http://coornelius.blogspot.com/2009/03/shuffleathon-2009.html
I've been waiting for this before posting my letter to Charlie, so here is is.
Dear Charlie
My name is Tina, and I’m pleased to be your Shuffler for 2008!
You can find me at http://yourmindandwe.blogspot.com/ virtually, and at the address above in reality.
Anyway, without further ado, here is your Shuffleathon CD and a bit of explanation. I’ve decided to call my CD
Distinctive voices from Northern UK and North America
16 tracks – 8 from each continent. Exactly an hour long, more by accident than by design. About 40 years between the earliest and the latest (somewhat longer than you’ve been alive I see from your blog) – I’ve decided that I’m not actually going to put when each track is from because I don’t think it’s relevant. I’ve seen a number of these artists perform live but when I count up I’ve actually seen more of the American ones than the UK ones - strange. I am something of a US West Coast fan and have had a couple of visits over there. So here goes:
1) All Of My Heart - ABC. From Sheffield. I love the voice of Martin Fry, the lead singer.
2) I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys. From Sheffield again. I don’t have any particular connection with Sheffield , but the place has produced some good bands.
3) Grounds For Divorce – Elbow. From Bury, Lancashire.
4) Tonight - Richard Hawley. From Sheffield once more.
5) Weeds – Pulp. Yeah, Sheffield. I’ve seen Pulp perform live, in the middle of Sherwood Forest (yes, where Robin Hood lived), and also Jarvis Cocker as part of a Sgt Pepper concert in Milan.
6) Regret - New Order. North West England this time.
7) Being Boring - Pet Shop Boys. The lead singer, Neil Tennant, comes from South Shields in the North East of England, near to where I was born and bred. Have seen them, in Nottingham, fairly recently.
8) Sunworshipper – Mylo. Mylo comes from the Island of Skye, off the north of Scotland – he produced the album “Destroy Rock and Roll” that this track comes from in his bedroom. It provides the link between the UK and North American sections of the CD.
9) See How Good It Feels - The Quarter After. From Los Angeles. I saw these guys in a tiny venue in Nottingham recently. Two brothers, Rob and Dom Campanella – Rob is also a member of and producer for Brian Jonestown Massacre, another Californian band that I’m very partial to.
10) My First Night Without You - Maria McKee. From Los Angeles. Sister of the late Bryan Macleanof the La band Love, my alltime favourite band – I had to be physically restrained from putting any of their stuff on this CD. Best known for “Show me Heaven”. Another artist seen at a pretty small venue in Nottingham
11) I'm Your Man - Leonard Cohen. From Montreal, Canada. I’ve had the great good fortune to see Leonard Cohen perform twice during 2008, the man was truly born with the gift of a golden voice. He’s somewhat past the tiny club stage.
12) The Needle And The Damage Done - Neil Young. Another Canadian. Never seen him perform live unfortunately, but I’m definitely a long time fan.
13) La Valse De Balfa - Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir. From Calgary in Canada. Another great band that I’ve seen performing in a tiny club in Nottingham, very distinctive sound.
14) Abba Zaba - Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band. From California again. The Captain is a genius as far as I am concerned. I‘ve seen the Captain plus Band perform twice, and the Band minus Captain once - all amazingly memorable performances.
15) How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? - Al Green. The Reverend Al. Hails from Michigan according to Wikipedia. Gospel tinged soul. I saw him recently performing in Birmingham.
16) I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin. In November 2008, Franklin was named by The Rolling Stone magazine. as the #1 all time best singer of the rock era. She came in ahead of Ray Charles at No. 2, Elvis Presley at No. 3, Sam Cooke at No. 4 and John Lennon at No. 5, according to the magazine's survey of 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors, and other music-industry insiders. (So says Wikipedia). And I thin k she’s pretty good too.
So there you are. Hope you like it.
P.S. Since thay letter was written in December, I've booked to see one of my long time musical heroes, Neil Young, in June. I'm also off to see Kraftwerk in July - another band I've wanted to see for ever - with my brother , in Manchester. Now he's a real fan and has travelled to Poland and Norway to see them perform - I've never travelled further than Aberdeen for a gig, although Lizzy and I did go to Sweden to see a film. But it was about Love so that's quite understandable.
