End of the Century 8/22/26
image: Jeff Buckley & Elizabeth Fraser
Today we explore the web of creative minds — producers, singers, sound-systems, musical collectives and djs — that were sampling, covering, and collaborating throughout this period. From trip hop to punky reggae to mandopop to avant garde, these artists experimented with new sounds and crossed over between genres to deliver some truly iconic tracks.
Hosted by Diana (Sacred Grove, 1st/3rd Tues from 3-5pm)
Show archive
Playlist
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Jeff Buckley, “Grace”
from Grace
Columbia - 1995
Buckley said of the song, in an interview: ""grace is what matters, in anything, especially life, especially growth, tragedy, pain, love, death; about people, that's what matters. That is a feature that I strongly respect. It prevents you from pulling the trigger too soon. It keeps you from destroying things too foolishly. It sort of keeps you alive; and it keeps you open for more understanding."
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Jeff Buckley, “Dream Brother”
from Grace
Columbia - 1995
jeff buckley only met his father, Tim, one time, after Tim abandoned him and his mother as a 6 month old child. Tim wrote a song called Dream Brother which was about the experience of leaving, and while this is not a cover, it deals with similar themes as it was apparently addressed to one of Jeff's friends who was considering abandoning his pregnant girlfriend
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This Mortal Coil, “Song to the Siren”
from It'll End in Tears (Remastered)
4AD - 1984
This Mortal Coil was a musical collective (less a band) with a rotating cast of collaborators. Elizabeth Fraser did the vocals on this Cover of Tim Buckley's song (1970), which Tim's song Jeff Buckley heard -- possibly the start of what became a mutual admiration and eventually a romance
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Massive Attack, “Teardrop”
from Mezzanine
Circa - 1998
written by elizabeth fraser, apparently inspired by gaston bachelard but also her former relationship with jeff buckley. Originally the song was sent to madonna who was keen to record it, but two members of massive attack voted in favor of having Fraser do the vocals instead. apparently while they were recording the song, Fraser heard of Buckley's disappearance (his drowning). She said "That was so weird .... I'd got letters out and I was thinking about him. That song's kind of about him—that's how it feels to me anyway"
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Björk, “Venus as a Boy”
from Debut
143/Atlantic Entertainment - 1993
debut was produced by nellee hooper and bjork
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Madonna, “Bedtime Story”
from Bedtime Stories
Sire/Warner Records - 1994
madonna was a fan of bjork's "debut" and asked nellee hooper to get in touch with bjork to ask her to write a song for the album. bjork apparently was hesitant to accept but then decided to write a song based on the words she wanted to hear madonna say ("let's get unconscious") " think at the time, yes, ['Let's Get Unconscious'] was what I wanted to hear from [Madonna's] mouth. But that's like six years ago, when everything about her seemed very controlled. I think she's a very intuitive person, and definitely her survival instinct are incredible. They're like, outrageous. At the time, the words I thought she'd say were, 'I'm not using words anymore, let's get unconscious honey. F logic. Just to be intuitive. Be more free. Go with the flow'.
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Soul II Soul, “Dance”
Ten Records - 1989
produced by nellee hooper, who was a DJ with the wild bunch (massive attack member's bristol-based sound-system), also produced bjork "debut" and songs on madonna "bedtime stories"
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20th Century Steel Band, “Heaven and Hell Is On Earth”
Parlophone UK - 1975
has been sampled in over 130 songs, including "every ghetto every city" on lauryn hill's "miseducation"
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Lauryn Hill, “Lost Ones (Remix)”
from Ex-Factor - EP
Columbia - 1998
Che Guevera (Che Pope) also produced the OG version of lost ones and to zion on miseducation of lauryn hill. toward the end of this remix, you may also catch a faint sample of heaven and hell is on earth!
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Lauryn Hill, “To Zion (feat. Carlos Santana)”
from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Ruffhouse/Columbia - 1998
song deals with uncertainty and Hill's decision to leave the fugees after getting pregnant with her son Zion (with Rohan Marley). Carlos Santana's guitar is featured on the song. Santana has obviously collaborated with countless artists over the decades, but in terms of connection to this playlist, he also released an album with John MacLaughlin/other members of mahavishnu orchestra called Love Devotion Surrender in 1973, both disciples of the same guru at the time.
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Fugees, “Zealots”
from The Score
Columbia - 1996
interpolates "armagideon time" by willie williams (also samples flamingos "i only have eyes for you, but that's a different time period than our show!). one of the verses references the discourse around lauryn hill leaving the fugees, which she also references in "To Zion" ("The magazine said the girl should have gone solo, guys should stop rapping, vanish like Menudo")
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The Clash, “Armagideon Time”
from Hits Back
Sony Music UK - 2013
Cover of Willie Williams, originally a B-side for "London Calling" single in 1979. the Clash covered numerous reggae songs, and bob marley's "punky reggae party" is a reference to the reggae punk subgenre that was developing in england in the 70s.
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The Clash, “Straight to Hell”
from Combat Rock
Columbia - 1982
Pat Gilbert called it "colonial melancholia and sadness" dealing with themes of injustice, treatment of immigrants in English society, abandonment of children fathered by foreign soldiers during the vietnam war, the destruction and getrification of alphabet city ("molotov cocktail" refers to immigrant housing being destroyed by arson)
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Massive Attack, “Angel”
from Mezzanine
Circa - 1998
Recorded with Reggae Legend Horace Andy. There is a rumor that this song was originally supposed to be a cover of the Clash "Straight to Hell" but Andy's religion prevented him from singing about hell. The song was then reworked out of an existing Andy song "you are my angel." however, Andy did cover Straight to Hell later (in 2017?) so what's up with that? I'm not sure about the lore on this one, but curious to learn more if anyone knows....
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Mahavishnu Orchestra, “Planetary Citizen”
from Birds of Fire / Apocalypse / Inner Worlds
Columbia - 1998
Sampled in "Unfinished Sympathy"
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Massive Attack, “Unfinished Sympathy (feat. Shara Nelson) [2012 Mix/Master]”
from Blue Lines (2012 Mix/Master)
Virgin Catalogue - 1991
Developed from a song that Shara Nelson had been working on, Nelson was a previous collaborator of Massive Attack members earlier soundsystem project "The Wild Bunch"
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Shara Nelson, “Thoughts of You”
from What Silence Knows
Chrysalis Records - 1993
english singer songwriter, This album (her debut) was shortlisted for mercury music prize
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Massive Attack, “Black Milk”
from Mezzanine
Circa - 1998
another collaboration with Elizabeth Fraser
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Cocteau Twins, “Ivo”
from Treasure
4AD - 1984
Tori Amos once said that this was her favorite Cocteau Twins song
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Faye Wong, “分裂”
from 浮躁
CinePoly - 1996
"Divide" written by cocteau twins for faye wong for her album "Fuzao", who later did their own cover of it
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Faye Wong, “冷戰”
Cinepoly - 1994
'Cold War' Cover of Tori Amos 'Silent All These Years'