Ok, the bottom of the alphabet looks easy. I'll start this insane windmill-tilting project there.
from ZZ-Top - to Zevon, Warren.
Using the great OS X freeware program Clutter to play a specific album actually works out great. Like browsing one's CD shelf, and selecting the right disc based on its cover.
Update: Doh! Forgot the great artist, Tom Ze
ZZ-Top
Tres Hombres
Classic Texas style three chord rock. Probably like it so much because of where I grew up in Texas. This is probably their best, full of greasy guitar anthems (Beer Drinkers and Hell Raiser; Waiting for the Bus; La Grange) and bluesy ballads (Jesus Just Left Chicago; Hot, Blue and Righteous). Some folk complain that the digital mix is shitty; I can't remember what my vinyl copy sounded like, so who knows. Sounds better than the cassette tape I owned in high school.
Tejas
Meh. The songs leave hardly a trace after passing through my ear canals. Could be used as muzak, I suppose, as nothing is bad about this album, only there is nothing good either. I'd sell it, but currently, $4.50 is the used price at Amazon.
Chrome Smoke and BBQ
and there's the box set, which contains about 40 good songs, about 20 decent songs, and some crap. ZZ Top's best stuff was their material prior to Eliminator, circa 1983 or so. Most everything after is less interesting. The dance mixes really suck.
John Zorn
In college, I owned Spillane on vinyl, mostly because of hearing Two Lane Highway, an Albert Collins guitar workout. For some reason, I bought these two on CD instead of replacing my worn down vinyl of the better album, Spillane. In fact, I should look for a used copy....
Naked City
Not quite as good as Spillane, but good nonetheless. 26 songs, 31 minutes, mostly instrumental. Like a film soundtrack to some Indie movie.
Spy vs. Spy
Never been much of an Ornette Coleman fan either. This is honking jazz, full of squawks, fast tempos, and short songs. Theoretically, one could appreciate this album while under the influence of certain chemical substances, but I've never been able to find a combination that makes this listen-able for more than 5 minutes. Perhaps, if I was trying to get people to leave my house after a party, I could throw this on, but not really a common scenario.
Warren Zevon
Came late to the Warren Zevon party, sorry Warren.
The Wind
What would one create if one knew one had terminal cancer, like mesothelioma? Zevon just rocks out, with some great tunes, including a poignant cover of Knockin' on Heavens Door. Tons of guest artists (Ry Cooder, T-Bone Burnett, Emmylou Harris, Don Henley, Bruce Springsteen, etc.) help out. I think Milhouse's father, Kirk Van Houten, on the Simpsons even did a version of Numb as a Statue
Excitable Boy
Everybody knows Werewolves of London. Other songs display same sort of literate lyrics. I haven't listened to commercial radio since I was 12, but I wouldn't be surprised if quite a lot of these songs (Excitable Boy; Lawyers, Guns and Money; Johnny Strikes up the Band) were played on FM Pop/Rock stations: mid-tempo, nothing too scary, some L.A. musical stalwarts (Linda Rondstadt, Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne).
Sentimental Hygiene
Mike Mills, Peter Buck, Michael Stipe, and Bill Berry (yes, R.E.M.) are the main back up band for this album, rocking out actually. Also, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and the funkmaster himself, George Clinton. Some of Zevon's better songs. My copy includes a Spanish version of Leave my Monkey Alone, for some reason. Also the beginning lyrics to The Factory don't really make sense: how can the guy be working in the factory at the age of 1? Why would a one year old know about Kennedy?
I was born in '63
Got a little job in the factory
I don't know much about Kennedy
I was too busy working in the factory
We got a kid that's two, we got another one due
We get by the best we can do
The factory's got a good medical plan
And, cousin, I'm a union man
Saying, Yes sir, no sir, yes sir, no sir, yes sir, no sir
Oh well, it does rhyme.
(Various Artists) Enjoy Every Sandwich - A Tribute to Warren Zevon
All-Star cast, post-humous release, good songs to work from. Don't know who suggested Adam Sandler though. I hope he was a good friend to Zevon. Dylan's voice is not in the best shape either, the track sounds like it was recorded live by somebody with a 2 track pocket cassette recorder, sitting in the back of the auditorium.
update 12:09 8/24/05
Tom Zé
One of the best concerts I ever attended was Tom Ze, with Tortoise as his backing band, at the Park West. Great mix of theatrics (using newspapers on a mike as percussion, using belt sanders as rhythm guitars, etc.) and soulful tunes.
The Hips of Tradition
Superb album. Blending Brazilian beats, atonality, Indie rock, and clever instrumentation. David Bryne sings one song (as an advertisement for Tom Zé).
Fabrication Defect
Another great album. Political music you can dance to.
Verbiology of the Politishitology says Mr. Zé. Also, Esthetics of Plagiarism “The Esthetic of the Fabrication Defect will re-utilize the sonorous civilized trash (everyday symphony), be they conventional or unconventional instruments (for example: toys, cars, whistles, saws, hertz orchestra, street noises etc.) - all of this put into a rhythmic or dance music format, with choruses, and within the parameters of popular music.
Exactly. Buy this album. You won't regret it.
