You can certainly tell a lot about a person by the music they listen to. This month, the
PG editors
—along with Guest Picker Dweezil Zappa—gather their courage, switch their iPods to shuffle,
and play a little musical roulette. If you feel up to the challenge, email your first three random tunes
to
info@premierguitar.com.
Joe Coffey — Editorial Director
What am I listening to?
Hayes Carll’s
KMAG
YOYO (
and Other
American Stories). This is
the soundtrack for a cross-country road trip
to that perfect bar you just know is out there.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“Wham” from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s
The
Sky is Crying, “A Man Alone” from Frank
Sinatra’s
Reprise Collection (Disc 3), and
“Ogunde” by John Coltrane from Carlos
Santana’s compilation album
Sacred Sources
Volume 1: Live Forever.
Andy Ellis
— Senior Editor
What am I listening to?
Easy Star All-Stars,
First
Light. This reggae collective
from NYC manages
to add a sweet soul touch to their dubwise
grooves and skanking beats without diluting
the vibe that clearly inspires them. Irie!
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“Five String Serenade” from Mazzy Star’s
So Tonight that I Might See, “Love Hurts”
from Gram Parsons’
Grievous Angel, and
“Dear Mr. Fantasy” from
Feelin’ Alright:
The Very Best of Traffic.
Shawn Hammond
— Editor in Chief
What am I listening to?
Preservation Hall Jazz
Band & Del McCoury
Band,
American Legacies.
Old-school booty-shakin’ music from the
bluegrass guitar legend (McCoury played in
Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in ’63) and
the New Orleans Dixieland masters.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“Pure Love” from Bad Brains’
Build a
Nation, “Ritual Dance” from
The Best of
Michael Hedges, and “Good Night” from
the Beatles’
The White Album.
Chris Kies
— Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
Raphael Saadiq,
Stone
Rollin’. With R&B
grooves and soul-driven
guitars—think of a classic Stax vibe—
Saadiq nods heavily towards his heroes like
Berry, Wonder, and Sly Stone, but gives the
music his own futuristic twist.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“Three Cigarettes (in an Ashtray)” from
Patsy Cline’s self-titled debut, “Walk” from
Pantera’s
Vulgar Display of Power, and “Only
for the Night” from the Rx Bandits’
...And
the Battle Has Begun.
Meghan Molumby
— Senior Art Editor
What am I listening to?
Wanda Jackson’s
The Party Ain’t Over.
Collaborating with Jack
White, the 73-year-old Queen of Rockabilly
growls her way through campy covers ranging
from Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m
No Good” to Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’
“Shakin’ All Over.” I can’t
not listen.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“E.T.” from Outkast’s
Aliens, “Shasta Beast”
from Eagles of Death Metal’s
Death by Sexy,
and the title track from Gogol Bordello’s
Trans-Continental Hustle.
Rich Osweiler
— Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
Robin Nolan,
Tainted
Love. Soft Cell’s
“Tainted Love,” and
Human League’s “ Don’t You Want Me”
get the gypsy jazz treatment. Two songs
from the ’80s that always had me looking
for the off button or a speaker to kick in.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“The Boy with the Arab Strap,” the title
track from
Belle & Sebastian, “ I Just Wanna
Get Along” from the Breeders’
Last
Splash, and “ The Green Green Grass”
from American Analog Set’s
Set Free.
Charlie Saufley
— Gear Editor
What am I listening to?
Psychic Paramount,
Psychic Paramount II. A
ruling amalgam of high-energy,
kraut-prog sprawl and free-jazz howl
that’s pretty sweet for driving through a
deluge with broken windshield wipers. Yes,
that really happened.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“Casey’s Last Ride” from Kris Kristofferson’s
Kristofferson, “Better Blood” from Nikki
Sudden’s
Kiss You Kidnapped Charbanc, and
“Old Man Going” from the Pretty Things
SF
Sorrow.
Jason Shadrick
— Associate Editor
What am I listening to?
Levon Helm,
Ramble at
the Ryman. Recorded at
one of Nashville’s most
hallowed venues, this album captures what
a typical Ramble in Helm’s barn is like. The
grooves are loose, the material timeless, and
multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell is in
full force. Great roots music by one of the
founding fathers of laid-back country rock.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
“Fanfare” from Galactic’s
From the Corner
to the Block, “Cocoon” from Julian Lage’s
Gladwell, and “Move” from Hank Garland’s
The Guitar Artistry of Hank Garland.
Dweezil Zappa
— Guest Picker
What am I listening to?
One of my favorite
instrumentals by my
father called “Rollo.” I’m
also on a Jimi Hendrix
Band of Gypsys kick.
Must be the fact that recently I’ve been playing/refurbishing the Hendrix/Zappa Strat.
Which three songs come up on my iPod
in shuffle mode?
Believe it or not, my iPod only has Frank
Zappa songs on it. I have every release
including all of the official bootlegs. That’s
over 85 albums! The first three that popped
up were “Beat It with Your Fist,” “RDNZL,”
and “Packard Goose.”