PFU’s Best of 2011
January 25, 2012
COVER DESIGN GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED BY STRANGE CULTURE.
USE: Examining/enjoying the past year by the music it inspired.
PFU #021 – The Best of 2011 [Pt. 1]
- Felt Letters – 600,000 Bands
- YACHT – Shangri-la
- The Cars – Free
- Eleanor Friedberger – My Mistakes
- Kanye West & Jay-Z – That’s My Bitch
- Emily Bell – Back To The Way I Was
- Thee Oh Sees – Dead Energy
- Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band – Stay Away [Nirvana Cover]
- Miami Horror – Holidays
- The Black Lips – Modern Art
- The War on Drugs – Baby Missiles
- Chain & The Gang – Detroit Music [Pt. 1]
- The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love?
- Patton Oswalt – The Vestibule of Dreams
- DJ Shadow – Run For Your Life
- Justice – Newlands
- The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
- Wu-Tang & Jimi Hendrix – The Wind Cries Mary [ft. GZA & U-God]
- Wire – Please Take
- SebastiAn – Tetra
- Telekinesis – Please Ask For Help
- Dirty Beaches – Sweet 17
- Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Tiger
- Four Tet – Locked
- Jacuzzi Boys – Zeppelin
- David Lynch – Good Day Today
- Veronica Falls – Stephen
- Moon Boots – Gopher It
- The Generationals – Dirty Mister Dirty
- Young Hunting – Into Yr Mind
- King Krule – Bleak Bake
- Okay Colour! – (Caribbean) Dreams
- Proxy – West
- The Caretaker – All You Are Going To Want To Do Is Get Back There
PFU #022 – The Best of 2011 [Pt. 2]
- The Archers of Loaf – Web In Front
- Cut Copy – Need You Now
- Dom – Some Boys [ft. Emma]
- Dr. Dre – Kush [ft. Snoop Dogg & Akon]
- Does It Offend You, Yeah? – Wrong Time Wrong Planet
- Kids At The Bar – Young Ones [ft. Glasnost]
- Gospel Music – Let’s Run
- Lykke Li – Jerome
- Modest Mouse – That’ll Be The Day [Buddy Holly Cover]
- Night Beats – Puppet On A String
- Nicolas Jaar – I Got A Woman
- My Morning Jacket – Victory Dance
- Big K.R.I.T. – Dreamin’
- Radiohead – Lotus Flower
- Real Estate – Barely Legal [Strokes Cover]
- Stornoway – Zorbing
- Thurston Moore – Benediction
- Tom Waits – Kiss Me
- Tyler, The Creator – Yonkers
- M.I.A. – 27 [Amy Winehouse Tribute]
- Washed Out – Soft
- Widowspeak – In The Pines
- Wu-Tang Clan – Only The Rugged Survive [ft. RZA]
- The Strange Boys – Me & You
- Deerhoof – Super Duper Rescue Heads!
- Cults – Never Saw The Point
- Chain & The Gang – Not Good Enough
- Paul Simon – Rewrite
- Wild Beasts – End Come Too Soon
- Youth Lagoon – July
- YACHT – Tripped and Fell in Love
- Yuck – Georgia
- Puro Instinct – Luv Goon
- Bosco Delrey – The Afterlife
- Charles Bradley – How Long?
PFU #023 – The Best of 2011 [Pt. 3]
- Little Dragon – Little Man
- Peaches – Turn It On [Franz Ferdinand Cover]
- Edwyn Collins – Come Tomorrow, Come Today
- Explosions in the Sky – Trembling Hands
- Fujiya & Miyagi – Yoyo
- The Generationals – Please Be It
- Guided By Voices – Chocolate Boy
- Holy Ghost! – Wait and See
- I Break Horses – Winter Beats
- Mikal Cronin – Apathy
- Night Beats – High Noon Blues
- Radiohead – Morning, Mr. Magpie
- Toro Y Moi – Still Sound [Glasnost Remix]
- Okay Colour! – Tropical Fleetwood
- Ty Segall – My Head Explodes
- Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Ffunny Ffriends
- Lana Del Ray – Video Games
- M83 – Midnight City
- Atlas Sound – Terra Incognita
- Kanye West & Jay-Z – Niggas In Paris
- Justice – On’n'On
- Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – Huzzah! [Remix] [ft. Despot, Das Racist, & El-P]
- Royal Headache – Wilson Street
- The Soft Pack – Answer To Yourself
- Thee Oh Sees – Chem-Farmer
- WU LYF – Dirt
- Wild Flag – Electric Band
- Phantogram – 16 Years
- Cat’s Eyes – Over You
- Toro Y Moi – I Can Get Love
- The Drums – Money
- Widowspeak – Fir Coat
- Calvin Harris – Feel So Close
- Danny Brown – EWNESW
- Chairlift – Wrong Opinion
- Jacuzzi Boys – Glazin’
- Johnny Falstaff – Honky Tonk Blood
- Marc Maron – Working Out Their Daddy Issues
- Marc Maron – “Stop Talking!”
