Kool Kim

Happy birthday Kim Gordon, born 28th April 1953.

I don't know what the current stereotypes and tropes are about what you "should" be doing as a septuagenarian, but thank goodness that Kim is doing her own thing which, in her 73rd year, includes releasing her third solo album, Play Me.

I've picked three songs from the current album, and three klassic Kim kuts, one from Ciccone Youth and two from Sonic Youth. I've intentionally avoided repeating selections from my Kim Gordon and Kim Deal tribute last March.

1) Play Me: Kim Gordon (2026)

2) Dirty Tech: Kim Gordon (2026)

3) Sub Con: Kim Gordon (2026)

4) Addicted To Love (Cover of Robert Palmer): Ciccone Youth (1988)

5) Kool Thing: Sonic Youth ft. Chuck D (1990)

6) Sacred Trickster: Sonic Youth (2009)

And, as Bandcamp Friday's coming up this week, why not treat yourself? You can find Kim's solo output plus the Sonic Youth Archive, both chock full of delights.

Have a great one, Kim!

 

 

 

 

 

Ha Ha Hallowe'en

A spooky selection today, in a nod to Hallowe'en, whether you will ready for the hordes of Trick or Treaters, or battening down the hatches and pretending you're not in when the doorbell rings.

Inevitably, lots of Halloween-referencing songs to choose from, though dig a little deeper into some of the lyrics and you may be surprised by what you find. I've also lobbed in a few pumpkins, though they're not necessarily seasonal tunes.

I had to include some music by John Carpenter, though rather than go for the obvious with the main theme of 1978's defining moment Halloween, I've instead picked an extract from the 2018 'sequel', which Carpenter scored for director David Gordon Green. 

1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins was a classic slice of nostalgic rock until Moby got his hands on it and transformed it into a spine-tingling horrorshow. 1979 was a ripe year for horror films, with Alien, Phantasm, The Driller Killer, The Amityville Horror, The Brood, Nosferatu The Vampyre, and a(nother) remake of Dracula.

The Prisoner by Tears For Fears is the penultimate song on their debut album The Hurting and a re-recorded version of an old B-side. It gave me the chills when I listened to it as a young lad, though it was - and remains - one of the best things they've ever done.

The Basement Jaxx remix of Trick Me by Kelis is arguably far too upbeat for inclusion in this selection, but I like the jarring juxtaposition with Siouxsie & The Banshees before and Phoebe Bridgers afterwards.

And, having recently discovered EMF's unexpected but strangely compelling cover of Bauhaus' classic Bela Lugosi's Dead, it was a shoo in for this selection.

And who better to start and end proceedings than Misfits? 

1) Halloween: Misfits (1981)

2) Halloween Parade: Lou Reed (1989)

3) Halloween: Ash (1997)

4) Laurie Sees The Shape: John Carpenter (2018)

5) 1979 (Moby Mix): The Smashing Pumpkins (1996)

6) Pumpkin (Reincarnated): Tricky ft. Lucia (2023)

7) Halloween: The Gaslight Anthem (2014)

8) Pumpkin Head Xscapes: The Fall (1992)

9) Halloween: Japan (1979)

10) Halloween: Kirsty MacColl (1991)

11) Halloween: Sonic Youth (1986)

12) The Prisoner (Album Version): Tears For Fears (1983)

13) Halloween: Dead Kennedys (1982)

14) Halloween (Album Version): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1981)

15) Trick Me (Jaxxbackclash Rerub) (Remix By Basement Jaxx): Kelis (2004)

16) Halloween: Phoebe Bridgers (2020)

17) Bela Lugosi's Dead (Cover of Bauhaus): EMF (2025)

18) Halloween II: Misfits (1981)

1979: Quiet Life: 9

1981: Halloween EP: 1, 18

1981: Juju: 14

1982: Plastic Surgery Disasters: 13

1983: The Hurting: 12

1986: Flower / Halloween EP: 11

1989: New York: 2

1991: Electric Landlady: 10

1992: Ed's Babe EP: 8

1996: 1979 EP: 5

1997: A Life Less Ordinary EP: 3

2004: Trick Me EP: 15

2014: Get Hurt (Deluxe Edition): 7

2018: Halloween OST: 4

2020: Punisher: 16

2023: Maxinquaye (Reincarnated): 6

2025: Bela Lugosi's Dead EP: 17

Ha Ha Hallowe'en (1:06:08) (GD) (M)

If that's not frightening enough for you, then I've refreshed my #SpookyTunesSeason selections, originally posted on Bluesky this time last year. Follow the link for Volume One and Volume Two. 

