Music — The Playlist

We tried to do this wedding relatively inexpensively, and it just wasn’t very appealing to spend all that money on a band or DJ (even Dave Does It All) that would play music we didn’t like very much. We weren’t going to have any music until the innkeeper at our reception location mentioned that he had a CD player and we could play music that way. Ah! A captive audience! We spent the next couple of months on an archelogical expedition through our extensive record collection.

One of the things we don’t much like about most weddings is how the music tends to drown out all attempts at conversation. So in an attempt to avoid this, set a proper mood, and promote conversation, most of this music is instrumental rather than vocal. There are some exceptions, particularly around the first dance when there are a number of songs of particular importance to us, but by and large, instrumentals ruled the day. The other defining characteristic of the music is that a lot of it is what people refer to as “world music”. Ralph read somewhere not too long ago that many hip people are choosing to use world music for their weddings. We are nothing if not hip. And since we were at the beach, much of the rest of the music is surf music of one sort or another. There are even a track or two that combine surf and world music.

Ralph did most of the selecting and all of the sequencing, with Laura kibbitzing and making requests, most of which Ralph was able to accommodate. The result ranges from the obscure to the horrendously obscure. Then there are a few tracks that are just way out there.

We wish we could provide streaming audio of this to those of you who weren’t there so you could experience it (or even those of you who were there and missed much of it under the din of conversation), but since we can’t afford the recording industry’s onerous royalty structure and it now costs money to put up a station on Live365, this will have to do.

Song	Artist	Album	Time
Disc 1: Cocktail Hour
Liquidator	Harry J All-Stars	This is Ska Too!	2:54
For some reason, ska always sounds best when recorded in primitive conditions in 1960s Jamaica. I don’t know why that is, but it is.
Hajaja Rock	Sputnici	Bigbít prukopnici ceskeho rock ‘n’ rollu	2:08
The song was recorded in Czechoslovakia in 1962, but not released until the 1990s as part of a compilation of early Czech rock bands. The instrument that sounds like a refugee from a Del Shannon song was an early East German monophonic synthesizer.
Teenage Kicks	The Nutley Brass	Beat on the Brass	2:09
Cover of what John Peel considers the greatest song of all time. Thoroughly appropriate for the wedding of a couple of old people like us.
In Die Ribisl	Die Knödel	Overcooked Tyroleans	2:59
Some albums are of a certain time. You listen to them for a while, then put them away unless you want to evoke that time. Then there are albums like this one. I never get tired of listening to Overcooked Tyroleans by Die Knödel, an innovative group of Austrian youngsters. The hammered dulcimer in their music sounds kind of like the valiha I love so much in the music of Madagascar. In this song, it seems like it’s in a race with the oboe to get to the end. Amazing stuff.
The Orange Ocean	Birdsongs of the Mesozoic	Sonic Geology	2:28
America’s loudest chamber music quartet play one of their quieter songs.
Kyla Vuotti Uuta Kuuta	Teisco del Rey	Plays Music for Lovers	5:17
A Finnish wedding song done surf style by the foremost proponent of cheap guitars. Originally done by Värttinä, with lyrics.
Pyry	Värttinä	Kokko	2:50
From faux-Finnish to the real thing.
4 Year Plan	Camper van Beethoven	Telephone Free Landslide Victory	1:49
From their first album, which is full of ethnic forgeries like this.
Variations on ‘Swan Lake’	The Terem Quartet	Terem	2:13
From faux-Russian to the real thing. This music is what happens when you play string quartet music on indigenous folk instruments like balalaika and domra.
Wild Goose Chase	Basekou Kouyate and Dirck Westervelt	In Griot Time	0:49
This is a (brief) duet between a Malian n’goni player and a visiting American banjo player on an old tune from the southern US, recorded by American guitar player Banning Eyre while he was in Mali learning how to play guitar like Malian star Djelymady Tounkara. Eyre’s odyssey is recounted in the book of the same name, In Griot Time, to which this CD serves as a sort of soundtrack.
Yekermo Sew	Mulatu Astatqé	Éthiopiques 4 - Éthio-Jazz	4:15
A cross between Ethiopian music and Jazz, this never really caught on in Ethiopia, but it was an interesting experiment. It’s perhaps a little more accessible to western ears for lacking the unusual vocals typical of Ethiopian music.
1914	E. T. Mensah	Day by Day	2:54
A highlife song, performed by Ghana’s foremost highlife band of the 1950s.
Skymningspolskan	Maria Kalaniemi	Planet Squeezebox	3:49
Accordion music! Taken from a 3 CD compilation of accordion music from around the world. That’s not really as perverse as it sounds, either.
