Alternative Rock - December 20, 2011

Published by America's Music Charts.

Active Rock - December 20, 2011

Published by America's Music Charts.

A Fairytale of New York ... 2011 Holiday Special & Show # 383

In August of 1987, The Pogues released what is often called one of the best Christmas songs of all time, “Fairytale of New York”. While the band was recording their album If I Should Fall From The Grace of God with producer Steve Lillywhite, he asked his wife Kristy MacColl to sing vocals on a demo version of the song “Fairytale of New York”. The Pogues were so impressed with her contribution to the song that they asked her to sing on what was to become the studio version of “Fairytale of New York”. Initially when writing the song, Pogues singer Shane MacGowan planned it to be a duet between himself and bassist Cait O’Riordan, but she left the group in 1986. The title of the song came after its recording, it was named after the novel A Fairy Tale of New York by J.P. Donleavy.

The songs subject matter is not your usual Christmas story, it tells the tale of a drunken Irish Immigrants past Christmas Eve’s and holidays while being locked up in the drunk tank in New York City on Christmas Eve. The song itself musically takes the form of a folk styled ballad and contrasts the vocals of Shane MacGowan with the melodious style of Kristy MacColl in a bittersweet way. When it was originally released the song became a hit on the Irish charts going to number one and after a performance on the BBC show Top of the Pops, it went to number two on the UK top 75 charts. The song was denied the number one spot in the UK by The Pet Shop Boys in 1987, but was re-released in 1991 where it charted again in the UK and Ireland. In 2005, the song was released again the UK and Ireland reaching number three in the UK and the song has re-entered the top ten in the UK every December since 2005. The song has now gone onto classic Christmas song status being covered numerous times. A music video for the song was also made featuring actor Matt Dillon as a NYPD Police Officer.



This Week's Holiday Play List:

1. REM – Christmas In Tunisia
2. Hooded Fang – Tundura Nights 
3. She & Him – Christmas Wish
4. Johnny West - Merry Christmas, Tinseltown 
5. The Pogues & Kristy MacColl – Fairytale of New York
6. Chris Houston – Baby Jesus Looks Like Elvis
7. Deer Tick – Christmas All Summer Long
8. Belle and Sebastian – Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto
9. The Humpers – Run Run Rudolph
10. The Reind Dears – White Xmas
11. The Dickies – Silent Night
12. Johnny Cash - It's Not Cool To Kill On Christmas
13. Fine Times - Subterranean Christmas Blues
14. The Features – Christmas Wishbook
15. The Pointed Sticks – Power Pop Santa
16. The Nefidovs – Feliz Nefidov
17. Captain Sensible – One Christmas Catalogue
18.  The Wailers – The Christmas Spirit
19. The Sonics – The Village Idiot
20. Jack Scott – There's Trouble Brewin’
21. The Fall – (We Wish You A) Protein Christmas
22. White Stripes - Candy Cane Children
23. The D4 – Don’t Believe In Xmas 
24. Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians of the British Empire – Pete Townshends Christmas 

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for December 20. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

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College Football Sidebar

I am sometimes amazed at how short-sighted people can be.  The Big East was founded in 1979 as primarily a basketball conference, but it contained a number of D-I football schools.  Joe Paterno and Penn State had been clamoring for a football conference made up of Eastern schools, and in 1982 Penn State applied for membership to the Big East conference...was the Big East going to become a football conference as well? 

No.  Penn State's application was rejected, and it took ten years for the Big East to play football.  Since then, the Big East has become the ugly step-child of the BCS system.  Or whore, since it seems willing to accept anyone in an effort to keep its place at the BCS table.  If we had a time machine, let us re-create a possible Big East football league:

Penn State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Syracuse
Boston College
Rutgers
Virginia Tech
Miami
Florida State
Army
Navy
Temple

What a colossal league that would've been.  Would the schools bolt to greener pastures?  

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Rolling Stones...Got LIVE If You Want It! & Show # 382

Released in 1966, Got LIVE If You Want It! is the first full length live album release by The Rolling Stones.  Its title is a play on words, the title originates from the Slim Harpo song "I Got Love If You Want It".  The album has undergone much controversy due to its sound quality and whether or not the album is all live recordings.  It has been released in various editions, some even featuring different mixes which can confuse even the most devout Rolling Stones fan. The album originally was released under the same title as an EP in the UK in 1965, becoming the last official EP from the band and one of the first live recordings of the band to be released, it was also only available in the UK. As part of a contractual obligation Got LIVE If You Want It! was released as an LP in the US for the bands US distributor. The band had already released a full length LP (Aftermath), and a compilation album in the very same year, the US market needed another Stones release to fill in the gaps due to the fact that their next full length album Between The Buttons would not be available in time for the Christmas season of that year. The US market for Rolling Stones products was in very high demand, so Got LIVE If You Want It! was released in December of 1966 on London Records.  With the exception of the song "I'm Alright", the Got LIVE If You Want It! LP featured a different track listing than the EP of the same name. 

