gts164 “combusht”
Don’t play with matches.
01-01 Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra – RCA Victor PM-45689 – Oh What You Said (Are We Burnt Up?) (1939)
— Charlie didn’t have to do it. He was independently wealthy, music was a fun hobby. Which made him famously affable, everybody liked him. The band’s instruments, sheet music, and even uniforms were destroyed when The Palomar club in Los Angeles went up in flames in 1939, but he was rich so he bought them all new stuff. A superfan of Duke Ellington, Charlie leaned heavily on Duke’s arrangements. Upon hearing what happened, Ellington himself rushed new copies of the music to LA. Because everyone loved Charlie Barnet.
01-02 Tiny Tim – Reprise 0802 – Great Balls Of Fire (1968)
— given his usual singing voice, didn’t think Tim had any at all!
01-03 The Cult – Sonic Temple 02 – Fire Woman (1989)
— might be my favorite tune of the show.
01-04 Bomba Estereo – Live at KEXP Vol6 06 – Fuego (2010)
— the version of this which made the cumbia band a hit was the remix done by Will Smith.
01-05 Modest Mouse – Strangers To Ourselves 02 – Lampshades On Fire (2015)
— told you not to play with matches!
01-06 The Wipers – Trap Records – Up In Flames (1978)
— very nearly was able to match this with “Down In Flames”.
02-01 The Daddy-O’s – Cabot 122 – Got A Match? (1958)
— rockabilly always loves a good fire.
02-02 Julie Roberts – Good Wine & Bad Decisions 04 – Gasoline And Matches (2013)
— not a big fan of neo-country, but this one’s hot.
02-03 MC 900 ft Jesus – Welcome To My Dream 04 – The City Sleeps (1991)
— controversial when it came out, spawned a raft of parodies, best one: I Make The Donuts As The City Sleeps. Or maybe it was “You Klingon Bastard, You Killed My Son” by MC 900 ft Shatner?
02-04 Katy Perry – Teenage Dream 04 – Firework (2010)
— always burned into memory as the accompaniment to the crescendo of the film The Interview, one of the greatest marriages of music and film ever. The entire scene devolves into slo-mo as Katy plays at full speed. Gorgeous. Unfortunately the movie was effectively buried via spiteful e-threats of a certain portly dictator.
02-05 Church Police – Siltbreeze 009 – The Oven Is My Friend (1991)
— you heard right, this is about french-kissing an oven. More than just friends? Originally done for a punkish compilation album in 1983, eight years later they released it on a 7-inch 33rpm 4-song single. I think that’s properly called a “diminutive EP”.
02-06 Timbuk 3 – A Hundred Lovers 09 – Kitchen Fire (1995)
— don’t leave the stove unattended.
03-01 Bad Company – Burnin’ Sky 101 – Burnin’ Sky (1977)
— icon is an over-used word today, but here’s a true 70’s monster of blues rock.
03-02 Etta James – Call My Name (2010 CD reissue) 23 (bonus track) – Light My Fire (1969)
— Call My Name released in 1958, this recorded 11 years later, waited another 41 years for this reissue.
03-03 Lykke Li – Damsel OST 27 – Ring Of Fire (2024)
— Swedish singer who never heard any version of this tune except the Johnny Cash.
03-04 Bob Seger – Night Moves 103 – The Fire Down Below (1976)
— a different kind of fire.
03-05 The Untamed Youth – Git Up & Go 08 – I’m On Fire (2025)
— surf rock lives! (after the skin grafts).
04-01 Frederick J Wheeler (James F Harrison) – Victor 17881 – Keep The Home Fires Burning (1916)
— lots of Americans were opposed to joining World War I, this was part of a flood of patriotic songs to keep the home fires from getting out of control.
04-02 Willie Swanson – Celebrated Artist CA-100 – Arson Carson
— unable to find a release year, though on a video website someone claims this is their great-grandfather and this song was how his grandma met Johnny Cash.
04-03 Screaming Lord Sutch – Lord Sutch And Heavy Friends 106 – Smoke And Fire (1970)
— supposedly a real noble Lord, but verified as one of the odder characters in the London mod scene.
04-04 Oi Polloi – Fuiam Catha 105 – Don’t Burn The Witch (1999)
— German punks with an axe to grind for The Man.
04-05 Earth Kitt – The Fabulous Eartha Kitt 201 – I’d Rather Be Burned As A Witch (Than Never Be Burned At All) (1959)
— here’s my apology for cutting Eartha from last week’s show, for being too weird even for me.
04-06 Ozzy Osbourne – Under Cover 11 – Fire (2005)
— good opportunity to tribute the late bat-biter, and also cut out the original by Arthur Brown who was, by all accounts, a real douchebag and impossible to work with.
04-07 Johnny Starr – Snap 028 – Fire Burns (1971)
— see, told you not to play around. Love how he almost gets sitar resonance out of that six string.
05-01 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Burning 01 – Burning (2022)
— whatcha gonna do? I’d grab some franks and some long sticks.
05-02 Paul Weller – Wake Up The Nation (Deluxe Edition Bonus CD) 08 – Find The Torch Burn The Plans (Nick Zinner from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Remix) (2010)
— and a Norwegian in the boiler room.
05-03 Paul Barton – Galaxy 00333 – My Neighbor The Firefighter (1972)
— sobby story to scold anyone thinking of saving budget money by eliminating a firehouse.
05-04 Andy Shauf – The Neon Skyline 10 – Fire Truck (2020)
— this guy needs therapy, maybe his music isn’t enough.
05-05 Johnny Appalachian – Goldie 1104 – Up In Smoke (1962)
— what one gets for chasing the hottest girl in town.
06-01 The Grateful Dead – Winterland June 1977 202 – Fire On The Mountain (1977)
— peak Dead.
06-02 Esperanza Spalding – Emily’s D+Evolution 01 – Good Lava (2016)
— sorta get the feeling the lava is a euphemism.
06-03 Genesis – A Trick Of The Tail 101 – Dance On A Volcano (1976)
— better than strapping an extra virgin to a rock on the caldera rim.
… and a bonus track…
07-01 The Beach Boys – Smile 205 – Mrs O’Leary’s Cow (1966)
— not released in 1966.