it “unbelievable” that the song we just heard was once covered by this next band. But it was - I have heard the recorded evidence. So, believe it or not, here is EMF. Thanks for listening.
Unbelievable / EMF (1990)