The album claimed to have been recorded at Royal Albert Hall in the UK upon the bands return to the English stage on September 23rd, 1966, but it was not. The album was actually primarily recorded between October 1st and 7th of 1966 in New Castle and Bristol. Since most of the concerts in those days lasted sometimes barely thirty minutes and were often riotous, it has been suggested that although the recordings were attempted at Royal Albert Hall, they were unusable due to all of the chaos, and that is something that this album seems to capture very well, the riotous, energetic chaos of Rolling Stones concerts n the 60s. The album was also filled up with overdubs and studio recordings that were made to sound like live recordings. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” was actually a studio outtake recorded in 1965 and featured overdubs of organ and screaming girls in order to match the rest of the live album sound.  The other studio recording found on this release was the song “Fortune Teller” a song which dates back to a studio recording in 1963 that was never issued, it of course featuring screaming girls and crowd noise overdubs. It should be noted that the original unedited versions of these two tracjs can be found on the More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) compilation album. 

The sound of the original LP has often been scrutinized as being, muddled, off kilter and un-listenable, but despite this the album went to number six on the US Pop album charts in 1967, even going gold. The album was released for import purposes in the UK as Have You Seen Your Mother LIVE! by Decca Records, and as Hits LIVE! in Japan. In the 80s ABKO Records went back to the original tapes and re-edited and mixed Got LIVE for CD in consultation with the producer Andrew Long Oklham. In 2002, the album was re-mixed and re-mastered for CD and SACD, and proves to be one of the best sounding versions of the album. When comparing and contrasting the original Got LIVE If You Want It! LP from 1966 to the 1965 Got LIVE If You Want It! EP, there is a notable difference in sound quality, the EP is often praised for its superior sound.  The original 1965 UK EP of Got LIVE, features a different mix of the song "I'm Alright" the vocals on the EP differ from the LP version of Got LIVE, while the backing track remains the same. The additional tracks found on the 1965 EP were issued on the US albums Out Of Our Heads, and December's Childern (And Everybody's) ("I'm Alright", "Route 66", and "I'm Moving On"). The UK EP remained out of print for a long time until it was released in 2004 as part of the ABKO Singles 1963-1965 Box Set on CD.

The Rolling Stones themselves have been very vocal on the matter of this album, they were not happy with the original release and disowned it, stating that their 1970 live album Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out is the ultimate live Rolling Stones album and their true live debut album. Its hard to disagree with that statement, if you listen to Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out and Got LIVE If You Want It! back to back, but both serve as important historical documents in different eras of the bands history. While Got LIVE If You Want It! was initially labeled as a let down, it has aged well, serving as a historical documentation of Brian Jones era Rolling Stones. From the fast version of "Under My Thumb” to the whirlwind speed of “Satisfaction” Got LIVE If You Want It! displays The Rolling Stones in all their 60s Garage Rock ragged glory.

This week's play list:

1. Lost Patrol – Commanche
2. The Treblemakers – The Grudge
3. Fuzz Aldrin – Trailer Park Quarintine
4. The Cryptics – You’re Evil
5. Thee Oh Sees – Crushed Grass 
6. Ty Segall – Standing at the Station 
7. The Mekons – Where Were You? 
8. Black Flag – Wasted 
9. The Boomtown Rats – She’s So Modern
10. Indoor Voices – Like Your Own 
12. Wild Domestic – Universally Known/Already Forgotten 
13. Talking Heads – Air
14. Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Ignore That Door (Destiny Street Repaired Version) 
15. The Pogues - Cotton Fields
16. Gone Wrong – Our Last Storm (War of 1812)
17. Johnny West – Revenge Is Sweet
18. The Police – Fallout
19. Supergrass – Sun Hits The Sky
20. Klark Kent – Office Girls
21. Shannon & The Clams – Cult Song
22. The Sphinxs - Bad Head
23. The Standells - Dirty Water
24. The Rolling Stones – The Last Time (Live)
25. The Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown (Live)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for December 13. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.