Guest Spots Sequel: Hollie Cook

 

Way back in 2018, Hollie Cook was featured in "Guest Spots", a series that I started to compile songs featuring an artist that did not appear on their own albums.  Here we are eight years later with another set from this talented young singer.  

Hollie Cook's most recent album Shy Girl was one of my favorite new releases of 2025. It was followed by Shy Girl In Dub, which is equally wonderful.  She is back on the Mr. Bongo record label (where she started her solo career with her self-titled 2011 album.)

Hollie is in demand as a vocalist, and not just in the world of reggae and dub.  It doesn't hurt that her parents are both professionals in the music world, but her success is entirely the result of her own talent and hard work.  Among the artists from her parents' generation, she has sung with The Slits, Vic Godard, Glen Matlock, Keith Levene, and Jah Wobble.  She recently appeared on Don Letts' first solo album and Mark Stewart's final album.  

I was also really pleased to see her name among the guest vocalists featured on the 2025 album by West Coast soul and reggae band The Night Owls.  Here's hoping that Hollie's career continues to grow, so that we can feature her music here again in the near future!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: The first volume of Hollie's Cookbook. 

Guest Spots: Mark E. Smith

You think it's the pipes, but who turns on the lights?

I wanted a new Fall album. It's a pointless thing to wish for: Mark E. Smith died a year ago today. Reissues and live Fall albums continue to appear. The Fall's discography is so extensive that only a sad and greedy bastard such as I could want more.

I just wanted to hear Mark's voice again, so I compiled a mix of his guest appearances. Some of these were collected on A World Bewitched (2001), but Smith continued to collaborate with a range of artists over the next decade and a half, including Mouse On Mars, Gorillaz, Einar Örn, and the Greek collective DNA.

One of the earliest singles that MES appeared on was "(I'm) In Deep" by Coldcut (1989), which was transformed into "Telephone Thing" on The Fall's album Extricate. Another song that took Smith's voice to the dance floor was "Plug Myself In" by D.O.S.E. (1996), an alias for Simon Spencer.  

Mark fired Spencer and his production partner Kier Stewart during the sessions for The Fall's album Levitate. The song "4 1/2 Inch" was a deconstruction of Spencer and Stewart's work, and they retaliated with the unauthorized release of the Inch EP in 1999.

Another interesting collaboration led to the song "Blow Up Muscles" from Sex Drugs And HIV, an album recorded over the course of 15 years with the involvement of more than 200 musicians. Mark E. Smith and Steve Hanley were joined on "Blow Up Muscles" by Roddy Radiation (The Specials) and Mike Spenser (The Cannibals) on guitar, with John Otway on theremin! Cor, baby!

Mark and Ginger (love the Albertos tee!)

In 2013, Ginger Wildheart invited MES to the studio where Mutation was recording the album Error 500, which also featured Shane Embury (Napalm Death), Jon Poole (Cardiacs), and Merzbow (!)

Ed Blaney continued to have a good  relationship with Smith after leaving The Fall, unlike many of "The Fallen". Smith & Blaney made several records, including a World Cup single. An appearance on Blaney's album Urban Nature (2016) was the last of Mark E. Smith's guest spots.

Jeffrey Lewis released a live CD this month called 13 Fall Songs, and a group called the Hannah Barbaras has covered "Look, Know" as a pay what y'wanner cancer fundraiser thingy. 

Iggy Pop Guest Spots: Art & Commerce

 

Iggy Pop will celebrate his 78th birthday on Monday.  What's he been up to? The last time we checked in on the Ig was when he turned 73.  We also shared a three volume series of Guest Spots, where Iggy collaborated with a range of other artists. 

Iggy released the ambitious album Free in 2019, and the rockin' Every Loser in 2023.  He has continued to work with many different performers, some of them well-known and others on the cutting edge. He has contributed to recent tributes to Leonard Cohen, Marianne Faithfull and The Velvet Underground. 

Iggy's career reminds me of Nicolas Cage, who seems to alternate mainstream blockbuster movies with passion projects that allow him to express greater range.  I guess the big films help to fund or compensate for the little ones.

