Liner Notes

Soundscape #120: “Say My Name, Bitch”

What’s in a name? As some chick from Verona once said, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” In which case, why bother going through the trouble of naming things? It’s all about the power trip, baby… think about it: in the bible, Adam is probably the second most powerful being in Eden since god has given him the power to name other living things.

mainblanche. Paris, 12e arrondissement, 2005.

We often take this power for granted because frankly the things around us that require naming have pretty much been named already, haven’t they?And I don’t just mean people or physical things. We might have also drained the well when it comes to giving names to our various experiences. Of course, this doesn’t mean people don’t come up with their own new words or phrases to describe what they’re going through. A while back, a colleague thought the word “awesummation” was pretty, well, awesome. We coin neologisms like this all the time. While there are of course many flaws in the English language, (try translating “schadenfreude” for example) I think we are still pretty covered when it comes to describing and detailing the things we’ve seen or heard. We are more probably lazy asses too slack to come up with the right word.

Playlist:
1. (0:00) The Weakerthans – A New Name For Everything (Reconstruction Site)
2. (4:02) Teenage Fanclub – Neil Jung (Grand Prix)
3. (8:50) Belle & Sebastian – Marx & Engels (Push Barman To Open Old Wounds)
4. (12:34) Goo Goo Dolls – Name
5. (17:04) The National – Karen (Alligator)
6. (21:04) Ash – Girl From Mars (1977)
7. (24:31) Green Day – Whatsername (American Idiot)
8. (28:42) Air Traffic – Never Even Told Me Her Name
9. (31:28) Pete Yorn – For Nancy (Musicforthemorningafter)
10. (34:57) American Analog Set – Aaron & Maria (Know By Heart)
11. (38:08) The Clientele – K (Strange Geometry)
12. (40:01) Yo La Tengo – Pablo And Andrea (Electr-O-Pura)
13.(44:19) Mogwai - I Know Who You Are But What Am I (Happy Songs For Happy People)