Origin Stories: Full Mix

Here's the full playlist, and here's a Spotify Link so you can listen to it if you please.

1). Man In Black — Johnny Cash
2). My Back Pages — Bob Dylan
3). Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out — Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
4). They Might Be Giants — They Might Be Giants
5). Clash City Rockers — The Clash
6). Formed A Band — Art Brut
7). History Lesson Part 2 — Minutemen
8). I Was Born A Unicorn — The Unicorns
9). Born on the Bayou — Creedence Clearwater Revival
10). Trailer Trash — Modest Mouse
11). Underground — Tom Waits
12). Jocko Homo — Devo
13). Ziggy Stardust — David Bowie
14). Gets Rich — The Dismemberment Plan
15). My Name Is — Eminem
16). Juicy — The Notorious B.I.G.
17). Through the Wire — Kanye West
18). My 1st Song — Jay-Z
19). Fetus — Nas

Origin Stories Mix Part 3

15). My Name Is — EminemAt once a master of internal rhyme and toilet humor, Eminem introduced himself to the American public with “My Name Is,” a song, I would venture to say, most males of a certain age memorized front to back. Everything that would define Shady’s most fertile period is here: mommy issues, drug addiction, cheesy sound effects, Dr. Dre and mean-spirited, but often clever, digs at celebrities. Glimpses of Marshall Mathers peek through the cartoon he projects (“I just found out my mom does more dope than I do”), but Eminem’s main goal was to poke fun at the establishment, piss off some squares and become a hero for troubled youth. Now that Eminem is recording tracks with Bruno fucking Mars, it’s hard to remember how shocking and intriguing he was when he burst onto the scene.


16). Juicy — The Notorious B.I.G.

The ultimate Hip-Hop origin song, and the forefather of thousands of subsequent “I made it” anthems. In the first verse, Biggie radiates his love for the music and marvels at the surrealistic idea of being paid huge money for rhyming. In other hands, all this bragging about ends could get obnoxious, but Biggie roots every line in the past, emphasizing the struggle he once faced before he broke into the rap game. Since we understand where Christopher Wallace comes from, we don’t begrudge him his success and we get why he chooses to live a life of extraordinary luxury. Besides all that, “Juicy” is filled to the brim with great lines (“birthdays was the worst days, now we sip champagne when we thirsty”; “Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, when I was flat broke shit I couldn’t picture this”) and a high-class beat, with a bouncy sing-along bassline. And it’s all good, baby baby.


17). Through the Wire — Kanye WestThough Kanye would go into greater detail about the start of his career in “Last Call,” “Through the Wire” was an early display of Kanye’s skill for spinning tales from his personal life into compelling tracks. Kanye’s car crash was a formative incident on his artistic persona, especially in his early days, which helped him seem grateful, not just for his opportunity to become a rap star but for his life. This is probably the only track where Kanye seems (gasp!) humble. There were songs on The College Dropout that were more radio ready (“Slow Jamz,” “All Falls Down”) but Kanye released “Through the Wire” as his first single, possibly because he felt it best represented him as an artist.


18). My 1st Song — Jay-Z
My 1st Song,” is the last song on what was supposed to be, but nobody actually thought would be, Jay’s last album. The other Hip-Hop origin stories on the playlist are introductions, opening salvos that try to show the world what the artist is made of. “My 1st Song” is a retrospective, spanning the whole of his career in two verses and a drawn out shout out to all those who helped Jay on his way to the top. The first verse mines the same familiar subject as “Juicy” and millions of other Hip-Hop tracks: he started out with nothing, started selling drugs, etc. The second verse is about the necessity of maintaining a high level of passion and intensity for your rhymes throughout your career. Did Jay-Z retire because he didn’t believe he was capable of keeping up his high standard? The world will never know, because he came out with the sub-standard Kingdom Come two years later.


19). Fetus — Nas“Fetus” wins the award for traveling the furthest back into the life of the artist. It begins with Nas’s conception and ends with his birth, as he raps from the perspective of an unborn fetus. “Fetus” is thrillingly realized, if self-aggrandizing, with fascinating, disturbing images of womb life and a window into his parents’ marriage. Most rappers would not be able to sustain the pre-birth gimmick for an entire song without making it seem overly-sentimental or cheesy. What makes “Fetus” such a great origin song is that Nas finds a way to use the gimmick to give the listener a deeper understanding of the man as an artist and as a person.

Origin Story Mix Part 2

10). Trailer Trash — Modest MouseIsaac Brock’s lyrics are often enigmatic, leaving it up to the listener to piece together what he’s talking about. To me, “Trailer Trash” paints a picture of Brock’s chaotic upbringing in the Pacific Northwest (“eating snowflakes with plastic forks” in “trailers with no class”) and illustrates the struggle of pursuing your dreams in a depressed, hopeless community where no one believes you will succeed. “Trailer Trash” is about transcending your background and succeeding on your own, in Brock’s case by starting a transcendent band. The cathartic, whammy-bar-heavy guitar solo at the end convinces us that he’s left the past behind.


