Random bit of randomness from the WFMU blog:
Unusual Recording Techniques #1: Lou Reed's "The Kids"
While flipping through a five-year-old copy of NME in a WFMU bathroom, I came across an article about "scary music" by Mark Beaumont. He wrote that the little kids who can be heard wailing on Lou Reed's track The Kids (from his 1973 LP Berlin) were the young children of producer Bob Ezrin, who were crying because their Dad had told them that their mother had just been killed in a horrible accident. Their mother was fine - the track needed some crying, so Producer Ezrin produced some. The crying starts at the 5:17 mark: MP3.
A few years later, Ezrin went on to co-produce Pink Floyd's The Wall, on which he utilized another group of children to great effect, the chorus of British children from The Islington Green School who sing the "We Dont Need No Education" chorus on Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2). In 2004, 23 of those kids got together to sue for the session fee they never received. No word on whether Ezrin's own children (now around 40 years old) are planning their own suit.
Crap. I didn't bring my iPod to work today, so I can't check out the Berlin thing until I get home....
Self-pimpage! There's a noisy dark video of Parks & Wildlife up at our Myspace site: [link]
Crap. I didn't bring my iPod to work today, so I can't check out the Berlin thing until I get home....
I've heard and repeated this story many a time. You can't miss the kids. It's one of the many reasons I hardly ever listen to Berlin, which is icy-beautiful but thoroughly unpleasant.
From the comments on the WFMU blog:
"I refuse to believe the Ezrin story. Can you back it up?"
No, if I could've backed it up, I would have done so instead of citing where I read it. There are numerous references to this tale online, but I couldn't find any in which Ezrin himself is quoted. I also couldn't find any in which Ezrin denies it.
I find it hard to believe too, but... hmmm....
It's repeated in several Mojo articles and all the half-dozen or so books I've read about Lou Reed. Hell, even if it isn't true, it should be.
It's one of the many reasons I hardly ever listen to Berlin, which is icy-beautiful but thoroughly unpleasant.
This. So definitely this, though "Lady Day" is a great song. Since it opens the album (aside from a brief overture) it's real easy to just listen to the one song, rather than plunge into the whole pit of despair that is BERLIN.
New mix this morning for Li'l Sphere's daycare:
Baby-a-Go-Go:
- They Might Be Giants - "Clap Your Hands"
- Wilson Pickett - "Land of A Thousand Dances"
- Bobby "Blue" Bland - "Turn On Your Love Light"
- Little Milton - "Grits Ain't Groceries"
- James Brown - "Super Bad Pts. 1 & 2"
- Gorillaz - "Clint Eastwood (Ed Case Refix)"
- Los Lobos - "I Wanna Be Just Like You (The Monkey Song)"
- The Kingsmen - "Louie Louie"
- Dr. John - "Iko Iko"
- The Only Ones - "Another Girl, Another Planet"
- Plastic Bertrand - "Ca Plane Pour Moi"
- Sly & The Family Stone - "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
- Kool & The Gang - "Jungle Boogie"
- Michael Jackson - "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
- Edwin Starr - "25 Miles"
- War - "Low Rider"
- Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs - "Wooly Bully"
- Sir Douglas Quintet - "She's About A Mover"
- The Pipettes - "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me"
- The Morells - "Gettin' In Shape"
- David Bowie/Queen - "Under Pressure"
- Prince - "When You Were Mine"
- Jackson Five - "I Want You Back"
- Stevie Wonder - "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life"
- Ray Charles - "Hit The Road Jack"
All baby-approved in advance!
All baby-approved in advance!
That'll get their diaper-clad asses moving!
Free your mind, and your diaper-clad ass will follow.
Everytime he hears "Land of A Thousand Dances," Li'l Sphere starts clapping his hands and trying to sing along with the "na na na" part, which is awe-inspiring.