PFU #024 – The Best of 2011 [Pt. 4]
- Proxy – We Will Get Your Information
- The Sounds – It’s So Easy
- Real Estate – Out of Tune
- Bonnie “Prince” Billy – New Whaling
- Motel Aviv – The Unknown
- YACHT – Paradise Engineering
- Youth Lagoon – Daydream
- Battles – My Machines [ft. Gary Numan]
- Washed Out – A Dedication
- The Rapture – In The Grace of Your Love
- Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
- People Like Us – I’m Dreaming Too
- Phantogram – Don’t Move
- Quintron & Miss Pussycat – Ring The Alarm
- Andre Williams – My Time Will Come
- Anthony Jeselnik – Seduction
- Big K.R.I.T. – American Rapstar
- Bitch Perfect – Holiday in America
- Boris – Attention Please
- Beastie Boys – OK
- The Feelies – Nobody Knows
- Eleanor Friedberger – One Month Marathon
- Four Tet – Pinnacles
- Brian Lopez – Montjuic
- John Maus – The Crucifix
- Kurt Vile – Jesus Fever
- Major Lazer – Original Don
- Man Man – Spookie Jookie
- The Go! Team – Ready To Go Steady
- Adele – Rolling in the Deep
- Jacuzzi Boys – Los Angeles
- Veronica Falls – The Box
- The Antlers – Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
- Frank Ocean – Thinking About You
- The Roots – The OtherSide [ft. Greg Porn & Bilal Oliver]
- Candles of Paradise – In The Chapel
PFU #025 – The Best of 2011 [Pt. 5]
- The Caretaker – Libet’s Delay
- Christmas – Pyong
- Clams Casino – Natural
- Crystal Fighters – At Home
- Dirty Beaches – Lord Knows Best
- Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx – Nightcall
- Charlotte Gainsbourg – All The Rain
- Fleet Foxes – Grown Ocean
- The Psychic Paramount – Isolated
- Katy B – Disappear
- The Strange Boys – Over the River and Through the Woulds
- J. Viewz – Salty Air
- Cat’s Eyes – Face in the Crowd
- David Lynch – Pinky’s Dream
- Vockah Redu – Lay Wit U [J-Dawg Mix]
- Adele – Rumour Has It
- Raphael Saadiq – Good Man
- Atlas Sound – Mona Lisa
- Lauren Wood – Summer Skin [ft. Haley and Abby]
- Austra – The Noise
- Southern Backtones – Forever
- TV on the Radio – Caffeinated Consciousness
- Wale – Chain Music
- Wilco – The Whole Love
- Lindsey Buckingham – Rock Away Blind
- Freddie Gibbs – Heaven Can Wait
- Ghostface Killah – Purified Thoughts [ft. GZA & Killah Priest]
- Girls – Vomit
- Tom Waits – Talking At The Same Time
- Toro Y Moi – New Beat
- Nerves Junior – Champagne & Peaches
- Night Beats – Ain’t Dumbo
- Radiohead – Little By Little [Caribou Remix]
- My Morning Jacket – Movin’ Away
- SebastiAn – Ross Ross Ross
- Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Witchhunt Suite for World War III [9/11 10th Anniversary]
- Chain & The Gang – Music’s Not For Everyone
PFU’s Favorite Videos: 2010-2011 (and a couple trailers)
January 25, 2012
Hey kids. The Best of 2011 cavalcade will be posted tomorrow, but in the meantime I thought I would share some of my favorite videos of the last couple years. They are probably not any new news to anyone, but they are great and posted again here for your enjoyment. Spike Jones directed 2 of them, and they are playful and fun but, the best by far and actually my favorite music video of all time is “Bombay” by El Guincho. It is absolutely staggaring in how well made and how successfully ambitious it is. I hardly noticed the first time I watched it because it’s tone is so modest. I doubt I’ll see something do this much this well for a long time. My favorite from last year is by far the “Yonkers” video by Tyler, The Creator. Who knows if those Odd Future kids will make as lasting a mark as they initially seemed, but their entrance was undeniably spectacular. This video (and their Tonight Show appearance) were instrumental in their overnight rocket to stardom. The video does what any great video should do: it perfectly represents their style so that it further defines it, but still leaves them mysterious, AND the video is a great piece on its own. I don’t think I’ve been so unnerved and so charmed at the same time. The only problem is..now they have a lot to live up to.
