BLAME IT ON ALLIGATOR STOMP

JC writes……

I think just about everyone who drops in to this little corner of t’internet knows that I really enjoy and appreciate guest contributions landing in my inbox.  I’m very lucky in having Dirk and The Robster currently contributing regularly, while the quality of the long-running ICA series has long benefitted from the choices offered up from all across the globe.

Today sees another guest contribution, again all the way from Germany.  It’s the first from sk, one of the site’s most frequent visitors and commentators.  I noticed that sk was often complimentary about the monthly mixes, and so I took the opportunity to ask if he’d care to offer up a mix of his own.  I was delighted that he said yes, and even more so when he proposed one which would feature performers who most likely haven’t featured previously on TVV  – I can guarantee that none of their names are included in the index.

He really has done an incredible job.  It’s very different from the sort of predictable rubbish I churn out on a monthly basis. Sixteen tunes extending out slightly over 66 minutes.  I really hope you like it.

sk writes……

I recently wrote to JC asking him to give me a hint if I should be more reserved with my comments. He kindly replied that it wasn’t necessary and asked if I wanted to put together a mix for TVV. This came as a surprise, and I hesitated for a moment before accepting his suggestion.

The beginning wasn’t easy, because since Halloween I’ve mostly been listening to “Alligator Stomp” by the Cramps (and since I saw “Coda” a few days ago, also to “Philosophy of the World” by the Shaggs). Then, just in time before these songs could destroy my brain forever, I came up with the idea of ​​presenting my favourite Algebra Suicide song to the TVV audience. Algebra Suicide is one of the lesser-known bands that means a lot to me. It consisted of Lydia Tomkiw and her husband Don Hedeker. Tomkiw recited her poems to Heideker’s guitar playing, which was probably inspired by the Velvet Underground. There was also a drum machine or synthesizer, which probably led to Algebra Suicide’s music being classified as New Wave. To me, this classification does not seem to be as clear as, for example, Anne Clark, another poet who started her musical career in 1982.

Algebra Suicide has never been featured on TVV before. That gave me the idea to make this a guide. The result was, and this is not at all surprising, a mix with songs from mostly US bands and musicians. They probably rubbed their eyes just as much as I did when they saw the election results recently. I think with Trump and Musk – the real-life equivalent of Sauron and Saruman? – two people who belong together finally found each other. They both have children from three different women, and if you add the number of children of both together, you get a total of 16. Which, oddly enough, is exactly the number of songs I had previously chosen for the mix.

Enjoy the music

mp3: Various – Blame It On Alligator Stomp

Cassandra Jenkins – Hard Drive
Julie Dawson – Silly Little Song
Soccer Mommy – Circle The Drain
Algebra Suicide – Little Dead Bodies
MC 900 feat Jesus – The City Sleeps
Dub Narcotic Sound System – Fuck Shit Up
Arthur Russell – This Is How We Walk On The Moon
Ela Orleans – She Who Could Bin You
Lael Neale – I Am The River
Margaret Glaspy – Female Brain
Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Fire
Kassie Krut – Reckless
Drop Nineteens – My Aquarium (Second Time Around)
Daniel Johnston – Freedom
Meilyr Jones – Strange/Emotional
Karl Blau – Fallin’ Rain

sk