‘Open & Close (Edit)’ by Fela Kuti & The Africa 70
In the last few years there have been several officially released edits to Fela Kuti songs, reducing his 15-minute-plus tracks to more digestible pieces. But ‘Open & Close (Edit)’ stands out for becoming almost like a pop song: 3:59, a catchy chorus, even a dance to go with it. “All you have to do is just open your arms and legs at the same time, and close your arms and legs at the same time, to the beat.” The original (1971) is far more unsettling, with the keyboard chords not obviously related to the staccato horns. In typical Fela fashion, it’s over 7 minutes until there’s any vocals. The song was an early example of Fela’s polyrhythmic guitars.
‘The Getaway’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers
It’s not often Red Hot Chili Peppers bring in additional musicians, though it sometimes results in some of their best, most interesting music. In ‘The Getaway’, Anna Waronka trades lines with Anthony Kiedis in the chorus. She sings in a band called that dog., who sound nothing like Chili Peppers. Her gentle voice contrasts with Flea’s gut-deep bass and the compressed drums.
Rick Rubin has produced nine of the last 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers albums, but for The Getaway (2012), they worked with Danger Mouse. He listened to Chad Smith drum, then selected bits he liked and made loops. The band then worked them into songs and recorded them together. (It’s not entirely clear if there are still looped parts on the finished versions. It certainly sounds more quantised than other Chilis albums.)
The album was their second with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer (who is arguably more suited to the drums), and he contributes to the mystical sounding outro with delicate yet catchy playing (particularly the lead melody in the left speaker, as at 3:39).
‘The 3 R’s (Money Mark Remix)’ by Jack Johnson and Friends
Before 2005, there hadn’t been many remixes of Jack Johnson songs. Conventional thinking would have been he isn’t really a remix artist. (Turns out maybe he is, with 2008’s Sleep Through the Static: Remixed and 2023’s Dub.) But Money Mark remixed ‘The 3 R’s’ (“Reduce, reuse, recycle”), throwing in machine faulting (0:22) and R2-D2-esque (0:26) sounds. In fact, every addition Money Mark makes sounds like something malfunctioning, right from the synth chords at the start. Mark also remixed ‘Upside Down’ for an alternative bonus track on a separate release. He worked with Beastie Boys from Check Your Head (1992) to Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011).
‘The Johnny Carcinogenic Show’ by Billy Bragg
Like the Chili Peppers, Billy Bragg isn’t really one for guest singers. ‘The Johnny Carcinogenic Show’ was a highlight M. Love & Justice. The album featured clever song writing (‘M for Me’, ‘Johnny’), great guitar playing (‘Something Happened’), and brilliant engineering (Bragg’s voice and every instrument sound fantastic), and two backing vocalists. On ‘Johnny’, May Fitzpatrick joins Bragg on the chorus and sings an intriguing wordless melody in the bridge. The song is not unusual in Bragg’s discography in setting depressing lyrics to thumping, triumphant music. It has a little of his ’80s reverbed and distorted guitar hammering but it’s complimented with Fitzpatrick’s gentle voice and some subtle, wiry lead guitar (likely courtesy of Ben Mandelson).
‘Chocolate Souffle’ by Shabazz Palaces
Shabazz Palaces' ‘Chocolate Souffle’ is built around a brilliant synth-bass riff, the kind of thing that could be transposed to a punk band and inspire a mosh pit. 'Souffle' is not unusual in rap for its long list of boasts, but it’s unusual for how surreal they are. You could quote just about any line to highlight the silliness. Ishmael Butler somehow sounds simultaneously cool and ridiculous. He even sounds cool using the expression “Oh, my” when talking about peach apple pie.
Even the lyrics that were almost certainly written just to rhyme are enjoyable. “Hey, hey / To the payday, ándale / Honeys proliferate my image on Mondays / Rappers look at me thinking ‘one day’”. Why Mondays? ‘Cause it rhymes! And yet it sounds so damn cool.
The outro revolves around a slightly more abstract boast: “You’re a scroller / I’m an explorer”, playing on the phone theme (“My phone’s really not that smart”). Butler seems to be talking about the idea of actually doing things, or seeking knowledge, versus mindless consumption.