Podcast 117- Surgeon
Monday, November 24, 2008 at 03:53PM 
PODCAST 117 - SURGEON
This week I have the pleasure of broadcasting a mix from Tony Child of some of the most influential records that have shaped his musical path. You can also read his thoughts on each track below. There’s also the wonderful new record from Larry Heard to listen to.
TRACKLISTING
Boards of Canada - Nlogax
Larry Heard - 25 years from Alpha
————-SURGEON MIX————-
Coil - Amethyst deceivers
Coil’s music has, since I first discovered them in about 1996, always had a deep and spiritual meaning for me. Listening to Amethyst Deceivers at the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii as the sun was setting is the most beautifully moving, yet sad thing I have experienced.
Psychic TV - Always is always
The album ‘Dreams Less Sweet’ by Psychic TV was recorded using the Zuccarelli Holophonic system, which produced amazing 3D sound imaging with only stereo headphone playback.
Here, you can really feel the solo vocalist walk around as they sing Charles Manson’s ‘Always is always’.
Hashim - Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)
This is the defining Electro track for my youth. When I first heard it in about 1983 it blew me away, I knew at once that this was the music I had been searching for. It just sounded so alien and powerful.
Suicide - Che
Suicide are a big influence for me, simple, dark, psychedelic mantras. This track is often overshadowed by Rocket USA, Frankie Teardrop etc, but it builds to an amazing energy.
Faust - Chromatic
I love the anarchy of Faust, their songs are so varied. I remember introducing a friend to them by playing him their ‘71 Minutes of’ album. Afterwards he commented that listening to it had been like a mental assault course. Chromatic is like a musical puzzle that goes on forever.
Coil - Dark River
Whenever I listen to “Dark River”, it reminds of this time my friends and I went out to this bridge over a river. The moon was out, and the sky was totally clear. We put these candles on boats made of newspaper and set them adrift in the river. The “boats” all blew off to one bank of the river and sat there in the grass on the bank. It looked like the bridge was several hundred miles above the water, and the boats were little houses, with light coming from fires in their fireplaces. It was quite beautiful, but also very sad for some reason…That song is inexorably tied to that memory for me.
The Walker Brothers - The Electrician
Possibly the greatest song ever? From the ultimate darkness and despair to pure ecstasy in one song (and back again). A most beautiful and strange song.
Whitehouse - Neronia
William Bennett’s approach to his art is a great inspiration for me. Neronia is a lesser know piece from the early 90s produced with Steve Albini. Perfect use of frequencies and tension.
Psychic TV - Clouds without water
Another track from the amazing ‘Dreams Less Sweet’ album. Brings to mind minimalist classical composers. Beautiful.
Tomita - Clair de Lune (Suite Bergamasque, No. 3)
This was possibly the first piece of electronic music that I ever heard. I was about 4 years old and remember being fascinated by the rich and varied, almost cartoon like sounds. Each sound has such a different size, shape, texture and temperature.
The Beatles - A Day In The Life
Another contender for greatest song ever. I have always felt as if there was some kind of awesome power lurking beneath the surface of this song, like getting the briefest glimpse of something from the corner of your eye. It is somehow linked to (my?) death, but not in any kind of depressing way. Difficult to explain. I want this to be played at my funeral.
———————————————
Tin Man - Falling Acid
Jus-Ed - CT lowdown
Dubbyman - Loveless (Above smoke remix)
Walter Jones - All Gods Children (Maurice Fulton remix)
Eddy & Yannah - Solid Ground (Crazy P remix)
DJ Sprinkles & Terre Thaemlitz - The Occasional Feel Good
Marco Passarani - Nova
Sendex - Hypenosis
Dopplereffekt - Infophysix
Ed DMX - Street Boys
Reader Comments (2)
Really enjoyed this mix and the notes from Surgeon explaining why the music means something to him.
Joe Orton had A Day in the Life played at his funeral. And I heard somewhere - maybe in Prick Up Your Ears (Joe Orton biog) or a John Lennon biog - that the chord of E, the last chord apparently, is associated with heaven in some folk music genres. I've not researched and my memory is very hazy so feel free to correct me.
Tomita - Clair de Lune (Suite Bergamasque, No. 3) is lovely !...