Oh yeah, and Thee Oh Sees video is brilliant, the Cults video is a small landmark (and kind of offensive too), the Adele video makes me ok with her selling 11 trillion albums, and the Jacuzzi Boys managed to inspire their female fans to make a video using only their vaginas…that might just be rock and roll. I warned you…Enjoy.
Also, at the end I threw in 3 of my favorite indie trailers of 2011. The last of which (Rainbow’s End) was described as “a remaking of the Muppet Movie in east Texas…as a documentary…with cock-fighting.” Just watch it.
The Best of 2011 Mixes are Coming…
January 10, 2012
But in the meantime…here’s a sample.
Ariel Pink does a 9/11 tribute. I’m sure it will be universally appealing.
Get Born: PFU’s Christmas Hymnal 2011
December 23, 2011
Here it is everybody. Have a top notch holiday season.
PFU #020 – CHRISTMAS 2011
USE: Birthday Party Music
- Dion McGregor [Sleeptalker] – The Gift
- Deerhoof – The Eyebright Bugler
- Four Tet – Spirit Fingers
- Louis Armstrong & The Lyn Murray Choir – Shadrack
- Atlas Sound – Artificial Snow [Notown Version]
- T.L. Barrett & Youth for Christ Choir – Like a Ship
- Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel – A Hazy Shade Of Winter
- Maria Bamford – Baby Jesus
- Nadroj & The Wolrats – Forget It
- Bobby Darin – Poor Little Jesus
- The Rapture – In The Grace Of Your Love
- The Sensational Nightingales – Standing In The Judgment
- Animal Collective – Winters Love [Pt. 1]
- The Who – Christmas [PFU's Tommyless Edit]
- Kings of Convenience – Mrs. Cold
- The Avalanches – Midnight Sun
- Lightnin’ Hopkins – Merry Christmas
- The Drums – Money [Chad Valley Remix]
- Marc Maron – Bitter Jesus
- Detroit Junior – Christmas Day
- The Helio Sequence – Hallelujah
- Make*Up – The Choice
- John Lurie – Horse Guitar
- Takeshi Terauchi – Caravan
- The White Stripes – In The Cold, Cold, Night
- Luna – Thank You For Sending Me an Angel [Talking Heads Cover]
- Little Ax & The Golden Echoes – So Soon
- John Cale – Child’s Christmas In Wales
- Real Estate – Snow Days
- Alice Coltrane – Lovely Sky Boat
- Otis Redding – White Christmas
- Cara Stewart & The Lee Hudson Orchestra – The New Year Song
- Palace Brothers – All Is Grace
RICHARD PRYOR IS SANTA CLAUS
December 20, 2011
“Kid, if you want a firetruck, then burn down your house.”
Hunter S. Thompson Sets A Christmas Tree On Fire
December 20, 2011
FROM THE DESK OF WAYNE EWING [www.hunterthompsonfilms.com]
NOTE: THE VIDEOS WERE NOT SHARING PROPERLY SO I RE-UPPED THEM FOR THIS POST. I HAVE NO INTENT OF UNETHICAL USE OF MR. EWING’S FOOTAGE.
The Christmas Tree
December 12th, 2010
Hunter had a soft heart for Christmas. He loved to receive and give gifts, and his were lots of fun. I still have a kitchen clock he gave me that announces each hour with a different bird call. “Have you learned which birds are at each hour yet?” he often inquired. But, I never have figured out the sequence, even though they keep calling from the kitchen more than a decade later, reminding me of my mischievous friend.