I've divided Iggy's recent collaborations into two sets, subtitled Art and Commerce.  The "Art" set features Iggy's deep baritone and French language fluency on collaborations with Catherine Graindorge, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Elvis Costello and others.  "Commerce" has Iggy with Slash, Trevor Horn, The Lambrini Girls, The Crystal Method and more.  Not to say that there aren't artistic ambitions on the "Commerce" set (or commercial appeal on the "Art" side).  There are also a few older tracks that weren't part of previous Iggy blog comps.  Happy 78th birthday to the streetwalking cheetah with a heart full of napalm.

Guest Spots: Cassandra Wilson Sings Standards

Today is the birthday of Cassandra Wilson, one of our greatest living singers. Several sets from her stellar musical career are on the way, but let's start with standards, shall we?

Ms. Wilson is an outstanding interpreter of jazz, rock, blues and country music. Her 1995 album New Moon Daughter opened with the tragic "Strange Fruit" and concluded with a breathtaking version of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" -- and in between, Cassandra performed unique readings of Hank Williams, Son House, "Love Is Blindness" and "Last Train To Clarksville", as well as stellar originals such as "Solomon Sang".

Today we have a collection of songs that have been essayed by innumerable balladeers over numerous decades. As with other features in this blog's "Guest Spots" series, these songs are not drawn from the artist's own albums. Cassandra Wilson has collaborated with many musicians, and has contributed songs to soundtracks and tribute albums. Romantic jazz isn't the usual fare around here, but hopefully you will find as much pleasure as I do in the richness of this extraordinary voice.

I'm Excited (Again): Autumn's New Releases and Concerts

I've bought several new releases recently. The Figgs' triple album Shady Grove is an outstanding achievement for a band that has been together over 30 years. They are one of the tightest bands I've ever had the pleasure to see.

Tropical Fuck Storm are barnstorming the US in support of their second album, Braindrops. You can buy it from Joyful Noise or at Bandcamp. The new songs are amazing, and the live show literally left me slackjawed. So fucking great.

I will be seeing Redd Kross again soon (touring in support of their excellent new album Beyond The Door) as they open for the Melvins. Melvins' drummer Dale Crover plays with Redd Kross on the new album and on tour, and Redd Kross bassist Jeff McDonald does the same for the Melvins. Is there a better rock rhythm section performing these days?

Hollie Cook has a lovely new single, "Dance In The Sunshine". Iggy Pop has a new album called Free.  Both singers have been featured in this blog's Guest Spots series. Jazz and blues chanteuse Cassandra Wilson has announced a new album, Jupiter Rising, and you can hear two tracks from it on her website. Ms. Wilson will be the subject of a forthcoming Guest Spots set. (I got no kick against modern jazz.)

The Pernice Brothers unexpectedly released a new album called Spread The Feeling, which will be followed by a few live shows in October. In other news for fans of witty and meticulously crafted power pop, The New Pornographers have a new album with the unwieldy title In the Morse Code of Brake Lights out later this month, with East Coast tour dates to follow.

The accomplished Atlanta trio Omni has signed to Sub Pop and will release their third album, Networker, in November. I saw Omni open for Tav Falco a couple years ago, and as they stepped off stage, Mike Watt shook hands enthusiastically with Omni bassist Philip Frobos. Speaking of Watt, he has a new group with Wire bassist Graham Lewis called Fitted, and their album comes out in November.

Atlanta's beloved Magnapop will release their new album The Circle Is Round this month. They just completed a Benelux tour, and I can't wait for their hometown show with Five Eight this month. (Magnapop remains very popular in The Netherlands and Belgium, an example of the "big in Japan" phenomenon).

While we're on the subject of The Netherlands, one of my favorite recent discoveries was the 2018 self-titled album by Rotterdam quartet Lone Wolf. They have completed their second album, Together Alone, to be released in October. Peerless punk pop!

Guest Spots: Robert Quine

 

I've got posts planned that will highlight Robert Quine's work with Richard Hell and Lou Reed, but for today there are two sets of Guest Spots: Quine with The Singers, and Quine with The Artists.  Which is not to say that artists can't sing, or that singers aren't artists.  

Quine first gained notice on record in 1977 with Richard Hell & The Voidoids. Quine and Jody Harris recorded "Let It Blurt" with Lester Bangs that same year (though the single wasn't released until 1979).  Quine and Fred Maher played with Bill Laswell in the bands Material and Deadline.

