Dress Sexy At My Funeral

Bill Callahan's dying wishes, as disclosed on the 2000 LP Dongs Of Sevotion.

It reminds me of the graphic reports of the little black dresses of the weeping former lovers of Michael Hutchence at his funeral. Kylie, Helena Christensen & Paula Yates' tear splashed stillettos being a more romantic image of the man than his dismal demise asphyxiating in a hotel room whilst thumbing his winky. I always heard this song as his final thoughts before the lights went out.

Its not though obviously, its just Bill in dirty old man mode. And he does it so well.





Dress Sexy At My Funeral-Smog(from Dongs Of Sevotion,2000)

Something Has Hit Me

The ultimate mod band? The greatest white soul singer? George Martin's second best signing?




Something Has Hit Me-The Action (B-Side of Shadows & Reflections, Parlophone 1967)

Come on in for the best in town...

Roll on up -- for my price is down,

Come on in -- for the best in town ,

Take your pick of the finest wine,

Lay your bets on this bird of mine

Name your price I got everything

Come and buy it's all going fast

Borrow cash on the finest terms

Hurry now while stocks still

See my eyes I can hardly

See me stand I can hardly walk

I believe you can make me whole

See my tongue I can hardly talk

See my skin I'm a mass of

See my legs I can hardly stand

I believe you can make me well

See my purse I'm a poor, poor man

Will you touch, will you mend me Christ? Won't you touch, will you heal me Christ? Will you kiss, you can heal me Christ Won't you kiss, won't you pay me Christ?

The Temple-The Afghan Whigs (Sub Pop 1992)

The Three-Eyed Man

How extraordinary a voice. Last weekend i stood 20 feet away from Roky Erickson & took it all in. In some valley in the Powys region of Wales. 40 minutes late for the stage. But there he was. An awesome beast. Nothing said. Hard to tell where he was inside, bored scared or confused. But there he was. The breath visable & billowing out of him in the tacky stage light. He was like some dragon with a guitar. The Krakon. The band was nowhere, 2nd rate pub metal, but there he was, Roky Erickson. Life hadn't beaten him. That screaming voice intact, no flaws, everything said.


'Haunt' by Roky Erickson


Roky Erickson Interview-Ksan Radio, 1978

Apartment 21

Sounds good to me Bobbie, i'll be over in 20, i'll bring some gin & Jim Ford.



'Apartment 21' by Bobbie Gentry single on Capital, 1970)

Something borrowed from something blue

'Ello ello ello, what we got 'ere then Mr. Cocker? This has bothered me ever since it was released as a single in early 2007.

Now i don't want to do the slagging on Jarvis, i like the chap, and though he's not belting out the readymade pop classics like he did in Pulp, its good that he's around, in fact, we could do with about 10 more 25 year old versions of him to pump some blood & brains into the popscene if thats possible, but come off, this is a bit of a blatent rip.
I don't see any shared credit for Goffin/Spector on the sleeve. How does this sort of thing go unnoticed? 'Born To Be With You' isn't stuffing up the racks of most 24 hour Tesco's, but its hardly a total obscurity, i've seen it on a couple of jukebox's in a couple of London bars that were trying a bit too hard to look cool. I mean, its a lovely LP, but its got such a fucked up, sad druggy drag foot vibe, who wants to hear that over a 5th afternoon chaser? Oh....yeah, well they may have been on to something there, but...

I know Phil Spector has been a bit distracted lately, but i'm almost shocked it slipped under his increasingly desperate radars. (Starsailor???££??)





'Don't Let Him Waste Your Time' by Jarvis Cocker from 'Jarvis' (Rough Trade, 2005))





'Only You Know' by Dion from 'Born To Be With You' (Phil Spector International, 1976))

Failure

"Lazarus, La's-arus, La's. He directed light. And the light comes from the water. It keeps you alive, la. And the pool is where we have to be. The Liver-Pool. The Mississippi, the Mersey-sippi. In history all the maddest scientists were the best ones and they all stayed close to the water."

-Lee Mavers, AWOL since 1990, interviewed by Paul Moody in 15 April, 1995's edition of NME

'Failure' by The La's (Go Discs, 1989)