Needcoffee.com
PLEASE NOTE: If we link out to a site and you buy something there, we make money off of that. Everyone online does that, the difference is we love you. For why we have to specify this, click here.

Widge’s Sonic Emporium on Louder Than War Radio – 8 July 2023

Episode 4
“Games Are Just Another Way of Life”

Welcome. Here are what passes for show notes. The reason the playlist is in the format you find it is because I really need a life. The very overwrought explanation can be found here.

Format is:
Artist/Band Name – “Song Name” – Album Name – (Band’s/Artist’s Country of Origin, Year of Song’s Original Release)


Boom Boom Satellites with Chuck D — “Your Reality’s a Fantasy But Your Fantasy is Killing Me” — Umbra — (Japan/USA, 2001)

I checked and the “random anime soundtrack” I mentioned was Appleseed. My knowledge of anime sort of begins and ends with Robotech. I just assumed that Appleseed was some sci-fi version of the Johnny Appleseed story. With a big robot.

Martina Topley-Bird — “Need One” — Quixotic — (UK, 2003)

For years I thought that brief male backing vocal was Tricky. Turns out it was Mark Lanegan.

Ouinsou Corneille & Black Santiago — “Vinon So Minsou” — Vivi — (Benin, 1979) — Bandcamp

Cracker — “Guarded by Monkeys” — Forever — (USA, 2002) 

Kane Strang — “Wholebody Blues” — Happy to Perform — (New Zealand, 2021) — Bandcamp

Joan as Police Woman — “Anyone” — Real Life — (USA, 2006) — Bandcamp

Mestre Cupijó e Seu Ritmo — “Siriá Quente” — Siriá — (Brazil, 1974) — Bandcamp

Ruts — “In a Rut” — In a Rut — (UK, 1979)

Soulwax — “Too Many DJs” — Much Against Everyone’s Advice — (Belgium, 1999)

This really was my favorite album of 1999. In a lot of cases, “favorite” is determined by how many goddamn times I finished listening to the album and then started it over immediately. I’ve had this on the short list to play since the show started in its first form. I wanted to kick off a show with it, but I needed to replace a song in the running and this one had the exact same length. So.

Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something — “Heaven on a Plate” — Oh Really, What’s That Then? — (UK, 2019) — Bandcamp

TGMX — “I’ll Try” — Mosh Pit on Disney — (Japan, 2004)

Cover compilations are so much fun. You can discover new things. This album had both American and Japanese artists covering Disney tunes, so it was a hodge-podge of various noises. Lovely.

Lords of Acid — “The Love Bus” — Deep Chills — (Belgium, 2012) — Bandcamp

Idles — “Ne touche pas moi” — Ultra Mono — (UK, 2020) — Bandcamp

Hasil Adkins — “Everybody Loves Somebody” — The Wild Man — (USA, 2004)

You ever run across an artist and they’re so odd and out there that you think, “How am I just now hearing about this?” Yeah, Adkins was about five of those. Here’s his Wikipedia entry to get you started.

Nena — “Leuchtturm” — Nena — (Germany, 1983)

Patricia Routledge — “I Went to a Marvellous Party” — Cowardy Custard — (UK, 1972)

Astro — “Coco” — Astro — (Chile, 2012)

Sophie Hunger — “I Opened a Bar” — Molecules — (Switzerland, 2018)

Emily King — “Look at Me Now (acoustic)” — Sides — (USA, 2020)

Erma Franklin — “I’m Just Not Ready For Love” — (USA, 1968)

Easy Star All-Stars & The Meditations — “No Surprises” — Radiodread — (Jamaica/USA, 2006) — Bandcamp

They’ve done reggae cover albums of Thriller, Dark Side of the Moon, and more. Great stuff.

Tinariwen — “Amassakoul N’Tenere” — Amassakoul — (Algeria/Mali, 2004) — Bandcamp

Funky Lowlives — “Float Through Stars” — Somewhere Else is Here — (UK, 2005)

Darrow Fletcher — “My Young Misery” — (USA, 1966)

Betty Harris — “There’s a Break in the Road” — (USA, 1969) — Bandcamp

Tow’rs — “Consolations” — Grey Fidelity — (USA, 2017) — Bandcamp

Liz Phair — “Whip-Smart” — Whip-Smart — (USA, 1994)

serpentwithfeet with Ty Dollar $ign — “Receipts” — (USA, 2019) — Bandcamp

Tub Ring — “Leaving” — A Choice of Catastrophes — (USA, 2017)