Drive My Cah

Hi everybody! (Hi, Doctor Nick!) Sorry I’ve fallen way behind on my service requirements, I’m in the midst of one of those ongoing periods of life where my time is not my own. But I have today off, already got a few things done, and thought I’d finally get these descriptions posted. I’ll be brief. You be boxer.

When Sam brought up the idea for this month’s playlist, the first thing that popped in my head about “Drive My Car” wasn’t so much the tempo as the song’s groove. Kind of a lazy, old-fashioned R&B “Mustang Sally” kind of bassline, this groove shows up in a lot of different genres, powering funk and heavy metal, hip-hop and techno. I threw this list together quickly, trying to limit myself to songs that actually did seem to be of similar tempo to “Drive My Car”, but there was no science to it, I merely sang the Beatles’ song along with whatever track I was considering, and if it didn’t seem too out of place, onto the playlist it went.

1. MC Honky, “Sonnet No. 3 (Like A Duck)”
Honky is the solo side-project of Mark Oliver Everett (”E”), singer / songwriter of the band eels. On the “I Am The Messiah” album, E experiments a bit more with samples, turntables and other hip-hop devices, all wrapped in his wry sense of humor.

2. Candi Staton, “I’m Just A Prisoner”
A great example of that “Mustang Sally” groove, adapted and morphed with key changes and subtle tempo adjustments. And having the heavenly Staton on top like whipped cream doesn’t hurt. This is a hell of a song, and one that ends too soon. Check out what the drummer and horn players start to get into just as the track fades. Man, I bet they kept playing for fifteen minutes.

3. The Meters, “Ride Your Pony”
This is a definite direct-line descendant of “Sally”. You can actually hear the space where the backing vocals would go “ride, pony, ride…” Man, I think we’ve hit upon something here - these songs do really make for great driving music.

4. Soulwax, “Push It / No Fun”
This one just popped up on my iPod one day and I thought, “waitasec, that’s that groove I’ve been looking for!” (Okay I can’t resist - “It’s your cousin, Marvin Berry! You know that new sound you been lookin’ for? Well listen to this!”) I apologize for the ridiculous volume on this track, but I guess that’s what comes of it being part of a bootleg set of mash-ups. The “Best Bootlegs In The World Ever”, in fact. Not quite as sublimely successful as the amazing Aguilera / Strokes mix, this nonetheless entertains.

5. Beck, “Devil’s Haircut (remix by Noel Gallagher)”
I don’t even like this song, but it popped in my head instantaneously when Sam mentioned finding stuff like “Drive My Car”. Just to keep things marginally more interesting, I’ve thrown on the maxi-single remix by that Oasis guy.

6. Blondie, “Rip Her To Shreds”
Another song I’m not particularly fond of, but boy does it owe a lot to the Beatles song. That and all the “Leader Of The Pack” songs from the 50s I guess. This actually seems a lot more like stuff Patti Smyth and Lenny Kaye were into doing. Well I guess they were all hanging out at CGBGs together, maybe it rubbed off.

7. Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band, “Sookie, Sookie”
Here you go, prototypical groove from back in the day, Stax / Memphis / Donald “Duck” Dunn style. Help yourself, moptopped Liverpudlians.

8. The Ditty Bops, “There’s A Girl”
Okay, this isn’t part of the same groove at all, I just had to throw this on here. I mean, listen to it, it’s a friggin’ Beatles song!!! These girls can drive my cah anyday.

Download: MC Honky, “Sonnet #3 (Like A Duck)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Candi Staton, “I’m Just A Prisoner” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Meters, “Ride Your Pony” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Soulwax, “Push It/No Fun” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Beck, “Devil’s Hiarcut (Remix by Noel Gallagher)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Blondie, “Rip Her To Shreds” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Don Covay/Jefferson Lemon Blues Band, “Sookie, Sookie” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Ditty Bops, “There’s a Girl” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: UNKLE Matt’s “Drive My Cah” (XML Playlist)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

The whole thing is available as a single ZIP file for easy downloadin’:

Download: “Drive My Cah” (ZIP)
(Click here for download instructions)