AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #352: TRUMPETS (3)

A GUEST POSTING from JONNY THE FRIENDLY LAWYER

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for another dose of 3-valve glory! Today’s 11-song set is a mix of suggestions from the TVV faithful and a few of my own picks. Here goes…

1. They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse In Your Soul.

Not sure how I missed this one the first couple of times around. I’m a big TmbG fan and this is probably their most famous tune. Trumpet in the break courtesy of Frank London, a New York klezmer musician.

2. Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.

Title track from Jeff Mangum’s magnum opus.  The wavering sound you hear throughout the song is a singing saw.

3. Soft Cell – Torch.

I know very little about Soft Cell, so cheers to DAM and Kieron Mullens for suggesting this killer song. I thought all the band’s music was electronic, but that’s a real horn you hear throughout. A single from 1982.

4. Sufjan Stevens – Chicago.

Sufjan can be a little precious, but he sometimes hits one out of the park (er, into the back of the net?). ‘Chicago’ is on a playlist curated for me by the Empress of Good Taste herself, daughter Jane, so I’m proud to include it here.

5. OMC – How Bizarre.

Our friends Hadley and Gareth got married last summer. It was a super posh and classy affair, so that means Hads arranged everything. But Gads was sure that the band played his favourite tune by his Kiwi compatriots Otara Millionaires Club.

6. Split Enz – My Mistake.

And while we’re in New Zealand, let’s have one from their best export. From way back in 1977, when the band dressed nuttily and sounded like Sparks. Possibly a suggestion from Dial-Ups lead guitarist/vascular surgeon Dr. Rigberg. I can’t remember, but I know he’s a fan, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.

7. Aimee Mann – Calling It Quits.

A track from her 2000 LP Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo. If you’re not familiar with the album, Do Not Pass Go and check it right out. Aimee Mann is the best lyricist this side of Elvis Costello, who co-wrote ‘The Fall of the World’s Own Optimist’ on this album. The pair co-wrote ‘The Other End of the Telescope’ on his 1996 LP All This Useless Beauty.

8. Brilliant Corners – Oh!

Another song I never heard from a band I’d only heard of. This was a suggestion by Jez of A History of Dubious Taste fame.

9. U2 – Red Light.

Man, I hate U2! It’s partly down to how obnoxious Bono is, and a little bit that The Edge calls himself The Edge and plays basic riffs through a pedalboard the size of a coffee table. But mostly I hate that Adam Clayton is the most boring bassist in rock. Every single U2 bass line can be played on one string. So, I’m pleased to dhow everyone here what they sound like with a legit musician in the mix. On the trumpet is Kenny Fradley from Kid Creole & the Coconuts, who luckily happened to be in Dublin when War was recorded in 1982.

10. Boo Radleys – Lazarus.

Thanks to Vinnie who suggested this track in the comments to Trumpets (1). From 1993’s Giant Steps. I love the moody build and the entrance of the trumpet about a minute in.

11. Tom Waits – Burma Shave.

My originals band is called Hypermiler and features author/screenwriter/chocolatier Craig on drums. Here’s what he had to say about the trumpet in this tune, from 1977’s Foreign Affairs:

“Brought to mind a moment, not in a rock song per se, but a moment that uses the instrument as achingly and plaintively as it’s ever been played, a moment that rips your heart out as only a soul-fed trumpet can. At the end of Tom Waits’ ‘Burma Shave,’ when the couple longing for freedom from their tiny little lives meet their ultimate fate on a nameless country road beneath the early morning ‘bat wing shadow’ of a derrick, that trumpet lick is as painful an elegy as any lost lives ever rendered.”

As always, suggestions for another go at a Trumpets ICA are most welcome!

 

JTFL