U Ass Bank to Uma Menina

"U Ass Bank"  Lyrics Born  Later That Day . . . 
"U Can't Touch This"  MC Hammer  Whatever: The '90s Pop & Culture Box
"U Should Know Better"  Robyn  Body Talk, Pt. 2
"Ubangi Stomp"  Warren Smith  Rockin' Bones: 1950s Punk and Rockabilly
"Ugly"  Violent Femmes  Violent Femmes
"Uh Oh Plutonium"  Anne Waldman  In Their Own Voices: A Century of Recorded Poetry
"Uh, Zoom Zip"  Soul Coughing  Ruby Vroom
"Ultimate"  Gogol Bordello  Super Taranta!
"Um Segundo"  Bebel Gilberto  Momento
"Uma Menina"  Gogol Bordello  Trans-Continental Hustle

  A weird set of songs.  It is a strange day when the most approachable song is probably by Soul Coughing.

  My niece is a baton twirler, and she goes to these competitions all over the country.  My experience is that there are two kinds of music at these competitions.  At one, they play the same John Philip Sousa song on an eight-hour loop.  At the other, they play incredibly upbeat, headache-y electronica.  Some years ago, I began making mixes for my niece of music I thought she should use for her twirling.  These songs have been consistently inappropriate in one form or another.  I like the Robyn track for this purpose - it is particularly good because it would fit the up-tempo dance motif, but the lyrics would make her judges cringe in horror ("even the Vatican knows better than to fuck with me.")

  "Stop!  Hammer time!"  Is this how the '90s say Loverboy?  It is always nice to hear "Superfreak" though.

  "Ugly" wasn't originally on Violent Femmes.  It was released as a 12" with "Gimme The Car."  These are two pieces of vinyl I still own.  (as a vinyl aside - I just got a copy of Shaft that I have to rip)

  I think Gogol Bordello is a New York-based gypsy version of Southern Culture on the Skids.  I mean that in a very good way.  Despite getting lost in the act at times, both bands are musically sound first, which separates them from mere gimmick.  They ride the edge of complete parody most of the time, but like Rick Miller in SCOTS, Eugene keeps them from slipping over.

  Given the events of the past week, listening to "Uh Oh Plutonium" is a strange and sad experience.  What was an odd period piece from the Reagan 80s becomes cruel, comically insensitive anachronism.  Anne Waldman is a contemporary of Allen Ginsberg and other beats.  This song sounds like someone's bad idea to capitalize on the odd commercial success of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" by slapping a synth track behind her poetry.  (I have nothing beyond timeline to support that, but it is a blog - so snarky theories pulled wholly from my ass are par for the course)