Quine and Harris released Escape (an album of guitar duets) in 1981.  Another album of duets by Quine and Maher called Basic was issued in 1984.  Quine once said that the track "65" from Basic was "one of the best things I've ever done in my life. It reflects how I feel about music."  He was also proud of his work with Deadline.  He quit Deadline before the group entered the studio, but one 1980 gig at CBGB's was captured on tape.

Quine and Maher toured with Lou Reed in 1983.  When Fred Maher became a producer, he often called on Quine as a studio musician.  This is how Quine ended up on records by Matthew Sweet, Lloyd Cole, and Scritti Politti.  Quine's playing could be tasteful and restrained (as on Tom Waits' "Downtown Train") -- or he could tear shit up, as he does with the jaw-dropping leads that drive "Girlfriend" (the title track of Sweet's 1991 breakout album).  Check out this TV performance of "Girlfriend" to watch Quine in action.  

As you can see from the tracklists, With The Singers is mostly major label stuff that Quine did in the 90's (with Matthew Sweet, Lloyd Cole and TMBG), plus a few less familiar performers.  With The Artists goes back to Quine's downtown NYC origins -- playing with Jody Harris, Lydia Lunch, Ikue Mori, Lee Ranaldo, John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Marc Ribot, as well as Naux (aka Juan Maciel), who replaced Ivan Julian in The Voidoids for the recording of Destiny Street.  Quine seemed to prefer playing with another guitarist, switching between lead and rhythm and trading solos. 

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: jonder on Ivan Julian, Stinky on Lou Reed, and Koen on Marc Ribot.  Enjoy! 

Guest Spots: Kelly Hogan

Kelly Hogan started her singing career in Atlanta.  Her band The Jody Grind was beloved in their hometown. The band ended tragically, and far too soon. 

Not long after Kelly's first solo album was released (in 1996) she left Atlanta for Chicago, where she soon fell in with the Bloodshot Records crew.  On Beneath The Country Underdog (her second solo album), she was backed by the Pine Valley Cosmonauts.  A third album followed in 2001.

Kelly contributed lead and backing vocals to a variety of projects.  It was the golden age of alt-country (or Americana, if you prefer), and tribute albums were also popular.  Kelly appeared on tributes to Wanda Jackson, Joe South, Bob Wills, The Knitters, the Nashville soundtrack, and the recently deceased Kris Kristofferson.  Kelly has collaborated with Neko Case, Carolyn Mark, Robbie Fulks, The Sadies, and others.  She has sung backup with Mavis Staples, The Decemberists, Drive-By Truckers, Amy Ray, Jakob Dylan, Poi Dog Pondering and many others.

A decade passed before Kelly Hogan released another solo album, maybe because she was so dang busy.  She has performed children's songs as a member of the Wee Hairy Beasties, trad. arr. with the Love Hall Tryst, and vocal pop (think the Fifth Dimension or the Free Design) with the Flat Five.  Kelly can sing just about anything, but it's in country music that her full vocal and emotional range really shines: her voice can be sassy, sexy, silly or supremely sad and lonesome.

I'm not the only fan who wishes there were more Kelly Hogan solo records.  You could make an entire album of Kelly's songs that have appeared on Bloodshot samplers, tribute albums, and her duets with John Wesley Harding, Nora O'Connor, Alejandro Escovedo, Scott Ligon, and Rex Hobart.  That's what I've done here. Only one of the two dozen songs here is from a Kelly Hogan album, and that's only because it was impossible to resist "Wild Mountain Berries" (originally recorded by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty).    

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: Guest Spots from Lisa Kekaula, Hollie Cook, Cassandra Wilson, and others.

Guest Spots: Lisa Kekaula

Lisa and Bob onstage in Newcastle, 2016

When she's not leading her band The BellRays,  Lisa Kekaula is in demand as a guest vocalist. Her recording career started in 1990, when she and husband Bob Vennum released an LP as The Rosethorns called Ralph's Mom And Dad. This album was reissued in 2008 as Rosethorns by Bob & Lisa. 

