Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
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CD Details
Edition: Music CDFormat: Import
CD Release Date: 2004-04-05
Music Label: Cherry Red UK
Soundtracks:
- Philosophy of the World - The Shaggs
- Walking the Cow - Daniel Johnston
- Walking on the Moon - Lucia Pamela
- Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere - Peter Grudzien
- Downloading the Repertoire - Jack Mudurian
- Stout-hearted Men - Shooby Taylor
- In Canada - B.J. Snowden
- Jailhouse Rock - Eilert Pilarm
- Virgin Child of the Universe
- Rock N' Roll McDonald's - Wesley Willis
- Telstar [Rough Demo] - Joe Meek
- At the Grass Roots
- Cousin Mosquito, No. 1
- Touchy - Luie Luie
- Standing in a Trash Can (Thinking About You) - Legendary Stardust Cowboy
- Vampire Suite - Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
- Butterfly Mind - Arcesia
- They Told Me I Was a Fool - Jandek
- Oh Baby, You Love's in Town
- True Love - Miss Sue, Tiny Tim
Music reviews of Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
Music Review: Except for the grace of God...
Rating: 4 Stars
Here is music from blessed retards and mentally ill people from around the "World" (most from the U.S.) There is also music from individuals that fall somewhere between retardation and mental illness, as well as a few that fall between the cracks in the cracks. _ I love this album. _ It's slightly more tasteful than a freak show, and a lot more tasteful than Maury Povich. Some songs blow in my opinion, but that's true of almost any album.... Final statement: Unless you are outstandingly boring and dull-witted, you will really like some of these tracks. Take the trip; it's worth the money!
Description of Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music
"OUTSIDER MUSIC" refers to a genre of sonic exotica that in some ways is so wrong -- it's right! Outsiders could be the product of supernatural possession, damaged DNA, drug fry, psychosis -- or none of the above. These often self-taught artists may lack conventional tunefulness and self-awareness, but they display an abundance of earnestness and passion. And they're worth listening to, often surpassing all contenders for inventiveness and originality.This CD is a counterpart to the book SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z: THE CURIOUS UNIVERSE OF OUTSIDER MUSIC (A Cappella Books/Chicago Review Press), and it was produced by the author, Irwin Chusid. The text explores such avatars of outr sonics as The Shaggs, Daniel Johnston, Harry Partch, Syd Barrett, the Song-Poem industry, Jandek, the Cherry Sisters, Captain Beefheart, Florence Foster Jenkins, Wesley Willis, Wild Man Fischer, and countless other musical eccentrics with cult followings.
This CD features songs by artists profiled in the book. From the uninhibited howling of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy to the arrested-adolescent passion of Daniel Johnston; the LSD-cabaret crooning of Arcesia to Joe Meek's rare, wobbly "Telstar" vocal demo; the Shaggs aboriginal backwoods rock to Lucia Pamela's vertigo-bent outer space lunacy -- SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z promises an unforgettable romp through music too strange for radio but too fascinating to ignore.
For more information on the artists featured on this CD, buy the book (available on Amazon.com). Then behold the magic, the visionary nature of outsider sonics. You may never want to come back inside again.
This collection is a companion to Irwin Chusid's book of the same name. It celebrates outsider music, music "so wrong it's right," and if you're drawn to sounds that make you wonder just what the musician was thinking, this collection is for you. The compilation is enthusiastically, if not always respectfully, annotated by Chusid. His selections range from the output of blissfully un-self-aware but basically functional individuals to the certifiably insane. Among the former are Lucia Pamela, an Ethel Merman sound-alike who contributes an infectiously enthusiastic celebration of "Walking on the Moon," and Congress-Woman Malinda Jackson Parker, a late Liberian lawmaker whose "Cousin Mosquito #1" cautioned against contracting insect-borne disease. The latter include Daniel Johnson, whose "Walking the Cow" weds a sublime melody to puzzling lyrics and a toy keyboard arrangement, and Wesley Willis, who pays tribute to Chicago's "Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's." Some of the artists are quite famous (Tiny Tim), some anonymous (the unknown writer and performers of song-poem "Virgin Child of the Universe")--they're united by their blithe certitude that the world needed to hear their unlikely but singular creations. --Bill Meyer
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Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Musicby Irwin Chusid
Chicago Review Press; Published: 2000-04-01; Paperback; Book
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