Six Degrees of Green Monkey Music Mayhem ( or How I became a Green Monkey Music Master in three easy mixes!)

When I saw that Splotchy was reviving the Green Monkey Music Mixes I jumped at my chance to participate in my third one because once you do three mixes he awards you this coveted award:
Being a GMMP Master means that one day, Splotchy willing, I'll be able to set the theme for a mix. I'm grateful to Splotchy for making me a Green Monkey Master and I'm grateful to Beth for allowing me to be in her 'Six Degrees' Green Monkey Music Mix. You can download all the different participants by clicking here.

My choices for the mix are as follows:
1. I've made no secret for my love of Stiff Records. The first record Stiff put out back in the day was one by Nick Lowe. Sadly, that song is not in this mix.

However his criminally under appreciated song American Squirm off his late '70's album Labour Of Lust is. On an album that features a slew of great but somewhat twisted pop songs, American Squirm remains one of my all time favorites. It's got the best first line of any song ever written by a snarky British dude who was married to Johnny Cash's step daughter, Carlene Carter Cash. The song begins, "I made an American squirm and it felt so right..."

2. Lowe was, and still is, not only a great singer/songwriter, he's also a talented producer. He not only produced this Elvis Costello and the Attractions album, he also wrote one of the few hits off it.

That's right boys and girls, when Elvis sings, "What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?," he's singing lyrics Nick Lowe wrote. I like this version better because it's the one I first heard and it's less folky than Lowe's original version. This song is also the unofficial theme song of my blog.

3. Elvis took a page out of Nick's playbook and he branched out into producing records as well. He produced some tracks for The Specials and for one of my favorite Irish rock bands ever, The Pogues. In fact, Elvis not only produced this album for the Pogues, he also made off with their token female singer Cait O'Riordan, who is lead vocal on this track by the way. Sadly their romance didn't last but we'll always have Rum Sodomy and the Lash. One of my favorite tracks from this great album is the song I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday. It's a haunting song that's done beautifully.

4. When Elvis stole Cait away from the Pogues they replaced her with Kirsty MacColl on a few tracks on later recordings. The most famous of which is the song Fairytale of New York. I chose not to put that song in this mix and instead I chose this song by Kirsty, Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim. It's a country tinged song about a gal who lays down the law to a would be suitor. It features the late Ms. MacColl's voice wonderfully.

5. When not singing with the Pogues and making records on her own, Kirsty MacColl was married to one of the most influential record producers of the last 30 years. His name is Steve Lillywhite and he produced many many tracks for a ton of groups like U2, the Rolling Stones, Morrissey, Phish, the Dave Matthews Band, and The Talking Heads. Life During Wartime is one of my favorite songs ever. Maybe I'm paranoid or maybe I'm just a nervous person by nature but whatever it is I really identify with this song.

6. One of the places mentioned in the above song is a seminal rock and roll club called CBGB's. I've never been there, and I think it's been torn down now, but I know it was the place to play for a time in the late '70's and '80's. One of the bands that played there is a sugary confection of a group from Japan called Shonen Knife. Shonen Knife is girl group that sings catchy poppy songs that invade your subconscious and don't let go. One of the songs of theirs that does that is this one:

I defy you to listen to that song and not start singing it's chorus later.

Thanks once again to Beth and Splotchy for bringing the Green Monkey back. And you my little pets, you can now call me either Dr. Monkey or Master Monkey, whichever you prefer.