The BellRays' self-titled cassette also came out in 1990. Both the cassette and the Rosethorns' LP were produced by Tony Bramel (aka Tony Fate), who was the frontman of early 80's punk band The Sins. Tony soon joined The Bellrays, and he and Vennum began writing songs that blended punk, soul, funk and garage rock influences.

In 2003, Lisa Kekaula was one of several guest vocalists on the Basement Jaxx album Kish Kash and The Crystal Method's Legion Of Boom. This was followed by further collaborations with Basement Jaxx, The Bloody Beetroots, and other EDM artists.

Lisa has also guested with some gnarly guitarists, including Detroit legends Dennis Coffey and Wayne Kramer. She sang with the DKT-MC5 for several years. 

In 2014, Stooges guitarist James Williamson released Re-Licked, with new versions of songs from Kill City. Again, Lisa Kekaula was one of the guest vocalists. The album was followed by a 2016 single of new songs by Kekaula and Williamson.

Lisa with Mark Arm and Wayne Kramer in 2006

Last year, The BellRays recorded a version of "Teaching You The Fear" for the Really Red tribute album. Lisa Kekaula and Bob Vennum host frequent online events, and January 2021, Lisa was a guest on Lydia Lunch's podcast. 

Christmas is coming, and The BellRays have an album of seasonal songs! Like many artists, they had to cancel a lot of shows, so buy something from their store and make their Christmas a little brighter.

PHOTOS: The Northern Echo (top); Jim Dyson (bottom)

Guest Spots: Syd Straw

 

Syd Straw isn't a New Jersey native, but she was quickly adopted by the Hoboken scene when she gained notice as a singer with Anton Fier's group The Golden Palominos. Soon she was recording and performing with Coyote Records and Bar/None artists like Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, James Mastro, Freedy Johnston, They Might Be Giants, The Schramms, and The Del-Lords.

If you need an introduction to her music, there's a great recent article in Perfect Sound Forever. As the writer says, Syd came out of nowhere but held her own with big names in rock, jazz and the downtown NYC no wave scene on those Palominos records.

Today's compilation includes some b-sides, contributions to tribute albums (including one for The Boss of NJ himself), and guest appearances on other artists' albums. Syd is a gifted harmony singer and a stellar duet partner, and she sings here with Joe Ely, Dave Alvin, Evan Dando, Jeff Tweedy, Eric Ambel, and others.

I recently discovered that Pat Irwin (Raybeats guitarist turned soundtrack composer) posted to Soundcloud his film score for a movie called My New Gun. Included were Syd's version of "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and a lovely country ballad called "A Picture Of You". Both are included.

Most of the songs are from the 90's, with the exception of a track from 2018's Shoulder To Cry On (where Syd sings with Jimmer Podrasky, former frontman of The Rave-Ups), and her lovely contribution to the Mark Mulcahy tribute album. You may remember that Mark and Syd both appeared on the TV show The Adventures Of Pete & Pete, which took place in the fictional town of Wellsville (an Embarrassment reference!) but was filmed in the idyllic burbs of the Garden State.

Guest Spots: Hollie Cook

Ari, Tessa, and Hollie

This has been a busy year for Hollie Cook: her third album Vessel Of Love (produced by Youth) was her first to be released in the US (on Merge Records). She has a new single, a version of "Sweet Like Chocolate" (a UK #1 hit for Shanks & Bigfoot in 1998).  Mad Professor's upcoming compilation album Queens Of Ariwa includes another new Hollie track, "Sunshine Holiday".

Hollie is also in demand as a guest vocalist, and she sings on new releases by The Orb, Gentleman's Dub Club, the Rotten Hill Gang, and They Say Jump (the latter featuring Hollie's longtime drummer and deejay Horseman). 

Paulie and Hollie

Hollie Cook's mother is a singer, and her father is apparently also a musician of some sort. She has shared stages with Ari Up and Mick Jones, and both Jah Wobble and Keith Levene guested on Vessel Of Love. 


Hollie and Charles Rowell from the group Crocodiles had a duo called Psychic Dancehall (Fall fan alert!) They recorded versions of "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" and "Long Lost Lover" (originally by the Love Joys) on their 2011 album Dreamers. 

