January 27, 2012 Playlist

"Chelsea Girl" by Nico (1967)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Nico  "Chelsea Girl"  1967 (Germany/USA)
There was a documentary film from the 1980's called Nico Icon, and truly she was one of the most iconic and unique figures in pop music history.  Most of her oeuvre consists of droney chamber folk framing her incredibly icy, sad voice -- there really was nothing like it before, and has been little like it since.  Mostly remembered for her brief tenure with the Velvet Underground (though she sang a mere three songs on their debut album), Nico recorded only five studio albums in her lifetime, all of which were resolutely underground art statements that never came anywhere near commercial success.  The first of these was the criminally overlooked Chelsea Girl, recorded immediately after the Velvet Underground's debut, and featuring Lou Reed, John Cale and Sterling Morrison from that band along with Nico's current love interest:  a 19 year old Jackson Browne!  Tim Hardin and Bob Dylan(!) also contributed tunes specifically for Nico to sing, and the baroque production was handled by unsung legend Tom Wilson (the man who invented "Folk Rock" in 1965, among other things).  Although when Nico first heard this album, she wept hysterically!  She had wanted more rock instrumentation, and barfed at the strings and flutes.  Yet decades later, this album stands with the work of Scott Walker as some of the best and most iconoclastic non-rock music of the 1960's.  Nico (born Christa Paeffgen) died in a bicycling accident in 1988.
Here's clips from the early 1980's with Nico singing the title track from this album "Chelsea Girls" (live from the Chelsea Hotel!) and performing a song from her second solo album, "No One Is There".  There aren't many clips of Nico from earlier days, but here she is singing the Velvet Underground oldie "Femme Fatale" at a 1972 reunion performance with Lou Reed and John Cale.   Before coming to America, she also made a few obscure recordings in Europe in the early 1960's, including this charming track with Serge Gainsbourg.
(N) = New Release
(R) = Listener Request
Artist Song Album Year (label) Country
Uriah Heep (R)
The Wizard Demons & Wizards
1972
UK
Jethro Tull (R)
Mother Goose Aqualung
1971UK
Genesis (R)
The Knife Trespass
1970
UK
Emerson Lake & Palmer (R)
Knife-Edge Emerson Lake & Palmer
1970UK
 
  
Nico
The Fairest Of The Seasons
(written by Jackson Browne)
 		Chelsea Girl
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		1967Germany/USA
Nico
Winter Song
(written by John Cale)
 		Chelsea Girl
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		1967Germany/USA
Nico
Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(written by Lou Reed)
 		Chelsea Girl
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK		1967Germany/USA
The Velvet Underground & Nico Femme Fatale The Velvet Underground & Nico1967USA/UK/Germany
Nico (with John Cale, Brian Eno & Phil Manzanera)
The End (The Doors)
 		The End...1974Germany
The Velvet Underground Afterhours The Velvet Underground1969USA
 
  
Duchess Says
Yellow Pillow
In A Fung Day T! (N)
2011 (Alien 8)Canada (Quebec)
Meshell Ndegeocello
Dead End
Weather (N) 2011 (Naive)USA
Eleanor FriedbergerInn Of The Seventh Ray
Last Summer (N) 2011 (Merge)USA
Wild Flag Glass Tambourine
Wild Flag (N)2011 (Merge)USA
Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re
Tea Time Ska Pregnant Fantasy
2005Japan
 
  
eX-Girl
Hettakorii No Ottokotou Endangered Species
2004Japan
Stereolab
Our Trinitone Blast Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements
1993UK/France
Throbbing Gristle
20 Jazz Funk Greats 20 Jazz Funk Greats
1978UK
Pocahaunted
Yoo Do Voodoo Make It Real
2010USA
Björk
Mutual Core
Biophilia (N)2011 (One Little Indian)Iceland
Joni Mitchell
Harry's House - Centerpiece The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
1975Canada
Amon Duul 2
Archangel Thunderbird Yeti1970Germany
The Breeders
Roi Last Splash
1993USA
 
  
Royal Trux
Delta 70 of Hearts Hey Drag City (various artists compilation)
1994USA
The Sex Pistols
God Save The Queen Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols
1977UK
Mission Of Burma
The Ballad Of Johnny Burma Vs.
1982USA
Thee Oh Sees
Contraption / Soul Desert (Can?)
Carrion Crawler / The Dream (N)2011 (In The Red)USA
Can
Soul Desert Soundtracks
1970Germany
Liars
All In All A Careful Party Atheists, Reconsider (split EP with Oneida)
2002USA
Suicide
Keep Your Dreams Suicide
1978USA

 
Jimmy Castor
(R.I.P. January 17, 2012)
Hey, Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You A-side 7" single
1966USA
Jimmy Castor
Magic Saxophone B-side 7" single
1967USA
The Jimmy Castor Bunch
L.T.D. (Life Truth & Death) It's Just Begun
1972USA
                 
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