By Amylee
Nitin Sawhney - The Conference
A bit of dialogue (that sounds like it might be at a protest) at the beginning of this track, and then moves into what Barbryn calls “duelling banjos for tabla players”. The vocals are the spoken names of the percussion beats as they’re played. Which sounds kind of meta. Maybe best to just listen to the musical conversation and enjoy. (Barbryn)
The Incredible String Band - Little Cloud
Utterly charming. They must have lucked into an especially good batch of shrooms that day. A cloud drops down for a chat, looking for love. I think she found it. (Traktor Albatrost)
Sonny and Cher - I Got You Babe
Of course there had to be a schmaltzy duet on the list, and I’m delighted that it’s this one. There’s something about that oboe… Fun fact - Sonny wrote this song as a response to It Ain’t Me, Babe. Anyhoo - welcome to the Marconium, kids. Next stop Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Marconius)
Boo Radleys - Martin, Doom! It’s Seven O’Clock
Exchange here is between Martin, who wants to sleep in, and his bandmates who are trying to drag him out of bed for a meeting. Seriously, this swoony psych pop jewel needs to be my new alarm ringtone. (And then I heard Wake Up Boo! for the first time. Oh my.) (ShivSidecar)
My Bloody Valentine - Never Say Goodbye
Swoony shoegaze duet. No idea what the lyrics mean, but they sound sexy anyway. I’m in. (MussoliniHeadkick)
Martin Carthy - Lord Randall
Spoiled rotten for trad folk choices. This one is a conversation between mother and son. Yes, it’s gruesome, but no more or less than many trad folk tunes. Just a beautiful voice set to some gorgeous dulcimer playing. (severin)
Anaïs Mitchell / Jefferson Hamer - Clyde Waters
Americanified take on this trad folk tale (aka The Mothers Malison) of star-crossed young lovers. Conversations between the young man Willie and his mother, Willie and his beloved Margaret’s mother, and Margaret and her mother. With a blink-and-you-might-miss-it twist not in some other versions of the song. (tincanman)
Greg Champion / Jane Saunders - On the Banks of the Condamine
Aussified adaptation of Fotheringay’s trad folk Banks of the Nile. No war here, no bodies feeding the lions in the desert. Just horse breaking. And a creek. But a worthy duet with its own loveliness. (Nicko)
The Grateful Dead - Althea
A recounted conversation between the narrator and one “Althea”. Might be a woman, might be a goddess, might be the narrator having a conversation with himself. Speculative interpretations abound on Deadhead sites, but I think the relevant part is this:
Can't talk to you without talking to me
We're guilty of the same old things
Thinking a lot about less and less
And forgetting the love we bring
Which, if you think about it, is maybe the underlying gist of many a fraught conversation. (Chris7572)
Chicago - Dialogue Pts 1&2
I was a bit miffed at myself in retrospect for only B-listing this for Songs About Denial. It’s all good though, because it’s perfect for this topic. Conversation in Pt 1 is a conversation between Terry Kath and Peter Cetera about the state of affairs in the country in 1972, but there’s a simultaneous conversation between Kath’s guitar and Cetera’s bass. Respectful political conversations like this don’t really happen anymore, do they. If they ever did. (SweetHomeAlabama)
The Mothers of Invention / Frank Zappa - Flower Punk
Yep, there’s a lot of conversation. Starts out with a “Hey Joe” parody Q&A, segues into many different voices. Picks up Uncle Frank as a hippie flower punk having a dialogue (ok, simultaneous monologues) with, I guess, himself. In the left channel is a monologue about learning to play the guitar and to make music to have fun on the stage, and do something for the kids. In the right channel, one about being in a band to make money and pick up girls. Just a suspicion that he didn’t think much of hippies. (BanazirGilbasi)
Robert Fripp - NY3
An awful conversation (OK, brawl) that Fripp supposedly recorded of his neighbours in Hell’s Kitchen. Robert just keeps playing the guitar through it all, but still can’t drown it out. (TatankaYotanka)
