Friday, July 31, 2009

Surviving 30 means you aren't a real rock star.

I believe that I hosted the best radio show of my DJing career yesterday. It was about the 27 Club, as in musicians who all died at the age of 27. For the sake of "spicing it up," though, I ended up including artists that also died tragic, untimely deaths (or bands that experienced significant deaths somehow, even if it wasn't the death of a permanent musician). The playlist was as follows (including explanations!):

"Summer's Almost Over"-The Doors (Jim Morrison died at 27, OD'd)

"Manic Depression"-Jimi Hendrix (died at 27, asphixiated on his own vomit)

"Me and Bobby McGee"-Janis Joplin (died at 27, OD'd)

"Triumph of a Heart"-Bjork (mention of the stalker she had in '96 who built an acid bomb on camera then filmed himself sending the package to Bjork and committing suicide, mention of what the album Medulla reminds me of...the day it came out, Brady and I were driving around Fort Wayne listening to it when he attempted to show me a big flesh wound he had on his arm from a recent bike accident...then I crashed into a tree. I said that this was my "brush with death," then introduced some artists who died in traffic incidents...because I'm classyclassyclassy!)

"Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing"-Minutemen (D. Boon died at 27, thrown from a van while lying down in the back-broke his neck)

"Killing Moon"-Echo & The Bunnymen (Pete de Freitas died at 27, motorcycle accident)

"20th Century Boy"-T. Rex (Marc Bolan died at 29, car wrecked into a tree)

"Walkin' After Midnight"-Patsy Cline (died at 30, plane crash)

"Kizza Me"-Big Star (Chris Bell died at 27, car accident)

"Kangaroo"-This Mortal Coil (this is a beautiful cover of the original, which is a Big Star song)

"Microcastle"-Deerhunter (an original member died at 24 from head injuries after a skateboarding accident/Deerhunter is playing here on Wednesday)

"Wet Wings"-Dan Deacon (Dan Deacon is playing with them)

"Everyday"-Buddy Holly (died at 22, plane crash)

"Plump"-Hole (Kristen Pfaff died at 27, heroine overdose)

"Paint It Black"-The Rolling Stones (Brian Jones died at 27, drowned/overdose/?)

"All Apologies"-Nirvana (Kurt Cobain died at 27, shotgun suicide)

"Faster"-The Manic Street Preachers (Richey James Edwards is presumed to have died at 27, when he disappeared off the face of the earth)

"Nightmares by the Sea"-Jeff Buckley (drowned in the Mississippi River while singing the chorus of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin at the age of 30)

"Sign of the Crab"-The Gits (Mia Zapata was raped and murdered at the age of 27)

"Kiss My Ass Goodbye"-7 Year Bitch (close friends of The Gits, this song is off of the album dedicated to Mia, entitled Viva Zapata!)

"Kick My Ass"-Garbage (toured with the Smashing Pumpkins when...)

"For Martha"-The Smashing Pumpkins (in 1996, their touring keyboard player OD'd on heroin and Jimmy Chamberlin almost did as well. They then kicked Chamberlin out of the band. Then Billy's mom, Martha, died. Then they wrote the album Adore, which this song comes from.)

"1969"-The Stooges (Dave Alexander died at 27, pulmanary edema)

"Nightclubbing"-Iggy Pop (off of the album The Idiot, which was the last album Ian Curtis listened to before hanging himself)

"Digital"-Joy Division (suicide at 23)

"Ceremony"-New Order (remaining members of Joy Division formed New Order, and "Ceremony" was the last new song to be performed by Joy Division)

"Never Tear Us Apart"-INXS (Michael Hutchence died of autoerotic asphiziation at the age of 37)

"Quiche Lorraine"-The B-52's (Ricky Wilson died of AIDS in 1985)

Then I tried to play Tiny Tim, but the CD didn't work. It was requested and creepy, so it seemed fitting.


Also, "Quiche Lorraine" was dedicated to Ray.

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