Silaka	Tiana and Sammy	Resting Place of the Mists	3:08
Music from Madagascar, the large island off the east coast of Africa that is home to some of the most beautiful music anywhere. This is played on one of the traditional instruments of the island, the valiha, a kind of harp, with strings strung on a piece of bamboo.
Sangisangy	Dama	The Moon & The Banana Tree	2:4
Malagasy music in a more modern vein, adapting the style of music typical of valiha and kabosy to acoustic guitar.
Masanga	Jean Bosco Mwenda	Mwenda wa Bayeke	3:32
Instrumental version of the great hit from the 1950s by the giant of Congolese acoustic guitar. This is a later rerecording, done in the 1990s.
Maxglaner	Hundsbuam Miserablige	Hundsbuam Miserablige	3:04
Alpine folk-punk from Bavaria. I won a contest on Deutsche Welle Television some years back, and as part of my prize, they played this band on the television.
Blitzkrieg Bop	Yo La Tengo	Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo	2:18
The liner notes to this one described it as being from Yo La Tengo’s “short-lived wedding band incarnation.” When I saw that, I knew I had to include it. Originally by The Ramones, of course, and yes, an instrumental.
Begin the Beguine	Artie Shaw	The Only Big Band CD You’ll Ever Need	3:16
Classic big band tune.
Cherie	Orchestre Typique Martiniquais Charlery-Delouche	Au Bal Antillais	3:11
And to follow that, a genuine beguine from the island of Martinique. This song recorded in the 1930s.
Godecki Cacak	Reptile Palace Orchestra	Balkans Without Borders	3:07
Yugoslavian-style dance from Bulgaria, recorded by a Wisconsin-based band.
Disc 2: Arrival & Brunch
The Great Gate of Kiev	Slovak Philharmonic	Mussorgsky - Borodin: Pictures at an Exhibition	6:37
We entered the reception room to this music. It worked on a bunch of different levels. First, when I asked Laura what her favorite piece of classical music was, this was her answer. Second, the location of said gate in Kiev plays nicely to my Ukrainian ethnic heritage. And third, part of this music was long used as the interval signal (a piece of music played repeatedly by shortwave radio stations to help listeners tune in to a program before it starts) of the Voice of Russia, once the titan of the airwaves, which I expected my radio geek friends would get a kick out of. It has a nice majestic feel to it, which was a total contrast with the rest of the wedding.
Laura	Brave Combo	A Night on Earth	2:31
First dance, a cha-cha! Picked for obvious reasons. Brave Combo are one of our favorites. I posted a great story of one of the times we saw them in concert. If you want to know what the song means, Brave Combo has translated the lyrics on their site.
Love Is Strange	Mickey & Sylvia	Love is Strange	2:54
Laura introduced me to this classic. We’ll occasionally sing bits of it to each other.
I Know You Will	Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey	Mavericks	5:17
This song is from the album that introduced us to each other, the story of which is found under “How did you two meet?”
Under Cedars And Stars	Ass Ponys	The Known Universe	2:45
One of our all-time favorite bands. I think Laura loves them even more than I do. Their records are wonderful, but don’t hold a candle to their live performances. This is one of the very very few love songs the band does, and seems to be about getting married, obliquely. Tellingly, it’s just about the only song not written by main songwriter Chuck Cleaver.
Glowing Heart Of The World	Calexico	Road Map	4:50
Calexico do border music as well as or better than anyone else. This is from a tour-and-Internet-only CD that contains soundtrack tracks from a book-on-tape.
Sahira	D’Gary	Malagasy Guitar/Music from Madagascar	5:44
Monster guitarist from Madagascar. I’m told that even if you watch him play, you can’t figure out how he does it.
Ny Asa No Harena	Sylvestre Randafison	Resting Place of the Mists	3:27
Slow, stately piece of valiha music.
White Man Sleeps, Part 4.	Kronos Quartet/Kevin Volans	Pieces of Africa	6:17
Sadly, we didn’t actually use all of this, because the first part was too quiet. But I love this. I’ve heard the same riff used by Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo and British magpies The Penguin Cafe Orchestra, which led me to believe that the riff came from a piece of indigenous African folk music and was adapted by all three. That was confirmed by a radio program I heard on WNYC radio a bunch of years ago.
Bastan Toure	Bajourou	Big String Theory	5:48
Acoustic guitar music from Mali. One of the guitarists is Djelymady Tounkara, mentioned above in the notes about “Wild Goose Chase”.
Milonga del Angel	Astor Piazzolla	Tango: Zero Hour	6:31
Tango for listening, by the master.
Kabary Boketra	D’Gary	Malagasy Guitar/Music from Madagascar	4:33
I just never get tired of hearing this man play.