Yello - I Love You
Is this song as filthy (and scary) as it seems? If not, nevermind. (Shoegazer)
Betty Everett - Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)
“How can I tell if he loves me so?”. Well, the lovely Betty has the answer, but it seems to be beyond the grasp of her obtuse chorus. To the point of exasperation “You’re not listening to all I say!”, but it’s possible that it finally sunk in at the end. (IsabelleForshaw)
The Shangri-Las - Sophisticated Boom Boom
Queens in the house. Our heroine gets abandoned by her date. (Boo!) But wait - she stumbles into a party and falls in love - with jazz music! (Yay!) She tries to learn the dance at the party, with some unhelpful snark from her peanut gallery. (That’s not very sophisticated!) (Boo!) Leave her alone, she’s getting a new life. (Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah!) (Max Visconta Nuclerosea)
A Tribe Called Quest - Check the Rhime
Q-Tip and Phife take a trip down memory lane to earlier days in Queens. Diss a few rivals and record business people. Shout out to their people, brains, skills, and, uh, Jim. Infectious main riff from AWB’s Love Your Life. (pejepeine)
Bo Diddley - I Don’t Like You
Bo warms up with some cod operatics, then plays the dozens with his background singer Cookie Vee against a funky organ background. Awesomely bonkers. Get a room already, you two. (Traktor Albatrost)
Bizet - Au Fond du Temple Saint (Pearl Fishers Duet)
Duet sung by a tenor and a baritone (from the opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles), reunited and reaffirming their friendship after love for the same woman nearly tore the friendship apart. Or perhaps there’s some treachery underlying the declarations? Jussi Björling & Robert Merrill sing this version. (cc: Bo Diddley) (ParaMhor)
Mozart - Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto
Demand equal time for the sopranos. Duettino (from the opera Le Nozze di Figaro) sung by a Countess and her maid as they compose a letter to entrap the Countess’s husband. Cecelia Bertoli and Renee Fleming sing here. (ParaMhor)
Dave Holland Quartet - Conference of the Birds
I’m guessing that the title is from the Persian Sufi poem of the same title, where Solomon and David are said to have been taught the language of the birds. But the inspiration came from when bassist Dave used to have his morning tea with the birds congrating on his roof in Amsterdam and observing their interactions. Nilpferd introduced me to this piece back in the dark ages, and it’s still one of the loveliest instrumentals I’ve come across in all of the years since. (Nilpferd)
All the Questions and Answers You’ll Ever Need A-List Playlist:
Nitin Sawhney - The Conference
The Incredible String Band - Little Cloud
Sonny and Cher - I Got You Babe
Boo Radleys - Martin, Doom! It’s Seven O’Clock
My Bloody Valentine - Never Say Goodbye
Martin Carthy - Lord Randall
Anaïs Mitchell / Jefferson Hamer - Clyde Waters *
Greg Champion / Jane Saunders - On the Banks of the Condamine
Grateful Dead - Althea
Chicago - Dialogue Pts 1&2
The Mothers of Invention / Frank Zappa - Flower Punk
Robert Fripp - NY3
Yello - I Love You
Betty Everett - Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)
Shangri-Las - Sophisticated Boom Boom
A Tribe Called Quest - Check the Rhime
Bo Diddley - I Don’t Like You
Bizet - Au Fond du Temple Saint (Pearl Fishers Duet)
Mozart - Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto
Dave Holland Quartet - Conference of the Birds
* regional alternative link for Anaïs Mitchell / Jefferson Hamer - Clyde Waters
… (Sorry, no B-list this week)
Guru’s Wildcard Pick:
The Velvet Underground - The Gift*
*Yep, it’s zedded for another topic. Resolutely unbothered.
This playlist was inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Back and forth: songs featuring conversation. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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