Pynchon

My review of the CD that Ka sent to me as part of Swiss Toni's shuffleathon is finally finished. Ka called it "Kamusique". I liked that.

Read on kids.

1. "I Am What I Am" by... Actually I don't know. Ka didn't say. Gloria Gaynor?

It's a gay classic and it's a great track. HI-NRG disco and proven to be good for your health. I admit that I had a little bop to this. Last Christmas I saw the great John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness in "Doctor Who") perform this song when he was Elaine Paige's special guest at the gig we went to last Christmas. He said that it was his "statement of intent" from when he first started in the business of show. Not bad as a "statement of intent". Very good.

2. "Why Must The Show Go On" by Noel Coward.

Ah... The Master. Playwright, actor, singer, songwriter, English icon and, lest we forget, Mr. Bridger in the original "The Italian Job" and the man who turned down the part of Dr. No in... er... "Dr. No" with the words, "Doctor No? No! No! No!" This is a brilliant track. A call to arms to not bother, give up, walk away, stop trying, surrender, stop giving a shit (although Coward phrases it slightly more tastefully). I liked this a lot. Brilliant.

3. "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" by Lila Downs.

Never heard of this artist, but the song is very familiar. You will probably have heard the version by Doris Day. How would I categorise this track? Spanish, Meso-American? It is sung in English and Spanish. I don't know. It's not the kind of thing I would probably ever buy, but it is good and is beautifully orchestrated and beautifully sung by the lady.

4. "You're The One That I Want" by The Beautiful South.

Light years away from the John Travolta/Olivia Neutron-Bomb version. (Was this from The Beautiful South's album of cover versions?) Stripped down, slowed down, string driven, seductive and hardly recognisable as the same song. I have seen The Beautiful South twice in concert. At Aston Villa Leisure Centre they were terrific (and finished the gig with the disco classic "Use It Up And Wear It Out"). At the Birmingham NEC I nearly slipped into a coma as they were so boring (although when the guitarist fell down the stairs at the end and broke his hand - that was exciting!) I have also never seen a band smoke as many cigarettes onstage as The Beautiful South do.

5. "One Day I Will Walk" by K. D. Lang.

I know of K. D. Lang (started off in New Country, adrogynous image, came out, crossed over into mainstream pop - is that accurate?), but I don't know much about her work. I did like "Constant Craving" and "Summer Fling". Didn't she also do a duet of "Crying" with the late Roy Orbison? Sadly I think that this is a bit of a dirge. K. D. Lang does have a lovely voice though.

6. "I Know Where I've Been" from the "Hairspray" musical. I don't know who the artist is.

I have seen the original movie, but have never seen the stage musical. (They are planning a movie of the stage musical starring John Travolta in the part that Divine played in the original movie. Fucking hell! I thought that Scientologists weren't supposed to have a sense of humour?) I suppose that you could call this faux gospel. It has to be faux because isn't the musical supposed to be pretty dayglow? This song is not remotely dayglow. I suppose it is OK. Gospel isn't really my bag.

7. "Last Saskatchewan Pirate" by Captain Tractor.

Think the Sex Pistols dreadful "Frigging In The Riggin" crossed with something by the Pogues. I could imagine singing this with a pint in my hand. It's fun. Nothing more and nothing less. I bet that this would go down a storm live.

8. "Hertha Strubb" by The Tiger Lillies.

Gay cabaret. Nothing wrong with that, but British viewers listening to this may experience bad memories of the dreadful duo Hinge and Brackett, who failed to make us laugh on many a occasion. Sorry. It's terrible. I will have to put a voodoo on it so that it can never be played again.

9. "Flower's Grave" by Tom Waits.

Another dirge... but it's good. In fact, it's very good. In fact, it's brilliant. I do not own a single recording by Tom Waits (I don't buy a lot of records, full stop), but I love him for his uniqueness, his strangeness and his melancholy. Nobody sounds like Tom Waits. He sounds like he has a world of hurt on his shoulders and sings it like he's lived it and he means it. I love it. Great track.

10. "Midnight Train To Georgia" by The Indigo Girls.

Very familiar song. One of Gladys Knight's greatest hits. (I saw her perform this in Las Vegas in September 2002). The thing I have always loved about this song is the snapshot it presents of the perils of L.A., where "dreams don't always come true". In that way it is a good companion song to "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" by Dionne Warwick. I don't know anything about the Indigo Girls, but this is a really good version of "Midnight Train To Georgia".

11. "Viva Forever" by The Spice Girls.

When the Spice Girls first appeared I categorised them to Sister 1 as A Singer (Mel C), A Pair Of Tits (Geri), Jailbait (Emma), Token Black (Mel B) and A Pair Of Legs (Victoria). Really unfair to the most successful all female group to ever come out of the UK. Yes? Unless my memory fails me, wasn't this the last song recorded by the band before Geri walked out in 1998? They were never the same after that. (Geri leaving robbed them of their heart, their soul and their sense of fun.) I really liked the Spice Girls. They were brilliant and a breath of fresh air. I can't speak about their albums, but they did not put a foot wrong with their singles (except "Mama" which was shit). I love this song. I love the harmonies. It's a good song as well.

12. "Today I Sing The Blues" by Aretha Franklin.

"Respect" is great, "Say A Little Prayer" is great, "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman" is great, but I don't like this at all. Too churchy for me. Too gospelly.

13. (Eh? You're only supposed to do 12.) "Imagine" by RX.

It's a mash up. Sounds like George Bush intoning the lyrics of Lennon's "Imagine" over a backing remniscent of "Walk On The Wild Side". I have never liked the song "Imagine". Nice sentiments, and all that, but I think that it is one of Lennon's weakest songs. What do I know? I am in the minority on this. It's a clever mix, but I have no inclination to ever listen to it again.

On balance, it was a good compilation and an interesting draw. A chance to listen to something that I would not normally listen to. I'm glad that I got it.

I went to see "Pretty Persuasion" on Sunday afternoon. I will try to write a little about that tomorrow.

I'm really tired, man.