Hollie has also covered The Whispers' "And The Beat Goes On", the Shangri-Las' "Walking In The Sand", the Classics IV's 1968 hit "Spooky", the Andrews Sisters' oldie "For Me You Are" and the Carpenters' "Superstar".  She contributed a version of "You Know I'm No Good" to an Amy Winehouse tribute album. Hollie shares with Pearl Harbour and Amy Winehouse an appreciation for the girl groups of the 60's. I shared Hollie's version of Rachel Sweet's "It's So Different Here" in my last post.

Hollie Cook has immense talent as a songwriter and performer. Her records evoke the pre-digital days of classic reggae and lovers rock. Her lovely voice recalls the pure and simple charms of singers like Caroll Thompson, Susan Cadogan and Dawn Penn. Hollie prefers to call her own music "tropical pop". I highly recommend all three Hollie Cook albums, and the dub LP produced by Prince Fatty.

Guest Blogging in Great Cities

Did a few "guest spots" recently on Themes From Great Cities, AJ's music blog. So far I've contributed posts on Out On Blue Six (Carl Marsh's group before Shriekback); the music made by John McKay and Kenny Morris after they left Siouxsie And The Banshees; and the duo Mute Drivers. 

I also visited Farq's fab False Memory Foam to pen a piece about the pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn. I'm glad AJ came back to blogging, but sad that For The Sake Of The Song has come to a stop. Here's hoping that it's a rest stop, not a full stop.

Robert Quine with Richard Hell

Blank Generation was a short, sharp shock when it was released in 1977.  It wasn't until 1982 that a followup album, Destiny Street, was released.  By that time, Ivan Julian and drummer Marc Bell had left.  Hell didn't have a lot of new songs.  Three of the album's ten tracks were covers (Dylan, Kinks, and Tommy Scott's "I Can Only Give You Everything"). 

After the basic tracks were recorded, Hell went MIA -- but there was lots of studio time still booked.  Quine recalled, "We had a week and a half for me and Naux [aka the late Juan Maciel of China Shop] to do overdubs. I did backwards guitar, feedback guitar, speeded-up guitar. I got that out of my system for once and for all."  Hell hated the result.  For years, he tried to buy the master tapes so that he could remix the album.  He eventually found a tape of the basic tracks.  After Quine died, Hell invited Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell and Ivan Julian to record new solos over those tracks, and the result was released in 2009 as Destiny Street Repaired.

It received a mixed response. Some felt that Hell had repeated the sin committed by Lou Reed by burying Quine in the Repaired mix. (Hell responded, "His rhythm playing is there, but he hadn’t played his solos yet.")   Hell finally got the 24 track masters, and reworked them with the help of Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  in 2021, Destiny Street Remixed and the Destiny Street Demos were released.  

The title track "Destiny Street" is a song about meeting your younger self. Forty years after the recording sessions, Hell was able to present these songs from his younger self as he wanted them to be heard.  In a way, he also honored Quine by stripping back the excess overdubs. My own younger self had no problem with the sound of the original LP.  (Too much Quine?  No such thing!)  

Robert Quine was capable of restrained, lyrical playing when the song called for it -- not just unconventional atonal excess. (Quine's work on Tom Waits' "Downtown Train" is just one example.) Hell said, "He could just as well play a brilliant gorgeous, laid-back sweet passage or solo that had nothing to do with spectacle or shredding or anything like that."  

Richard Hell points to the demo version of "Time" (included in today's share): "It’s just gorgeous playing, and he could do it in this whole range of moods and styles. He was just absolutely tasteful in a way that encompasses Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler, as well as Jimi Hendrix, or back to Jimmy Reed or Link Wray.” 

Today's share is a compilation of Hell and Quine from the two Voidoids albums, singles and demos, and Quine's appearance with Dim Stars.  In case you missed them, there are two other sets: Quine with Lou Reed and Quine Guest Spots.

Richard Thompson's Wild Decade

Not to make light of the recent passing of way too many great artists and entertainers, but the reactions in the media and in the sales charts sometimes remind me of the song "Now That I Am Dead" by French, Frith, Kaiser & Thompson:

Now that I am dead, my agent finally said he wanted to have lunch with me...

Now that I'm deceased, my record sales increased, I'm making lots of royalties...

And that song takes me back to the 1980's, the decade when Richard Thompson apparently said "YES!" to every opportunity he was offered.

