Way to Blue (Fall 1999 – Spring 2000)
After I graduated from high school, I didn’t know what to do with my life.
I worked for a while in a kitchen for a retirement home, and then eventually moved out of my mom’s house. I was happy to finally have my own bedroom, and was desperate to find some peace after my parents’ divorce.
But I was still stuck in NE Philly, with no direction or inspiration.
As such, you’ll notice that this playlist has a melancholy touch to it. And a greater portion of softer sounds.
This was when I first started to get into Radiohead, after years of dismissing them as the “Creep” guys. And Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian, Red House Painters, and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.
Perhaps I needed a break after so much rave scene overstimulation.
I also started working at Tower Records during this time. Perhaps that experience also injected some maturity into the mix, as I was expanding my musical horizons far beyond what I could in high school.
Then again, there’s Wesley Willis. 🙂
Of all my bonus mixes, the one for this year has the strongest “grab bag” feel to it. Not completely random, but it was a challenge to put together some of these songs without the mix sounding like total garbage! But I was indeed listening to these artists, so I wanted to make sure they were represented. You were warned!
Lead a Normal Life (Fall 2000 – Spring 2001)
This is where my employment at Tower Records really started to pay off. As a result, my tastes continued to expand and mature relative to what I had been listening to in previous years. Maybe it was also because I was listening to WXPN, which is a Philly station for hip old folks.
Another influence was a new choice for a roommate.
Midway through the year, I agreed to move in with my brother-in-law’s younger brother in an apartment in the Manayunk neighborhood of the city.
I had first met him at my sister’s wedding, back when I was in 10th grade, and at that time he had been addicted to heroin. But he was a few years clean at this point, and was working hard to get his life back together. I only mention his addiction because it’s so remarkable how thoroughly he began to thrive after finally choosing life.
This was primarily due to his dedication to playing music. I can’t say I loved when he would practice drums when I was trying to read, but I miss hearing him playing and singing around the apartment.
The last time I talked with him in person, he was getting ready to play guitar for a production of Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Ainadamar with the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra. He died of cancer just a few months after that, about 10 years ago.
I miss you, buddy.
The early Beatles in this mix is for you, because otherwise I would have continued to hate them. It took a lot longer for Bach to take, but you were right about that one too. Rest in Peace.
And here’s a bonus mix. Pretty heavy on classic sounds, but getting more and more in touch with the indie sounds of the day.
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“Grab-bag” bonus mix aside, I think these entries really stepped up as enjoyable listening experiences.
Here are the YouTube playlists for easy access:
Fall 99 – Spring 00 Main Mix:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIUVLF7jRhdmJhR0L7H_Jqtz&si=hE1IN1c5knMNHyZf
Fall 99 – Spring 00 Bonus Mix:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIWt1Q_GJwJDaTMgh6COo0rt&si=gDOcBviz7BCI14wa
Fall 00 – Spring 01 Main Mix:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIU_TSrFD_slLbUnF0b0Qq2S&si=qsD05rXTGBjZcFX3
Fall 00 – Spring 01 Bonus Mix:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIXG30n-LpnSoZs86KDOcMTs&si=imlQci5B0qsgpb7B
Enjoy!
Your cartoon is amazing, in that in just two frames, it manages to capture the crux of addiction and its siren song, whether intended or not.
I knew 4 songs on that first list, and one of them was “I Wupped Batman’s Ass”. Brought a smile to my face. You hang around the more bizarre corners of the musical internet and you will find Wesley Willis, alarmingly quickly.
Ah, Pet Sounds. All signs indicated you would eventually find your way to it. That a band that sang songs about surfing and cars would produce something of this magnitude would seem to be the most unlikely story of popular music ever, save for the fact that we know too much about Brian Wilson. Because of the toned down complexity of the majority of its tracks and the more overall inward focus, it’s not their most accessible, and I’ve found that not everyone gets into it, witnessed by the fact that it was mostly forgotten before it was reassessed by many a couple of decades later. The U.K. got it long before we did, but that’s not a surprise. Once it caught on here, it started appearing in the top two of countless greatest albums ever lists until the inevitable backlash where some tried to walk this back a bit. I first listened to it in its entirety after a lot of this had occurred, and I immediately understood what so many saw in it. It’s nothing short of a miracle.
Thanks rb. In this scene I was in, most of the people there just wanted to have a good time. But they were toying with some highly addictive substances as part of that good time.
Based on my own experiences, I noticed essentially two types of people who tried drugs in their youth: the experimenters and the pain killers. I was solidly in the first camp, but even I felt the strong tugs of craving that MDMA could bring someone to. The second type tend to be people struggling to deal with a severe trauma, and are looking for a way to numb the pain. And that second type is the highest risk for a full-blown addiction, and escalation to worse substances like heroin.
To this day, I wonder how the guy depicted in that comic fared; I wasn’t quite sure what category of user he fell into. I hope he’s doing great. I have another friend who fell into deep drug addiction, and I haven’t seen him since. I hope he’s still around, and I hope he found a path back into life like my old roommate did.
Also side note: How amazing are those drawn musical notes? A winner in the category of: Tell me you’ve never studied music without telling me.
Very insightful. Thanks for sharing this.
