Ear Fuzz

A Beautiful Mind (Instrumental) – Aceyalone & RJD2
from the album Magnificent City Instrumentals on Decon (2006). Also appears on The Mad Men Season One Soundtrack on Manhattan (2008).

Little Willy – Sweet
from the album Sweet on Camden (1973).

Saying that commercial radio is far from a good place to discover new music is undoubtedly preaching to the choir that is our lovely Ear Fuzz audience. Possibly the next statement to be made is equally non-relevatory: television is remarkably musically diverse these days and provides lots of elements to broaden the mind. Commercials (Ms. Shaw and Ms. James can really sell some Dockers), NBA broadcast interstitials (was that really both Madlib and Zappa during the same Lakers game a couple of weeks ago?), and show soundtracks (what this post is about) have far outpaced actual music on tv since MTV decided the “M” stood for “moronic, drunk, pretty people.”

A couple of real nice examples from show soundtracks feature two songs (one well known to me, one a new discovery) from two TV shows I am really enjoying that both provide a great deal of their entertainment from their highly complete and reverential recreation of a different time in America’s history. First up is the brilliant instrumental for “A Beautiful Mine” produced by RJD2 for the Magnificent City album he made with Aceyalone. That album is amazing, and this song in particular is the kind of dense, multi-movement beat symphony (crud, I wish I could think of something less sycophantic to call this than a freakin’ “beat symphony”) that RJD2 had on lock for most of the 2000s. I’ve loved this song for a minute, but it has been high in my head since I’ve been enjoying it as the opening credits for Mad Men…aka The BEST television show currently in production. The show is all about life for the urbane, upper-middle class creative types in the late 50s/early 60s US, so I cannot say that it captures the feel of the show in some unique way since this is clearly not a song of that period. However, the sharp beats, lush strings, and various foreboding elements provide a feeling of the lurking intensity and uncertainty that permeates Mad Man. Wonderful show, super-fantastic song…a great pairing.

While, Mad Men helped give RJD2’s track a new mental image, I discovered a new track watching Life On Mars recently. Taking full advantage of the show’s storyline of a police detective who travels through time from the present to 1973 (yup, but it isn’t as bad as it sounds), the production has made music a heavy part of creating the 1973 environment…appropriate for a show named after a David Bowie song. Anyways, one of the biggest hits of 1973 was Sweet’s “Little Willy,” which actually fit extremely well into the episode’s story. Sweet was a pop-rock outfit with the emphasis on the pop early in their career when they were under the guidance of writing/arranging duo Chinn & Chapman (who wrote “Little Willy”). Tracking down the album proved an easy effort because these guys were at one point huge stars, although they somewhat wrecked their legacy with attempts at serious, self-written more hard-rock-oriented late in their career. I cannot say I recommend any other songs on this album, but somehow the bluesy pop and harmonized vocals of this track really make me happy and bouncy despite the crap weather of late. Plus poorly veiled double entendres will always have a place on my record shelves.

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At the request of a loyal long-time Ear Fuzz reader/listener, here is a repost of Mista Sinista’s remix of the Tom Tom Club’s DJ shoutout track Who Feelin’ It?.