Totoy Tsara	Ny Sakelidalana	Madagasikara 2 — Current Popular Music of Madagascar	2:48
The vocals on this are amazing. Laura requested this one; it’s probably her favorite piece of Malagasy music. From the groundbreaking 1985 compilation on Globestyle Records.
Not Wedding Lightly	Chris Knox	Not Wedding Lightly	3:53
This was a custom-recorded adaptation of New Zealand-based Knox’s heartfelt ode to his partner and the mother of his children. The web site of his NZ record label, Flying Nun Records, from whom I’ve been buying records since the late 1980s, mentioned that Chris was willing to record customized versions of the song in exchange for cash or barter (I think he prefers barter). Two DVDs winged their way to New Zealand, and in exchange, we got this incredible treat. It even mentions us by name. It’s a shame nobody heard it, because it was too soft to be heard over the conversation. We were originally going to try to dance to this, but it was a bit too fast, and people were still eating when it came on.
Disc 3: Party Part I
Whoopsy Daisy	The Coctails	The Early Hi-Ball Years	1:52
Midwestern purveyors of old-sounding new music.
Mazurra	Calexico	Spoke	1:46
Maybe this is supposed to be a mazurka from Missouri?
Maramures Zydeco	3 Mustaphas 3	Play Musty For Me	3:42
Transylvania meets Louisiana in a head-on collision, perpetrated by the finest band ever to come from Szegerely, kind of a Balkan Lake Woebegon.
Amedee Two-Step	Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys	Planet Squeezebox	3:37
From faux-zydeco to the real thing.
Chumpy	The Clean	Unknown Country	3:46
New Zealand band described by Robert Christgau as a jam band jams.
Out Of Control	Ben Vaughn	Mono	2:17
Ben Vaughn goes out into his garage and returns with loving recreations of his favorite surf tunes of the 60s.
Atom Bomb Baby	The Five Stars	Atomic Cafe Soundtrack	2:18
One of our favorites from the 1980s hit documentary, beloved of both Ralph and Laura. We sing songs from this album to each other all the time.
Tupy´ Kupid	Sputnici	Bigbít prukopnici ceskeho rock ‘n’ rollu	2:17
Czech-language rendition of the Connie Francis hit “Stupid Cupid”, performed in 1962.
Only	Ass Ponys	Lohio	2:50
The Ass Ponys only other love song, of a sort. Contains the immortal line (in the chorus) “Please don’t kick my busted heart too far.”
Caballo Viejo	Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán	Mambo Sinuendo	3:51
Peripatetic guitarist given a reprieve for one last visit to embargoed Cuba covers an old tune with a friend on their amazing new album; I’m not sure who did the original, but it may be either Mexican or Colombian.
Marbi Kwela	West Nkosi	Rhythm of Healing	5:27
South African sax jive of the type that inspired Paul Simon’s Graceland album.
Levantando Las Manos	El Simbolo	????	4:30
Spanish language exhortation to lift your hands in the air and shake them like you just don’t care. Used for line dances, but none of the line dancers noticed when it came on.
Man In The Street	Don Drummond	Tougher Than Tough	3:23
Great old 1960s Jamaican ska.
Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad	Jonathan Richman	Jonathan Goes Country	3:01
Mostly instrumental cover of an old Tammy Wynette country classic by one of our favorite musicians. Laura introduced Ralph to his music for the most part (I did have the first Modern Lovers album when I met her but that was about it).
International Operator	The Raybeats	Guitar Beat	4:14
Telephone rock. New wave instrumental music by committed bohemians from the 1980s.
Cascade	Tall Dwarfs	The Sky Above The Mud Below	2:49
Chris Knox, who did our customized song above, is half of Tall Dwarfs, who recorded this little piece of psychedelia.
Cripple Creek	Flatt & Scruggs	Foggy Mountain Banjo	2:06
Classic banjo pickin’.
Caravan	One Riot One Ranger	One Riot One Ranger	5:55
Bluegrass cover of a jazz classic by Duke Ellington, performed by a band from Columbus, Ohio, that contained a friend of a friend. From their first cassette, which doesn’t even appear on their discography these days.
Take the “A” Train	Duke Ellington	The Only Big Band CD You’ll Ever Need	2:57
From faux-Duke to the real thing.
In the Mood	Glenn Miller	The Only Big Band CD You’ll Ever Need	3:33
More great big band music.
On Entre OK, On Sort KO	Franco & OK Jazz	Originalité	2:59
This song introduced the biggest band in the history of African music to the world by declaring that if you saw them you would be okay when you came in to the bar, but by the time you left, you would be knocked out.
Sitna Lisa	3 Mustaphas 3	Heart of Uncle	4:53
Balkan music with an Arabic tinge by Szegerely’s finest. Can we take it to the fridge?
Fiainana	Haja	The Moon & The Banana Tree	5:21
Electric guitar and valiha done up Malagasy style.