Make albums with Pere Ubu frontman David Thomas? SURE!  Document the dissolution of your marriage and tour with your ex?  WHY NOT!  Become part of downtown NYC supergroup The Golden Palominos? YOU BET! Form "the world's most obscure supergroup" with Henry Kaiser, Fred Frith, and John "Drumbo" French on drums?  (You know the answer.)  

During this decade of "Daring Adventures", Richard Thompson released four ten solo albums and played on records by Vivian Stanshall, Martin Carthy, Loudon Wainwright III, JJ Cale, T-Bone Burnette, Dagmar Krause, Syd Straw, Any Trouble and Crowded House. He did soundtrack music for two BBC programs.  He guested on Fairport Convention's 1985 album and rejoined the group for their 1986 album.  He performed with Fairport Convention at annual festivals throughout the decade, whether he was a current member or a former one.

In 1988, Jo-El Sonnier had a top ten country hit with his version of Richard's "Tear Stained Letter". In 1991, Richard scored a hit of his own, "I Feel So Good". 

I've compiled songs from 1981-1991 of Richard's adventures with David Thomas, the Golden Palominos, Syd Straw's star-studded debut, and the two extraordinary albums that Thompson made with Kaiser, Frith, and Drumbo.  Let's all live, love, larf and loaf again!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: Pere Ubu's Waffle House At Walden Pond and Syd Straw's Guest Spots.

Guest Spots: Prince Far I

For the who-what-where-when-why on the man called Prince Far I, look no further than his tune with Singers & Players, "Autobiography". He describes his youth and education in St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town), his musical beginnings with the sound system called Sir Mike the Musical Dragon, and his recording debut as Sir Cry Cry. 

Prince Far I started his own label, Cry Tuff, and formed a partnership with a UK label called Hitrun, where a young Adrian Sherwood was working. Hitrun released the first Cry Tuff Dub Encounter in 1978, and 1979's Dub To Africa (both credited to Prince Far I & The Arabs).  The Arabs were The Roots Radics, and the albums were produced by Prince Far I himself (with the exception of Sherwood's production on Dub Encounter Chapter III).

"The Voice Of Thunder" can be heard on On-U Sound releases by African Head Charge, Singers & Players, Dub Syndicate, and 2 Badcard. Sadly, the musical collaborations between Prince Far I and Adrian Sherwood ended when the man born Michael Williams in Spanish Town was killed in his Kingston home in 1983 at the age of 39.  It is said that the gunmen waited to attack until after he watered his garden. Where will the wicked run to on that last day?

Pictured: Prince Far I reading the Sherwood family Bible (from a photo by Kishi Yamamoto).

Guest Spots: Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop has a recording career that spans half a century. In addition to his albums with The Stooges and as a solo artist, he has made numerous appearances on tribute albums, soundtracks, and other artists' records.

Iggy has collaborated with Fatboy Slim, Bill Laswell, Ministry, Slash, Buckethead, Was Not Was, Medeski Martin & Wood, Peaches, NRBQ's Terry Adams, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, among others. Iggy has covered songs by Black Flag, Betty Davis, Nick Cave, Yoko Ono, the Who, the Monochrome Set, Eddie Cochran and Duke Ellington. 

He has participated on tributes to Cole Porter, Junior Kimbrough, Don Covay, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, and the Black Keys; and benefits for The West Memphis Three and The David Lynch Foundation. Iggy has also appeared on Christmas records by William Shatner, Kylie Minogue, and Michel Legrand (not to mention the holiday chestnut, "Jesus Loves The Stooges").

He has contributed original songs to numerous movies (everything from a Bond film to Robert Altman's Short Cuts, Johnny Depp's disastrous The Brave, Arizona Dream, and the theme to last year's Gold) as well as TV shows (including Peaky Blinders, True Blood, and Vinyl). Iggy has lent his distinctive baritone to animation (Persepolis and Lil' Bush), video games, and spoken word (from Poe and Walt Whitman to William S. Burroughs). 

In the last two decades, Iggy has become quel francophone, recording classic chansons and composing songs inspired by Michel Houellebecq. He has sung with Anaïs Demoustier, Demi Mondaine, Françoise Hardy, Lulu Gainsbourg, and Emmanuelle Seigner. 