Kim & Kim & Kim & Kim & Kim & Kim

I stumbled across a clip of Kim Gordon and Kim Deal performing Little Trouble Girl live on TV for the first time ever last Wednesday, and it's a treat.

I only sporadically subscribe to Netflix (e.g. when there's a 30-day free trial or the like), so I was completely ignorant of the talk show Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney, which debuted on 12th March. I also have no idea who John Mulaney is either, if you're asking.

However, a major benefit of living in 2025 is that it doesn't matter where you live, or whether or not you shell out money every month to any number of subscription channels. If you have access to t'internet, then you have access to music clips from around the world, past and present. 

I mean, what are the chances that Kim and Kim would do this again on, say, The Graham Norton Show, Later...With Jools Holland or Sunday Brunch?

Kim and Kim's version of Little Trouble Girl is all the more affecting for it's pure, raw performance: there's no vocal gymnastics, no glam costumes or hair, no dancers or choreography; just Kim singing and Kim speaking, supported by the band. The song speaks for itself.

As if that weren't enough, it was preceded by Kim Deal with the title track of her album Nobody Loves You More. 

And, earlier in the show, by Kim Gordon with BYE BYE, from her album The Collective.

To complete the complement of Kims, here's the original video for Little Trouble Girl, released as a single from Sonic Youth's 1995 album, Washing Machine. 

The chorus on the studio version is completed by Lorette Velvette and Melissa Dunn, though only the two Kims appear in the promo.

What Did You Wish For? What Did You Fear?

More festive fun today with Aimee Mann and Michael Penn, performing their song Christmastime on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on 15th December 2000. This post is dedicated to Rol from My Top Ten and someone who's been a fan of the Mann from the start.

I was much, much later to the party and oddly enough, it was her festive offerings (of which there are many) that drew me in. Christmastime is an original song, [warning: bad pun alert] penned by husband Michael Penn (older brother of Sean and Chris), producer Jon Brion and of course Aimee herself, if the lyrics didn't make it obvious.

I've not seen this TV clip before but I've long owned a version of this song on the 1996 album Just Say Noël. It's an alternative Christmas compilation released on Geffen, featuring a dozen tracks by label artists, mixing up cover versions of traditional and more contemporary songs with original compositions. 

Christmastime first appeared the same year on the soundtrack to Paul Thomas Anderson's debut film, Hard Eight and it's been re-recorded several times since. The studio version is full of the usual festive (jingle) bells and whistles, but I also like this slightly different arrangement for television. Aimee's voice is of course the element that lifts it to another plane.

 

If the annual tweak and reissue of Now That's What I Call Xmas and the prospect of Christmas songs by Ed Sheeran & Elton John, Michael Buble or Sam Ryder have you reaching for bucket to puke in, then Just Say Noël is a pretty decent alternative and relatively easy to find secondhand or online.

The album kicks off with Beck's take on a traditional song with The Little Drum Machine Boy. There's an extract on You Tube at just under two-and-a-half minutes but be warned: the album version clocks in at over seven minutes, by which time the novelty of Beck rapping has worn off, if I'm honest. Cracking bassline, though.

Sonic Youth up next with a surprisingly faithful cover of comedian/actor Martin Mull's 1972 song, Santa Doesn't Cop Out On Dope. Well, when I say faithful, I mean in the sense of their Ciccone Youth covers of Into The Groove and Addicted To Love: structurally accurate replicas but put through the 'Yoot' mangle. Even more surprising, it's actually less disturbing than the original.

From 'Yoot' to The Roots' cover of the De La Soul perennial Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa. I like The Roots and while it's inevitably not a patch on the hip hop trio, it's worth a listen or two.

Just Say Noël is not all downtempo, downtrodden music either. XTC make a belated appearance here with their 1983 single Thanks For Christmas. It ticks all the boxes for being a festive smash but failed to make a dent in the UK chart. This is possibly (and no doubt intentionally) due to the single being released as The Three Wise Men not XTC, with songwriting credited to Balthazar, Kaspar and Melchior rather than Partridge, Moulding and Gregory. As soon as Andy's voice kicks in though, you know you're in for a treat.

My final seasonal selection from Just Say Noël is Gloria by Elastica, which first appeared as a 'B-side' to third single Waking Up in, er, February 1995 and would prove to be the band's biggest hit, coming in at #13 on it's week of release. It's got all of the Elastica hallmarks: thumping drum intro, strident bass, fuzzy guitar and Justine's slightly snotty vocals and original lyrics over a very familiar melody. What's not to love?