Dedication of kinda random songs

One of my good-time buddies is leaving Adelaide to live in the UK for an indefinite time. The chap in question is Seb, and you can find some of his brilliant artwork here.

I now dedicate some songs to Seb. Whether he likes it or not.

Firstly, this is one of the saddest songs ever, especially when you consider it was the last song, on Warren Zevon's last album, 'The Wind'. Warren died in 2003, of mesothelioma, which also killed Steve McQueen. Warren said, on his last Letterman appearance, "I may have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." More about Warren here.

Warren Zevon - Keep Me In Your Heart

Next comes 'This Is England', which shares the name with a recent film that Seb tells me I'd really like. I dunno if that's true, but this song is great. And it's about England! That's where Seb's going!

The Clash - This Is England

And now a remix/mash thing by Instamatic, of the previous track. I found this one on 'This One's for Joe', which contains "reinterpretations, remixes and mashups of great Strummer tracks", in dedication of Joe, on the 5th anniversary of his death, and is available here. (I plan on doing a post about Joe soon, so stay tuned for that one)

Instamatic - English Ghost

...which lead me to think of probably my favourite mashup at the moment. From what I can tell, you can put Ennio Morricone's 'Ecstasy of Gold' with anything and it'll sound amazing. Jay-Z also uses it on 'Blueprint 2', on Blueprint 2: The Curse. But this one's Nas' 'One Mic', and doesn't include Jay's awful Austin Powers impersonation (honestly, what the fuck was Hov thinking??).

DJ Erb - Ecstasy of Gold (Ennio Morricone vs. Nas)

And from there, I decided to include this Morricone track from 'Una Pistola Per Ringo', a perfect example of Spaghetti Western music, with its awkward Italo-English vocals by Maurizio Graf and equally as awkward lyrics ("Rivers, you know how is the story..."???). And hopefully when Seb hears it, he thinks of me ;)

Ennio Morricone (ftg. Maurizio Graf) - Angel Face

Lastly, I decided to include a very very very rare track, by a pairing that may not have even existed in the first place. I like to keep a little mystery to it, but I will say: two members of Sound of Mercy Killing are responsible.

The Problem with Growing Boys - Licks on the Bowl

Bye, Seb!!!


Keep licking that metaphorical Glenn McGrath Hickory Sauce Bottle!!!

- Ringo Stalin

I believe an introduction is in order...

Please allow me to make the introductions; my name is Ringo Stalin and this is Champignons for My Real Friends...

Also, please allow me to explain, perhaps somewhat long-windedly, why I'm here:

I recently heard MIA's 'Paper Planes' at a party and thought 'Why, that's the Clash! And one of my favourite tracks, too! It's a shame that very few of my friends have heard the original version of 'Straight To Hell''. Shortly after that, someone on Hype Machine had posted the version of Paper Planes, with the original chorus (i.e., without the sound effects), while another had posted Straight To Hell. Then I thought 'How can I share these songs with friends with the least amount of tedium involved (at least at my end)?' and then I decided to create a blog... because there's nothing tedious about a blog! *knowing wink and nudge*

And then it occurred to me that a blog run purely by myself, containing only music that I liked might not be as interesting to other people as, say, maybe a blog that had other people contributing entries, too. And maybe those other people can be my friends, who I'm sure have a few things to share, too.

And thus, Champignons for My Real Friends... was born.

Obviously it's not the most original idea on Teh Internets, but it should be a bit of fun.

Be seeing you!
-r.










Megaupload links (mp3)

MIA - Paper Planes (original chorus)

The Clash - Straight to Hell

The Clash (ftg. Allen Ginsberg) - Ghetto Defendant

No Through Road - Crush This Town

Belittle League - Underfire

Paul Williams - The Hell of It