11). Underground — Tom WaitsOn Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits abandoned his neo-beatnik barfly persona and embraced a stranger, richer and more unique sound. Instead of sounding like the piano player at last call, his music seemed to inhabit an entirely different realm from the rest of the world of music. “Underground,” the first track onSwordfishtrombones, is a perfect introduction to the new Tom Waits. “There’s a rumblin’ groan down below,” growls Tom Waits, “A place I’ve found, there’s a world going on underground.” It must have come as a shock to those fans that were used to Waits’ more singer-songwriterly tropes to hear about the world that’s awake when the rest of the world is asleep.


12). Jocko Homo — DevoIn which the immortal question “Are We Not Men?” is answered with a definitive “WE ARE DEVO!” Or more accurately, “yes, but we are very strange men.” This song is best understood in the context of the film “The Truth About De-Evolution,” which the band often featured before they played live in concert. Weird. Anyway, the song and video for “Jocko Homo” neatly summarize the worldview and ethos of Devo as a band, establishing them as mutants from the future, here to educate the world about De-Evolution, which seems to involve surgical masks and robotic dancing. “Jocko Homo” shows how a mythology can shape a band’s music and image and create a clear identity to stand out among the thousands of bands that start up each and everyday.


13). Ziggy Stardust — David BowieDavid Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust character is probably the most famous instance of a musician creating his own alter ego, in this case, a super sexy, golden voiced guitar player from Mars who his bandmates plot to murder because they are jealous of all the sex he’s having. You can’t expect somebody who creates a persona for himself to be modest. “Ziggy Stardust” is appropriately one of the greatest straight up rock songs in Bowie’s formidable discography. Driven by Mick Ronson’s arena rock guitar riff and Bowie’s vocal ad-libs, Bowie posits himself as a space alien, fresh from conquering Mars, coming to Earth to entertain the masses.


14). The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich — The Dismemberment PlanIn what could be the fastest two and a half minutes in music history, Travis Morrison and company make friends with the mafia, invest in bioweapons and minerals and establish a network of satellites to coordinate a vast international operation. Oh, and “Joe got caught aboard a bout with seven tons of opium.” “Gets Rich” is a glorious goof, suggesting that the band members are merely taking a break from their lives as international criminal billionaires to put on a show for you. This creates a fake backstory, far more interesting than the band’s real status as heroes of the second wave of hardcore. So many memorable lines, too bad you can’t understand any of them. Here’s hoping Soundman Phil’s next Senate bid is more successful.

Origin Stories Mix Part 1

Origin Stories Playlist



1). Man in Black — Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash is perhaps the most badass artist in music history, what with his performances in prisons, songs about murder and drug use and most of all his predilection for dressing entirely in black. “Man in Black” reveals that he has a nobler motive for wearing black than looking cool. Cash wears black to be a walking symbol for the disenfranchised, the “poor and beaten down” and those who died “believin’ that the Lord was on their side.” “Man in Black” is an example of an artist revealing important aspects of his mythology through song. It’s an artistic mission statement for Cash. Cash will always stand up for the underdog and remind the haves about the misfortunes of the have-nots


2). My Back Pages — Bob Dylan
Before we start: yes, I know the Byrds version is better, but considering the theme of this mix, the song is more powerful coming from the man himself. Few musicians have as effortlessly reinvented themselves as Robert Zimmerman. “My Back Pages” is the birth of the second incarnation of Bob Dylan, the version who turned away from protest songs and acoustic instruments and turned to personal topics and introspection. In the early 60s, Dylan was the voice of the rebellious younger generation, a hat that Dylan was willing to wear for a time, but “My Back Pages” shows that the righteous anger and moralism that fueled his protest period was fading (“’Rip down all I hate,’ I screamed/lies that life is black and white spoke from my skull, I dreamed/romantic facts of musketeers foundationed deep somehow”). The oft-repeated line “but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now,” betrays the possibility that being the voice of a generation exerted too much pressure on young Dylan and that he needed time to discover his true self, to be young, before claiming to speak for millions. So with this song, he cryptically announces his intention to split from the Greenwich Village protest folk scene and develop his own musical world.


3). Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out — Bruce Springsteen
A simple and to the point rocker. This song’s wistful and celebratory story about Bad Scooter (a transparent reference to the Boss—look at the initials) and the Big Man (obviously Clarence Clemons) teaming up to “bust this city in half” is a creation myth about the formation of the E Street Band. Apparently, Tenth Avenue intersected E Street. Bruce has been closing out his recent shows with this song, in honor of the dearly departed Clemons, giving the hopeful beginnings expressed in the song some sad context.