Iggy has also appeared on records with Misia from Portugal, Songhoy Blues from Mali, the late Israeli singer Ofra Haza, Les Rita Mitsouko, Os Mutantes member Sergio Dias, Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, Sweden's Teddybears, and German artists Millenia Nova, Tarwater, and WestBam.  

I posted an earlier version of these mixes on another blog in 2016, but Iggy has been a prolific collaborator since then; most recently with Underworld, Josh Homme, and the jazz trio of Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow, and Bobby Previte.

This Ain't No Funhouse

The Stooges' classic second album, Funhouse, is almost half a century old? Hard to believe. And who would have guessed that Iggy would outlive all of his original bandmates? Not with that lifestyle. And yet, here we are: it's 2019, and Iggy is 72.

Funhouse was released on 7/07/1970. All of its songs (with the exception of the freeform "LA Blues") have been covered by numerous artists. A few years ago on another blog I compiled two sets of Funhouse covers. Here's an update -- with a third volume -- to mark the album's 49th anniversary.

But how to address the lack of "LA Blues" cover versions?  John Zorn and Yamatsuka Eye's "TV Eye" sounds as unhinged as "LA Blues", as does the music of Billy Bao (whose album Buildings From Bilbao isn't truly a Nigerian emigrant's song by song cover of Funhouse, as it was purported to be.) 

I included an unrelated "LA Blues" from Iggy's solo Acoustics KO, and one of the Stooges' freeform jams from the Complete Funhouse Sessions box set.  In addition to Iggy and the Stooges themselves, Ron Asheton appears (with Scott Morgan's Powertrane, New Race and Dark Carnival), as do Scott Asheton (Dark Carnival) and Steve Mackay. And there are a couple of Funhouse inspired tunes by Sour Jazz and the Spacemen 3.

If you're an Iggy fan, don't miss my "Guest Spots" collection of his many collaborations with other artists. Iggy most recently appeared on hip hop singles by Pan Amsterdam and Fémina, and he played a zombie in the film The Dead Don't Die.  Hopefully he will stick around for next summer's 50th anniversary of Funhouse.

Guest Spots: Cassandra Wilson In A Contemporary Mood

Here's a set of Cassandra Wilson collaborations with a more contemporary feel. Styles range from jazz and soul to hip hop. The oldest song is from 1981, and the most recent was released in 2015. A few covers (of the Beatles and Prince) are included.

Cassandra Wilson was born in Mississippi. I believe she started her recording career in New Orleans with a Latin jazz group called Jasmine. She moved to New York City in 1982, and soon became involved with the M-Base Collective. 

After nine solo albums, Cassandra signed with Blue Note in 1993, and found immediate success with Blue Light Til Dawn. She has released another ten albums since then. Cassandra Wilson's next album will be titled Jupiter Rising. Hopefully it will be out soon, with some tour dates as well!

Iggy Had A Birthday

Iggy Pop turned 73 this week, and Funhouse turns 50 this summer! What has Iggy been up to since his Guest Spots featured on this blog last year? Ever the busy man, he has been popping up on a diverse range of recent releases. 

In today's set, Iggy lends his voice to tracks by Argentine trio Fémina; Lebanese vocalist Yara Lapidus; contemporary jazz singers ALA.Ni, Thomas Dutronc and Diana Krall; young rockers Warmduscher and Cage The Elephant; and rapper Pan Amsterdam (an alias for Leron Thomas, who produced and played trumpet on Iggy's 2019 album Free).

Sean Lennon, Iggy Pop, and Yoko Ono waiting on a downbound train (2010)

Iggy and Leron Thomas perform the title tune for the recent Mose Allison tribute, If You're Going To The City. I also added a soundtrack appearance from the 2017 film Cornélius, le meunier hurlant (with Anaïs Demoustier), and my favorite song from Free. 

Iggy's duets with Chrissie Hynde and Vanessa Paradis were officially released in 2019, but were recorded years earlier, much like the Sly Stone cover that Iggy shared with the world this week. 

Speaking of duets, this is a fun video of a performance from a decade ago: Iggy joins the Plastic Ono Band (Yoko, Sean, Mike Watt, Nels Cline, and drummer Yuko Araki) to perform "Waiting On The D Train".