And I was so riveted by the conversation in the cartoon that I didn’t really look closely at the musical notes. But now that you have drawn my attention to them, yes, they are remarkably off. Exactly one note is drawn correctly. It’s perfect.
Agree with the distinction between the experimenters and the pain killers. Added into the mix is the genetic predisposition to addiction which can affect even the experimenters fairly rapidly.
Do you remember Britney Spears’ appearance on SNL? Tracy Morgan appears in a skit with her. Morgan’s song is more complex than anything Wesley Willis ever wrote, but it might be a homage.
I didn’t see it, but I think I found it here, and if this is what you are talking about, then I would say that Wesley Willis probably did serve as at least some of the inspiration for this.
https://www.tiktok.com/@huggyattack/video/7272172354107673899?lang=en
Thanks, rollerboogie. NBC is very protective about their intellectual property. I haven’t seen this since its original airing. There is a legendary Les Savy Fav performance on Conan that intermittently shows up on YouTube going on a decade. Somebody posts it. Somebody takes it down. I finally recorded it with my phone. I like Conan O’Brien because he put Jonathan Richman on live television. I like Britney Spears a lot for doing this sketch. I remembered this appearance on SNL when Craig Ferguson came to her defense in an amazing monologue that made me aware of how messed up America’s obsession with celebrity culture is.
Mt, did you pull a pic of the Delaware river skyline based on my comic? I appreciate the view. 😀
Perhaps you’ll appreciate the title of the Autechre song in the final bonus mix…
We strive for graphic relevancy.
I’m obviously a few years older than you, Phylum, but I can appreciate all of what you’ve shared here.
Were you at the Tower Records on South Street? (Were there any others in Philly?)
I know a LOT of these songs, and I’m not referring to the classics (hi, Marvin!). When I was a sort-of DJ, there was a record shop on Chestnut St who specialized in 12″ singles, and I used to talk to a few of the guys there and ask what they were spinning. Those were the only times I felt like a part of that scene…
Speaking of which, I’ve only known peripherally people who used heroin, though I’ve had a lot of students die from it. MDMA was big in the club scene when I partied there (I’ve only tried it once), and cocaine (not in the 1980s stockbroker sort of way), but never the darker stuff.
…and I don’t understand addiction. I hope I never do.
I was at the Tower in Northeast Philly, along Roosevelt Blvd, near Welsh Road. God knows what’s there now.
There was another Tower on Chestnut Street in Center City. South Street was the coolest, obviously. But in NE Philly, Tower was an oasis of cool in a vast desert, so it felt more important. Necessary! And now defunct.
Addiction to music is far more preferable than any pharmacological option.
I don’t know the Chestnut St store you mentioned, but did you ever visit 611 Records on South St? I used to go there for good CD mixes and a 12” or two.
I’m not sure I did – it was across the street, right?
I got set up with the shop on Chestnut with the DJ I worked with at Who’s on Third (located at 3rd and Bainbridge, now a building of condos)
I believe 611 was at 4th and South, or maybe Bainbridge, so pretty close to Who’s on Third.
I hope that you never understand it either. You have been blessed.
These are the closest to my own tastes and experiences – especially the main mixes. 1992 to 94, in High School 6th Form (where we do A-Levels from 16 to 18yr) common room we had a stereo, I tried Nick Drake out. He didn’t go down well. I got a reputation for having a thing for dead musicians. While it is true that there were a fair number of the deceased in my record collection its only because I was more inquisitive than most of my contemporaries in seeking out both the new and old. Its not my fault rock stars, especially, in the 70s had a propensity for death.
The only act I’ve not heard on that first main mix is Wesley Willis. I have now listened. What it lacked in musicality it made up for in effort. It made me actually LOL at his ever more strained and impassioned exhortations that he whipped batman’s ass.
If you liked his Batman song, he has many others like it. Many, many others.
I’m not sure I could go as far as ‘like’. It made me laugh but I think it may be a case of diminishing returns. Without the context of knowing about Wesley I’m not sure laughter is the appropriate response either. I feel like I should probably be asking if he’s OK.
Wesley was diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia (as detailed in a few of his songs, including “Chronic Schizophrenia”), and I imagine that some of the people enjoying his music are laughing at him rather than with him.
But Wesley had his own very goofy sense of humor, so there’s plenty of room to laugh with him, and also to have some sympathy for his more serious observations.
One more thing, having to do with your Radiohead mention, Phy. Did you notice that there was a mariachi cover of “No Surprises” on that playlist in my article yesterday?
No, I missed that one. Listening now.
I was afraid it would be a jaunty, chipper run-through, but it’s quite nice.
Yes, it’s actually rather faithful to the original, right down to the lead vocal.
Some really great stuff in there today. Love the variety.
Queen and Sparks shares a producer: Mack. I wish one of the Queen guys would nominate them for the Hall. Liking Sparks used to be embarrassing. Rolling Stone hated them. Maybe they’d have a different career trajectory if Giorgio Moroder completed Terminal Jive. “Rock and Roll People in a Disco World” sounds like a thesis paper. Even The Go-Go’s’ afterglow couldn’t propel Sparks into the top 40. Edgar Wright tried. The Sparks Brothers must have been painful for Sparks newbies, expecting Baby Driver.