Every December there was a Christmas tree decorated in the living room at Owl Farm, and in January, Deborah Fuller – Hunter’s dedicated secretary for two decades – would take down the tree, but leave it either on the porch or by the wood pile out front in case Hunter wanted to burn it.
On January 9, 1990, Hunter had a visitor from Time Magazine, a reporter who Deborah remembers by a first name of Allen, but his surname has been lost unless he happens to read this and corrects the record.
“Let’s give the journalist a memorable experience to write about,” declared Hunter. “He needs to learn how to burn the creosote out of a chimney. We can’t run the risk of a chimney fire during the year.”
Of course, there’s a fine line between burning the creosote out of a chimney and starting a creosote fire that burns at 2100 Degrees Fahrenheit and sounds like a jet airplane taking off just before it explodes through the sides of your chimney and burns down a log cabin style house like Owl Farm.
In preparation, Deborah gathered all the fire extinguishers in the living room, while Hunter set up a video camera since I wasn’t there to shoot it. (I was back East, finishing a TV special for NBC News with Tom Brokaw called “The New Hollywood.” Believe me, Hunter was a hell of a lot more interesting to hang out with than Tom Brokaw, but as they say in show business: “Theater is life. Film is art. TV is rent.”)
I used some of Hunter’s Christmas tree video in Breakfast with Hunter when Ralph Steadman reads from a 1995 Time/Life book titled “The Enigma of Personality” which so far as I know is the only printed reference to the burning of the Christmas tree other than interviews in which I have mentioned it. Allen the Time Magazine reporter seems to have produced only this anecdote for the book and nowhere else from his 1990 winter’s journey to Owl Farm, but somebody please correct me in the comments section below if I’m wrong on this point.
Visitors to Owl Farm usually came in search of an experience with Hunter that would make a good story whether they were journalists or fans, and Hunter always delivered. But, the story wasn’t necessarily what they expected. In this case, Hunter got more than he bargained for as well; you can see how desperately he pokes at the burning Christmas tree, trying to contain the raging fire. The heavy wooden mantle still has the burn marks to this day.
Before he put the tree in the fireplace, there was a small fire burning already. The mass of the tree almost snuffed out the first fire when he jammed it in, so Hunter threatened to splash lighter fluid on it. In the original video, you can barely hear Deborah and Allen screaming, “NO, HUNTER DON’T DO IT” above the Cowboy Junkies playing “Misguided Angel” at maximum volume over the array of living room speakers.
I said ‘mama he’s crazy and he scares me
But I want him by my side
Though he’s wild and he’s bad
And sometimes just plain mad
I need him to keep me satisfied’
(lyrics by Margo Timmons & Michael Edward Timmons)
Hunter gets a bit of lighter fluid onto the tree, and then throws a match after it, creating the conflagration you see in the film and then in the aftermath below. The flames were coming out of the top of the chimney in a four foot cone of fire, like the exhaust of a jet engine. Hunter, Deborah and Allen retreated to the front porch where Hunter taped the inferno with pride. No one remembered to carry out the manuscript of the latest book in progress which was lying on the living room table.
PFU CHRISTMAS COLLECTION PART 4: FAMILY RESCUE VERSION
December 19, 2011
This is a mix designed to allow you to listen to decent Christmas music without your family giving you trouble. It’s very handy, trust me.
PFU #011 – Family Christmas Music Emergency Mix [for 2009]
TRACK LIST:
- Johnny Cash – Not Cool to Kill on Christmas
- Toni Stante – Donde Esta Santa Claus
- Huey ‘Piano’ Smith & The Clowns – All I Want For Christmas
- Squirrel Nut Zippers – My Evergreen
- Toots & the Maytals – Christmas Feeling Ska
- People Like Us – Everyday
- New Pornographers – Joseph, Who Understood
- Jackie Gleason – Christmas In Paris
- The Wailers – She’s Coming Home
- Josh Rouse – Christmas with Jesus
- Kay Martin & Her Body Guards – My Santa Daddy
- Nina Simone – Chilly Winds Don’t Blow
- Jimmy Butler – Trim Your Tree
- The Bird And The Bee – Carol of the Bells
- Teenage Fanclub – Christmas Eve
- The Staple Singers – Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas
- Erlend Øye – Last Christmas
- Eddie Cochran with The Holly Twins – I Want Elvis For Christmas
- Yo La Tengo – Winter A-Go-Go
- James Brown – Sweet Little Baby Boy [Parts 1 & 2]
- Henry Mancini – Snowfall
- Bob Dylan – Winterlude
- Ramsey Lewis Trio – Egg Nog
- Vaughn Monroe – Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
- Danièle et Michèle – J’ai vu maman embrasser le père Noël
- Lighnin’ Hopkins – Happy New Year
- Johnny Cash – Here Was A Man
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM KURT COBAIN & WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS
December 18, 2011
When you are looking for cheer, there’s no one better than these two.