4). They Might Be Giants – They Might Be Giants
John Flansburgh admits that the band was aiming for a “Hey Hey, We’re the Monkees”-type theme song for the band on this one. Interestingly enough, the band’s theme song appears as the second-to-last track on the band’s third album. “They Might Be Giants” is a goofy, playful song with unconventional instrumentation, quirky lyrics and a catchy hook, which in a way does capture the ethos of the band’s oeuvre. “They Might Be Giants” provides a raison d’etre for the band’s existence: “we can’t be silent cause they might be giants and what are we gonna do unless they are?” It’s an unnatural amount of fun to sing along with the deep-voiced “BOY” in the chorus.


5). Clash City Rockers — The Clash

Like “They Might Be Giants,” “Clash City Rockers” is a mission statement for the band, as well as a superhero origin story. England’s working class needs a “little jump of electrical shockers,” so luckily here come the Clash to energize and mobilize the populace, giving them a purpose so they are not knocked out “sooner or later.” Joe Strummer sneers “I wanna move the town to the Clash City Rockers” and “burn down the suburbs with half-closed eyes” over Mick Jones’ “I Can’t Explain”-on-steroids guitar riff and The Clash have arrived. England was never the same.


6). Formed A Band — Art Brut

FORMED A BAND, WE FORMED A BAND! LOOK AT US WE FORMED A BAND! Eddie Argos’ lyrics demand to be typed in all caps. Argos pledges to be the band that writes the song “that makes Israel and Palestine get along,” and a song as “universal as happy birthday” that they’re gonna play “eight weeks in a row on Top of the Pops.” “Formed a Band” works as both an origin song and a parody of origin songs like “Clash City Rockers” or “We’re an American Band.”


7). History Lesson, Part 2 — Minutemen

Here’s the song that inspired this playlist, a true origin story, which traces the band’s progress from playing in San Pedro through learning the art of punk rock from Joe Strummer, Richard Hell and John Doe to drinking and pogoing in Hollywood. All with D. Boon and Mike Watt playing the guitar. The genius of the song lies in its matter-of-fact nature. Their band really could be your life. All you need to do is find a good friend to hang out and make music with and don’t stop ‘til one of you dies. RIP D. Boon.


8). I Was Born a Unicorn — The UnicornsMixing the absurdist “Hey Hey We’re the Monkees”-vibe of “They Might Be Giants” with the “we’re normal guys” spirit of “History Lesson Part 2,” “I Was Born a Unicorn” is an energetic introduction to a weird-ass band. The Unicorns take their band name seriously, with references to Noah’s Ark and neighing sound effects. “I Was Born a Unicorn” is a perfect concert opener (or closer), with the triumphant final verse: “We’re The Unicorns!/We’re more than horses!/We’re the Unicorns and we’re people too!” I’ll take your word for it you crazy motherfuckers.


9). Born on the Bayou — Creedence Clearwater RevivalJohn Cameron Fogerty was born in Berkley, California. In case you don’t know your geography, that’s pretty fuckin’ far from the Bayou. But damn if he doesn’t make you believe he sprung from backwater Louisiana, chasing down hoodoos, whatever they are, every morning before wrestling some gators. Fogerty was inspired by Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters to create a swampy aesthetic that has been imitated, but never quite been replicated. Fogerty says that “Born on the Bayou” is about a “mythical childhood and a heat-filled time” set in a place that he never lived, but a place with an essence that Fogerty would embody during his time as the brains and voice behind CCR.

Origin Stories Mix

I recently contributed to the excellent Tumblr One Week One Mix with a playlist about musical origin stories.  I've decided to repost what I wrote here.  I hope you enjoy.

Every superhero needs an origin story.  Sure, an audience willing to suspend disbelief about a man with the powers of a spider or a scientist who turns into giant green rage monster probably should not care too much about why these men can do these things, but what can you do? These origin stories help unravel the mystery surrounding the motivations of these people, why they are who they are and why they do what they do.

Looming equally large in popular mythology as superheroes are musicians, who seem to have superpowers of their own.  Since we don’t really know too much about the lives of these musicians, people try to color in the lines, embellishing the details that we know.  Did Robert Johnson really sell his soul to the Devil to become a great guitar player?  Probably not, but it doesn’t matter because that’s the first thing anybody talks about whenever anyone brings him up in conversation.

The playlist I made for this week takes a listen to what happens when musicians create their own mythology, and how it colors the listener’s expectations of the artist.  Some of these songs are not exactly origin stories in the strictest sense, but statements of purpose, an attempt to instill a message into a larger body of work.  Or they could just be theme songs, rallying cries for the artist’s fans.  I have used a lot of “brand names” in this playlist (particularly in Hip-Hop), because the type of artists that generate reverence and mythology are either popular or cult favorites.

Even though this is a concept playlist, it is still a collection of great songs that sound great together and I hope you enjoy listening as much as I have.