The 2015 Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot
Sometimes we look forward to an artist's new release with great expectations, only to be crushed by the result. In honor of Thanksgiving, we present the annual Sound Opinions Turkey Shoot, where Jim and Greg share the biggest musical disappointments of the year. Later they review the new album from Canadian electronic artist Grimes, and Greg drops a quarter in the Desert Island Jukebox.
Music News
P.F. Sloan, singer and songwriter responsible for the classic 1960s protest anthem "Eve of Destruction," died November 15th at his home in Los Angeles. He was 70 years old. Sloan grew up in New York and moved to Hollywood as a teen. At 13, he sold his first song and soon became one of the many prominent West Coast writers of the 1960s. Sloan wrote for such musical giants as The Turtles, Herman’s Hermits, Fifth Dimension, The Searchers, and Johnny Rivers, whose hit, "Secret Agent Man," was penned by Sloan.
The world of music lost another figure as former Motörhead drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor died November 11th at age 61. Taylor was known for executing double-bass drum tracks with "superhuman speed," and in so doing he helped set the template for the thrash metal sound. Taylor joined Motörhead shortly after it was formed in 1975, replacing the original drummer. He played with the band from 1975 to 1984, then again for five years beginning in 1987. He drummed on such hits as "Overkill" and "Ace of Spades."
Turkey Shoot 2015
It's time for the annual Sound Opinions Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot! Each year, Jim and Greg serve up their biggest musical turkeys of the year with a hefty glob of cranberry sauce. They share the albums that they had high hopes for, but ended up letting them down.
Greg
- Mark Ronson, Uptown Special
- Beach House, Depression Cherry
- Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Jim
- Bob Dylan, Shadows in the Night
- Prince, HITnRUN phase one
- Neil Young, The Monsanto Years
Listener Turkeys
- Roland from Charlotte, NC: Keith Richards, Crosseyed Heart
- Salvador from Mexico City, Mexico: Tame Impala, Currents
- Andreas from suburban Paris, France: The Decemberists, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
Art Angels Grimes
Canadian electronic artist Grimes recently released her fourth album called Art Angels. She came from the underground music scene and rose to popularity with her 2012 album Visions, and was later signed to Jay Z's management company Roc Nation. Although Grimes is a talented singer and multi-instrumentalist, she's best known for the electronic dream pop sound that Art Angels is full of. At first, Greg was concerned that Grimes would lose her edge by putting out a more mainstream pop record. However, he is happy to report that Art Angels contains some elements of mainstream music but the entire album is done on her terms. Greg gives it a Buy It. Jim agrees; he not only enjoys the sonic components but also the powerful and feminist lyrics. He loves the record most because it's both energizing and fun. An enthusiastic Double Buy It for Art Angels.
Greg
In light of recent tragic events in Paris, this week Greg wanted to celebrate the music of France with his Desert Island Jukebox selection. He focuses in on French rock band Mellow, a group he had a memorable experience watching perform at SXSW in the early 2000s. Even though they have been relatively inactive the past few years, their 1999 album Another Mellow Spring is their masterpiece. Greg chose the track "Another Mellow Winter" off the album because of its psychedelic, electronic and surrealist vibes. It's an epic track that reminds Greg of the power and strength of French music.
Featured Songs
- Barry McGuire, "Eve of Destruction," Eve of Destruction, Dunhill, 1965
- Johnny Rivers, "Secret Agent Man," Meanwhile Back at the Whisky à Go Go, Imperial, 1965
- Motörhead, "Overkill," Overkill, Bronze, 1979
- The Ohio Players, "Jive Turkey (Part 1)," Skin Tight, Mercury, 1974
- Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk," Uptown Special, Columbia, 2015
- Bob Dylan, "Some Enchanted Evening," Shadows in the Night, Columbia, 2015
- Beach House, "PPP," Depression Cherry, Sub Pop, 2015
- Ernest Tubb, "Thanks a Lot," Thanks a Lot, Decca, 1964
- Lightnin' Hopkins, "Long Gone Like a Turkey Through the Corn," Country Blues, Essential Music Group, 1960
- Keith Richards, "Crosseyed Heart," Crosseyed Heart, Mindless, 2015
- Keith Richards, "Goodnight Irene," Crosseyed Heart, Mindless, 2015
- Tame Impala, "Reality in Motion," Currents, Interscope Records, 2015
- The Decemberists, "Lake Song," What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, Capitol, 2015
- Prince, "HARDROCKLOVER," HITnRUN phase one, NPG, 2015
- Prince, "SHUT THIS DOWN," Hit n Run, NPG, 2015
- Drake, "Legend," If You're Reading This It's Too Late, Cash Money, 2015
- Neil Young, "Monsanto Years," The Monsanto Years, Reprise, 2015
- Jim Nollman, "Froggy-Went-a-Courting (300 Turkeys)," Playing Music With Animals, Folkways Records, 1982
- Grimes, "Flesh Without Blood," Art Angels, 4AD, 2015
- Grimes, "California," Art Angels, 4AD, 2015
- Grimes feat. Aristophanes, "SCREAM," Art Angels, 4AD, 2015
- Mellow, "Another Mellow Winter," Another Mellow Spring, Higher Octave, 1999
- Electric Light Orchestra, "Telephone Line," A New World, United Artists, 1976
- Allen Toussaint, "Bright Mississippi," The Bright Mississippi, Nonesuch, 2009
- Allen Toussaint, "Fortune Teller (Live On Sound Opinions)," Songbook, Rounder, 2013
- Lee Dorsey, "Working in the Coal Mine," Working in the Coal Mine (Single), Amy Records, 1966
- Adele, "Hello," 25, XL, 2015
Dear Listeners,
For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!