Ceejbot

Dean Wareham & a drummer play “Ceremony” live. Sorry, I might just be a little obsessed with his take on this song right now.

Desert Island Track 11: An Ending (Ascent), Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois, Apollo

An inevitable conclusion. When I die, several hundred years from now, it will be while listening to this record. Oh, Eno, what happened to you? Can I take the ProTools away from you so you can start making music like this again?

I generally like trance remixes of things, because I like trance, but the trance remixes of this piece on YouTube baffle me. E.g., the Leama & Moor mix.

Desert Island Track 10: “Polar Bear”, Ride, Nowhere

Shoegaze, heavy vibro effect on the guitar, and a Salinger-inspired lyric.

Desert Island Track 9: “Ceremony”, Galaxie 500, On Fire

A sublime cover of a great song. I’ve never been interested in anything else the band has done, which surprises me given how much I love this cover. The rest of On Fire leaves me flat. Great drummer, IMO. Here’s a live performance from about the time the recording was released.

Desert Island Track 8: “Hoppípolla”, Sigur Rós, Takk…

I’m allowed a second really popular choice, right? Takk is the only record of theirs that I really like start to finish, though possibly ( ) also rates for me.

Desert Island Track 7: “Everything Merges with the Night”, Brian Eno, Another Green World

Eno’s second appearance and the second track from AGW, which I would also take with me to the deserted island if I could. Okay, you want a straight digitally remastered rip instead of vinyl through speakers, you failing-to-appreciate-analog-noise clod? Here.

Desert Island Track 6: “The Big Ship”, Brian Eno, Another Green World

A transcendent experience long ago means this track will forever make me shiver when it reaches its climax.

Desert Island Track 5: “Airscape”, Robyn Hitchcock, Element of Light

Robyn appears twice in my desert island list! Glass armonica, backwards guitar solo, lyrics that touch on all of Robyn’s themes. I love every moment of this song. You can get this on the Yep Roc boxed set which includes Fegmania for the complete chiming Rickenbacker psychedelic early Robyn experience.

Desert Island Track 4: “Autumn is Your Last Chance”, Robyn Hitchcock, I Often Dream of Trains.

Only because I can’t take the entire album. Try a recent live performance.

Desert Island Track 3: “Private Universe”, Jon Hopkins, Opalescent

From his first recording, which is ambient electronic with pop song structures. Everything he’s done since has been progressively less & less interesting, unfortunately, but this record is a gem. Here’s a fascinating remix of “Private Universe” I discovered while hunting up a YouTube link for this.

Desert Island Track 2: “Bittersweet Symphony”, The Verve, Urban Hymns

I’m allowed a really popular choice, right?

Desert Island Tracks, v2 11 songs I’d take to a deserted island with me. It’s supposed to be 10, but it was brutal enough getting it down to 10. I’ll stagger ‘em through the day.

Track 1: “Knuddelmaus”, Ulrich Schnauss, Far Away Trains Passing By

Maybe I listen to “A Letter from Home” on A Strangely Isolated Place more often, but this is a guaranteed mood-lifter for me.

Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole. Not in New York. Jonathan Richman still performs this, unlike Roadrunner.

Solar Fields, Random Friday, preview video. Out now in CD form from Ultimae; should be out on iTunes next week. More psy-trance than ambient. Looking forward to this.