Landler	Die Knödel	Overcooked Tyroleans	1:48
Disc 4: Party Part II
Tyyskä	Ottopasuuna	Ottopasuuna	3:01
Jaunty, bouncy little harmonica and accordion duet from Finland. Irresistable.
Voromby / Oiseau De Fer	Tarika Sammy	Madagasikara 2: Current Popular Music	3:21
The first Malagasy song I ever fell in love with.
Embona	Rajery	Resting Place of the Mists	5:14
More valiha music from Madagascar. This tune swings like nobody’s business. Every time I hear this, I can’t help bopping around.
Halling From Macedonia	Garmarna	Balkans Without Borders	2:41
Swedish band recognizes a Balkan tune as similar to their own music, adopt it, take it home, and make it a member of the family.
Turquoise	Laika & The Cosmonauts	Absurdistan	2:45
Surf music from Finland.
Oxygen	Immigrant Suns	Back from Durbecca	4:15
These guys are kind of an American 3 Mustaphas 3, but not quite as wide ranging; they keep their focus pretty much on the Balkans.
Vladivostock	Camper van Beethoven	Telephone Free Landslide Victory	2:22
Another ethnic forgery from the musical anarchists' classic first album.
Netsanet - Liberty	Mulatu Astatqé	Éthiopiques 4 — Éthio Jazz	5:36
More of that wonderful Ethiopian jazz.
Iza Indray Izany?	Johnny	The Moon & The Banana Tree	3:41
Electric music from Madagascar, with a bass line that sounds like it’s done backward, but it’s not.
Sloe Benga	Tiger Moth	Mothballs	3:02
This song answers the musical question, “what happens if you mix Congolese guitar with English folk accordion music?” I know you were all dying for an answer.
Get Up (Sex Machine)	James Brown	20 All-Time Greatest Hits	5:15
The funkiest song ever by the hardest working man in show business. A request from Laura.
La Engañadora	Rubén González	Introducing…Rubén González	2:32
Rubén was rediscovered when the band was assembled for Ry Cooder’s Buena Vista Social Club sessions. He was always the first musician to the studio in the morning, because he couldn’t wait to play the piano some more. I think that joy is reflected in the music on this first album, from which this is taken. (His second album is excellent, too.)
Surfin’ Albania	Immigrant Suns	Balkans Without Borders	3:00
This combines two of the major themes of the music we picked for our wedding, eastern Europe and surf music!
Italian Medley #2	Brave Combo	A Night on Earth	1:41
I didn’t realize when I picked this that it included the wedding “classic” The Chicken Dance. Shows how much I’ve been paying attention at previous weddings. No matter, I still love it. We’ve got more than a dozen albums of Brave Combo, and I pick two songs from the same record. Go figure....
The Madison Time	Teisco del Rey	Plays Music for Lovers	3:30
Another request from Laura, although we both love this. This is a remake of an early 60s hit that was featured in the movie Hairspray to such great effect. The original didn’t fall apart at the end, though.
Tcha Tcha Tcha De Mi Amor	Franco & OK Jazz	Originalité	3:09
More classic Congolese rumba in a Cuban style; yes, this is a cha-cha.
Egyptian Reggae	Modern Lovers	Rock and Roll With	2:37
The closest Jonathan ever came to a hit was this intriguingly-titled instrumental. Actually, it was a hit, but only in Europe. The song just kind of gallops along, maybe like a camel?
Cocktails	The Raybeats	Guitar Beat	4:07
With a title like this, this probably belonged at the beginning. More great instrumental rock (don’t call it surf music!).
Excitement	Chris Stamey	Wonderful Life	4:31
A vocal piece, originally from Stamey's ill-fated Instant Excitement EP (the pressing plant burned down, taking with it the original artwork and much of the pressing, making the record difficult to find. Somehow I wound up with two copies.) Contains some of the finest drumming on Earth. Stamey has a knack for finding interesting drummers (Will Rigby in The dB’s, Ted Lyons on this track and in much of the rest of his solo work), although I haven’t quite forgiven him for using Alan Bezozi.
Marquee Moon	The Nutley Brass	Beat on the Brass	3:17
The original was more than ten minutes long and is one of my favorite songs of all time, but I didn’t think our guests could stand its fingernails-on-chalkboard vocals. Sometimes even I can’t.
Descafeinado	Ben Vaughn	Instrumental Stylings	2:59
Faux-Brazilian music intended to help bring the wedding to a soothing conclusion.
Kein Boarischer	Die Knödel	Overcooked Tyroleans	2:27
The noodlers slow down a little with this string-driven piece to calm things down.
Melodía Del Rio	Rubén González	Introducing…Rubén González	4:42
And we close with some more stunning piano work from the great Cuban pianist.