SPECIAL GUEST CHRISTMAS MIX: PROXY’s HOLIDAY ARMAMENT VOL. 5
December 17, 2011
Proxy (ne Todd Buker) is amazing. He’s an electronic music dynamo, a crack designer, master digger of crates, acclaimed theater director, and all around winner. PFU has featured him on our Christmas mixes before mashing up Billie Jean and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on our very first mix.
Here’s another one of his exceptional creations.
He sent me his annual Christmas mix and I had to share it. The tracks are numbered on the files, so please sort the mix by track number and listen to this in order. It’s a Christmas Program of amazing (and family accessible) holiday music and extremely rare seasonal nuggets. This is a great mix.
PFU #G001 – PROXY’s HOLIDAY ARMAMENT VOL. 5 [2011]
- The Free Design & the USAF Dance Orchestra – The Now Sound of Christmas
- Broadcast – Winter Now
- Bela Lugosi – Snowkenstein
- Herman Apple – Let it Snow
- Baby Pac Man – Snowflakes & Frozen Lakes
- Mangus T. Cook – Snow Bunny
- Janette Eden – You Turn Me On (And Light Me Up)
- Jimmy McCracklin – Christmas Time [Pt. 1]
- Pattie Marie Joy – Space Age Santa Claus
- Ambassador Record Corp Ensemble – Donner & Blitzen
- Harvie June Van – Dasher
- Preston Penn – Little Pee Wee
- The Legend of the Monkey Santa Claus
- Lightnin’ Hopkins – Santa [Alt Version]
- Cordell Jackson – Rock N Roll Christmas
- Snowflakes [Pt. 1]
- Good King Wenceslas
- Larry Rivera – Menehune Santa
- Jimmy McGriff – The Christmas Song
- Ben Light and His Surf Club Boys – Christmas Balls
- Jimmy Jones and the Versatiles – Christmas is a Drag
- Sonny Boy Williamson – Christmas Morning Blues
- Mary Denise Cawley – The Day That Santa Cried
- J.J. Barnes – Snow Flake
- Mary White – Christmas Bells
- Jingle Bells [Live]
- Walter “Crybaby” Stone & the Tradewinds – Christmas Time Again
- Santa Claus, That’s the Signal
- Eric Idle – Fuck Christmas
- The Christmas Holidays are Over…and Reprise
PFU’s CHRISTMAS COLLECTION: PART 3 [CHRISTMAS 2009]
December 16, 2011
My personal favorite.
PFU #010: CHRISTMAS 2009
TRACK LIST
- Neil Hamburger – Cranberry Sauce
- The Mistreaters – Santa Stole My Baby
- Fat Daddy – Fat Daddy
- Twice As Much & Vashti – The Coldest Night of the Year
- James Brown – Hey America
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – All I Want For Christmas
- Dean & Britta – He’s Coming Home
- The Phi Mu Washboard Band – Chilly Winds
- Elvis Presley – Santa Claus Is Back In Town
- Dr. Octagon – Moosebumps
- Holly Golightly – Christmas Tree’s On Fire
- The Shangri-Las – Good Taste Tip #3: Gift Receiving
- George Harrison – Ding Dong, Ding Dong
- Nina Simone – I Am Blessed
- The Halo Benders – Snowfall
- Dion McGregor [Sleep Talker] – Snowflakes
- Dick Dale – Hava Nagila
- Pebbles & Bam Bam – Snowflakes
- Floyd Dixon – Empty Stockings
- Galaxie 500 – Listen, The Snow Is Falling
- The Davis Sisters – Christmas Boogie
- Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal
- The Harlem Children’s Chorus – Black Christmas
- Merle Haggard – If We Make It Through December
- Archers of Loaf – Assassination On X-Mas Eve
- Mae West – My New Year’s Resolutions
- Pharoah Sanders – Prince of Peace
